Got some casting in again finally after about a year, year and a half.

I usually go in cycles. When I get all the casting stuff out I try to get enough made for a long time.  Spring and Fall are my preferred times so that it isn't frigid, and not so hot I'm dripping sweat.  Last night was high 60s and perfect weather for it.

I have a little counter/bench in a screened in porch I use for casting.  All the tools go in a big craftsman tool box when not in use to protect from the elements.

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Last nights goal was re-stocking 9mm and .45s.  I had a six gang mold for each.  I got started using Lee's two gang molds and used those for years, but when I first tried a six gang mold my life was changed and I could never go back   I have five or six different six gang molds now.


Tried a new mold for me last night.  Lee C312-185-1R.  Makes a nominally 185gr bullet, going to try in my Mosin.  I usually use the C312-160 for the Mosin, but I wanted to try something a little heavier.

Lee 20lb bottom pour pot.  Midway's birthday pricing has been the best way to get one it seems.

Baking sheet (from a yard sale, not your wife's) under the lead pot to catch drips.  You will have drips.


Hot plate for pre-warming the molds, not used once in the groove.

For maximum efficiency working multiple molds is the way to go.  I started alternating with the two six gang molds.  Then after a little while I added the .312 mold.  



Results:

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These will be sorted, culled, and then powder coated.

Where to find lead:

@TheACguy

Lead is definitely getting harder to find.  MN has pretty much gotten rid of lead wheel-weights so asking tire shops can be futile I hear.

Sometimes you can find a scrap metal dealer who will see to the public but I have not been so lucky.


Currently I take a bucket with me every time I go to the (outdoor) range and scrounge around in the berm.  I have a little sifter tray, but honestly it is usually easier to just pick them up by hand to avoid sorting out the rocks.

If you have plumber or roofer friends, they will sometimes demo out lead pipes or flashing.

Years ago I did try to get lead out of a car battery and used a whole lot of baking soda to neutralize the acid.   It was largely an exercise in futility and I don't particularly recommend it.

I've heard that some sailboat keels are made of lead and can be found free or for scrap price.


Other option is to keep an eye on craigslist and FB market place.  Sometimes you can find a score.  I got 9 buckets of mostly wheel weights for $200 a few years back.  Still working through it.

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Several years ago i worked in an office building where the facilities guy had a few buckets of lead sheeting removed during a renovation.  It was thin, like sheet metal.  Easily bendable. Not certain what the purpose of the lead sheeting.  The building was originally a corporate office or headquarters, so I can't imagine they needed shielding for an x-ray or other equipment.  Maybe some exec had a fear of Superman watching him?

My dad only shoots Black Powder for some reason and maybe twice a year he will cast balls and projectiles.
He gets most of his lead from his brothers in construction and I think he has a few 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights and other lead things, he melts down.

I don't think he has bought any ammo in 20 years now.  Last time I talked to him, he was talking about trying to make his own black powder..  I figure he'd spend way more getting all the ingredients and getting set up to do it, than just buying the powder or Pellets that he uses...

Lead sheeting is used for sound deadening and for x-ray rooms and surgical suites that use x-ray.

One portable x-ray tower I disassembled for scrap had a good amount of lead in the base to keep it from flipping over.  I kept it in my file cabinet for years hoping I could find someone that wanted it. It eventually went to the scrap yard.

Lead garments are worn by x-ray staff and they are tested regularly and replaced when they have x-ray penetrations.  These are hard to get rid of as scrap, so it may be a good source.  

Find a place that scraps boats. Lots of older sail boats have lead keels. If you score a keel it will set you up for life. Bring a buddy and borrow his chainsaw.

I’ll take your word on the car batteries lol.
From everyone I’ve seen lead seems to be getting a little harder to find.
I’ll just have to keep an eye out for some old scrap.

I’ve had good results with this bullet in a M39 Mosin (slugs at .310) and an Argentine Mauser.

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More casting tonight.

More 9mm and then 2 new molds. Lee 312-160 which I've used in a 2gang mold but I splurged for the six gang and then a .225 mold.

It is amazing how much less lead I go through not casting 45s


Some time ago I had heard about using 2cycle oil to lube the sprue plate and top of the mold. Maybe it works, but I at least should have used lots less. Some must have gotten into the cavities of the .312 and .225 molds because I was getting wrinkles for a half hour even with pre heating the molds on the hot plate finally got it all burnt out and some decent boolits cast.

Ok thanks, I'll keep using just being more careful.

I was being overzealous with the lube and swabbed the whole top of the mold and it went into the cavities.

Just sprue plate and pivot points from here on out

Powder coating tonight!

I stocked up years ago and have 3 pounds of harbor freight red and really can't bring myself to get better powder when I have so much...

A year or two ago I did get a pound of black Eastwood powder and I'll mix that with the red to get a little better coverage.

I got a second free toaster oven so now I'm rocking and rolling twice as fast

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Got the .45s, 9s, and 185gr .312s coated.

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yes

This pic might be better

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I need to motivate and start casting.
I have a 4 bullet Lee mold and a 4 bullet MP mold.  
I also have the larger Lee melting pot and I bought some decent lead to play with. Do I really need a temp controller?
Oh and I also bought the 4 color sampler pack from Smoke.
And I even have a toaster oven.  

And a Lee resizer.

I don't think you need a temp controller.  I don't know or sure if one is built into the Lee pot, but I don't use an external controller and have never had an issue.

Kind of an odd question, but this thread seems to have attracted a number of seasoned casters, so here goes.

How long/how many rounds can you get out of a 20lb propane tank? Seems like after the initial costs of setup, fuel, and maybe electricity for the hot plate/toaster oven if PCing, is the only real consumable, assuming you're getting lead for free.

ETA: I grill/BBQ with charcoal, so I don't have a frame of reference on how long a propane tank lasts doing something like that.

Take a look at the first pic in the OP again.  The casting pot is electric. While you could use a normal pot on a propane stove and then use a dipper to fill the molds the bottom pour electric pots are far superior.

The only real use for propane in the process is to process the scrap lead (wheel weights, range scrap, pipe, flashing etc) into useable ingots.


I use a turkey fryer burner to process scrap and probably get 50lbs of useable ingots after an hour or two of smelting.


According to this, a 20lb propane tank has 18-20 hours of burn time.  

Take that for what you will; I consider the cost negligible and don't want to calculate it

Those .312 appear to be a gas checked bullet. Do you just powder coat and skip the gas check on it (or any other) bullets? I'm considering skipping the gas check on low to medium velocity, powder coated .358 pistol bullets but I'm a little concerned about accuracy. Any thoughts or experience?

I built a PID controller for my Lee 4-20, and it made a world of difference for me.  Much more consistent, and you get a lot better idea of your current melt temps.  I turn the dial on the Lee all the way up (essentially always on) and let the PID cycle the heating element on and off to control the temp of the melt.

For those bullets I'm going to gas check and load with surplus wc872.

I've loaded lots of the 312-160 unchecked in 7.62x54 with a small charge of pistol powder to make a gallery load (steel target safe ).

For a regular power load I'd use a gas check.

I have no experience with gas checking pistol bullets and all my pistol molds are not gas check designs.

Thanks, gents

More casting tonight.

45s, 9s, and .312 180gr

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