Casting balls?

[Bluegrass]

OK, first, what exactly does flux do and is it necessary for casting RBs? I have a Lee .350 single cavity mold,a Lee ladle and I'm orderin' a Lee melting pot from Track. Is there anything else I need? I'll be using a Coleman stove to melt the lead. I'm new to casting balls, so any suggestions will be appreciated! :thumbsup:

 

[bulletman]

I been using Lee molds and coleman stove, You might want a thermometer so you can cast them all at about the same temp. I usually dont flux, I never noticed a difference when I did so I just stir and skim the top, drop on a towel. I found a thermometer on Ebay for like 10 bucks, goes to over 1,000 degrees. get pure lead at the junk yard cheap.you can get real nice BIG dutch oven at walmart real cheap too, its just a big ole pot. bigger and better I think than what the online reloading and gun places offer.
check this out.
http://forums.handloads.com/
http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/castingintro/index.asp

 

[wulf]

Above all,,make sure you dont drip any water into the lead pot....You will have a lead explosion.

 

[Zonie]

"...Is there anything else I need?..."

You need a towel or something like one to drop the hot balls onto. If you drop them on a hard surface while they are still hot and soft they will be deformed. (Don't steal your wifes good towels. Wives take a dim view of using their good towels for this).

You need a stick.
I use a 3/4 X 3/4 X 8 inch piece of walnut but any wood will do.
This is used to tap the steel plate to the side to shear off the lead sprue (the place where the lead was poured thru into the mold). Don't use a metal rod or hammer. They will damage the mold.

Sometimes a candle is handy to have. You can use it to blacken the inside of the mold to reduce the tendency of the ball to stick in one of the half cavities when the mold is opened.

The comment about not letting water fall into the molten lead also applies to your sweat.
It is really best to wear some kind of safety glasses. If you don't have safety glasses then wear whatever kind you can find. Your skin will heal from an accident. Your eyes won't.

Do your casting somewhere where there is good ventilation. The pot will give off lead fumes. These won't kill you, but they won't do you any good either.

Have fun!

 

SAFETY,SAFETY,SAFETY,SAFETY,SAFETY, and still more SAFETY!
Wear eye protection, welders gloves and it's a darned good idea to wear a leather paron if you cast while sitting down.
Spill lead into your lap just once and you'll give a whole new meaning to hot balls!
Cast outside if at all possible, I don't believe anyone should ever cast indoors for several reasons.
One it's a FIRE hazard, you wanna burn yer house down to save a few pennies? Two, lead vapors won't do anyone any good.
Third, ventilataion is better outdoors and it's less likely your family will hear you scream and cuss when your burn yourself for not wearing golves, eye protection and an apron.
I have an electric lead pot, 100 pounds of PURE lead, a thermometer, lotsa molds, other goodies and STILL buy lead balls.
I'm not concvinced it's any cheaper to cast (electric cost and my time) roundballs than to buy them.
However I do cast bullets that can't be bought.
Shooting is fun to me, casting isn't.
If you shoot less that 200 balls a year then casting is a waste of your time.
If you shoot more than 200 balls a year it's REALLY a waist of your time.
My opinion only.

 

[robinghewitt]

Fluxing does nothing except stink up your shop.

The trick to casting balls is to keep the sprue molten for as long as possible. The outside of the ball hardens first leaving a molten core that wants to pull in more lead as it contracts. As soon as the sprue sets it can't pull diddly so keep the sprue molten and well supplied with new lead if you can.
:results:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Now . . . I was always informed that fluxing causes impurities to rise to the surface. At higher temperatures and with enough time it will also bring lighter metals (tin, antimony, arsenic, etc) to the top where they can be skimmed off. If you're using filthy scrap lead you should flux.

I toss in a pea sized chunk of beeswax and stir up the melt and scrape the sides, then skim the dross with a perforated spoon, before I pour into ingots on the first melt of scrap lead on the Coleman. Then I repeat when I fill my electric furnace.

