LEAD FURNACE FOR BEGINNER CASTER

[No Horse Hair, SASS #77464]

I've melted babbit for rigging in the oilfield, but that's as close to bullet casting as I've been. I'm thinkin' I'd like to cast some round balls, and maybe later some big lube bullets. Small amounts for my own use. I need suggestions on purchase of the furnace. Local shooter suggested a Magma furnace and I checked their site.Looks like real good equipment, but more than I was expecting to spend. All I know is I want a bottom pour. I figure I'll also need a ladle, thermometer, and some molds, mold lube and what else? I'm not looking for the cheapest, just some good equipment to get started with. Thanks for all the wire help, No Horse Hair

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

I have an older lee 10 pound bottom pour furnace. I inherited it. I has got to be 30 or so years old. Still works like a champ. New ones are around $50. If you just want to get in and dabble with it, it will work. But if you want to get serious, it just does not have the capacity to keep up with you. You'll either end up with a second so you have one coming up to temp while casting with the other or you'll but a bigger pot.

 

Powdered graphite is your friend. I also go through a lot of muffin tins. I buy 'em cheap at yard sales and use those to make ingots.

 

When casting, I use either parafin or some old candle wax for flux.

 

Keep a good set of gloves and eye protection.

[J-BAR #18287]

Lee bottom pour pot, about 60 bucks. Not much to risk, mine is still working fine after 5 years. Does not take much maintenance, either.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

The Lee bottom pour, 10 pounder, will get you started. It almost always starts dripping within a month or so of use, and does not hold temperature control very well. But, it's cheap! Midway has a sale on it now, at $50.

 

A much better quality bottom pour pot is the 20 pound capacity RCBS pot. But, it's about $375. If you start casting a lot, you would love it. It is seven times as good as the Lee? To me, yep, sure is. Never drips, holds temperature, takes twice as much lead.

 

A used Lyman bottom-pour furnace sometimes comes up on the various auction sites. They seem to be just about indestructible. Also a 20 pound capacity, and excellent quality, just not manufactured any more.

 

Thermometer is very useful. Some old tablespoons for skimming dross (crud) off the surface. Won't need a ladle if you bottom pour.

 

To clean up scrap lead, you need a heavy duty melting pot. An old dutch oven (without the feet) is perfect for melting down dirty lead - then cast it into old muffing tins to make ingots. Find some sourt of heat source - a big camp stove or an old turkey fryer burner work really well. NEVER put dirty lead into your casting pot - it will leave dirt all over the inside that requires a lot of elbow grease to get out.

 

I flux the lead with old paraffin candles and sometimes wood shavings, and use 2-cycle synthetic motorcycle (pre-mix) oil to lube the sprue plate. Molds are pretty easily available. Check Accurate.com for a wide selection that can be cranked out within about 3 weeks, either in aluminum, steel or brass.

 

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (available where you get loading manuals) is really handy and covers the art and science of bullet casting. Also, look over the Cast Boolits forum for lots of interesting stuff.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php

 

 

Good luck, GJ

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

20lb Lee will do it all.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/645810/lee-pro-4-20-lb-furnace-110-volt

Get a good thermometer too.

LG

[Mustang Gregg]

^:FlagAm:

 

^{I've casted quite a bit in 40 years and the guys are right about the Lee 10# & 20# pots.}

^{Mustang Gregg}

[Buckshot Dobbs]

^:FlagAm:

 

^{I've casted quite a bit in 40 years and the guys are right about the Lee 10# & 20# pots.}

^{Mustang Gregg}

+1

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

I use a 20 Lee for molding bpcr and a bottom for pistol. The beauty of the lee is that replacement parts are cheap!!!!

[Jackson Rose, SASS #45478]

I bought a 20# Lee 7 years ago when they were 42$. Wish I had another. Someone gave me a Lyman(same as RCBS). Don't know what it cost, but it takes longer to heat up and I had to modify the ramp to use my molds. The Lee is easier to use with any brand molds as it does not use a ramp or mold holder. If you feed the Lee clean lead ( don't smelt scrap in your bottom pour pots) it will work like a champ.

[captqueeze]

The Lee bottom pour, 10 pounder, will get you started. It almost always starts dripping within a month or so of use, and does not hold temperature control very well. But, it's cheap! Midway has a sale on it now, at $50.

 

A much better quality bottom pour pot is the 20 pound capacity RCBS pot. But, it's about $375. If you start casting a lot, you would love it. It is seven times as good as the Lee? To me, yep, sure is. Never drips, holds temperature, takes twice as much lead.

 

A used Lyman bottom-pour furnace sometimes comes up on the various auction sites. They seem to be just about indestructible. Also a 20 pound capacity, and excellent quality, just not manufactured any more.

 

Thermometer is very useful. Some old tablespoons for skimming dross (crud) off the surface. Won't need a ladle if you bottom pour.

