A longer row to hoe (casting)

[WestKentucky]

I have considered casting for a while, and the decision was finally made. Today I dropped by the local Goodwill and picked up some cast-off kitchen gizmos to start the process. I made some small purchases so the journey has officially started.

Mini muffin tin (aka ingot mold) $2
Dutch oven with neat splash resistant lid (aka bulk dirty melting pot) $6
Riser doohickey to get heat underneath the Dutch oven $6

$14 well spent as far as I’m concerned. I need lead, and a dipper to make ingots. I need a production pot and bullet molds to make bullets. It’s a good start.

 

[dh1633pm]

Good start. I acquired everything over the summer. Including lead. Now I just need a skill set. Woefully inexperienced.

 

[edwardware]

Get a kitchen ladle instead of a dipper. Spend what you save towards a propane burner (like a turkey fryer burner). Trade the pot and doohickey for a larger steel or iron pot. Start with a Lee bottom pour pot and Lee molds, and wait until you've successfully shot the first 100 before you buy more molds.

 

[noylj]

First, find a source of lead. Rotometals and such are simply too expensive.
when pricing lead, consider that there are 35 200gn .45 bullets to a lb.
I know about 10 years ago, it was slightly cheaper to buy commercial bullets than to buy ingots from any source--and the bullets were much cheaper to ship.

 

[WestKentucky]

First, find a source of lead. Rotometals and such are simply too expensive.
when pricing lead, consider that there are 35 200gn .45 bullets to a lb.
I know about 10 years ago, it was slightly cheaper to buy commercial bullets than to buy ingots from any source--and the bullets were much cheaper to ship.

At this point I don’t particularly care about cost. I can’t get what I want and I am capable of making it, I just need tools. I have been “buying fish” for long enough, it’s time I learn to do it myself.

 

[noylj]

Just in case this wasn't covered: get a Lyman Cast Bullet manual and read it.

 

[GoldieMI]

leather gloves
slotted stainless steel spoon to scrape dross or debris off
I never did have good luck with the muffin tins- they broke in the first couple uses
wax or sawdust to flux with

 

[WestKentucky]

leather gloves
slotted stainless steel spoon to scrape dross or debris off
I never did have good luck with the muffin tins- they broke in the first couple uses
wax or sawdust to flux with

I keep hearing good things about muffin tins... I am concerned about this one as it has all the little compartments crimped in. If it fails then that’s fine, it will give me 24 little individual molds, and with tongs that may actually be easier to dip it out and set it on a block to cool and harden.

 

[brewer12345]

Good start. I acquired everything over the summer. Including lead. Now I just need a skill set. Woefully inexperienced.

The nice thing about making mistakes in casting is that you just melt down your errors and try again.

 

[brewer12345]

I keep hearing good things about muffin tins... I am concerned about this one as it has all the little compartments crimped in. If it fails then that’s fine, it will give me 24 little individual molds, and with tongs that may actually be easier to dip it out and set it on a block to cool and harden.

Cast iron muffin tins are generally the best choice.

 

[cfullgraf]

Mini muffin tin (aka ingot mold) $2
Dutch oven with neat splash resistant lid (aka bulk dirty melting pot) $6
Riser doohickey to get heat underneath the Dutch oven $6

$14 well spent as far as I’m concerned. I need lead, and a dipper to make ingots. I need a production pot and bullet molds to make bullets. It’s a good start.

Yes, it's a start. The enamel on the Dutch oven will probably burn or flake off over use but it can easily be skimmed off your lead when fluxed.

I started casting with a small steel pot and ladle using a Coleman stove as a heat source.

The next iteration was a Lee 4 pound (I think) pot.

Finally, I graduated to a bottom pour pot. That's the way to go if you decide you like casting.

 

[bullseye308]

Turkey fryer or Coleman stove, cast iron Dutch oven or pot, slotted spoon, ladle, sawdust or wax(bees, candle, crayons), Ingot molds(muffin pan), and you are good to start. DO NOT WEAR SYNTHETIC CLOTHING. Cotton or leather would be best. Synthetics will melt to your skin if you happen to get molten lead on yourself.
Lead is available from many sources, mining the berm is usually free and a great source of good lead. Cast bullets has lead for sale in their selling forum, evilbay is mostly hit with some miss. Lee molds work just fine, that’s all I have used for many years, along with a Lee pot, Lee ladle, and Lee lube.
Powder coating is cheap and easy if you decide to go that route. Depending on the lead you have it may need to be alloyed to harden or soften it. You may need Linotype, pure lead, or tin to adjust your alloy.

 

[GoldieMI]

Cast iron muffin tins are generally the best choice.

This. Cast iron work. The cheap aluminum ones fail. Some of my most useful molds are the individual fried egg cast iron pan. I think I paid 1.50 each.

 

[dh1633pm]

I tried using a cup cake type pan for ingets but it didn't work too well. I have a couple lee molds for this and they work well.

 

[kmw1954]

This is how I started! That cast iron fry pan was too large for my heat source and the outside edges would not stay fluid. That small SS pan worked well enough with the lid on but it was slow to get started. I poured with a bottom pour dipper and a Lee 2 cavity mold. I now use this;

 

[kcofohio]

A $1 muffin pan, a cheap $7 set of ladles and dippers from Walmart, an old cake pan, and an old towel or rags.
I take the cake pan place on an old piece of plywood, with a towel in the bottom, soaked with water. Place the muffin pan in the cake pan. Ladle the lead into the muffin pan.
Makes nice 2-2.4 lbs ingots.

