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For those who currently cast your own bullets, do you prefer a regular furnace with a ladle, or a bottom feeder like the Lee Production Pot?

ghostrider wrote:For those who currently cast your own bullets, do you prefer a regular furnace with a ladle, or a bottom feeder like the Lee Production Pot?

The 20lb bottom pour Production Pot for casting. For bulk melting, (casting ingots, melting recovered lead to scoop out non-lead-bits, etc) I prefer to use a cast iron pan on the BBQ grill.

I've only used a bottom pour. But with either, the key to consistently good bullets is to find and maintain a rhythm that keeps your mould at the right temperature.

thanks, guys.

Anyone know where I can buy lead in the Austin area so I can pick it up rather than have to pay shipping?

ghostrider wrote:thanks, guys.

Anyone know where I can buy lead in the Austin area so I can pick it up rather than have to pay shipping?

Check with roofers after the next big storm. With landfill charges these days, they seem happy to get rid of any of the weight before they have to drive across the scales.

I use both. If I'm casting bullets for handgun I use the bottom pour for speed. Bullets for rifles get the ladle treatment they are a lot more consistent.

>Check with roofers after the next big storm. With landfill charges these days, they seem happy to get rid of any of the
>weight before they have to drive across the scales.

thanks, I'll try that. Is flashing pure lead? how much tin (solder?) will I need to add to get a decent casting alloy for 45acp?

ghostrider wrote:thanks, I'll try that. Is flashing pure lead? how much tin (solder?) will I need to add to get a decent casting alloy for 45acp?

Actually, the edge flashing is aluminum or steel these days. What you want is the parts they use around roof penetrations like drain vents. Those are pretty much dead soft so that they can be hand pressed to a tight fit. They'll know what's lead and what's not by the time they pull it off though, obviously, so they may have some of the older lead flats as well.

With the spring storm season coming up, you might call a few of them ahead of time and try to cut a deal before the rush. Since most landfills are charging by the pound now, even the small volume used on a typical roof costs them a relatively large amount to dispose of if they don't have somebody that's actually paying them for it. Even if they're separating out all the metals to sell, you shouldn't have much trouble beating the scrapyard's buying price.

ghostrider wrote:thanks, I'll try that. Is flashing pure lead? how much tin (solder?) will I need to add to get a decent casting alloy for 45acp?

Actually, the edge flashing is aluminum or steel these days. What you want is the parts they use around roof penetrations like drain vents. Those are pretty much dead soft so that they can be hand pressed to a tight fit. They'll know what's lead and what's not by the time they pull it off though, obviously, so they may have some of the older lead flats as well.

With the spring storm season coming up, you might call a few of them ahead of time and try to cut a deal before the rush. Since most landfills are charging by the pound now, even the small volume used on a typical roof costs them a relatively large amount to dispose of if they don't have somebody that's actually paying them for it. Even if they're separating out all the metals to sell, you shouldn't have much trouble beating the scrapyard's buying price.

I use a bottom pour for casting. I buy bulk alloy already mixed to my specs in 18# ingots. I melt the ingots in a cast iron pot I picked up at Academy for 20 bucks and convert it to 1# bars using Lyman 4X1 # mold with a wood handle. I have 5 of these, so I can keep dipping and melting while they cool. The 1# are just right to add to the pot and not cool the pot so as to interrupt the casting rhythm. Every time I get a # out the spot, I drop a # in and keep on casting. This really helps keep the spout pressure even as well. I will flux the batch every 5 or 6 pounds with candle wax, but with clean alloy it is minimally important. Use good clean alloy and you rarely have to clean the pot. I used scrap and wheel weights for a long time, until I got tired of adjusting the mix, adding tin, adding lino or antimony to harden, trying to guess the hardness, etc..... Get the right stuff the first time, and casting can be a lot of fun.

Griz44 wrote:I use a bottom pour for casting. I buy bulk alloy already mixed to my specs in 18# ingots. I melt the ingots in a cast iron pot I picked up at Academy for 20 bucks and convert it to 1# bars using Lyman 4X1 # mold with a wood handle. I have 5 of these, so I can keep dipping and melting while they cool. The 1# are just right to add to the pot and not cool the pot so as to interrupt the casting rhythm. Every time I get a # out the spot, I drop a # in and keep on casting. This really helps keep the spout pressure even as well. I will flux the batch every 5 or 6 pounds with candle wax, but with clean alloy it is minimally important. Use good clean alloy and you rarely have to clean the pot. I used scrap and wheel weights for a long time, until I got tired of adjusting the mix, adding tin, adding lino or antimony to harden, trying to guess the hardness, etc..... Get the right stuff the first time, and casting can be a lot of fun.

Where do you get your 18# ingots?