Restarting into casting?

[Mainehunter]

I have been thinking for some time now to get back into bullet casting but it's been 25 years or more since I did it with my dad. As a kid I remember casting and pan lubing 357 Mag bullets by the butches and sizing them in my dad’s custom dies that he built, they were similar to the LEE sizing dies. Unfortunately my older brother ended up with most of the casting stuff when my father passed away and he's not sharing.

So I want to start out small and work my way up slowly. I have collected some stuff such as a LEE melting pot, few hundred pounds of wheel weights and a ton or so of pure lead. At the moment I don't have any molds but I have been on Ranch Dogs website a few times and his operation looks similar the way I was taught. Just curious to know how his molds hold up? Looks like he's uses LEE products exclusively that doesn't bother me much I was thinking of going that route just to start. Any input?

Mainehunter

[BenT]

Most of my moulds are Lee with about 5 being from Ranchdog. The 6 cavity Lee moulds take a little technique so you don't break the sprue plate , Ranch Dog has good instuructions on his site and over on Marlin owners he has some good stickies under the casting section. I've stuck with Lee for the price and haven't had a problem and they stand behind their products. The type of bullet you want to shoot also dictates who you buy your mould from. I shoot leverguns so Ranch Dog moulds are usually spot on. If you use a 6 cavity mould a 20lb bottom pour pot is what you want.

I use my camp stove and old pots from Good Will to melt down wheel weights and put them into ingots.I cast most of my bullets in the spring. With a 6 cavity , a day of casting and I have enough bullets for the year.

Good Luck!

[Hobie]

castboolits.com

I cast, have cast, those bullets I can't get elsewhere or would be prohibitive in cost otherwise (such as HPs). It is a whole new hobby and can have commensurate expenses!

[jlchucker]

Catalogs that sell components list lots of gadgets and stuff that you might find nice to have, but you don't really need. Like any other handloading effort, there's lots of ways to spend your money. If you're just starting out, start with a good manual--like those produced by Lyman. From there, get a pair of work gloves and a face shield. Safety first! If you already handload, you may have good powders already on hand. You'll need a mold for the caliber that you may want to load with the boolits you make--and there are a myriad of shapes and sizes--from several manufactureres. Pick just one to start with. If you don't buy LEE 2-cavity molds first, you'll need mold handles. You'll need a pot to mold your alloy in, and a dipper to pour the melted lead into your mold. You'll need flux--and plain ol'paraffin wax works OK--at least for me. You'll need an old spoon to skim the crud (called dross) off the top of the melted lead in the pot. After you've cast some boolits, you'll need a way to lube and size them before loading them. Beyond this, it's mostly extras that you see advertised. I've cast several calibers for a few decades--both rifle and pistol--and have yet to buy a hardness tester or a thermometer. You can get along without both, but they're probably nice to have. Can't think of much else, but others will probably chime in.

Good luck.

[adirondakjack]

I think Lee six cav. molds are OK with some TLC to get em right. their 2 cav. molds suck. A GOOD iron or brass mold is an investment that will make you smile. If I needed a custom mold I'd use Brooks Molds. For stock stuff I like Lyman or RCBS.

[mikld]

I have about 9 or 10 molds now, 4 of them Lee, not counting my Ranch Dog mold. Lee products for casting have always served me well (Pro 4-20 pot, single and double cavity molds, and even Lee's ladle). My Ranch Dog mold has always worked well for me casting wheel weight alloy with a little pure lead (about 25%) and they shoot great from my .44 Puma (I shoot them in my other .44s, but my Ruger loves Lyman 429421 over a med load of WC820). I've had to "Comet hone" a couple molds, and lap one with valve compound to get the boolits to drop, but didn't have to "work over" the Lee stuff any more than the rest...

[Catshooter]

maine,

The web site Hobie posted for you is the place to start. That place will brush aside all false stuff we learned about casting when we were young. My casting now is so much easier and productive it's hard to believe it.

Just one example: fluxing. There are some serious chemists on that site and they have taught us that the old ways are not the way to go. Proper fluxing does two things: physically agitates the melt so that anything unwanted comes to the surface and by introducing a bit of carbon helps clean the melt. So the best way to flux is with a 1/2 inch or wood dowel. Rub in around the sides of the pot (all the way down to the bottom) and across the bottom. As you do that the dowel of course is carbonizing (burning), adding the carbon. Then you skim off the top of the melt and you're good to do.

I was taught that the little chunk of bullet lube I tossed in was keeping the lead and other metals alloyed, or they'd seperate. Couldn't be further from the truth. This way is cheaper and so much easier and works.

So yes, go to CastBoolits and read. You'll be glad you did.


