Melting and pouring lead for BP pistol

[Scimmy]

Hi all, what do you lot do when making your own?
Any tips greatly appreciated, I'm now thinking of casting my own after using swaged ball that have been shop bought.
Any links to suppliers of the knicknacks req'd would be great. Thinking of both conical and ball casting.

Cheers for any replies and if anyone wouldn't mind me looking over their shoulder so to speak to get the hang of this then please pm.
Thanks all

[steve medlock]

I use a Lee bottom pour melting pot that I've had for many years. Trouble free so long as it is cleaned occasionally. Round ball and conical bullets are no problem although I do have problems with Minies from time to time.

If you just want pistol ammo though, a ladle and lead molten in a saucepan will do the job adequately.

Steve.

[harricook]

I use a lead pot over a propane burner.

Only problems I have are having 2 x 2 gang moulds & 1 gang minie. I looked into having 6 gangs made but the cost .....

I melt all my scrap down & cast clean 'ingots' - you can pour into DRY brick frogs ...(no water or damp for gods sake !) and then just tip them out into the concrete floor

All the scrapings/dirt/muck etc can then be discarded

Then when I am casting bullets I am usiing 'clean' lead - just flux it !

I use either a standard ladle with a little spout formed in it (think it was a small soup ladle - boot fair £1) and I also sometimes use a bottom pour RCBS jobby - but this slows the process down again

Cheers

Roy

[lightning22]

I use a Lee bottom pour, though if I were to buy another one I wouldn't bother with the pour facility, it's too slow and clogs.

For pouring I use a Lee ladle and beeswax for flux.

Rich

[Scimmy]

Cheers guys, re flux, is this applied to the mold or to the molton lead? Please excuse my ignorance, newbie at all this. Bandaids and burneeze at the ready!

[Voodoo]

Drop it in the molten lead, you can buy commercial flux or use beeswax you can buy it in little ingots from Hobbycraft for about £1.50 you only need to put a piece about the size of a pea in your molten lead stir and then just skim the scum off the top with a spoon. Get you mould hot before you pour or it will stick. I heat mine by dipping the corner of the mould in the hot lead.