Casting and handloading - moneymoneymoney

[flb_78]

I just joined a gun club today here in Amarillo. They harvest about 200lbs of lead every month out of the sand pit and it's available to anyone who wants it.

[lrb111]

Our range won't allow anyone to dig it up. It's been collecting lead since the 1940's. I just know there are 20 pound clods of lead in there.

[tfrazier]

Well, here's what I did today:

I cast 32 pounds of ingots - used about an eighth of the wheel weights I have on hand. Now if Lee will just get the handles shipped to me for my six-cavity mold I'll be in business.

Just casting ingots was so relaxing and fun I think I'm going to be in total nirvana once I actually start casting bullets.

[tfrazier]

Yeah, I'm resisting an urge to go bury it in the back yard and create a treasure map. Depending on how much more I get in and how fast I can turn it into bullets, I might bury some and then dig it up on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

[flb_78]

Yeah, I'm resisting an urge to go bury it in the back yard and create a treasure map. Depending on how much more I get in and how fast I can turn it into bullets, I might bury some and then dig it up on International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

But first...

[tfrazier]

Metallic gold spray paint. Since I work at a jewelry retailer's corporate offices, I've just had an excellent prank idea pop into my head...I need an ingot mold that doesn't imprint 'Lyman' or 'Lee'.

[tfrazier]

I guess I have the current ammo shortage to thank for my fun new money saving hobby. If bullets hadn't gotten so scarce I never would have tried casting my own.

I thought reloading was saving me a bunch, but now that I'm casting my own bullets, I'm down to around a buck-seventy-five per 50 rounds of loaded ammo!

Free wheel weights


Cast into ingots


Melted in Lee production furnace


Cast with Lee six cavity mold

(yes, I know you've never seen one like that...Lee still has their handles on back-order, and I got tired of waiting. I welded two pieces of strap steel onto a set of old channel lock pliers, drilled a couple of holes, and mounted the Lee mold on them. Heavy, but works great.

Viola! DIY Bullets! I can cast over 600 in less than an hour with this gang mold, and the reject rate is only about 2%, which go right back into the pot...no waste.


Then they go through the liquid Alox tumble lube process, a day of drying time, and ready to load.
I'm kicking myself over all the money I wasted buying cast bullets over the years. This is fun and so economical I even feel a little guilty!

Of course, the government will screw it all up sooner or later, either with the ban on lead wheel weights in 2011 (so I've heard) or they'll figure out a way to tax DIY bullet casting. But I'm gonna cast like crazy while the lead supply lasts.

[gregthehand]

Are you guys going to the mom and pop tire stores? I called Discount tire and a few other chain stores and they said they have to send their's to their corporate warehouse and they melt them down to use again.

[tfrazier]

Are you guys going to the mom and pop tire stores? I called Discount tire and a few other chain stores and they said they have to send their's to their corporate warehouse and they melt them down to use again.

Nope. I tried that early on, and discovered that every store in the Grapevine area either has to send them to their corporate offices or has a contract with Interstate Batteries who buys the old lead and apparently picks it all up weekly.

Mine is coming from a relative who lives nearly 100 miles away...he has an established relationship with one of his local businesses that does a lot of fleet maintenance, not just tires.

The only suggestions I have are to hit every mom and pop mechanic shop you can, especially businesses that do tires but don't specialize in them (there's still a few of those that haven't caught on to the business side of those used wheel weights) and then think outside the box. Check with anyone doing demolition of old medical facilities. Dental offices and medical imaging buildings typically have lots of lead lined panels from wall shielding and x-ray plates. Sometimes you can find that stuff for free if you get hold of the right demolition/construction guy.

I also scored a gallon bucket of old lead masonry screw anchors from a buddy who was cleaning out his construction shed.

I think they were pure lead so I melted them in a little at a time with the WWs while casting ingots.

The trick to cheap (or free) lead for bullet casting is to find it before the scrap dealers do. Post adds on Craig's list offering 25 cents a pound...you might get some bites there.

I even tried getting a local lead smelting company to sell me 500 lbs, figuring they'd do 50 cents per pound if I picked it up and saved them the exorbitant shipping costs. Nothin' doin. They told me they charged a flat per pound rate that included anywhere in the U.S. because shipping was built in to their price and it was the same for everyone even if they lived a hundred yards from the plant. And they wanted $4.50 per pound.

[tfrazier]

Thanks, Andy. Best pricing I've seen yet.

By the way, anyone know what zinc wheel weights are worth to scrappers? I'm culling out quite a few of them from my stash and wondering what they'll bring once I've amassed a five gallon bucket full.