Newbie: Casting my own

Boomer686

Boomer686

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I am strongly considering casting my own pistol rounds: .40, .45ACP, .44, .357

I know that lead can be easily obtained using wheel weights but what else should be added to form a good alloy? Tin? Zinc?

What's a good (read: cheap) source for the aditional metals required to produce a sufficiently hard bullet acceptable for relaoding?
Anything else to look out for (beisdes lead poisoning :runaway:)

Regards,
 
Welcome to the Dark Side!!! Well almost...

Casting can be cool if you don't mind going through the learning curve with bad bullets your first few pours. Just follow the advice given by many posters here and you can't go wrong. The hardest part is trying to get the right load, lead alloy and lube combo to get no leading in your gun with the desired groupings. Once you get it, then you're set for life with cheap practice bullets.:)

I just hope you have a connection to get the WW's. Almost every tire shop who doesn't do the "Licensed Recycler" thing already has guys buying or taking all of their used WW's already. You might have to get in line and take what's left.

Only thing other that lead exposure to be concerned with is burns. Be careful where you smelt and cast. Even the smallest ddrop of sweat into the pot will "explode" lead everywhere. Also smaller burns from lead splatter from drips and such. Just follow the advice of experienced casters and be careful and take safety precautions and you'll be fine. We all got small burns and such at one time or another. It happens and we all survived to help you new casters out. :)

Also, do not wear loose clothing or foot wear. A dropped bullet can miss the bucket and get inside your shoes/boots. As any mechanic who ever did an exhaust with loose safety boots getting even a small piece of motlen metal inside their boots. even it it's hot outside, tie 'em up as high and as tight as possible while around the hot lead.
 
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Keep Zinc away from your alloy, It will contaminate your lead.

Best alloys to get is Linotype (printing press) babbet bearing, both are high in antimony, plus you'll need some pure tin.
92% lead, 5% antimony and 3% tin is about what lyman #2 alloy is, It's good for both pistol and rifle loads.

Casting is a great hobby!

Have fun....
 
You've got great advice so far but I just wanted to add that you should NEVER go anywhere near your pot without saftey glasses on.I've had a drop of sweat drip off my hand when I was adding some sprues back into the pot.It was a butt clenching experience that luckily didn't burn my hand too badly but right smack in the middle of one side of my glasses was a splat of lead that surely would have caused me major problems if not blindness in that eye.On the good side you can load a 50 box of 9mm.'s for under three bucks and .44 mags.for under five.Yee Ha, can I have a good time for under fifteen bucks or what? Nobody is ever great the first time they cast, but a bit of time and effort will have you shooting straight with your own bullets before you know it.
 
I do not cast my bullets but years ago I bought some 45 heads made from lead reclaimed from backstops. At least that is what I was told by the seller.

If this can be done , considering how much lead a backstop would have, is this a good source ??
 
Backstops can be a good source of lead, but you have little idea of the composition of the alloy. Some backstops designed for 22 rim fire funneled the fired bullets around metal baffles and they ended up in a heap. This was good for retreiving them, but 22 rim fire bullets are too soft for making larger bullets, without adding tin and/or antimony to them. The same applies to the lead core of most jacketed bullets.
 
For the calibers mentioned you need not add anything to your WW alloy. I water cool my bullets using a bucket off to the right of my pot. My set up prevents water from ever coming near my casting pot. Water cooling from the mold hardens the bullets substantially. Like someone already said get hold of Lyman's Cast Book Handbook. You might also want to go to the Cast Bullet forum (http://castboolits.gunloads.com). Great bunch of guys there who will be more than willing to help out.

The formula for Felix LUbe is posted there. I use it in all my pistol and rifle applications. I seldom get any sign of leading using it. Avoid hard lubes. Great for shipping bullets but not so good for shooting IMHO.