 

[robinghewitt]

Fluxing certainly works on a solder wave machine, you throw in a couple of flux pellets and the wave suddenly takes on a mirror finish. I think it's a surface effect though, can't see how it would penetrate the depths of a tank though ::

OTOH I have no evidence to say that it doesn't, so I ain't about to argue :hmm:

 

[musketman]

I think it's a surface effect though, can't see how it would penetrate the depths of a tank though ::

OTOH I have no evidence to say that it doesn't, so I ain't about to argue :hmm:

Once fluxed, dump it out into another pot and see if the bottom side is shiny, then you will know... :winking:

 

[RussB]

Maxiball..."I'm not concvinced it's any cheaper to cast (electric cost and my time) roundballs than to buy them."

Me too, with roundballs. Especially the smaller calibers.
Now casting is the only way to fly, with many of the Conicals, because of shipping.
Anyone ever received a hundred or so HB conicals that were "out-of-round" from the rough handling during shipping?We probably blamed the manufacturer for this little over sight.
The skirt on HB conicals is somewhat fragil when cast from pure lead, and roll as hard as we might, it is hard to get back in "round".
Besides that, IMO, casting adds a whole new dimension to your shooting experience.
I'm also not so sure that the "lead poison" thing is not more government hoop-la than factual. :imo:


I enjoy casting, and I try to promote it when possible. I feel I can make a better cast bullet that what I can buy.
Russ

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm not concvinced it's any cheaper to cast (electric cost and my time) roundballs than to buy them.

True. And you can buy beer cheaper than you can make it, watch baseball easier than you can play it, and kiss the back of your hand easier than a pretty girl on the lips. :winking:

IT"S FUN! Well, mostly.

 

[bulletman]

Its cheaper and worth it, now every one get back to casting dangit ! ::

 

Its cheaper and worth it, now every one get back to casting dangit ! ::

It's NOT cheaper and NOT worth it. Unless of course you WANT to, then that's the BEST reason of all.
Centerfire rifles are much more efficient than muzzle loaders, but to me, not near the fun and the challenge.
By all means if you want to cast ball, or bullet then that's what you should do.
Now conicals are a totaly different matter, as Russ says, with shipping and retail costs of bullets casting is far and away cheaper and the hollow base bullets are mush better quality hand cast.
But if you wanna cast itty-bitty roundies, go fer it!
I too think the lead poisoning thing is over rated unless a bullet is inserted directly into your body at high velocity, THEN it's a REAL problem. :haha: :haha:
I've read the lead vapor danger is ONLY present if the lead is heated to over 1000 degrees. Anyone know about this?
Anyway " 'cause I wanna" is the best reason in the world to do anything. :thumbsup:

 

[Bluegrass]

Thanks fer all the replies yall!

I just called in my order with Track, but I didn't get the flux. I'm almost sure I won't be able to pick any up around here, and I also don't know how I'm gonna get me grubby mitts on any bees wax. So, is there anything more available than store bought flux or bees wax that I can use for flux?

 

[bulletman]

No really it is cheaper, I bought the lead from a scrap yard dirt cheap and keep using it over and over , occasionally I add more lead. paid about 20 bucks per hundred pounds. Thats alot of balls.

 

[Zonie]

"....So, is there anything more available than store bought flux or bees wax that I can use for flux? "

Use the candles that your kids broke when they were using them as swords.
Don't use the good ones your wife saves for the special dinner she never gets around to fixing though.

Paraffin works about as well as bees wax. Besides, if you find some bees wax, you should be making some of Stumpys Moose Snot for patch lube.

As far as cheaper goes let's say you got some high priced lead at $2.00/pound. If your casting .440 dia balls for your .45 that pound of lead will make 54 balls. (7000 grains/129 grains).
As I figgure it, that makes 100 of your .440 dia balls cost about $3.70 .
Out here in Arizonie, some of us think $3.70 is less money than the $7.50 or $8.00 they want at the gun store for 100 swaged balls, but we might be mistaken. That Arizonie sun can cook yer brains!!! ::
I gotta admit, you don't get that little red or yellow box tho. Maybe that's where the extra money goes. ::

 

[Bluegrass]

If I can get lead fer $2 a pound, and I'm castin' 64 gr. .350s fer me .36, that means I can get 109 cast balls fer $2 plus labor, or 100 swaged Hornadys fer about $7.50! All the sudden, castin' my own balls seems like a real good idear! :thumbsup: And to top it all off, I still have 2 Hornady boxes I can put the balls I just cast in!

