Bullet casting supplier

if your looking for all new lee stuff titan has mostly everything in stock, at least for the pots and most molds. sizers, etc.
 
I sent Lee a question as to their under sized molds in the lighter weight bullets. I'll see what they say. If it doesn't make sense to me I will most likely go with the Lyman mold. I do like their 292 gr bullet mold sized at .458 It would save me having to resize them and I think that mold is Micro grooved so that would be easy lubing. I think I may have found a source for Antimony and Tin http://www.rotometals.com/Antimony-s/1.htm I'm waitng to hear from Henry at Budget Shooter tomorrow I hope.
 
Shipping from Rotometals was $$$ when i checked it out. For small scale / personal casting look at buying some solder locally instead. It's pricey but was still cheaper than Rotometals shipping when i checked it.

If you have WW you don't need a lot of tin or anitmony to make good rifle bullets but you might/will need a bit if you are going to be shooting at a velocity over 1500 fps. I add some linotype and heat treat the bullets to bring hardness from 13-14 BHN up to approx 20 BHN. Heat treated bullets made from medium hard alloy are tougher and less brittle than bullets made from a hard alloy. One of my customers has used my 405 gr 45-70 bullet at over 2000 fps in a GG with no leading and excellent penetration on pine boards. Those bullets were cast at 13-14 BHN hardness and heat treated to 19-20 BHN.
 
got to go said:
I just got about 100# or 5 gal. pail of WW for $30 from a local Tire Shop. Maybe a bit much but that will last me a Loooooong time. Mostly lead, not much zinc or steel. Where does one get antimony from. I also have about 10# pure lead that needs to be mixed. I need to find a source of tin that can be measured too.
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Home hardware .. Lead free solder ( tin) .. Easy buy .. Not backordered. ... Easy to measure
 
For moulds I've mostly switched from Lee to either NOE or Accurate Molds. You can Google either one and find their sites.

The moulds, even if still aluminum, are much better quality than Lee moulds. They produce more uniform bullets with crisper edges and with less rejects. Lee moulds are great for the price but NOE and Accurate are better quality (and higher priced).
The main reason I switched was because Accurate can cut moulds to whatever final dimension you want for no extra charge. I ordered a 170gr mould for .30-30 but since mine is a Marlin with Micro Groove rifling it needed to be a couple thou larger than the normal .309" for .30 cal cast. Had it cut to .311" and specified WW alloy and they mic .3110" to .3115" as cast.

If you slug the bore of a modern .45-70 they usually measure .457". Sizing a cast bullet to .457" is still "undersize" for a cast bullet since you want 1-2 thou over the slug but it isn't as undersized as some may think. I used some 600 grit wet/dry sand paper on a dowel in a cordless drill and opened up my .430" sizer to .431" for 44 mag. Could do the same with a .457". I would probably just go to a machining supply shop and get a .459" reamer and ream it out.
 
I've watched some Utube videos of casting and wondered which is better. Dropping from cast into water or heating to 400* in a old toaster oven. NO Lead Solder is interesting ,but what is it alloyed with ?
jethunter said:
Shipping from Rotometals was $$$ when i checked it out. For small scale / personal casting look at buying some solder locally instead. It's pricey but was still cheaper than Rotometals shipping when i checked it.

If you have WW you don't need a lot of tin or anitmony to make good rifle bullets but you might/will need a bit if you are going to be shooting at a velocity over 1500 fps. I add some linotype and heat treat the bullets to bring hardness from 13-14 BHN up to approx 20 BHN. Heat treated bullets made from medium hard alloy are tougher and less brittle than bullets made from a hard alloy. One of my customers has used my 405 gr 45-70 bullet at over 2000 fps in a GG with no leading and excellent penetration on pine boards. Those bullets were cast at 13-14 BHN hardness and heat treated to 19-20 BHN.
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My water dropped bullets went to 16-17 BHN with this alloy while the same bullet heated 1 hour at 420F and then dropped directly into cool water goes 19-20 BHN after 48 hrs. Results depend on the alloy mix you are using. Temperature control is everything - too hot and the bullets start to sag or they get too hard; too cold and you don't get any hardening at all. I use an oven thermometer to get the oven at the right temp, the dial calibration on the stove i use is off by over 40F. My first attempts were hit and miss until i started using the oven thermometer.
 
