Casting Bullets on a Budget (Part 1 of 5) - Setup and Safety (1080p HD)
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- This is the first of a 5 part series where I will attempt to show you how to cast your own bullets easily without breaking the bank - Setup and Safety
What happened to part 2 of this 5 part series? Can't find it...looks like it was deleted...? What's the story...?
On your safety list should be good ventilation. I melted lead for years in a confined space as a plumber, breathing the fumes. If you think you won't get lead in your system doing it in your basement or garage without all the windows and doors open your wrong.. Also, to clean up the wheel weights melt them in a lead ladle with a torch to pour your ingots. Then use in your smelter. You don't have a bottom feed to mess up with dirty lead but it will decrease the wear and tear on your pot. Much faster also if you have a big torch tip. I can melt a full ladle in a fraction of the time an electric pot takes to heat up.
Move that water farther away from your hot lead!!!!
From what I have heard you should not hit the actual mold with the stick, could break the mold. Instead hit the axis-area further down if you know what I mean. Also water should be further away from the smelter for explosive reasons.
You never hit the mold blocks to release your bullets. Hit only the handle bolt that joins the two half’s together
You should probably do this outside or have a good exhaust fan circulating fresh air. Your lead exposure here is probably pretty low but lead builds up in the body. Once it gets in your body it never gets flushed out. Lead exposure is cumulative over a lifetime so it's something you want to be aware of & limit exposure as much as is reasonably possible.
@monsterman27 I have never actually use wheel weights. A lot of people say it is ok to use as is. The problem now is that the EPA has come down on all the tire shops and making them switch from lead wheel weights to zinc wheel weights. It is getting increasingly harder to find free lead.
Also, if no one has mentioned it already. The long sleeve shirt should be cotton or a even a leather welding jacket for the ultimate safety. A synthetic material will melt and stick to your skin, if splattered. Thanks for making these videos.
Great series man, not sure how I missed it. Good job.
Good vid!!. Just some things I noticed which beginners should avoid, 1) avoid hitting the alluminum mold when trying to tap cast out, instead strike the bolt which holds the the two halves together. If you strike the allum blocks you can cause some damage as they heat up. It also says this in the Lee instructions.
Same here, no water ON the table.
I do have a bucket of water UNDER the table to pull the bullets in.
So lead may drop into the water, but no water into the lead.
dangerous work conditions. never have water anywhere close to the molten lead. you could get hurt from the reaction of the exploding molten lead. also never hit your mold. if your gonna hit it, hit the nut on the hinge.
If you ever go to the auto scrap yard, older cars and trucks have huge pure lead weights in the steering wheels to dampen vibrations.
Heres a tip when younreturn the bad bullet or sprues to the put them in a small paper bag then floar on the moleten lead as the paper bag burns up the lead gets dryed out the moisture is flashed off as steam I use the very small sandwich bags or beercan sized bags the liquor store gives you when buy a single can of beer
You appear to have some experience casting, but I'm wondering about how CLOSE your water drop pan is to your small melter. That can be very dangerous. I qwik search on the web will show what damage can be done by only a couple of drops of water splashing back into your pot. BOOM-steam explosion and lead all over the place. Melted lead is particularly sensitive to water. Do think you should warn inexperienced casters to keep ANY water/liquid of ANY kind far away from the melting pot. Agreed?
I’ve read date, that, while the bath hardens your shot, if not used over time, they will eventually soften, LOLOL so I figured why bother!
You want hard bullets, use Linotype lead!
@choopdewoot It is designed for lead which has a melting point of 327 degrees celsius. silver is at about 3 times that temperature and gold is even higher. It might be possible with this but i doubt it.
I’ve been casting since 1977! And I’ve never heard of have a water bath, near molten lead!
Let alone putting wet lead rejects into molten lead! Just unbelievable
That's typical of this day and age newbies making an instructional video
you could just dry off the cast bullets before you through them back in the pot so there is no water on them. they would be cooled down by the time it came to do this. so dry them off put them in, no splatter.
I don't know if you are still active but if so where can I find #2, 4 and 5 of this series? Thanks.
Where is part 2 of this series?
2) Try using a smaller spoon. I went a purchased a spare Lee ladle and use that to remove the "crud" for the surface. I even went really cheap and used a 12" spiral nail/spike and would drag the end you hit with a hammer thru the molten lead ad simply tap "crud" into coffee can.
And lastly, Bees wax makes the best flux.
Cheers & Happy New Years 2013
You can use wheel weights, i do it, but they are short on tin and only a little Antomony (about 4%) So if you add 1.5% Tin and 2% An, there perfect. As they sit, they leve a little to be desired. In a pinch perhaps. Great for slugs and shot though. Good luck.
have you heard of the freechex gas check making dies? I heard you can make gas checks from soda cans, sheet metal, and aluminium siding with it. I like your set up I am gonna do something similar.
