Anyone Roll your Own ??

[Hotwheelz]

I do and I spent most of today smelting down about 1000lbs of Wheel weights. Anyone else " Roll your Own" this will keep me in bullets for a few months no to start the scrounging it up all over again...


here is most of the haul


The left over clips

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[Aristotle13]

Hey HW, what's all involved? I've been thinking about doing this.

 

[Hotwheelz]

You can buy some lead off of e-bay already smelted down you just wont know what all is in there. Or your gonna need some scrap lead you can buy it from a scrap yard or scrounge around for it. Then youll need to get a cast iron pot or make one like I have and melt it down skim off the clips Flux { this will help bring any other impuritys to the top so you can skim it off} the liquid lead and pour it inot igots. Then your going to need a casting pot either bottom pour or or dipper style and some bullet molds. You can get Lee Tumble Lube bullet molds that wont need luber sizer you can get a lee push threw sizer that will sizer your bullets and its a standard 7/8 die to fit any press after sizing you put them into a tube put some liquid Alux on them stand them up on a sheet of wax paper overnight and they are ready to load. You can buy regular bullet mold lee also makes them as well as lyman, rcbs, h&g and alot more with most of these you will need a Luber sizer that sizes the bullet and fills the lube grove with your choice of lube. Then they are ready to load.

Much like all things there are some equipment choice to be made some are really inexpensive , and some more expensive I started out middle of the road stuff and have slowly upgraded but to each his own. There are also some other choice to the method but these are the most widly used. If you want to check it out when I get moved into my new place your more then welcome to come over and check it out....


If you want to read up on it go over to http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php and do some reading there is alot of info a some great guys to learn alot from I have

 

[ch139]

My dad bought some good used casting equipment a couple years ago and has been tinkering with it a bit. He's looking to retire early next year and I think he'll be doing much more with it then. I'll take "lessons" from him and would like to get to where I'm "producing" my own 230gr LRN for the 45ACP; make shooting it much less expensive.

 

[coctailer]

Where do you "scrounge" all those wheel weights? Les Schwab?

 

[coctailer]

Also, do the clips fall to the bottom when the lead melts?

 

[Hotwheelz]

I have tire shops that I go into with some Beer and come out with some buckets of lead. The clips float to the top and skim them off with an old spoon from the kitchen...

 

[markw76]

Just make damn sure you don't get any of the new zinc weights mixed in there.

 

[Capn Jack]

Got to have a little zinc in there unless you're shooting a muzzel stuffer. If you're loading for a rifle in anything under .45 cal. pure lead bullets will fill up the rifleing in no time. Most rifle bullets and some pistol bullets require a gas check. I think you'll find that tire weights have a lot of zinc, or antimony in them already....OK as is for rifle. You might want to add a little pure lead for pistol bullets. If your bullets Clink when they come out ...Your mold is too hot.

 

[markw76]

IIRC zinc can kill a batch of lead quick. Something about ruining how the lead casts. :huh: Tin and/or antimony are what to add.

 

[Capn Jack]

OOPS!

Sorry Mark...You caught me with my foot in my mouth. I should have said Tin. Erase...Erase...Erase.