Hi guys,
I'm new here and a stone cold casting newbie. I've been reloading for about 20 yrs for 10 calibers both rifle and pistol.
I love to reload, I'm cheap.. err... thrifty and got my first taste of casting at a buddy's house last week.
I'm not certain, but it looks like I'm hooked on another aspect of reloading and shooting. I like adding a new dimension to the sickness.
I've learned (finally) to ask questions, learn about the process and get my facts straight before I spend the first dime. The only problem now, is I'm startin' to jones a little... I got to get started casting or I am going to need therapy for wasting all that money on commercial bullets.
The first thing I am going to tackle is doing the first melt and pouring ingots. I have been told, an aluminium muffin tin will work just fine for this.
For a furnace, I am looking at the Lee 4-20 bottom pour or the RCBS unit. The Lee unit is less than ?? the price, so I will probably start with it to see if the 20lb capacity meets my needs.
I think I will need something different to do the initial melt. I hope to make enough ingots to last for a while. I have been told, doing so with a small pot will run you nuts and sometimes take almost forever. OK, I can see that, but what are my options ?
My initial thought is to buy a big aluminium (30 qt) or cast iron fry pot (16 qt is the biggest I can find so far) and run it with my 175,000 btu turkey fryer burner and a thermometer. Using it to melt and make the first flux then use a dipper to drop the lead into the muffin pan(s) for ingots.
I have been told, the first melt of salvage wheel weights is a pretty nasty thing. Lot's of foul smoke and lot's of work.
I don't mind the work, this is a hobby, and it can potentially save money on bullet costs.
The large continual stream of foul/toxic smoke won't be too big of a PITA for me, but I am wondering about what the neighbors will notice/think. It is my hope that I can do this somewhat on the QT. I live in a suburban neighborhood and not all of my neighbors are shooters. Some are known anti's.
How can I minimize the smoke and smell ?
What't the most efficient way to make ingots quickly ?
Any suggestions for an equipment list ?
At this point I have a turkey fryer with a hell of a burner setup a few toy budget bucks and a whole lot of desire, with a shooting habit that won't let up.
Any comments or suggestions are most welcome. For the first time (if you knew how old I am you would realize how long it has taken to learn) I hope to keep the wasted money spent to a minimum.
Thanks for letting me just barge in like this, I will do my best to use the search function and not ask too many stupid/lazy questions.
I need some help from the BTDT experience you guys have.
BigSlick
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