Author Topic: Getting started (Read 589 times)

Mainspring · « **on:** May 20, 2003, 06:45:10 AM »

Howdy all,

I am completely new to casting bullets (with the exception of casting a few round balls in Boy Scout days 20+ years ago), and want to start casting .45 caliber bullets for CAS.

I would appreciate any and all input concerning...um...where I should start. My Dad is a regular at farm auctions in the area, and I've got him looking for old plumber's lead melting equipment, which usually can be had for a song. But that's as far as I've gotten.

I guess that my big questions would be:

1. Mold size. Is there more than one diameter mold that can be used with Colt clones and Ruger BHs?

2. Publications. Do reloading manuals get into bullet casting at all, or sufficiently? What books should I be looking for?

I'm sure the "where do I start" question has been answered about a billion times on this board, so I'll not bore you guys with getting into THAT one too deeply.

Thanks.

Paul H · « **Reply #1 on:** May 20, 2003, 09:03:31 AM »

I highly recomend getting a copy of Lymans cast bullet manual, it will answer alot of your questions, especially the ones you haven't thought of asking

I would also start looking for wheelweights for a source of alloy to make bullets from. You simply can't get enough of those things, and if you come across 5-10 5 gallon pails of them, take all of them, going rate is between free and $20 a bucket, they yield ~100 #'s of cleaned ingots. If you get them for free, a case of bear has a way of providing additional lead in the future.

Lots of folks like to bash Lee equipment, but it is affordable and will make good bullets. Sounds like you'll be shooting lots of bullets, so I'd recomend getting six cavity molds, production rate is very high. If you're not sure about which style bullet you want to try, a pair of two cavity molds produces bullets in quantity as well.

Shootingamigo · « **Reply #2 on:** May 20, 2003, 10:09:11 AM »

I agree with the book choice. Lymans cast bullet manual is an encyclopedia of info. I dont agree with Lee molds or a six cavity mold to start with. Lyman has a 250 grain CAS 45 Colt bullet mold a 2 cavity that will start you right. The 4 or 6 cavity molds are heat sensitive and can be a pain until you get a bit of experience with heat and technique. If used correctly you can get your feet wet and make a very accurate bullet as well and not loose too much time doing it comared to the 4 or 6 cavity molds. Later when you are comfortable with what you have to do to get the desired bullet you can move to the 4 or 6 cavity molds. This mold and other Lyman molds can be had at Cabelas for 39.95 which is as cheap as I have found. Along with the furnace you will need a Lube machine size die and top punch for the bullet to be sized correctly. There is a cylinder throat diameter difference and depending on the age of your revolver it can vary with the same manufacturer. You will need to find out that diameter to size the bullets so the accuracy will not suffer and you can control the leading. The Cast Bullet Manual by Lyman will explain all of this to you. I suggest before spending a dime on this hobby you get and read the manual first. There is an awful lot of GREAT knowledge on this Forum and just waiting to be tapped. Once you read the manual you can find out what the best way to handle the total expense.

Nobade · « **Reply #3 on:** May 20, 2003, 03:32:48 PM »

There are two other books that are required reading after you have digested the Lyman book. They are Magma's and Veral Smith's. I knw Magma sells theirs through their web site, not sure how to reach Veral these days but I hear he is out of the pokey so he should be reachable. I know some fellows here have his contact info.

Mainspring · « **Reply #4 on:** May 21, 2003, 03:06:49 AM »

Great info. Thanks all. I'll do some reading before I ask too many more dumb questions.

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #5 on:** May 21, 2003, 05:07:29 PM »

I'm firmly in the Lee six cavity camp. They're cheap, they make good bullets and they are no harder to use than other moulds.(Easier, imho, as the aluminum blocks get up to temp a lot faster than iron.)

And I would not waste time looking for a plumber's furnace when Walmart will sell you a turkey fryer for $30.

The place to get started is cleaning up and alloying wheelweights. Having good clean uniform ingots to work with is half the battle. Do NOT try melting WW in a bottom pour pot. No two batches will come out quite the same and you will crud up the spout in short order.

Mould size should not be a problem. All the .45 moulds that I have tried have cast at least .454 with WW. The biggest, a Lyman, casts about .458 but sized down easily enough.

My advice is to get in there and get started. By all means read up on casting, but getting pistol bullets good enough for CAS ain't the arcane art many want to make it.