Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: recurve shooter on October 12, 2010, 09:32:39 pm
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hi guys. it seems that all the vids i find on youtube of folks casting bullets use those big electric furnace things. i assume there is some advantage to them, but i dont have the cash to get one right now. could you do it with say a large propane burner and an old pot and still get decent bullets? i really want to get into casting bullets, and im trying to figure out the best way to go about it. thanks for the help guys.
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Trey, that's what I'm doing. I use a propane burner, old steel pot and a dipper. Like in the movie the Patriot, except I'm not melting those valuable toy soldiers.
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Mesquite fire and an old bean can with a spout crimped into one side worked fine for me. Once your mold heats up you'll get some slick bullets outa there.
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awsome. ok, here go a few more questions. aluminum or steel/iron molds? and on youtube i see alot of guys drop the hot bullets into watter right out of the mold. would that make minnis to brittle? and i think i would get lead from tire shops, would that be the best source? thanks again guys!
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i think i would try to find another source for your lead tire weights may be to hard for bullets they have too much tin in them.
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hmmm. where els could you get it for free/really cheap? ???
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do you know any roofers they used lead in old houses for flashing and seals around vent pipes we used to get it when we roofed old houses.
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The usual test for lead is whether you can scratch it with a fingernail. Wheelweights and linotype are common sources, but they use a fair amount of other metals to allow it and make it harder. For roundballs you will want the purest/softest lead. Sheet lead from roofing and the flashing stuff mentioned above is usually pretty good.
A few years ago I paid $20 for 60# and the guy apologized for the high price, a year later I paid $110 for 50# from the same scrap metal dealer, except now he was wearing a tie. You can also order new lead from catalogs from the nuzzleloading trade, but you are gonna hemorhage money for shipping.
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You can use a camp stove, or small fire, and a cast iron pot, or anything that won't melt at the temps you need to melt the lead.
I have both steel and aluminum moulds. The aluminum ( Lee ) moulds are cheaper, and come with handles, and they are great moulds. About $25.00 for them. The steel ones, will run that and more for just the mould, and then you have to pay about that for the handles. Your choice. I really like the Lee moulds. When I first bought my TC Hawken kit, and finally got it finished, and sighted it in at a friends house, it was just getting dark when I got the consistant shots I was looking for, and it was just about dark by then. So I only had one Maxie ball left. And I was heading out to a place to hunt very early the next morning, so I just grabbed my little lead pot, that used to be electric, but burnt out, and some roofing/plumbers flashing, and headed for the area to hunt, and got my camp set up, and hit the rack. Got up just before daylight, made some hot tea, and melted some lead, and poured my self six Maxie balls, just as the sun was coming up. Didn't get a shot at a Deer, saw plenty, just weren't in muzzle loader range. I try to keep it at a maximum of a hundred yds. It shoots dead on at that range, and I don't like to push my luck. With the .50, and pure soft lead, it will do a lot damage. A friend of mine shot one in the same area, at about 75 yds or so, and it just fell over, never kicked, or moved.
No you don't need an electric melting pot, but they are handy. Again lee makes a nice one fairly cheap.
Do like Brian said, and look around for a roofing company, and tell them what you need. Check some old dumps also. If you can get the wheel weights, get them, but save them for use with modern bullets, for your pistol, or low loads for your rifle. I used hard cast bullets for my .44 mag, and .44 special, they shoot very well. Good luck in your search, and try to stick to soft lead. ;)
Wayne
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Trey, I'll save my airgun pellets for you. I'll let you know when i have a handful. piper
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I've got plumbers lead or lead from Scuba weights. I've also used tire weights and didn't have a problem.
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My buddy and I shot an archery tournament at Briarfield Iron Works state park this fall, this is the site of the Alabama state M/L championship. We picked up about 100 lbs of lead in an hour out of the berm.
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thanks for all the tips guys. after school ima go run around town and see what i can come up with. cant wait to get into this. should be fun. ;D
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Do you have any big Electrical Companies around you? The ones that do Industrial and Commercial Wiring. These Companies use 15,000 kv and up Cable for high voltage ...and this wiring is shielded with a pure lead casing....I have absconded as much as 400 pounds from their dumpster at a time....this stuff I'd so soft that you can tear it by hand....perfect for percussion or flintlock ammo...just a thought.
