I'm New Here

[Whitespider]

Hi,
Been reading posts here for some time now. Decided to register and jump right in with questions.

I’ve been shooting cast bullets for over twenty years now. But, I have never poured my own, always had a buddy that would custom cast for me. At my request he would change the alloy, lube, or size to fit my needs. I’m an “old hand” at loading and shooting cast but have never even watched someone pour a single bullet. Anyway, I have lost that source of great bullets. I think I’m gonna’ hafta’ start casting my own to get the quality I want and am used to.

I have several buckets of wheel weights collected and some cast iron pots. I have not acquired any moulds yet, but I would like to smelt the WWs into ingots to get a feel for this casting thing. I read that some of you use different heat sources.

My Question:
I have an old electric stove/oven that works perfectly, just sitting in the garage. Will the burners on an electric stove work for a heat source to cast bullets? Or is there a problem with this type of heat source.

I’ll listen to any other direction any of you will give me. I’m old enough now to know when I’m a complete rookie at something.

Thanks a bunch

[mooman76]

I've use and electric stove before and it worked great! Welcome to the board!

[TedH]

Welcome!

I never tried an electric stove for melting lead, but I suspect it would work. You might want more BTUs for smelting wheelweights to ingots. A few handfulls of wheelweights cools off a pot in a hurry. A cheap dutch oven and a propane turkey fryer works great. You may also want to look into getting a bottom pour pot for casting bullets. I admit I have never poured bullets with a dipper, but I see no reason to use anything but a bottom pour pot. I've been using a cheap LEE 10 lb. pot for 10 years and it is still going strong.

[Uncle Grinch]

I believe we all have started out in the short rows, one way or the other. Use what you have to get started. You will learn as you go and get hooked on it. Search our forum for answers and ask questions for those you can't find. But, the main thing is, get started now, use what you have, be safe and shoot more cast boolits.

Oh.... Welcome to the site!! You will love it.

[Goatlips]

Whitespider, one way to speed up your electric stove is to add some btu's to the pot from the top, with a propane torch. As noted above, your stove can hold your melt at casting temperature, but when you refill it with raw (DRY!) wheelweights, things cool down fast. Playing the torch on the clips will carry the heat into the center of your ww's and the lead falls off like magic.

And for me anyway, it's another chance to play with fire.

Have fun! (The first shot's free... )

Goatlips

[VTDW]

I do like Goatlips does but I also have an oxyacetylene torch. My heat source is just a one burner hotplate but i do not get into marathon smelting.

Welcome,

Dave

[Bigjohn]

Whitespider, this is the ONLY looney bin where the inmates are in charge; so welcome to the clan.

I have used most types of casting pot available and now use only gas or electric versions. You can dip or you can pour which ever works for you and I use both methods.

For smelting; I use a large pot over a gas flame and the pot is as large a capacity as I can lift one handed unassisted using the other hand to aid pouring the melt into ingots.

For casting; I have a LEE 10 pound and 20 pound bottom pour pot as well as a dutch oven over a gas ring.

I don't mix casting and smelting pots. My preference.

The set up you use should suit your ability and finances. I use LEE for due to availability and price here downunder.

Hope we can be of further assistance somewhere down the track,

Cheers,

John.

[MT Gianni]

A new ceramic top electric stove will not work but a older element style will. It just takes a little longer. Gianni.

[9.3X62AL]

Welcome aboard, WS. I don't do mondo huge smelting operations, but if that became a pursuit I think the propane or white gas heat source and dutch oven would be my method.

My usual bit is to do the small lot smelting at the same time I'm busy casting boolits--get the smelt started, then fire up the RCBS bottom-pour, and alternate between the two activities. One gets depleted/poured out and needs a re-fill, and while it warms up I concentrate on the other operation. This runs in about 20-30 minute intervals. I can get a lot done in a day set aside for liquid lead. The smelt step is a HUGELY SUCCESSFUL way to keep impurities to a minimum in the bottom-pour pots.

[Poygan]

I think it will depend on how many boolits you plan to cast. I started off with a small cast iron pot on a kitchen stove. I used a single cavity .452374 for the mold and loaded with the Lyman 310 tool. Slow, but I had very limited brass and lead. Moving ahead about 40 years, now I use a Lee electric pot to melt down the wheelweights outside and pour ingots in a muffin pan. These will ultimately go into the Lee bottom pour pot. This keeps the crud from clogging the pour spout. I cast for a variety of calibers so usually cast only 100-200 boolits per session. Were I to start over again, I would use two cavity molds at a minimum...single cavities are just too slow.

[Whitespider]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I still need to install some wiring and an outlet for the range plug in the garage. Than sort my WWs, or at least give them a quick look over, y’all got me freaked out about ZINK! Something I hadn’t thought about was what to use for an ingot mould. I should be able to raid the kitchen cupboards for a muffin pan when the wife’s not lookin’. I suppose I should pick up a thermometer also. My plan is to spend as little as possible on this endeavor until I’m sure it’s something I want to stick with. If it’s anything as addicting as reloading I’ll soon have so much “stuff” I won’t be able to find it all.
I work on the road during the week, so that just leaves the weekend to get stuff done at home. I’ll have to see what the wife and kids got planned for this weekend. But usually they leave me to my own devises (or vises) on Sundays.
It sounds like “sorting WW’s” and “COLD Beer” are made for each other.

[VTDW]

Yup,

You will fit right in bro.

Dave

[waksupi]

Save money? Uh-er, yeah, sure. Let me know how that works out for you.

Welcome aboard. And abandon hope.

[454PB]

This may be of interest to you. It is crude, but effective for smelting.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/...ad.php?t=10127

[Goatlips]

Whitespider, if you aren't going to use that range for anything else and the building inspectors aren't around, you can rig a standard plug on the leg of the wiring that serves the top burner you want to use. Most stoves just use the second leg for the oven/broiler. But know what you're doing or get some help.

Goatlips

[TAWILDCATT]

here is my recomendation
turkey fryer-propane
cast iron pot
cast iron muffin pan(dont use household pan)wife will kill you!!
lee 20 # pot
lee 2 or 6 cavity mold
midsouthshooters.com-get catalog
good luck