 

To clean up scrap lead, you need a heavy duty melting pot. An old dutch oven (without the feet) is perfect for melting down dirty lead - then cast it into old muffing tins to make ingots. Find some sourt of heat source - a big camp stove or an old turkey fryer burner work really well. NEVER put dirty lead into your casting pot - it will leave dirt all over the inside that requires a lot of elbow grease to get out.

 

I flux the lead with old paraffin candles and sometimes wood shavings, and use 2-cycle synthetic motorcycle (pre-mix) oil to lube the sprue plate. Molds are pretty easily available. Check Accurate.com for a wide selection that can be cranked out within about 3 weeks, either in aluminum, steel or brass.

 

The Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook (available where you get loading manuals) is really handy and covers the art and science of bullet casting. Also, look over the Cast Boolits forum for lots of interesting stuff.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php

 

 

Good luck, GJ

Underlined above is one of the best, no question. I'm still using a Lee bottom pour. Works O.K., but Santa might bring me an upgrade.

[Buffalo Dick, SASS #12880]

I have the Lee PRO 4 20 and the RCBS. The Lee is serviceable but the RCBS is truly worth the extra money if you can afford it.

[Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L]

Only reason I went to RCBS after 100 years with a Lee is ran into a great price on a used one and found it added to enjoyment of casting. At my age I need to enjoy what I can still do as much as possible.

cr

[Lou Graham, # 26112]

Another vote for the Lee 20# bottom pour. There is enough room for a little pot under the spout to catch drips and still plenty of room to move the mold through. I use 6 cavity Big Lube molds as well as some single cavity and 2 cavity - everybody fits. I have found it only drips as it's getting warmed up or if I let the lead level get too low and have to dump in multiple ingots all at once. Once I'm up to temp and running - no dripping. My pot is somewhere in the range of 7 or 8 years old.

[Your Nemesis]

I use two lee pots one 20lb to keep lead hot and the 10lb to cast out of. Both bottom pour. I like the valve handle on the

 

10lb better is the reason I use the 10. They are so old I can't tell you how long they have been around but a long time.

 

I would recommend a thermometer.

[No Horse Hair, SASS #77464]

Thanks for all the input. I didn't realize that I needed a different pot and heat source to clean the scrap lead. The castboolits site provides lots of ideas to solve that problem with a homebrew solution. I'm leaning towards the RCBS furnace. I'm still using the RCBS equipment that a friend started me on in the basement of his bar back in the 70's.

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

I have leaned towards making my ingots with a cast iron skillet or small Dutch oven or cast iron crucible over a campfire. I keep a thermometer handy to eyeball the temp and it works out very well.

 

Recently, I salvaged the side burner off an old, retired grill. Figured I might try and make a rig to melt lead with that and see how she goes.

 

One guy I knew made his ingots on an old Coleman stove he picked up at a yard sale.

[Alferd Packer]

All Good!

[Hikes Point Hank]

Coleman stove.........too slow

 

$20.00 Propane powered cooker from sports authority much better and sturdier and easier cleanup and longer/cheaper to run than white fuel @ $10../gal...... You'll tire quickly refueling that little red tank on that coleman.

Heck, your neighbor prolly has a propane tank hooked up to his grill you could borrow!

 

Candle wax........nasty smelling and petroleum based so leaves a film. Give sawdust a try, fast and effective. Even cheap pine works great.

 

I use a 20lb pot that i scoop from with a ladle and use 6 cavity aluminum molds that I alternate every few fills just cuz they get hot and dump em in a wire screen collander for cooling. Forget the water, its not necessary. My 44 mag with hot loads loves these bullets. So did Elmer Keiths........

 

Thermometer.........have one never used it.

 

Castboolits.com has some good reads especially this one.

 

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?110212-From-Ingot-to-Target-A-Cast-Bullet-Guide-for-Handgunners&s=0942092ffb3fa9fbfb61f2e3c8f08066

 

Its lenghty but...........worth the read.

 

Cast iron skillets for initial melt down.........get a lid or heat the entire atmosphere on your dime.

 

Patience and silverdine (burn cream)

 

Let us know how you did it in a couple of weeks, there is a learning curve.......

 

Rough estimate

I can make 10 bullets for what I pay for 1

 

Oh yeah,

Youll also need a sizer so the cost of your first bullet is gonna cost ya 1000's more than you could buy one for.

 

Id rather drive a car to work than a more economical mule though.......

 

Just sayin, but meanin...............

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

I like the "film" that paraffin wax leaves in the casting pot. If you watch closely, that wax film wets the steel and keeps the dross (crud) from sticking so tightly to the steel walls of the pot. Thus, the lead cleans up faster. If you don't like the smoke, light the fumes. Only use a a very small piece of wax - pea size or smaller. More, and you light up a flare six feet into the air until the wax all burns off. The wax does not leave a film around the cast bullets or on the mold, so no problems there.

