Hi guy, (and gals) I'm thinking about getting in to casting 'cause some of my old pistols have some scarcity of ammo. (30 luger, 8mm lebel revolver). Is there anyone who has
a particular favorite for things like furnaces or bullet lube presses? I'd appreciate any feedback. As for sources of lead, what do you all expect to pay for used wheel weights?
Thanks. Dan.

If you are starting out, why not try some of the Lee moulds. They are inexpensive enough in the two cavity version for you to try out some of the bullets for the pistols that you have, and the two cavity will allow you to cast them reasonably quickly. If you like them, or casting, then you could get the six cavity moulds, or other brands. The lee 10 pound pot is also a good place to start. you can get a bigger one if you really start to cast a lot.
I use the Lyman lube sizer, but you could also try Lee Liquid Alox to start with and see how that works. Get fancy once you decide you want to do this a lot.

I looked on Midway and Lee seems to be the most economical. Thanks.

x1pm you will need things like lube,a melting pot to melt your wheel weights in , ingot moulds just so happends I am cutting back on my casting and have a excess of stuff that I can fix you up with give me a pm if I can help Forest Punch

I've been casting for lots of years now and all my casting stuff is Lee. I use a ten pound bottom pour lead melter and a bunch of the Lee molds. Only thing I recommend is a big cast iron pot and an inexpensive turkey fryer from Walmart if your going to melt down wheel weights or scrap lead. You can get the pot, stainless dippers and stainless strainer spoons from most thrift stores. Have some good ventilation.

You can get into this with a very low expense and this equipment makes good bullets. With the prices of ammo and components going crazy today this is a place where you can really extend your shooting dollar.

Here's my setup for casting. I'm making 38 special, 357's, 41 mags, 44 mags, 45 Colts's and 8mm rifles.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Reloading/Leemeltpotandmolds.jpg

Here is a GREAT site for boolit casters. It is totally devoted to casting, casting equipment etc.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php

As always, be sure to look the site over and read the stickies etc.

Dave

there's lots of good advice here.......i use a ten lb lee pot too... i bought my lyman moulds at a gunshow several years ago.... they were good lyman iron moulds and were not that high.. my casting setup looks alot like faucett's but i put and ingot mould under the spout to cut kinda contain the lead spatter from the drip... i put the whole thing inside a cardboard beer flat to help keep the lead contained too... i read a while back somewhere that someone was using cheap crayons from the dollar store to flux their lead with (might have been here).....if you don't have ingot moulds you can use steel muffin tins instead.. they just make round ingots instead of rectangular.....

LIFE IS SHORT....................

Hi guy, (and gals) I'm thinking about getting in to casting 'cause some of my old pistols have some scarcity of ammo. (30 luger, 8mm lebel revolver). Is there anyone who has
a particular favorite for things like furnaces or bullet lube presses? I'd appreciate any feedback. As for sources of lead, what do you all expect to pay for used wheel weights?
Thanks. Dan.
I started casting 6 or 7 years ago for 357 mag and now also cast for my 30-30 and 45-70. If you can get your alloy cheap enough you can save money. In my area the price of used WWs has been going up. The last time I went to the local recycle place I think it was 60 cents a pound. I use the Lee Pro 4-20 and like it. With the larger size you can cast longer between fill ups. After you add lead to the pot you have to let the pot heat back up to casting temperature. I have the Lee bullet sizing dies for all my calibers as well. As of now I have six of the Lee molds and one Saeco. I think the one Saeco cost as much as all of the Lee molds added together but Lee did not make the particular mold I was looking for and Saeco did. The Saeco mold is a great mold but the Lee molds work for me as well. I lube all of my bullets with the Lee Liquid Alox and have no complaints with it. Easy to do. Within the last year I started heat treating all of my cast bullets in the oven. It increases their hardness. I started it as an extension of my shooting hobby and enjoy doing it.:)
Cary

I started casting 6 or 7 years ago for 357 mag and now also cast for my 30-30 and 45-70. If you can get your alloy cheap enough you can save money. In my area the price of used WWs has been going up. The last time I went to the local recycle place I think it was 60 cents a pound. I use the Lee Pro 4-20 and like it. With the larger size you can cast longer between fill ups. After you add lead to the pot you have to let the pot heat back up to casting temperature. I have the Lee bullet sizing dies for all my calibers as well. As of now I have six of the Lee molds and one Saeco. I think the one Saeco cost as much as all of the Lee molds added together but Lee did not make the particular mold I was looking for and Saeco did. The Saeco mold is a great mold but the Lee molds work for me as well. I lube all of my bullets with the Lee Liquid Alox and have no complaints with it. Easy to do. Within the last year I started heat treating all of my cast bullets in the oven. It increases their hardness. I started it as an extension of my shooting hobby and enjoy doing it.:)
Cary I hope you are not using the stove you cook food in that a good way to get lead poisoning Forest Punch