bullet casting questions

[Dans40X]

bheadboy,
I concur with your philosophy

A 4 or 6 cavity mold actually takes a secondary heat source to keep up to temp.

OP-
Purchase a couple Lee 2 cavity molds as the aluminum pre heats faster than a cast iron mold.
The cost of a Lee 2 cavity mold are equivalent to the cost of other manufacturers handles & are included w/ the Lee molds.
Lee TL(tumble lube) will get you up & running in no time.
I'd suggest sizing all projectiles.

I have a tumble lube recipe that is simple & works well & only takes a few minutes to prepare.

Don't forget the synthetic 2 stroke pre-mix oil as mentioned in the PM's.

 

[XTR]

To start with I knew I was going to be casting 535s for my BPCR so I got a Wage pot and a ladle. I've got a custom 2 chamber 400gPP mold and a 535 gr money bullet mould. My biggest problem is keeping my casting speed down so the moulds don't over heat.

 

[Rpbump]

+1 on the Wage pot. I use a Harbor Freight digital temperture unit to monitor the melt temp. After you start casting you will find a rythem that allows you to cast bullets that weigh + or - less than one grain of each other ( very important to BPCR shooter much less important to pistol shooter), Read the Lyman manual on cast bullet loading as it is full of great information. I wear a plastic face shield when casting as even a drop of sweat into molten lead throws hot lead in every direction.

Rpbump

 

[wapiti25]

you will need a thermometer also, your metal needs to be at the proper temp not too hot or too cold.

 

[bobcat93]

I picked up a 20lb. Lee oven, and Lyman 1# ingot mold and have just been making pure lead ingots for now. Some of the lead sheeting has paper stuck on one side of it..what a stinky mess..I'm doing it in my garage, and have a fan rith next to the lead oven, all the smoke blows right out the door..nice and 99% smoke free in the garage.. I think it will end up being about 320- 350lbs of lead ingots..quite a lot of lead.. I will sell some off..I might sell for 1.45$ per lb...sounds about right to me..

 

[nicholst55]

The dangers of lead fumes, at the temperature(s) involved in casting bullets, are overstated. You have to get the lead up to significantly higher than normal casting temperature to vaporize it. The primary danger of non-molten lead comes from ingesting it. Don't eat, drink, pick your nose, etc. after handling lead with your bare hands until you thoroughly wash them. Many wear nitrile gloves when handling lead. Observe simple precautions and you'll be just fine.

Many casters have their doctors check their lead blood content when they have their annual physical. As long as you don't eat lead, you'll be fine. Your case tumbler is probably a bigger threat as far as lead contamination goes than casting bullets is.

 

[XTR]

The biggest danger is a visit from the Tinsel Fairy.

 

[bobcat93]

Great info here guys!..
Well all my lead has been finally cast into pure clean, lead ingots.. I ended up with 372lbs of lead..lol..its a lot for me. And I put that little Lee 4-20 pot to the test. It works great.
The only problem I had was the bottom pour spout would cool and clog up. So I kept my plumbing torch handy, a blast from it would get the spout running in no time...now my pot looks like its 40yrs. Old..but works great..no drippy spout problem , as mentioned in reviews. Thank you Lee.
I did all my smelting on the garage on a table with a fan drawing all the smoke out the overhead door. A lot of the lead had drywall backing stuck to it..talk about a stinky mess.. A lot of people walk in the evenings in my neighborhood, when passing my house all the dogs would stop and bark at the smoke coming from my garage.. Lol..
I see why a turkey fryer and a dutch oven would have been better. I could have done a lot of lead at once, and poured it into the molds. I found out you get much nicer looking ingots that way..all nice and smooth. The bottom pour pot makes the ingots look like a bunch of layers because the lead cools so quickly. ..but its done.
I was going to invest in some nice molds, but maybe I'll get the Lee's..

 

[gary0529]

As previously posted, go to either CastBoolits or Cast Bullets Association (2 different sites) for much better info than you are going to get elsewhere. Yes they are hardcore casters but you will get much more accurate and less prejudiced "information"
Go slow, buy what you need to do the job and be careful-if you keep temps in the 700 to 750 range you will NOT vaporize lead into fume that are dangerous-the flux may drive you out of a poorly vented room however.
Be more afraid of shooting at an indoors range or sifting the dry media from your tumbler than casting in regards to lead absorption.
Have my blood tested for lead and heavy metals yearly and never show any elevation despite a whole lot of casting.

Anyway, enjoy

Gary