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Dang, El D, I never knew that. Well that is another source, I can look for. Thanks. I just have to find a company that does that kind of work. ::)
Wayne
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Wayne...they normally just pile.it up out back....or toss it out....so I scab on to what I can get for reloading....but I have to mix it with tin to harden it up for my 45acp :D
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hmmm ok well all the tire shops i checked today wouldnt give me any because they said they are under a contract with some recycling company. my pawpaw found some plumbing strore that sells it but they want sixteen bucks for five pounds of it. so i guess im still on the hunt for lead. i dont know if we have an electric co around here, but i'll check and see.
again, thanks for all the help. :)
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Another thing you may look for is Babbitt...some Babbitt Alloys are 80% lead.... 15% antimony.... 5% tin and some are 75% lead.... 10% tin.
There are a couple of Pure Lead Sinker companies that I know of that will sell you Lead for $1.75 a pound...up to 60 pounds ....and ship it USPS Priority Mail for $13.00
Most new Tire weights have very little lead in them...thanks to the EPA...they are mainly alloys now
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I always just used a tin can and some vice-grips over a fire or Coleman stove like Cowboy said. I got ahold of a whole bunch of lead awhile back that was behind the sheetrock in an x-ray room. Hope it ain't radioactive. ;D
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I got a bunch of that big electric cable wrap lead - its about gone now. I'm wondering about old car batteries? Would the acid in that lead be detrimental to the bore of your guns and rifles? Not trying to hijack a thread - just curious..
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Paul...either Sodium Hydroxide or plain old Baking Soda will neutralize Sulphuric Acid.... then simlply rinse the Plates well with Water...and heat to melt the Lead out
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Hillbilly, My Dad got some of that X-ray lab lead also, quite a few years back. We used to make fishing lures out of it, and I used it for my muzzle loaders. Except for this third eye, I haven't noticed any problems.......oh, wait a minute that is just a big zit. ::) Dang, never seen a Zit wink before...... :o ;D
Wayne
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lol. well i'll have to dig around and see where i can get it from. thanks a ton guys!
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My buddy and I shot an archery tournament at Briarfield Iron Works state park this fall, this is the site of the Alabama state M/L championship. We picked up about 100 lbs of lead in an hour out of the berm.
I picked lead from a shooting range berm long ago and got plenty of stock. When melting it down the copper jackets float to the top and are easy to skim. But I found the lead to be very hard stuff, not good for muzzleloaders at all. Gave it all to a friend that casts for his 44 Mag. He also cast up 20 lbs of 3/8 and 1/2 ounce catfishing weights for me just for the promise of a few filets ever summer. Done deal!
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ok, problem solved. turns out there is a scrap yard about five miles from the house. lead for a buck a pound. and i borrowed islandpiper's mic and found some patch material thats actually the right thickness. now it shoots right lol. so, ima get my paycheck tonight after work, along with two hundred bucks for my birthday, and i'll be buying my molds, ingot mold, and dipper thing. cant wait!!! thanks guys!!
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Just remember to take advantage of the best ventilation you can muster. It's really possible to suffer real brain damage from the fumes off molten lead. It seriously beats the crap outa your coordination and will ruin your ability to shoot bows or even make 'em.
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Listen to what JW said about good ventilation. ;) It can do some nasty stuff your nervous system. Not just dain bramage! ;) ;D
Wayne
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Yep...have a Buddy that worked for Years in a Radiator Shop...ended up with Lead Poisoning....and Mercury Poisoning...had to go in for Chelation Treatments to remove the Heavy Metals from His Blood...but the Brain and Nervous Sysytem Damage is permanent....He has a constant twitch now in His Tongue....and His Hands shake like Parkinsons....do it outside when Possible...or with one hell of a good exhaust fan please...
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Dropping wheelweights in water hardens the lead, good for high velocity pistols or medium velocity rifle. I've used hardened wheelweights in my .44 mag lever action rifle for hunting big game for years.
The commercial hollow base .38 special wadcutters are almost pure lead. Up here you can go to a shooting range in the Spring after the snow melts and you can pick up as much lead as you need just laying on the ground
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Contact your area gun clubs. In my state, at least, they are rquired to have an environmental program, and that means they mine lead from the berms, indoor pistol ranges, etc. You can get tons of the stuff that way without grubbing in the sand berms and breathing god knows what. We had multiple fifty gallon drums full of lead last time we mined the indoor range.
But considering just how dangerous lead is, it may be better to just buy your minis, round ball, etc. More expensive, but safer.
Dane