Well here we go. I looked for some good videos on the process of casting and never really found something that worked for me. There are some really good write ups on this process. The problem I had with these is everyone kind of acted like they were some Scientist. It doesnt have to be that hard when you first start out.
The first thing you should do is try to read a good reloading manual or casting manual. I read the Casting section of the Modern Reloading Manual from Lee 3-4 times....
After you have done that and you think that casting is something you want to get into, we need to get a few items.
You dont need to get these exact item but I thought this would be the best way to do it for me.
Some type of burner. We are using a Turkey Frier.
Now that we have the heat we are going to need a good pair of gloves!!!! I am using a pair of leather work gloves and a set of Welding Gloves. Make sure they are thick or your hands will get hot in a hurry.
Then we need a way to melt the WW (Wheel Weights) down. For this I am using a 1 pint Cast Iron pot.
Now you can use the Lee Production bottom pour pots for this but I think it would be a pain in the butt to get all of the clips and contamination out. I would also not want all of that in my production pot.
Regardless of how you melt it down you will need a set of needle nose pliers, A spoon off some sorts (just a old spoon) slotted spoons work really well for this, And a place to put all of the clips and contaminated lead scale.
You will also need to get a Flux of some kind. I am using Lee bullet lube for this. You can use bees wax, and I have heard of some people using saw dust?? I use the Lee Bullet Lube just to keep it simple for me. What ever you use make sure the it does not have a corrosive in it or it will rust your pots in a hurry. There are many brands out there a quick Google search will find you many.
We are going to need some type of Mould to put all of the melted lead!!! I have the Lee Ingot Mould, but it was just not very good for producing alot of lead. The Aluminum is thin so it stays molten and soft for a while before you can dump and refill. My fix to this was the FISH AND CORN moulds!!!!!!! It also is just something different. Not to mention that they are cheaper than the Lee Ingot Mould. They are simply Cast Iron corn bread moulds. The fish Mould is just over 2 pounds and the corn Mould is just over 1 pound when ther bars come out.
I have heard of people using all sorts of things for the Ingots. Cupcake tins, Soda cans with the tops cut off, Loaf pans, Really what ever you can find that is metal could work.
THIS IS YOUR ENEMY!!!!!!!!! This is a ZINK WW. If you keep the heat DOWN to just were the WW start melting the Zink will not have a chance to melt. Lead melts at 621*f. Zink melts at 786*f. So if you get a WW that just seems to not want to melt just let it go it will be ok you can get more lol. This WW had a thick coat of paint on it and look like all of the other WW in the bucket... You should not find to many of these. Just work fast as the lead starts to melt and you should be ok.
Last but not least you will need a good source for these!!!!!
Now have a look at these videos and I hope they help!!!!!!!
Ok this is another work in progress for me like I said above I have to either figure out how to cut this video down as it was 56mb to large. I will also get together videos getting it form the corn and fish into the bullet form.
Please remember I am by no means a expert at this...yet... I just know that something like this would have really helped me as I though I had to go to MIT before I would have the smarts to do something like this. It is quite the opposite. IT IS A VERY EASY PROCESS. Just take your time and use some trial and error.
Hope this helps some of you out.
Tutorial to come. For now here is the video!
MORE TO FOLLOW!!!!!THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY REFERENCE YOU USE!!!!!!
