Bullet casters help

[gixxer822]

Thinking about casting my own pistol bullets to start to see if I even like it. Was looking at the lee molds , tumble lube version but I've heard the step on the first micro groove can cause jamming. So I was wanting to go with the traditional lube groove and then dip them in alox so I don't get the nose sticky. Instead of tumble lubing and making the whole bullet sticky. I was going to size em with the lee sizer then hit em with a very light coat again.
I don't want to spend the money on a star or a lube sizer yet. Only other alternative was pan lube. Any experience, ideas or opinions. Thanks guys.

 

[kraigWY]

I cast and load tons of pistol/revolver bullets every year, been doing it since the early 70s. I tried every thing imaginable. Now I keep it simple, and it works better.

First, you don't need hard cast bullets, even for magnum bullets pushed to the 13-1400 fps velocities. You don't need gas checks, (except on some rifle bullets). You don't need special "tumble lube" bullets. Some bullets need to be resized, Some don't, depending on the mold and gun. Most of my pistol bullets don't get resized.

I have two luber sizers, a Star and a RCBS. Seldom do I use them on pistol bullets. I do have some Lee Sizers (individual per bullet.

Having said that, this is what works best for my. I cast the bullets, when they cool I put them in a plastic container (those large handy wife plastic boxes work great). Then I warm the lube a tad (letting the Lee tumble lube set in hot water a minute or two). I squirt the lube on the bullets and shake the crap out of them. Don't pour a lot in, just a squirt. If you have to add another squirt as you shake the bullets no biggie. Don't get too much on. You just want the bullets barely covered, giving them a brown tint.

Put wax paper (or butcher wrap) on the table and spread the bullets on the paper allowing them to dry over night. Now their not sticky. Maybe a tad tacky depending on the room temp.

Your now ready to load. Lee tumble lube is excellent, you don't get much leading, a simple normal cleaning after a shooting session will cure what you have.

The normal lube used in sizers gum up the seating die quite a bit more then the Lee tumble lube.

You don't need a lot, you just want a fine coating. Don't worry about the tips being coating, it doesn't hurt anything.

This system works for accuracy, I use it in my Model 52 S&W Wad Cutter gun, if that gun shoots them, they are accurate.

 

[FN in MT]

I guess I'd ask a few questions first.

First and foremost....Do You have ANY access at all to lead or wheel weights, hopefully for free or very cheap?
Do You have a garage, or shed where you can smelt down scrap into alloy and/or use for the actual casting?

If you have to buy EVERYTHING from the start, Have no SAFE place to smelt and cast....as well as have no access to free or cheap lead...I'd suggest simply buying bulk cast slugs.

Before I go into a long "How to do it" or drone on about what worked for me, etc.... Go to... CastBoolits.com, Cast Boolits Simply THE BEST bullet casting forum on the net. check out the stickies. There are several on starting out, SAFETY, what to buy, what not to, etc.

I cast 160# of pistol slugs this past winter. I am just finishing lubing/sizing them on my STAR. I've been casting since I was a kid, but times have changed, some of it for the good, but some bad. Lead used to be free or cheap. Not any more.
Many of the great mold makers are either out of business, like H&G, or the QUALITY of others have dropped terribly...like Lyman. BUT...small mold makers using CAD/CAM are building WONDERFUL molds that are affordable and available in ANY configuration you desire.

I smelt my range lead and WW's on a propane plumbers pot that holds 100 pounds + of alloy. I'm still using lead I got free or for almost nothing years back. I just started buying bar TIN to add to my alloy.
I use everything from 1# Lyman ingot molds to a custom 10# ingot mold to cast mu ingots. An ingot mold can be as simple as a cast iron MUFFIN PAN..one of my favorites...casts a round 5# ingot.

I cast with a WAAGE electric pot and hand pour with a small ROWELL ladle. I have several OLDER Lyman 4 cavity molds as well as a dozen 2-8 cavity Customs from a variety of makers. I lube and size on a STAR press.

FWIW and this will draw all sorts of ire...I'm not a fan of most LEE casting gear. It's built as cheaply as possible. I fond that there is FAR better molds, furnaces, sizers out there than LEE.

Good Luck,

FN in MT

 

[gixxer822]

Tht makes sense I see a lot of ppl lube the shit outta them. What about the micro grooves? Are they decent or do you prefer the traditional lube ring. I know it'll be firearms specific but I'd like to start with what others have had luck with first. I was looking at rotometals.com and they had different ingots. Do you add tin if you acquired pure lead?

 

[gixxer822]

I guess I'd ask a few questions first.

First and foremost....Do You have ANY access at all to lead or wheel weights, hopefully for free or very cheap?
Do You have a garage, or shed where you can smelt down scrap into alloy and/or use for the actual casting?

If you have to buy EVERYTHING from the start, Have no SAFE place to smelt and cast....as well as have no access to free or cheap lead...I'd suggest simply buying bulk cast slugs.

Before I go into a long "How to do it" or drone on about what worked for me, etc.... Go to... CastBoolits.com, Cast Boolits Simply THE BEST bullet casting forum on the net. check out the stickies. There are several on starting out, SAFETY, what to buy, what not to, etc.

I cast 160# of pistol slugs this past winter. I am just finishing lubing/sizing them on my STAR. I've been casting since I was a kid, but times have changed, some of it for the good, but some bad. Lead used to be free or cheap. Not any more.
Many of the great mold makers are either out of business, like H&G, or the QUALITY of others have dropped terribly...like Lyman. BUT...small mold makers using CAD/CAM are building WONDERFUL molds that are affordable and available in ANY configuration you desire.