I have 2 sets of leather gloves. 1 light pair for tight welding, and a heavy pair for stick welding.

 

[AJC1]

Thick welding gloves are not insulated enough to pick up a hot cast iron pan full of molten lead. You get about 5 seconds before real burns start. They work great for casting protection but not handling.

 

[whughett]

I have two bottom pour pots. Acquired them both used, both dripped lead from the bottom pour. Removed and welded up the hole and used a RCBS dipper to pour. I’ll keep up with any body using a bottom pour with my dipper. Your “ bulk pot” will work fine for casting but do get a dipper like Lyman’s or RCBS’s for casting. Amazon sells the Lyman $27, probably cheaper on EBay.
I also use a Coleman White gas camp stove for a long time to melt lead. Unless your looking for long casting sessions throwing thousands of bullets the gear you bought will work great.
With out a thermostat controlled electric pot, not at all necessary, a Lyman lead thermometer would be a good investment also.
Casting bullets is a simple process after a few hundred you’ll be a pro.

 

[GoldieMI]

I use welding gloves for casting protection and handling the cast iron ladle while making ingots but defnitely the cast iron pot has to cool down before I can safely move it. The molds cool off fast enough but they are on a thin sheet of aluminum right on the ground. The aluminum is the heat sink and cools them down fast enough for my ingot casting pace.
I use cast iron individual fry pans, the RCBS small ingots, and the aluminum CAST BULLITS mold from Chris (Lakeshore2012) on CB

 

[forrest r]

I like to use free propane tanks as a melting pot to turn junk into ingots, #150 in and #100+ of ingots out.


If you closely at that propane tank I cut in 2 you will see a steel ring attached to the top 1/2 of the tank. That ring is a reinforcement ring that is welded there. Both halves are welded to that ring. Leaving that ring attached to the top 1/2 (lid) not only keep the heat in for faster melting times. It keeps any smoke in and the smoke burns off.

Simple enough to make:
Use a hacksaw and cut the brass shot off valve body off down at the base of it where it screws into the top of the tank. You will see 2 holes there around 1/4" in diameter (good breather holes). Fill the tank with water and let it sit for +/- 1 hour and then empty the water out of the tank. Take a 4 1/2" grinder and put a 1/16" thick cutting wheel on it. Cut the tank in 2 pieces cutting "BELOW" the weld. You can feel the cutting wheel cut thru the tank and then resistance as it hit the steel ring. Take your time & don't cut too deep. It took 10 minutes to cut that tank into 2 pieces.

Fill it up with #150 of junk lead/bullets/ww's/lead pipe/etc. Put the lid on and fire up the burner and walk away. +/- 20 minutes later take the lid off and start stirring with a slotted spoon and taking spoon of junk out until you have a clean alloy. Flux that alloy (I flux 3 times) and do a final skimming and then make ingots. It takes longer to pour ingots than it does to melt/clean/flux #150 of junk lead.

These free propane smelting pots are super fast, extremely clean, and low to no smoke.

 

[AJC1]

I like to use free propane tanks as a melting pot to turn junk into ingots, #150 in and #100+ of ingots out.
View attachment 963321

If you closely at that propane tank I cut in 2 you will see a steel ring attached to the top 1/2 of the tank. That ring is a reinforcement ring that is welded there. Both halves are welded to that ring. Leaving that ring attached to the top 1/2 (lid) not only keep the heat in for faster melting times. It keeps any smoke in and the smoke burns off.

Simple enough to make:
Use a hacksaw and cut the brass shot off valve body off down at the base of it where it screws into the top of the tank. You will see 2 holes there around 1/4" in diameter (good breather holes). Fill the tank with water and let it sit for +/- 1 hour and then empty the water out of the tank. Take a 4 1/2" grinder and put a 1/16" thick cutting wheel on it. Cut the tank in 2 pieces cutting "BELOW" the weld. You can feel the cutting wheel cut thru the tank and then resistance as it hit the steel ring. Take your time & don't cut too deep. It took 10 minutes to cut that tank into 2 pieces.

Fill it up with #150 of junk lead/bullets/ww's/lead pipe/etc. Put the lid on and fire up the burner and walk away. +/- 20 minutes later take the lid off and start stirring with a slotted spoon and taking spoon of junk out until you have a clean alloy. Flux that alloy (I flux 3 times) and do a final skimming and then make ingots. It takes longer to pour ingots than it does to melt/clean/flux #150 of junk lead.

These free propane smelting pots are super fast, extremely clean, and low to no smoke.

I always read things like this and wonder what genius will make this process faster by skipping the fill the tank with water step. On Hope's on a reloading site the common sense factor is a little higher based on the current standard of eating tide pods.

 

[kcofohio]

Thick welding gloves are not insulated enough to pick up a hot cast iron pan full of molten lead. You get about 5 seconds before real burns start. They work great for casting protection but not handling.

Once the lead solidifies, I flip the dump the tray and stack the ingots onto another piece of wood. Your right the thick welding gloves still get hot, but not too bad to stack them for cooling.

 

[WestKentucky]

Perhaps I missed something but I’m not understanding the point of filling the tank with water. Is it to rinse out particulates or is there some other obvious reason that I’m overlooking?

 

[AJC1]

Perhaps I missed something but I’m not understanding the point of filling the tank with water. Is it to rinse out particulates or is there some other obvious reason that I’m overlooking?

It's to verify that there is zero propane so you dont kill yourself

 

[WestKentucky]

It's to verify that there is zero propane so you dont kill yourself

I figured that was a bit too obvious to be the answer. Seems a given that people would be smart enough to not cut on a tank that’s not very well vented.