Lead free solder is typically 90+% tin. I recently got 1 50lbs of pure lead and bought 6lbs of 95/5 (95% tin and 5% antimony) I ended up going with 25lbs of pure lead, 1lb of 95/5 and 4 lbs of mixed lead I had before but don't know what alloy it is. I haven't used it yet but it should be good enough for most of my pistol loads. I always water drop too.

If you have a trane supplier (hvac) see if they will let you buy it from them I got the 1lb rolls for $11 each. Home Depot wants $30.
 
Good to know. I spent the afternoon going through a 5 gal pail of WW. I noticed a LOT of stick on weights. I've read that they are, or are almost pure lead. Should I keep them separate and alloy them later or just chuckem all together ?
 
got to go said:
Good to know. I spent the afternoon going through a 5 gal pail of WW. I noticed a LOT of stick on weights. I've read that they are, or are almost pure lead. Should I keep them separate and alloy them later or just chuckem all together ?
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If you're making rifle bullets then leave out the stick on weights. They will water down your antimony and tin.
 
I've been getting my stuff from FS Reloading, on the internet. Even with fairly hefty shipping and duty charges, nobody in Canada (that I know of) can match them for pricing.

I'd stay away from classic bullet sizers and go with the Lee sizing method, and/or molds that throw bullets that can be tumble lubed and shot as cast.

I foolishly spent about $450 on a new 4500 lubrisizer with heater and about four sets of sizers and top punches and found it to basically be a waste, and a bit of a slow PITA to size with. I don't think I've even done 100 bullets with it in the year I have had it. Probablty the worst allocation of shooting/reloading funds I ever made in my life. Other guys have reported the same thing, FYI....
 
Northman999 said:
I've been getting my stuff from FS Reloading, on the internet. Even with fairly hefty shipping and duty charges, nobody in Canada (that I know of) can match them for pricing.

I'd stay away from classic bullet sizers and go with the Lee sizing method, and/or molds that throw bullets that can be tumble lubed and shot as cast.

I foolishly spent about $450 on a new 4500 lubrisizer with heater and about four sets of sizers and top punches and found it to basically be a waste, and a bit of a slow PITA to size with. I don't think I've even done 100 bullets with it in the year I have had it. Probablty the worst allocation of shooting/reloading funds I ever made in my life. Other guys have reported the same thing, FYI....
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I spent the same and have sized several thousand. It is slow, but it gives a much ###ier bullet. But tumble lube does work and it was how i got started.
 
I have 3 lyman lubesizers: 2x 450 models and 1x 4500 model. I paid $110 each for the 450s on ebay and $190 shipped for the 4500 new. :)

On non-checked bullets i can do 300 bullets per hour and 400 bullets per hour is do-able but not sustainable. Casting and sizing 1000 bullets per day is more effort than I need. I'm looking for a Star lubesizer sometime in the future.
 
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You are getting good advise here, but you really should get a book on the subject. A lot of stuff on youtube is way off. Lyman cast bullet handbook is a good one.
 
Higginsons powder has most of the Lee molds available. I just ordered 3 more from them. That puts me at 27 bullet molds. 5 in 45/70 cal. happy casting
 
I buy lead and tin from Purity Casting Alloys Ltd in Surrey BC. They also have antimony and can tell you how to make an alloy with it. Another source of antimony is shotgun shot. For 45-70 bullets straight clip on wheel weights work fine or 1/20 tin lead alloy at trapdoor pressures and velocities. I have two bullet molds and my 1895 Marlin likes the two cavity Lee best. The lesson learned was that if you start with a Lee and your rifle doesn't like you are only out about $30 whereas custom molds usually cost over $100.00
 
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