Boolit Casting Equipment and Info

[wags68]

First of all, thank you to M.O.A. and Oneshot for getting me thinking about casting boolits.

I wanted to make a dedicated thread for info on what kind of equipment setup everyone uses for casting and any general information to offer up about casting. Lets see the posts fly in!

Cheers,
Dave

 

[M.O.A.]

Simple and cheap to start with. Lee precision will let you order direct from the factory online. A 2 cavity mold like a 175-TC, a sizing die in .401, a cast iron pot of good quality 5$ at the flea market , a small soup ladle and a fish cooker. All this for less than 60$. If ya like it...well its kinda like heroin. Lol

 

[M.O.A.]

Set up like this simple and portable with a lee loader and you could cast boolits over a campfire with lead scavenged from wheel weights if needed. Now that by golly is " off the grid "

 

[shootnstarz]

Watch out now, you'll have Dave sneaking through the Wally World parking lot with a pair of weight pliers stealing wheel weights off cars !!!!!

Rick

 

[wags68]

Lol! In full camouflage, darting between shopping carts...

Cheers,
Dave

 

[JohnAL]

Yard sale cast iron skillet and a turkey fryer burner is what I use for large scale like melting down wheel weights to usable ingots or making large sinkers. An electric pot with the bottom pour spout makes life easier when pouring bullets or jig heads.

 

[wags68]

Looking at the following casting setup for casting 40 S&W:

Lee 6-Cavity Bullet Mold 401-175-TC 40 S&W (401 Diameter) 175 Grain Truncated Cone ($40)
Lee Commercial Bullet Mold Handles for 6-Cavity Lee Bullet Molds ($13)
Lee Pro 4 20 Lb Furnace 110 Volt ($64)
Lee Bullet Lube and Size Kit 401 Diameter ($19)

Figure I'd spend the money up front and learn on that while I grow into it.

Any recommendations/tweaks? Anything I'm missing?

 

[Richard J.]

It is up to you but I dont like the large cavitiy molds. They heat up way to fast then you have to let them cool down. Found out thru trial and error that a two cavaity mold will work best for continious use. Just my opinoin. Been doing this since I was little. If you cast rifle bullets make sure you get a good gas check. There are some real junk ones out there.Dont skimp on these. Big pot to break lead down to ingots and electric pot and you are good to go. Dont need electric pot but it sure makes it nice.

RJ

 

[Richard J.]

If you plan on making rifle bullets you will want to mix your lead in large batches to make ingots. Also mark these ingots so you dont get them mixed up with others. These wil come out more uniform when casting. Also the temp of your lead and mold will affect your bullet weight. If just for pistol is doesnt make much difference but for longer range work after sizing you will want to group in weights. You can get very accurate ammo doing this.

RJ

 

[wags68]

Richard,

Great info! Didn't think about the overheating problem. I might just go ahead with teh 2 cavity mold.

 

[oneshot]

This all very good info. But let me add don;t try and move the the big pan of hot lead,Just give a bunch of range pick up to a friend that was wearing shorts and tinnis shoes and try to move a pot of hot lead spilled it in to his shoe. Very bad scene. Just my 100 cent jj

 

[JohnAL]

All good tips. You will learn more by trial and (lots) of error.

Don't forget about steam explosions either. NEVER EVER dump anything cold or damp into molten lead, including a ladle or dipper. Wheel weights is what will get you for sure. They will trap moisture and all you have to do is submerge one damp one in the pot to find yourself covered with molten lead splatter.

Two 2 cavity molds are better than a 4 or 6 like RJ said. Alternating keeps them hot enough to get sharp edges on the bullets but not so hot that the bullets look frosty. Frosty looking bullets are no good.

 

[bkitzel250]

My buddy and I pour jig heads every spring and wasn't aware of the moisture issue and there was literally ONE drop of water in the mold, when I poured the lead it all went in then popped and it sprayed us both in the face. No serious injuries and we were wearing glasses but damn I did learn a valuable lesson that day.

 

[snpmorgan]

This is great reading. I'm just getting into casting as well. Glad to find some guys to tell me what I've done wrong soon...

 

[JohnAL]

No serious injuries and we were wearing glasses but damn I did learn a valuable lesson that day.

Yep. I ruined a $400 pair of eyeglasses with plastic lenses. A big glob of lead melted into the lens. There is still a bunch of lead spatter stuck to the vinyl soffit under the eave of the house.

 

[M.O.A.]

Safety is priority #1. Cotton long sleeve shirt, gloves, glasses and a well ventilated area. I don't ever add lead to the pot after its melted and preheating the mold removes moisture.

 

[snpmorgan]

Holy crap. That ain't no joke! Reminds me of the frozen turkey in turkey fryer deal from mythbusters. Great, now I'm hungry....

 

[Richard J.]

I had a 100 lb pot melted to make ingots and some friends of mine showed up in the garage. All pretty drunk and drinking beer. Well Ralph leaned over the pot to look at it with a beer in his hand. One empty pot and everyone covered in lead. Lots of burns and cloths that will never be used again. From then on, no one and I mean no one was allowed aroung the big pot. Wants everything are in ingot forms then it is on to the electric pot. I was young and dumb back then and didnt know that liquid in any form would empty the pot. It was funny afterwards how fast my friends got sober. Three of them had to buy new glasses. I always wore a welding apron and gloves with saftey glasses, so I was saved. The others not so much.

RJ

 

[JohnAL]

Yep. Long cuff leather welding gloves saved my hands.

 

[wags68]

Man, I hope I never have any of these "safety stories" to tell... pretty important stuff!