"I gotta admit, you don't get that little red or yellow box tho."

Oh yeah, how do ya make Moose Snot and what makes it better than spit or the dreaded Bore Butter? (Yes, I know Bore Butter aint very PC.)

 

[RussB]

Thanks fer all the replies yall!

I just called in my order with Track, but I didn't get the flux. I'm almost sure I won't be able to pick any up around here, and I also don't know how I'm gonna get me grubby mitts on any bees wax. So, is there anything more available than store bought flux or bees wax that I can use for flux?

Bluegrass....Not to worry! You have lot's of stuff around the house that you can flux with. Keep in mind there are a few casters who NEVER flux. One can go overboard on fluxing and removing the dross.
We, all to often, think of dross as impurities that are unwanted in our melt. If you are using "pure lead"....at least as pure as you can buy/get nowadays...you don't have a whole lot of excess "dross". Most of that "stuff" we get on top will stay on top and never hurt anything.

Fluxing is at it's best when shooting Wheel Weights. There we have lots of unwanted manure that needs to be removed, while some of it is helpful for filling the mould just right. Wheel Weights are a wonderful alloy for casting smokeless bullets with a hardness of around BHN 9. If we want them harder, we simply heat treat them. (I also shoot round ball cast from Wheel Weight.)

A green stick with the bark removed makes a good fluxing agent, just don't burn it to the point it drops back in the pot in chunks..... Old, large Candles, in bean size chunks, makes a good agent. Even a long candle (dinner style) makes a good agent, just be quick in getting a couple of stirs before you get "flame-up". Bees Wax is great, Parafin is fine, and Kitty Litter, one spoon full, makes a great fluxing agent, and puts a smile on your pot when it's time to clean it.

The thing about Marvelux is; It doesn't flame up, it doesn't have "a lot" of fumes, and it lasts a life time. However, the down side of Marvelux, IMHO, is it takes it's toll on the pot, and the adjusting rod, on a bottom pour pot. There are those who swear by Marvelux, and there are those who swear at Marvelux.

Don't make casting a chore. Make it something you look forward to doing during down time at the range. It adds a whole 'nother dimension to your world of shooting, and it ain't hard, and it ain't complicated....it just takes a bit of practice.
Flux is found all over the house, and out in the yard, when ya feel ya just gotta have it.
:m2c:
Russ

 

[Xtramad]

I too think the lead poisoning thing is over rated unless a bullet is inserted directly into your body at high velocity, THEN it's a REAL problem. :haha: :haha:
I've read the lead vapor danger is ONLY present if the lead is heated to over 1000 degrees. Anyone know about this?

I've tried heating lead over very hot coals, I guess the temp got to about 600-700 degrees centigrade. It was a real pain because the lead oxidized much more quickly, making me have to skim off thick layers of reddish grey oxide for every bullet cast. I don't really think lead vapors can stay airborn without instantly oxidizing and falling back down into the pot. :imo:

I guy I know got aches and temporary paralysis in his arms after a week of intensive bullet casting. His doctor told him it was because of the lead oxidizing into water soluble salts from contact with the sweat (acid) in his hands. These lead salts will absorbe through the skin.

BTW, I never flux, only skim. To be honest, I never knew you were supposed to flux. I've never had any problems with just skimming even though I use every source of lead.

 

[Zonie]

I know ole Maxi will call me wierd but I actually enjoy casting balls and Minies for my guns. It's a great way to spend a few hours.

Of course we all know there were kids who used to enjoy casting little lead solders (before we all became so edumacated about protecting kids from the fun stuff and teaching them that solders aren't neat).