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Headed down the Casting rabbit hole

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Whitecobra

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Sep 11, 2020
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Are there any manuals detailing the art & info on casting lead bullets?

I just ordered a mold /w handles, pot, sizing die and extra lead for the 1st caliper I want to start with, 9mm(.356). I'v read about adding tin & antimony to lead, but what are the ratios. Any other additives needed or would work as a hardner? Any must have tools? These are a few questions I have that a manual should cover + more!!

I will decide powder coat or lube a little farther down this hole, but am leaning to PC.
 
Where are you getting your lead? You just need to start, and plan to refine as you go, don't plan to have it all figured out before you start. A pot, some lead, a mold, I use sawdust to flux, and a something to knock the bullets from the mold. I'm cheap, but I prefer the cast iron molds to aluminum, but having a few to use and decide what works best for you is good, and Lee aluminum molds are a fine way to figure things out. I size after powder coating, but you'll figure it out as you go. An old toaster will come in handy.
 
Lyman has/had a cast bullet manual that has some good information.

Go to the cast bullet forum, they have some good information on casting.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com

Many moons ago, I started with a Lyman pot on a Coleman camp stove using Lee aluminum molds. I made some good bullets that shot well. I used tumble lubing and cookie cutter pan lubing along with the Lee push through sizer dies.

I've casted on and off since the 1980's but have upgraded to a bottom pour pot, and some cast iron and brass molds.

Powder coating is a nice feature but it does take some time.I use the "shake and bake" method. I shake bullets in a plastic container with the powder coat then transfer them by hand to a baking sheet to be heated in a toaster oven. Coat your fingers with powder and you will not remove the powder from the bullet when transferring them to the cookie sheet. I line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil that has been coated with some kind of non-stick baking coating.

I also have graduated to a proper lubri-sizer for bullets that I'd rather lubricate as oppose to powder coat.

Lots of options.

Hope this helps.
 
I use wheel weights for handgun, 45/70 and patched round ball bullets. I reserve my softer lead for cap and ball rounds.
The cast boolits forum is loaded with info and help.
Safety precautions very much apply.
Good luck and enjoy.
 
My foray into casting has been many years in the making. I read articles online, visited the castboolits forum, watched all the fortunecookie45lc videos on youtube, read the Lyman manual. I stumbled into a used Lee 20# pot and some used molds while buying some 45 projectiles from a member here. Was able to get a couple of 5gal buckets of wheel weights from a tire shop...and it was still a year or so before I cast my first bullets. One day I just decided to sit down and fire up that lee pot and give it a whirl. My biggest reservation was lubing and sizing. I have tried traditional lube (pan lubing) and powder coat. For me, and others will disagree, but for me the shake n' bake powder coat method had worked out well. I'm sure if I had put the time in to gain proficientcy in traditional lubing, that would be fine too, but powder coat fits the bill. I've found bullet casting to be one of those skills that doesn't translate well from just books or videos, I had to get my hands on it to wrap my head around it. And, even with all the videos and books and forums, a lot of my first bullets were unusable. (Well, no such thing as unusable in casting, you either have bullets, or very small ingots:D) Point being, at a certain point, I just had to jump in and give it a try to figure out if I liked it or not. Luckily I do, but it is a rabbit hole...its down the rabbit hole of shooting, off the side tunnel of reloading, and has several more holes running through it....lubing, powder coat, gas checks, hollowpoint molds, Pid controlers, alloy variations, quenching techniques, homemade jackets, swaging, mold block material, custom molds, et cetera, ad nauseum, as infinitum...........
 
Jeff62 said:
I use wheel weights for handgun
Click to expand...


For those that use wheel weights.....how do you know they are lead or anywhere near the percentages. Or does it just not matter. (The percentages)

I have a private garage but I do have a good assist arm mounting machine and digital balancer. Occasionally I mount tires for friends or locals (or people with low profile tires who don't want their wheels treated like they go on a cattle trailer...). Ive ordered a lot of weights and many (at this point id say most) are not lead. My state has no laws against lead weights but many do.

