Along with gathering supplies so I can start reloading I have decided to try my hand at casting my own bullets. Here is my rookie question...... I am seeing all manner of prices on lead for sale but I don't really know what I should expect to pay. I am finding it at anywhere from $.90 to $2 a pound which seems to be a bit of an extreme spread.
Also, I don't know which type of lead is more/less desirable. Ebay has gobs of stuff available with everything from ingots stamped LYMAN, boxes of wheel weights, what appears to be lead flashing for roofing applications, scrap lead supposedly recovered from shooting ranges and something called linotype from printing presses......
Also, gonna be buying a melting pot, is there any particular smelting furnaces I should seek or avoid?
Any advice is appreciated......
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it."
George Orwell
"Fight only when you must. But if it's unavoidable.....fight like your the third monkey trying to get on the Ark."
The decision as to what lead you need should rest with types of bullets you plan on casting, what chamber pressure you hope to achieve with it, and the purpose of the bullet you are going to cast (hunting, plinking, silhouette, target).
Honestly, especially as a new caster, I would buy certified bars of Lyman #2 and stay away from any wheel weight alloys. Since the turn of the century, there just has been too many bullet unfriendly alloys introduced into wheel weights. Lyman #2 has a proven balance of lead (Pb), tin (Sn), and antimony (Sb) (95/5/5 %) and has proven itself for its castability in providing any role a bullet might be involved with. It lends itself to any kind of treatment whether it the bullet is air cooled or quenched, lubed or coated. Lyman #2 through a source such as RotoMetals will cost about $3.10 a pound (free shipping with a $100 purchase), that is still very cheap at the bullet level. That would be less than 7¢ for a 150 grain bullet and 13¢ for a 300 grain bullet. As a comparison, jacketed bullet have gotten to the point that they are costing the caliber.
About Lyman #2 and eBay. Buyer beware. Much of the "Lyman #2" offered is not a certified alloy but a mix of alloys with a wheel weight base that is trying to achieve a Lyman #2 base. Personally, I would touch it with a 10' pole!
As far as furnaces goes, I think the Lee Pro 4-20 is hard to beat. If you are going to be reducing wheel weights, plumbers lead, or and kind of scrap, you will also need a foundry furnace as in the long run you will not what the contaminates from those sources in your bullet maker.
I use a fish fryer (stand and burner) with a heavy cast iron dutch oven to smelt down the scrap (mostly wheel weights for me) and pour it off into corn shaped muffin ingots for later use in the Lee 4-20 later. I'm not a perfectionist with alloy (yet) so I went the wheel weight direction because I get them free (although the supply is quickly dwindling).
Prices on wheel weights specifically has to do with local scrap prices and the content. Pre-sorted will cost more even if there are still some steel weights you cannot use. Unsorted will get you about half steel now days unless the weights are "vintage".....and you can't tell by pics on eBay, especially from sellers in coastal areas or the Midwest as the steel rusts on new weights.
Smelting plumbers lead won't make any neighborhood friends. Lino is expensive as is pewter and tin...all things people add to make adjustments. I'm not that scientific.
Get a copy of the RCBS book and read it....then keep it by the bench with the loading manuals, etc.
to bad those that know it all, cant do it all!
16" SS 92 357
20" BL 92 357
20" SS 92 44
20" BL 92 44
20" Bl 92 45C
20" Bl 92 454
SS Rio Grande 30-30
Bl Rio Grande 45-70
I can only second what Michael and Don had to say, to start get certified alloy from a reputable source like Rotometals. For all around use for anything Lyman #2 is a good starting point. The RCBS book is good and so is the Lyman cast bullet handbook. There are some reprints available from the NRA and also Wolf publishing that are somewhat dated but then again the laws of physics and chemistry (metallurgy) haven't been repealed yet.