I smelt my range lead and WW's on a propane plumbers pot that holds 100 pounds + of alloy. I'm still using lead I got free or for almost nothing years back. I just started buying bar TIN to add to my alloy.
I use everything from 1# Lyman ingot molds to a custom 10# ingot mold to cast mu ingots. An ingot mold can be as simple as a cast iron MUFFIN PAN..one of my favorites...casts a round 5# ingot.

I cast with a WAAGE electric pot and hand pour with a small ROWELL ladle. I have several OLDER Lyman 4 cavity molds as well as a dozen 2-8 cavity Customs from a variety of makers. I lube and size on a STAR press.

FWIW and this will draw all sorts of ire...I'm not a fan of most LEE casting gear. It's built as cheaply as possible. I fond that there is FAR better molds, furnaces, sizers out there than LEE.

Good Luck,

FN in MT

I've got a garage tht we made into a huge man ave when we walled it in, but there is good airflow. There's a couple group buys on local forums so I'm seeing it at about 1.50- 2 bux a lbs. just like reloading I started out with lee and went to dillon and redding once I got into it. I just wana make sure I like it before I throw serious money into it.

 

[FN in MT]

OK.

DO peruse the CastBoolits forum. TONS of information there on anything you could possibly want to investigate.

Any scrap yards, tire stores where you could possibly source WW's or other scrap lead? Old Family owned Plumbing supply houses or Plumbers shops? Old print shops to possibly snag some linotype? Can you mine any old ranges?
I'd say doing the math...if you have to pay a buck or more a pound for your alloy...it's simply not worth doing. At least in MY book anyway. Then again cast slugs are about as tough to get as jacketed lately.

I used a gas fired pot for years. I recently modernized and bought a 20# WAAGE electric pot. Built in NJ they are a commercial manufacturer for all sorts of industrial applications. From small to large available. It's been a great pot. Sits on the bench, turn it on and 15 minutes later I am casting. The thermostat is very accurate. Want 700 degs? Align 7 and the hashmark and you have 700. I'd recommend WAAGE for a pot. Though the bottom pour Lymans are fine too. I have had a few small LEE pots wasn't happy with them. LEE has probably improved them and many like them. I simply don't.

I prefer to ladle pour. I use the ROWELL bottom pour ladles. THE best available In my opinion.

I used an old Lyman 450 sizer and lyman dies for years. worked fine. Bought a STAR as a retirement gift to myself. It's an upgrade in speed and quality , but it's also a problematic SOB too. I still use the Lyman for smallbatches or when I'm too lazy to change dies in the star. The current Lyman and RCBS sizers are good ones.

Buy your LUBE from White Label , they are advertisers over on the CB site. FAR cheaper than buying anywhere else. I buy 20 pounds a year from them, so I always have 10-15 pounds on hand. again...FAR cheaper than buying the smalls ticks from Lyman or Redding. WL also does a great dip/tumble lube too.

I'm still using several Lyman and RCBS double and four cavity molds form the 70's and 80's. All cast a decent, round bullet. I've read MANY instances of current molds casting out of round slugs. I also have some NOE, ACCURATE and MIHA molds , the NOE's are aluminum blocks, the MIHA's (from Slovenia!) are brass. They all cast about as perfect a slug as anyone could want. I'm very impressed with the 5 cavity NOE's. I've been running a five cavity, 230 gr .45 acp RN design from NOE and it casts those slugs quickly and they are all about perfect. Lots of GREAT custom molds out there. I wanted a few old H&G designs, they ARE available.

They do group buys for all sorts of molds over on CB. ONLY issue...the buys take FOREVER it seems. Then again...many of the buys ARE for odd ball or custom designs. Normal designs ARE available fairly quickly from the custom makers.

I enjoy casting. It allows me to tailor my alloy hardness, weight, lube and bullet design for EXACTLY the application I desire. Bullet Shortages are of NO concern...So I can ALWAYS shoot my pistols and revolvers with cast.

I find casting during the winter to be somewhat therapeutic. I'm accomplishing something as well as saving some money...it's also enjoyable and there's zero stress.

What are you intending to cast for?

 

[gixxer822]

shortages, I enjoy reloading and tinkering so I thought id enjoy this aswell.

 

[Barry in IN]

About the stickiness: When I tumble lube, after its as dry as its going to get, I put them back in a container, sprinkle a little powdered mica on them and give another shake. The mica coats them so I can handle them easier.

Tumble lube moulds work fine if they cast in a diameter that matches your bore as-cast so you don't have to size. They aren't really meant to be sized, but you can probably take them down a little, like half a thou, without screwing them up.
I have a couple of guns where the bore and TL bullets match close enough, but it doesn't happen anywhere near every time.
Otherwise, you can maybe use conventional lube groove bullets, size them to the correct diameter with a push-through Lee die, them TL them. They should get a light coat before going through the die.

As said, it won't take much liquid alox.
Most people I know who use it will thin it 50-50 with mineral spirits.
Look at the bullets, estimate how much lube you'll need...then reduce that by half...then by half again. Start there, although it may be too much even then.

Whatever you do, you will probably have liquid alox build up in your seating die. No big deal, just be advised you will probably need to stop sometimes and dig the lube out with a stick or something, otherwise your seating depth will get deeper as you go along.

 

[Ledhore]

I tumble lube 38 specials, but use conventional lube on my other calibers. Run the loaded, tumble lubed rounds in a brass tumbler for 4 minutes in corn cob with a bit of mineral spirits, and you'll never know they were tumble lubed. I don't use the tumble lube design bullets since I use the same bullet for other applications.