Also, with most wheels now taking adhesive weights how do you separate the backer glue etc from the weight and get it closer to pure. Or again, is it not that important. Those weights aren't reused and should be plentiful.

Ive thought about casting. Still haven't though
 
crestoncowboy said:
For those that use wheel weights.....how do you know they are lead or anywhere near the percentages. Or does it just not matter. (The percentages)

I have a private garage but I do have a good assist arm mounting machine and digital balancer. Occasionally I mount tires for friends or locals (or people with low profile tires who don't want their wheels treated like they go on a cattle trailer...). Ive ordered a lot of weights and many (at this point id say most) are not lead. My state has no laws against lead weights but many do.

Also, with most wheels now taking adhesive weights how do you separate the backer glue etc from the weight and get it closer to pure. Or again, is it not that important. Those weights aren't reused and should be plentiful.

Ive thought about casting. Still haven't though
Click to expand...

I’ve never used the newer adhesive backed weights. As to removing adhesive I think I would cook it off in the pot.
You are correct in that I don’t know exactly what I’m casting but I know that a finished bullet from a mold weighs what it should weigh and I test hardness with my thumbnail.
If I was making gas checked bullets for a target rifle I might need to take more pains with my bullet making but for launching a hot loaded 300 grain 45lc from one of my Rugers this works great.
 
Generally wheel weights are the same aloy, give or take. Lead weights are quickly becoming nonexistent. Lead is more expensive than zinc or steel and because of environmentalists there is very little, if any, lead mined in the US anymore. Last several 5 gallon buckets of weights I was lucky to get 30% mix of lead. Of the several friends who work in tire shops that had been my reliable sources for weights tell me for several years now they can’t even buy new lead weights and the incidence of them showing up on vehicles coming in for a balance or tires is very small. It is pretty easy to tell lead from zinc or steel. Many of each zinc and steel have clips more or less riveted to the weights. Many have a sheared end rather than a rounded cast profile. Most will have the atomic element indicator on them, Zn for zinc and Fe for steel. If that doesn’t get you there, drop then on cement, zinc and steel have a much higher pitch ring to them, last resort, try to bend long ones or take a dikes/side cutters to them. It becomes very clear which is lead and which aren’t. The adhesive of the stick on weights will melt and burn off with the ash ending up in the dross you skim off your kettle. Most stick ons are somewhat softer than clip ons.

Good luck!
 
Wheelweights are remarkably consistent. The clip-ons work well for most handguns. Some casters add a small % of tin to their mix. The stick-ons are close to pure except for one type and work well in muzzleloaders and black powder guns. If you plan to use wheelweights you really need to melt them in a larger pot and not your casting pot. I don't worry about the adhesive, I just put them in the pot and light the fire. When they start smoking I try to light the smoke and get it to burn. Some casters try to remove the adhesive by soaking them in some type of solvent but smoke is not an issue in my area.

Wheelweight availability varies from place to place. I still find them and the % of lead weights is still pretty high. Its not that way everywhere. If you plan to use wheelweights you will have to learn to sort the lead ones from the steel, Zinc and composite ones.
 
Jeff62 said:
I’ve never used the newer adhesive backed weights.
Click to expand...

I use more of them than clip on. Most aluminum wheels don't even have a lip on the front side now. And my machine has settings for hiding them behind spokes and such. I generally keep my clip on weights to reuse. Some are pretty rough though so they go in "the bucket". I'm sure a thrifty individual could reuse stick on weights if they were determined but I dont. Never heard of anyone else doing it either.

One would think there would be plenty to be given away. All id load is handgun anyway. I shoot a bunch of cast


Pivot Dr said:
they can’t even buy new lead weights
Click to expand...

You can still buy them so long as you live in a state where there are no restrictions. I ordered close to 200 lb this year. A mix of stick on and clip. Different clip sizes makes it tough to keep enough. P/mc/al/ etc. The web sites say if you click lead and the state your shipping to is prohibited they ship zinc automatically.


lightman said:
I don't worry about the adhesive, I
Click to expand...