Not sure where you are, but to all the new smelters, DO THIS OUTSIDE! NOT IN YOUR HOUSE
Video 2 in the playlist is deleted. Is this a concern for learning purposes?
thanks for the quick reply. Yeah I just roamed around youtube and seen a lot of guys using gas checks. But there never explained enough why they use um. I haven't got that far deep into reloading and I thought it was another tool in a tool box kind of thing.
never hit the mold blocks to release the bullet(s), if they lead won't drop out, tap the hinge instead.
You are the man! Thank you for making this.
is there anything to know about using wheel weights? I heard there is too much tin in them and they are too hard.
No I do not. I don't load anything hot enough to require them. And If I do load a hot 44mag or 10mm, I will buy either plated or jacketed bullets. Gas checking wouldnt be hard but it is yet another component to keep stock.
@shotbyspike i have not personally used wheel weight so i couldnt tell you. i guess keep trying. make sure they know you are not asking for the unused ones. ask for the old ones that come off of wheels.
My grandfather kept water that close to his pot and he also had lead all over his ceiling from it exploding when water got in it.
couldn't you use one of those side-burners like at walmart, they're like 10-15$? i've seen guys make larger lead ingots with them?
Coolcataye you mold is not hot enough and the lead is cooling before it completely fills the mold. cast your slugs faster or dip the corner of the mold in molten lead. dont be afraid to put the wrinkled bullets back in to pot since your casting huge bullets reitively speaking the wrinkleing proplem will be worse than say 9mm bullets try turning up the heat on your pot a lil bit more hope this helps get back to me if you need more help
thanks for sharing. Can't wait to start casting.
@lskw1 the rest of them are already uploaded. The last part of the series will show a cost break down. If you don't mind me spoiling the ending, it is roughly $85 for the first caliber :)
been waiting for someone to make wanna these videos for a long time. looking forward to the rest of em...whats your estimated start up costs just to cast, not the reloading equipt..
nice video man.... the water pan for quenching.... wasn't that too close to the furnace?.....steam explosion safety?.... and air flow?...fan........
No first hand experience but from reading and talking with a couple experienced bullet casters...water hitting the surface of molten lead will sizzle away without penetrating. The danger is when that water gets below the surface by being attached to something that takes it under (like adding wet lead or a wet ladle, etc). If moisture gets below the surface the instantly expanding trapped steam will cause a violent explosion.🗯
As far as toxic fumes, those might come from impurities or flux material, but not the lead itself, unless you are way overheating your lead and actually burning it off. Better safe than sorry I guess, but the fumes will not be containing lead molecules or increasing lead content in your body. Doesn't absorb through your skin easily either. The big risk is ingesting it by touching your mouth with dirty hands or touching things that will go in your mouth like food, drink, cigarettes, chew, etc. Or breathing smoke/dust from fired primers that contain lead styphate (sp?) that has burned at extremely high temp...like in an unventilated indoor range...
Nicely done. FYI, move that pan of water away from the melter. You get a splash and a couple of drops into your lead melter, and you'll be wearing most of that lead!
good vid, but playlist is in the wrong sequence.
It's really bad practice to have water anywhere near your lead pot
Really like the video… but bud, having that pan of water by your melting pot is just asking for trouble
@Glockster42 thanks! it was late last night when i put them up :)
Now it is going for about $1 for ww and ready lead 2-6 is almost 2$ (unless by the 1000lb) Pre casted rounds, depending on calibure calculates around 5-6$ a pound if bought by small quantity. Savings of about 8$ per 100 rounds in lets say 9mm 124gr. My advice, do it as a hobby, not for savings. :)
Im buying pure lead shipped for $2.25 a pound in 20 poung lots
Just a couple of notes on your setup:
Water quench is too close to your pot.
Flammables too close to the pot.
Appears like a lack of ventilation.
Not flaming you at all it's a great hobby, just hate to see you have a accident that could be prevented plus over time the lead fumes are really really bad for you.
to get leads wheel weights just go to a wrecking yard and tell them you are collecting wheel weights. most of the time they will give them to you so they dont have to pay employees to remove them
or they will let you get all you want for $5-$10.. wich is a good deal for a 5 gallon bucket of lead..or call all the local dentist offices and ask them for all of the old xray lead films.. they will be happy dispose of them it is clean lead films
and you dont need to do anything to them but melt them..
do you do gas checks on you bullets.
Hi Brother
first let me thank you so much for the nice videos you make for us (y)
second, i winder if you know how to make thin sheets of lead
i ll be so greateful
thank you in advance
When I cast 12 ga. slugs, why do they come out wrinkled looking? Does anyone know the problem?
Several possibilities...mold needs to be warmed up hotter, melted lead needs to be hotter, and/or tin content needs to be a bit higher...
by any chance can it melt brass ?? just curious ??
It might but just barely I wouldn't recommend it. I have a Lee Lead Pot Production IV and on the highest setting it stabilizes to about 900C which is just barely the melting point of brass.