 

Wax combined with some wood shavings or DRY sawdust works really well. The wood sticks around (hah) for a minute or two after the wax burns off, and keeps any possible oxidation of the tin or antimony in the bullet alloy from occurring. Wood by itself does not clean up the dross as well as when some wax is added, though.

 

Never get anything wet or even slightly damp in the pot! Water turns to steam and blows a shower of lead up, out of the pot and onto you!

 

Good luck, GJ

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Howdy

 

I might as well chime in too. I have been using a Lee Pro 4 for a number of years. The nice thing about this pot is it is raised up high enough to accommodate just about any size mold underneath. In addition, it has a little shelf that clamps in place so you can easily slide the mold along if you are using multiple cavity molds. Very useful with the six cavity Big Lube molds.

 

Yes, it tends to drip, I keep an ingot mold under the spout, below the level of the shelf to catch the drips, and periodically dump the drips back into the pot. Be careful when you do this, don't let the molten lead splash on you. Be sure you have gloves and an apron when you are casting.

 

You can forget about the ladle, you don't need it with a bottom pour pot. But do get yourself a quality thermometer so you can monitor the temperature.

[John Boy]

 

Thermometer.........have one never used it.

Unless one is a VERY EXPERIENCED CASTER, a thermometer is like an odometer and is a must - it tells a caster what is the best pot melt temperature that will produce bullets that are not frosted and drop them with a small bell curve weight range that are completely filled out. Every mold requires a different temperature to cast fully filled out bullets. I cast so the bell curve weight variance is 0.5grs. For BPCR bullets shot at long range, 1gr difference in bullet weight requires a 4 MOA adjustment at 1000yds

 

All the reloading suppliers buy their thermometers from Tel-Tru, put their logo on the dial and then double the price.to purchase. And a lot of suckers pay that price.

Here's what you buy straight from Tru-Tel for 21 bucks instead of a Lyman for 40 bucks that are usually out of stock... http://www.teltru.com/p-272-big-green-egg-primo-grill-dome-kamado-replacement-thermometer-lt225r-5-inch-stem-2001000-degrees-f.aspx

 

And a tip: for your fluxing spoon - go to a goodwill store and buy a soup spoon. Then drill holes along one edge on it. The dross will stay on the spoon and the hot lead will fall back into the pot

[Bull Skinner]

Dang Hairless, you really gettin' in to this front stuffer shootin' ain't cha.

[Earl Brasse, SASS #3562]

If your local club has a "wire", post that you are looking to get into casting and see if anyone is either getting out or has some gear they have "outgrown".

 

Try to find someone in your club who casts & would be willing to help you learn / cast a few & see if you like the idea.

 

There are most likely several home casters in your club who have different equipment & ways of doing things.

 

Happy casting

[No Horse Hair, SASS #77464]

Ol' BULLSKINNER, ya have no idea! As I came back thru Missouri day fore yestaday, another one of them little cappers jumped on the truck and rode home with me.....a '51 with a short barrel. I'll be match shooten' 'em come spring. As for the bullet casting, I've always been kinda curious about it. Figured I'd throw some round balls to see how it works!

[Bull Skinner]

Did it for 20 years .When I built my current house in 2005 I decided not to move the mess with me and just buy 'em. I sold my lead and equipment to Montana Ranger. If you got any questions give me a shout, I might actually have an answer. If not I'll make one up.

[Jackson Rose, SASS #45478]

Ol' BULLSKINNER, ya have no idea! As I came back thru Missouri day fore yestaday, another one of them little cappers jumped on the truck and rode home with me.....a '51 with a short barrel. I'll be match shooten' 'em come spring. As for the bullet casting, I've always been kinda curious about it. Figured I'd throw some round balls to see how it works!

If you are casting round balls for a cap and ball pistol cast pure lead. Wheel weights and other alloys of lead like Lyman #2 are too hard.

[Yellowhouse Sam # 25171]

Fish fryer/turkey fryers are cheap at garage sales. Forget the skillets as they are unwieldy and find you a roasting pot made of cast iron. A pair of those heavy gloves technicians use to remove material from autoclaves and furnaces wouldn't hurt either.

[J-BAR #18287]

Fish fryer/turkey fryers are cheap at garage sales. Forget the skillets as they are unwieldy and find you a roasting pot made of cast iron. A pair of those heavy gloves technicians use to remove material from autoclaves and furnaces wouldn't hurt either.

Harbor Freight sells leather welder's gauntlets for less than $10...that's what I wear when "runnin' ball".

[ORNERY OAF]

Oh, Dont wear shorts, especially the nylon soccer shorts when casting lead, the lead splatters melt clean thru the shorts and into your leg......dont ask, just trust me on this