I was curious about that. Kind of what I figured too.
 
I would compare prices to what you could purchase known alloys from Rotometals for pound for pound. Also there are individuals that sell recovered lead on the various forums I am a member of. You just have to look around. I have a mechanic friend that has an 8 foot truck body full of wheel weights and he sells me some of them when I need them. I am a plumber and am removing basically pure lead from old houses frequently. Casting is rewarding, especially in these days of limited ability.
 
lightman said:
I'm just curious if the price of new weights would be to expensive to cast with?
Click to expand...

New they are about 10 bucks for 3 lbs (21k grain) for new lead clip on. Bit More for stick on. Maybe cheaper weights somewhere but for decent quality and good shipping that is about what I paid. Alltiresupply or grainger both are good places to check if you want to see.

But like I said. We can't reuse stick on. So there are tons being disposed of somewhere. Ive not seen seen a vehicle come with clip on in the last 10 years. Even our newer cab and chassis came with stick on. (Even though the wheels do have a lip and could use mc weights) Most oem do not say what they are (lead/ zinc/ steel) Many don't even say the weight. Just ask some tire shops. We can't use them so we have to do something with them. 2/3 of the time the adhesive sticks to the wheel rather than the weight so they may even be clean. Lol
 
Don’t smelt unrefined lead in your casting pot. Clean it up in a different container. I use a cast iron skillet to melt wheelweights, flashing, other forms of lead over a propane stove. Skim the crud off with a spoon, flux it with canning paraffin or sawdust or both (burning off dross/impurities), pour the cleaned molten lead into a cast iron muffin pan.

These days other casters may be your best source for good quality lead. Buy, swap, barter. They will also be good mentors.

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook is a treasure. Also read this website:


http://www.lasc.us/fryxell_book_contents.htm
 
I am lucky enough to have a Doe Run secondary fabricator near me, Seafab Metals Company in Casa Grande, AZ. They product certified bullet metal, (92/6/2), in 62 pound pigs and 25 pound strings. They do ship. Price changes first of every month due to market fluctuation. They are some of the nicest people I have ever dealt with.
 
crestoncowboy said:
For those that use wheel weights.....how do you know they are lead or anywhere near the percentages. Or does it just not matter. (The percentages)
Click to expand...

You can get a really good idea of the alloy by casting with it. You can buy a little “certified” lead and take a specific mold and cast a couple bullets and weigh them. Now take pure lead and weigh them. Get a little Linotype and cast a few, do the same thing.
Out of my 230gn mold I use as a standard. Pure lead drops at 240gn, silver solder as light as 210 gn. Wheel weights drop at 232 but mix in a little Linotype and I can get them right on 230 gn.

If they dropped out at 112 gn I would presume the alloy is closer to zinc.
 
Last edited:
jmorris said:
You can get a really good idea of the alloy by casting with it. You can buy a little “certified” lead and take a specific mold and cast a couple bullets and weigh them. Now take pure lead and weigh them. Get a little Linotype and cast a few, do the same thing.
Out of my 230gn mold I use as a standard. Pure lead drops at 240gn, silver solder as light as 210 gn. Wheel weights drop at 232 but mix in a little Linotype and I can get them right on 230 gn.
Click to expand...

Yep. All it takes is dropping a few and weighing them to get a good “feel” for what you have. Then you can add to your pot what you think you need to change up the mix a bit.
You’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly.
 
crestoncowboy said:
New they are about 10 bucks for 3 lbs (21k grain) for new lead clip on. Bit More for stick on. Maybe cheaper weights somewhere but for decent quality and good shipping that is about what I paid. Alltiresupply or grainger both are good places to check if you want to see. Lol
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. It was just a thought that popped into my mind. I'm slowly working my way through a lifetime supply but I was thinking about new casters.
 
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