Take Care

Bob
 
Boomer686 said:
I am strongly considering casting my own pistol rounds: .40, .45ACP, .44, .357

I know that lead can be easily obtained using wheel weights but what else should be added to form a good alloy? Tin? Zinc?

What's a good (read: cheap) source for the aditional metals required to produce a sufficiently hard bullet acceptable for relaoding?
Anything else to look out for (beisdes lead poisoning :runaway:)

Regards,
Click to expand...


1-2% tin for mold fill out..........No zinc...Some WW's are zinc now, you do not want...Pistol velocities are easily done just with WW's and the tin for fill out
 
Boomer686 said:
What about swaging or the need to resize the cast bullets?
Click to expand...

I have two lubrisizers, a RCBS and a Lyman 450, both are good presses, They size, lube and crimp on a gas check(if your bullet requires one) all in one operation.

I use a soft lube 50/50 beeswax/alox for pistol and jakes red for rifle (hard lube).

No leading from either one, both sizers use the same sizing dies(H&N or RCBS) and top punches.

I also like using Iron moulds as they hold thier temperture better, making your bullets more consistant.

Lots to learn, but once you catch on, you'll be making accurate quality bullets in no time at all.
 
Boomer686 You have got good advice here. I have casted all the bullets you are thinking about casting, and it is a great hobby. You can make a decent round for your 686 as well. But to keep it simple , wheel weights and lead less soldier (tin) will make all the bullets you will ever need. 1in10 is a great mix. If you need anything I have it all and may want to get out of it all together. My interests have changed. just PM me and we will talk.
 
First off, all wheel weights today are not zinc. There are a few mixed in there, and most come off of higher end European cars. 99 to 99.5% of the wheel weight lead you're going to get out of a typical garage is going to be lead. Keep your melting pot temp at just above the temp that lead melts at, and you can skim the zinc ones off without too much trouble.

I've been using straight wheel weights with absolutely nothing added, and they're fine. I drop my hot bullets out of the mold into a 5 gallon bucket of cold water. I compared commercially made lead bullets to my home made ones using "the acid test".

The acid test consisted of firing them into a lined up row of empty 45 gallon drums. The commercial bullets only went through two. My wheel weight bullets went into the third, and a good amount of the slug was still intact.

I shoot wheel weight lead in my 300 win mag (with greatly reduced load of course), my 44 mag revolver, my 30-30 rifle, and my 45 ACP 1911 pistol. No barrel leading problems at all. If you're going to shoot rifle, I'd suggest you use gas checks like I do.


I should note that once my molds are up to temp, I don't have any problems with filling out the mold.....no tin or otherwise added.
 
I shoot wheel weights with no added tin, in 44-40 (rifle) 44 Mag (rifle) 45-70, and 30-30.
I have no leading issues, and no problems with molds not filling out either.
I've used straight lead in 44-40 with no issues as well.
 
John Y Cannuck said:
I shoot wheel weights with no added tin, in 44-40 (rifle) 44 Mag (rifle) 45-70, and 30-30.
I have no leading issues, and no problems with molds not filling out either.
I've used straight lead in 44-40 with no issues as well.
Click to expand...

tin isnt much of an issue, ecspecially with a broken in mold running good and hot. just sometimes if the mold has a very thin band to fill, a hollow point or you need an extra .001" or so
 
Wow.. keep it comin guys. This is great help!

I was reading to about skimming several times at the ingot stage and agin at the casting stage. Is this necessary or is it just a matter of extra insurance in the quality of the cast?

Are the Lyman 1lb ingot molds woth getting or should I just use the giant muffin pans? Don't get me wrong guys... I'm not cheaping out. I just want to make sure I don't get unecessary items if locally obtained substitues will do.

Regards,
 
I have used Lyman molds and Lyman lub and sizer for a long time, with complete satisfaction. Tried an aluminum Lee mold, didn't like it. Tried the Lee tumble lube method and hated it. No more Lee for me. Hey, that even rhimes!
 
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