Make smoke,
Curt... makin' smoke and raising my carbon foot print one cartridge at a time
I gotta give y'all a big thanks for the info, especially concerning the quality of metals to look for. Joined the Castboolits forum and yes it is chock full of excellent information, thanks Don.
Mike, thanks for the heads up about the Lyman#2 on ebay. Until I understand this process a lot better I will stick with the certified products when I'm doing actual bullets. I just ordered 40 lbs of the Lyman#2 from Rotometals and discovered an extra treat. I have a galvanized boat trailer that I am rebuilding and have been trying to figure a way to re-galvanize the repaired spots. While perusing the RotoMetal site I found that they sell a galv stick that will looks as if it be suitable for that job. Thanks again to all......
PS still shoppin around for the furnace. I am leaning toward the Lee 4-20 Pro for doing bullets and will likely do the cast iron pot on a fish cooker for playing around with the unknown type metals .......
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it."
George Orwell
"Fight only when you must. But if it's unavoidable.....fight like your the third monkey trying to get on the Ark."
I mostly use old wheel weights as I have a good source that saves them up for me. All it cost me is a few hundred .40 S&W rounds a couple times a year.
I get superhard metal and tin nuggets from rotometals, to add to the wheel weights, if I feel the need for more antimony or tin. Since I have started powder coating, the need for a harder metal is not as important as it use to be, but I keep the tin nuggets for those times when for whatever reason, the alloy just will not make a good sharp edged bullet. I then toss in a nugget or two and mix it in well, and whala, perfect bullets start falling out of the mold. If not wanting to order a bunch of metals, then a 4oz piece of lead free solder does the same thing, but cost twice as much. If you have access to range scrap. Then the bought metals are almost a necessity as 75% of the scrap will usually be .22LR bullets which are really soft. Then all the jacketed stuff will be dead soft too, and will need hardening.
I'm not real picky about my alloys as all I'm doing with my bullets is plinking. I do push some loads really hard to find the limit of a certain powder or what not. But If I were hunting or competition shooting with them, I would keep better control over the alloy so that I would be more sure of the results.
I too use a turkey fryer burner as my smelter heat source. But I use a big iron skillet as the melting pot. Being shallow, it is a lot easier to clean all the clips and crud out of the melt. Also, with a deep pot, it is real easy to overload the burner as the weight builds up fast. It gets to the point that it's too heavy to pick up and pour into the ingot mold. And I have not found a good ladle that will hold a pound of molten lead.
I like having the smaller batches of molten lead for ease of handling and also, in case you let one zinc weight get in there, you don't loose the whole batch of weights. After smelting a few batches, you'll learn what they look like and how they "act", and it will be easy to get them out before they cause trouble.
Don Huff
to bad those that know it all, cant do it all!
16" SS 92 357
20" BL 92 357
20" SS 92 44
20" BL 92 44
20" Bl 92 45C
20" Bl 92 454
SS Rio Grande 30-30
Bl Rio Grande 45-70
Old gray cells aren't real sharp this morning, but somewhere I saw a brand of ladle that pours from the bottom of the load and you can buy them by weight of pour. I think the last place I saw them was at the Antimony Man website I think I heard that he's gone out of business.
Want to say the name was something like Rowell Ladle.
Make smoke,
Curt... makin' smoke and raising my carbon foot print one cartridge at a time
I got a vintage (read: heavy duty) ladle off eBay for less than $10. It holds enough to fill one corn cob shaped section. I got a slotted spoon at the dollar store. I only pour the last pan. The clips, steel weights you miss, and even zinc will float if you pay attention. Yes, it might be too heavy with 40 pounds of melt plus the pot.
I use two pair of channel locks to pour and to flip the pan.
I put the lid on 3/4 way for the first 5-10 minutes to gather heat fast then ditch the lid until the melt is clean. I then put the lid back for a few minutes to set the pan on top for preheating.
I flux with small off brand votives from Walmart or the dollar store a few times before pouring then once between each pan.
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I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane.
