Looking for a casting mentor in NW FL

[cookvette81]

I've almost got everything I need to start casting my own bullets but before I make my final purchase of a sizer luber and start melting down my ingots I'd like to sit and watch or help someone with casting one afternoon. So if there's anyone in Santa Rosa/Escambia county/lower AL that wouldn't mind a little company on your casting session please let me know.

Thanks guys,

Caleb


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[jakec]

next time i go to cast ill let you know. im hoping itll be this weekend sometime. im far from an expert and only been doing it about a year. but i do love casting. you might not need a sizer it depends on what your gun likes and what your boolits drop at. check out castboolits.gunloads.com. theres tons of good casting info on there. i usually do my casting late at night or early in the morning before or after the kids are down. -jake

 

[cookvette81]

Cast boolits is a great resource and it was actually a guy from there that suggested I try find someone local to sit with before I made any more purchases toward casting. This weekend I'll be at the driving range for my police academy class, but I'll be free next weekend. Just let me know when and I'll try my best to join ya

Caleb

 

[jakec]

oh hell a cop! thatll be a first. the police have been to my house but i didnt exactly invite them! next week will work better for me too so ill just wait till then. -jake

 

[cookvette81]

oh hell a cop! thatll be a first. the police have been to my house but i didnt exactly invite them! next week will work better for me too so ill just wait till then. -jake

Hahaha lol yeah I'm a little piggy in training lol.

I'll get in touch with you via pm when it gets a little closer.

Have a good weekend

Caleb

 

[Snow Bird]

Driving Class, I like the old burner with the 460 head. Oh shit you are talking about driving a car and not a golf club. Good luck with casting. It does sound like a fun thing to take up.

 

[cookvette81]

So I'd like to thank jakec for showing the ropes this weekend on casting my first bullets. We had a good time hanging out and I am def hooked. I made a few more tonight and I can see improvements already. I ran the pot a little hotter by accident due to not having a thermometer but I think it worked for the better. No wrinkles no frosting, just perfectly filled out bullets with a purty little shine to em.

Can't thank you enough for taking the time to babysit me. Let me know if there's anything I can do in return

 

[Ric-san]

Caleb...what lead casting pot did you go with and how many cavity mold...? I have cast with my neighbor and he has both the 2 bullet mold and for mass production the 6 cavity molds...

 

[cookvette81]

I have the lee 4-20 pot and a lee 6 cavity mold. I'll be ordering a new mold for the 45 soon, the ones I've made so far are 40's

 

[Droshki]

Just out of curiosity, what is the realistic production rate someone can attain casting their own bullets? 30/hour? More? Please factor in at least some setup+ clean up times...

 

[jakec]

no problem Caleb i had a good time man your welcome anytime. those look great! i ran the mold i got from you later that night and it did just as good as the .40 mold. it wasnt near as fast with the ladle though. im looking for a lee 4-20 now!
Droshki with the bottom pour pot and a lee 6 hole mold you can pour a lot of bullets in an hour, including setup. it takes about 20-30 min to get the lead melted at first but after that you can go pretty fast. i bet you could pour 200 in an hour counting the 30 min warm up. prob more.

 

[cookvette81]

Jake, we did about 350 when you were helping me the other day

 

[jakec]

holy crap!! and we werent anywhere near production mode! you could really pile them up if you got serious about it.

 

[Droshki]

Ok thanks. I always figured it wasn't worth the time. Guess I was wrong. Now there is no easy way to plate them or anything, right? How real is a concern of "lead fouling" a barrel?

 

[jakec]

no way i know of to plate them at home. if you dont have your bullets sized and/or lubed right they can lead bad. theres a few different ways to lube them- powder coat, hi tec coat (thats what i do), hard lube, tumble lube, etc. i havent had much problem with leading and i think its mostly due to the coating. when i do get leading i just shoot a few jacketed rounds to clean it out. some people say not to do that but i always have. i think the leading would have to be pretty dang bad to cause a problem with pressures.

 

[bohica793]

Bullet sizing is everything. A properly sized bullet reasonably lubed will not lead a barrel. As to shooting jacketed, I think copper fouling is far worse to clean than leading.

 

[Ric-san]

Jake...so you are set up for a regular non bottom pour unit...??? I m debating weather to use that style w/laddle myself, what is your set up and production rate...? thanks

Rick

 

[jakec]

yea i just got an old pot from the kitchen and use it over a burner. also got an old big stainless spoon and bent a spout in it and pour with that. ive never counted them or anything but it goes a lot faster than i thought it would. ill take note next time i pour some and let you know for sure.

 

[bohica793]

We gotta get you a real bottom pour pot to work with instead of going all medieval.

 

[shootnstarz]

Jake...so you are set up for a regular non bottom pour unit...??? I m debating weather to use that style w/laddle myself, what is your set up and production rate...? thanks

Rick

Yes, by all means get a bottom pour furnace, one that has enough room underneath to get your molds in and out easily. When I get going I actually have used two furnaces at once so I can keep on making bullets while the other is melting. Using a bottom pour you can fill the mold in one quick step instead of pauses while you refill the ladle. That's how you get wrinkles, stopping mid-pour and starting again.

I also dump my bullets from the mold into a bucket of cold water to quinch them, makes them a little harder.

Rick