Cat

[Griff]

The ONLY thing I cast pure lead for are my muzzleloading guns.. the balance get straight wheelweights or a mix of WW and linotype. My scrap dealer has told me not to expect any more linotype... seems I bought the last bucket he's seen about 8 years ago... so I'll bebuying custom alloys or learnin' that skillset.

There are differences in the techniques in using steel or aluminum blocks, along with 1, 2, 4 or 6 cavity molds. I never cast using just one mold, even my .520 & .526 single cavity RB molds get run as a duet. And they're sometimes joined with my 4-cavity .36 conical mold just to keep even temps in the molds; to me that's ½ the secret to getting good production and well cast boolits.

I started casting in the early '80s for that .53 cal. Hawken. There simply wasn't a commercial source for those sized RBs. While I prefer steel molds, I've participated in a couple of the group buys over @ http://www.castboolits.com for custom Lee molds. An outstanding resource for excellent information.

Rather'n buy new, sometimes you can find deals on EBay, etc. But, you do need to watch for worn-out equipment. In fact, my 2 most used molds need to be re-aligned, one's steel and the other is aluminum. Other'n sprue plates, worn alignment holes & pins are really the ONLY things that go wrong... unless they've been abused (dropped and the like). Pot, molds, welding gauntlets and a sprue knocker... and you're set... hundreds of poor bullets later, and you can call yourself an expert!

[Twodot]

So I want to start out small and work my way up slowly. I have collected some stuff such as a ..... few hundred pounds of wheel weights and a ton or so of pure lead.

I like the way you think!
2,500 pounds of lead alloy X fortyfour 158 grain .357 bullets to the pound =
110,760 bullets
That should keep you shooting (and casting and reloading) for a while

And yes, the Castboolits.com site is your friend.
..

[6pt-sika]

At the moment I don't have any molds but I have been on Ranch Dogs website a few times and his operation looks similar the way I was taught. Just curious to know how his molds hold up? Looks like he's uses LEE products exclusively that doesn't bother me much I was thinking of going that route just to start.

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to get in on just about all Ranch Dog's test molds and his designs have worked well for me in Marlin rifles as well as a few Winchester rifles belonging to friends .

His molds stand up well for me . Although the 6 cavity is a far superior product to the standard Lee 2 cavity . Now he only stocks 6 cavity molds I believe .

In the past I used his molds from 25 cal for the 25-20 up to the 45-70 and everything in between . Now I've scaled back and just use his .432 and .460 molds for the 44 MAG , 444 and 45-70 .

If you have a Marlin lever rifle I would be willing to bet RD has something to fill your bill !

[6pt-sika]

castboolits.com

While that website isn't bad and you can get what I would call semi custom molds very easily with a bit less expense . There's alot of BS on that forum and of course I get my barbs in also .

For me the better website is ,

castbulletassoc.org

they have a forum you can register for and use as well . You can also join the organization and get a semi monthly magazine called "The Fouling Shot" .

[Mainehunter]

Thanks for the replies fellas Over the years I have done some research, been lurking over at castboolits.com & castbulletsassoc.org from time to time always finding new info. I'm pretty impressed the way Ranch Dog has his website laid out, easy to understand and informative. I'm hoping soon (funds pending ) I could pick up a mold or two from Ranch Dog and get started.

Mainehunter

[6pt-sika]

Thanks for the replies fellas Over the years I have done some research, been lurking over at castboolits.com & castbulletsassoc.org from time to time always finding new info. I'm pretty impressed the way Ranch Dog has his website laid out, easy to understand and informative. I'm hoping soon (funds pending ) I could pick up a mold or two from Ranch Dog and get started.

Mainehunter

Might I ask which calibers you're wanting RD molds for ?

He has two new ones in the works that I am hoping I'll have test molds for when I return from Arkansas in early February !

He's got a 432-240GC and a 460-300GC in the works !

[shooter]

I have a bunch of molds, probably too many (if there is such a thing). It's one of the few things I have an abundance of, (unless of course you ask my wife, and she'll tell you I have an abundance of guns, powder, primers, etc.), but that's not true

Anyway, I have Lyman, RCBS, Lee, and a few custom molds. The Lee molds serve me just as well as any of the others, and I like them better in some ways. They come to temp faster and cool faster when they get hot. The cast iron molds tend to take a lot longer to get too hot, but they also take longer to come to temp and cool down. The iron ones are more durable than the aluminum Lee molds, but either will last you a good long while as long as you don't abuse them. Another advantage of aluminum is it doesn't rust. If you don't properly take care of a cast iron mold and leave it sitting you will very likely come back to a rusty mold. You can't beat Lee 6 cavity molds for fast production.

As far as the pot, I use a Lee Pro 4 - 20lb bottom pour. The good thing about the bottom pour is that after you flux the melt with a wooden dowel or some sawdust and scrape off the trash, you can put a good layer of sawdust on the top and leave it. This keeps oxygen away from the melt so it doesn't oxidize. I usually do this and when I have cast about 3/4 of my pot I will add more lead, flux and repeat. You can't use this procedure if using a ladle to cast, as you will be scooping trash every time.

