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Any other Pb casters in here?

Start out by hitting up any tire shop in your area. A lot of these pay to dispose of their old weights, and would be more than happy to let you have them.

REALLY, I have a tire shop and my battery supplier gives me $75 for a 5 lb bucket. Now if you want scrap tires they charge to take them away ( need a license) or old oil (need a license)
 
I have a lyman 450 lube sizer and i bought a RCBS sizer die for .452 but it will not fit. Is this normal? I thought that the lman and RCBS sizers and top punches were interchangable?
 
Do some casting also. Mainly for 45 Colt and 30 cal rifles. Dang 4 banger mold will flat suck a 20lb pot but quick! Then again at 285 gr per cavity it should!!

Here is a copy of my bootleg casting area. Can not do it in the basement because of ventilation issues.

Tom
 
I cast 45's from WWs, both 230gr RN and 200gr SWC using a Lee melting pot and Lee molds. I also use WWs for making shot. Here is a video clip I made last time I made shot for those who aren't familiar with the process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRsKYCstd1A

Love the shot maker.

How's it do as far as good-to-bad ratio? What's the sorting process like to separate the good from bad?
 
Love the shot maker.

How's it do as far as good-to-bad ratio? What's the sorting process like to separate the good from bad?

Thanks. The rest of the process is pretty ghetto, I went thru several methods until I came up with something that worked well for me. I have a steamer basket I stole from the kitchen that I have drilled additional holes in and attached to the top of my brass tumbler. Fire it up and start dumping the shot thru. (I don't have a video of this but will take one next time I run it) I'd say I get about 90% good shot. It depends a lot on the quality and how clean your lead is. Of course, the bad stuff thats left in the steamer basket simply goes back into the pot to remelt.

I then have a flower pot with a piece of screen attached to it that I use as a drying station. I have a fan that blows down on it so it dries faster.

The who process is pretty fast. I can run about 50lbs of lead thru the shotmaker in an hour or so. Separating that much shot probably takes another hour. Then I usually just let it dry overnight.
 
Thanks. The rest of the process is pretty ghetto, I went thru several methods until I came up with something that worked well for me. I have a steamer basket I stole from the kitchen that I have drilled additional holes in and attached to the top of my brass tumbler. Fire it up and start dumping the shot thru. (I don't have a video of this but will take one next time I run it) I'd say I get about 90% good shot. It depends a lot on the quality and how clean your lead is. Of course, the bad stuff thats left in the steamer basket simply goes back into the pot to remelt.

I then have a flower pot with a piece of screen attached to it that I use as a drying station. I have a fan that blows down on it so it dries faster.

The who process is pretty fast. I can run about 50lbs of lead thru the shotmaker in an hour or so. Separating that much shot probably takes another hour. Then I usually just let it dry overnight.

Sounds like a good home production process!
 
Gentlemen,

I too cast my own goodies. I want to remind ALL of you how dangerous this adventure can be. I have been doing this for a more than a year without a mishap, and a couple weeks ago I was smelting some WWs into ingots. Mind you, my dad was a plumber back in the 60s & 70s, and supplied me with a plumber's pot, some starter lead, and other materials, inlcuding a stern safety warning. I am the kind of guy who wears a belt with suspenders, and I take safety VERY seriously. One day I cast a bunch of sinkers and ingots. Next day, continuing the process, I was wearing my safety googles, welder's gloves, hat, long pants, etc.

Well, I had my shirt sleeves rolled up and about 6 in. to my elbows. My dad, the ex-plumber, with vast experience melting lead, was helping me. An accident happened, where a cold WW fell from the little shovel he was using to place materials into the pot. A lead volcano erupted, and I was splattered in various areas with molten (725 F+) lead. Luckily, the only skin that was hit was the exposed 6 in. on both arms. Also, one piece rolled down into the glove and hit my wrist, in total, I had 3 (quarter-size) burns on my right arm and one big one (3 in. x 1/2 in.) on my left.

Gentlemen, I was being careful, or so I thought. I should have not had my arms exposed, even that 6 in. My granddad happened to have some Silvadene burn cream in the house, and I immediately put that on (within one minute). I also called a cousin's doctor wife and she wrote me a prescription and called it in to the pharmacy. Today is about 2-1/2 weeks after the fact. My burns are slightly visible, and I was lucky I wasn't hit in the face or neck.

Bottom line, you gotta be careful, and you all know this. Wear your gear EVERY time. The long pants and heavy boots saved the rest of my body from being covered in burns, and the goggles and hat may have kept me from being blinded. This is a rewarding activity, and until this event, the worst thing that happend to me was touching a hot spoon. At the very least, wear goggles, and even better a full face mask, which I often do. Most of all, be ever vigilant when working with hot Pb.

bwm16ga
 
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