Gotta be real careful about adding more lead to your pot also. Anything that has moisture on it that you put in your pot will result in an explosion and a face full of molten lead. If I add to the melt, I lay my ingots on top of the pot for several minutes to burn off any moisture that may be there.

[Ray Newman]

Can some one post a link to "Ranchdogs" web page?

I tried several Google searches using different spellings, but can not find what I am looking for.

[6pt-sika]

As far as the pot, I use a Lee Pro 4 - 20lb bottom pour. The good thing about the bottom pour is that after you flux the melt with a wooden dowel or some sawdust and scrape off the trash, you can put a good layer of sawdust on the top and leave it. This keeps oxygen away from the melt so it doesn't oxidize. I usually do this and when I have cast about 3/4 of my pot I will add more lead, flux and repeat.

I have a pot like yours but I use mine just for rendering wheelweights into ingots !

For actual casting I use a Lee 10-4 bottom pour pot !

Never tried the sawdust thing but it sounds like a decent idea . I usually flux with candle wax .

[Mainehunter]

Can some one post a link to "Ranchdogs" web page?

I tried several Google searches using different spellings, but can not find what I am looking for.

Here you go : http://www.ranchdogoutdoors.com/

Mainehunter

[Mainehunter]

Thanks for the replies fellas Over the years I have done some research, been lurking over at castboolits.com & castbulletsassoc.org from time to time always finding new info. I'm pretty impressed the way Ranch Dog has his website laid out, easy to understand and informative. I'm hoping soon (funds pending ) I could pick up a mold or two from Ranch Dog and get started.

Mainehunter

Might I ask which calibers you're wanting RD molds for ?

He has two new ones in the works that I am hoping I'll have test molds for when I return from Arkansas in early February !

He's got a 432-240GC and a 460-300GC in the works !

I'm thinking two molds to start: TLC359-190-FN for my 356 Winchester & TLC379-235-RF for my Savage 99 375 Winchester.

Mainehunter

[6pt-sika]

Thanks for the replies fellas Over the years I have done some research, been lurking over at castboolits.com & castbulletsassoc.org from time to time always finding new info. I'm pretty impressed the way Ranch Dog has his website laid out, easy to understand and informative. I'm hoping soon (funds pending ) I could pick up a mold or two from Ranch Dog and get started.

Mainehunter

Might I ask which calibers you're wanting RD molds for ?

He has two new ones in the works that I am hoping I'll have test molds for when I return from Arkansas in early February !

He's got a 432-240GC and a 460-300GC in the works !

I'm thinking two molds to start: TLC359-190-FN for my 356 Winchester & TLC379-235-RF for my Savage 99 375 Winchester.

Mainehunter

Before the RD 359-190GC hit the market RD had tried a 359-180GC and that one shot some awesome groups in a Marlin 336ER in 356 WIN I used to have . He dropped the 359-180GC because it didn't do so well in the 35 REM . When he brought the 359=190GC out it shot great in my Marlin 336SC and 336D in 35 REM and it took a little while to get it going well in the 356 .

Was kinda the same story with the 379-235GC . He first tried out a 379-210GC that I used successfully to kill a deer or two . But the 379-235GC worked very nicely and very quickly in the Marlin 375 I shot both bullets in !

I no longer own a 35 REM , 356 WIN , 38-55 or 375 WIN . But I can say this I had decent or better luck with all the molds he made in those two diameters !

[Ray Newman]

MaineHunter: thanks and a "tip of the Hatlo hat"....

[pokey]

So I want to start out small and work my way up slowly.

you said the magic words.

here's my redneck boolit factory.

P3060381.JPG

[LeverBob]

MH...glad to here you're returning to the casting bench. It's a most rewarding avocation, believe me. You're wise to start small & work your way up again. Shows wisdom in my book. The boys here are all good guys to ride the river with, battle buddies too.

Well...get on with it pard!

Can't wait to see the first ones....

LB

[Mainehunter]

So I want to start out small and work my way up slowly.

you said the magic words.

here's my redneck boolit factory.

P3060381.JPG

Hey Pokey I like that set up and the sign on the propane tank is priceless Looking at the picture I noticed that your livestock are keeping their distance form the setup. What, they don't like casting?

Mainehunter

[Mainehunter]

The other place I have been hanging out for casting info is: http://www.lasc.us/castbulletnotes.htm. I'm sure most of you know it but what caught my eye awhile back was the intro on ROTO Metals Super Hard Alloy. From the articles there I could use up some of my stashed pure lead to make Lyman #2, Hardball or close to WW. Just curious if anybody here has used any of the newer alloy, super hard that is?

Mainehunter