CAUTION!! You can get seriously injured while doing any of this if you're not careful! Also, practice safe handling of lead due to its known toxicity to humans! ALWAYS wash thoroughly after handling lead! If you harm yourself in any way by using any of the information contained here, it's on you, not me.
STEP 1: Turning Wheel Weights Into "Muffin Ingots"This is a four-part series that shows you how to do the initial processing of your lead wheel weights. Direct Download Link - Part 1 (43.4 MB)Direct Download Link - Part 2 (70.7 MB) Direct Download Link - Part 3 (45.7 MB) Direct Download Link - Part 4 (72.3 MB) |
STEP 2: Casting Bullets with a Lee Six-Cavity Mould from "Muffin Ingots" or Any Other Ingot TypeThis is a three-part series that shows you how to turn any sort of lead into useful bullets, using a Lee 6-cavity mould. Direct Download Link - Part 1 (121.3 MB)Direct Download Link - Part 2 (145.6 MB) Direct Download Link - Part 3 (99.0 MB) |
Preparing A Lee Mould For CastingThis video shows you how to prepare a Lee aluminum mould for casting. We use a two-cavity 0.356" tumble-lube mould for this example, but the same procedure applies to all other Lee aluminum moulds.Direct Download Link - Low Bandwidth Version (39.5 MB, 7:58) Direct Download Link - Higher Bandwidth Version (62.3 MB, 7:58) |
Testing Lead Alloy Strength/HardnessThese videos show you how to determine the strength (sometimes called "hardness") of your lead alloy. Matching your bullet strength to your load's pressure is important for best accuracy and minimal leading of your firearm. We use the Lee Lead Hardness Tester kit for this example, but the same principles apply to any other metal strength tester that uses the Brinell method.Direct Download Link - Part 1 (74.6 MB, 9:16) Direct Download Link - Part 2 (75.3 MB, 9:01) |
Sizing and Tumble-Lubing Cast BulletsThis video series shows you how to resize and lubricate cast bullets, using the "tumble-lube" method. All cast bullets must be lubricated before shooting in order to keep lead smearing ("fouling") in the bore to a minimum. The gear is a Lee resizing die, and the lubricant is liquid Alox.Direct Download Link - Part 1 (126 MB, 10:37) Direct Download Link - Part 2 (92 MB, 7:39) This third part shows how to tumble-lube 1,000 bullets at once, in less than five minutes of actual work. I have used this method to lube 2,000 bullets on several occasions. Direct Download Link - Part 3 (78 MB, 5:26) |
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I cast my own bullets out of lead. For my softer loads, e. g. .38 Special, .44 Special, 45 (Long) Colt, etc., I use waste wheel weights. Yep, the same ones they put on cars to balance your wheels! They are still plentiful in most parts of the country. If you're in a state that bans their use (e. g. my State of birth, the People's Republik of Kalifornia), they can be easily bought on sites like eBay. Even if you do have to purchase them, it's still worth it.
Why do this? Several reasons.
This series of videos will show you how to turn waste wheel weights into bullets. My method is a two-step process.
First, I melt the raw wheel weights in a large cast-iron Dutch oven and get rid of whatever floats to the top. Then I ladle the hot metal into ingots. Muffin pans work great for this purpose. Not only does this let you clean your lead in large quantities at once (it's very important to have clean metal!), but now you also have your lead in a form that is easily stored for later use. I can process 100 pounds (45 kg) of lead in one shot this way.
Second, I use these "muffin ingots" in an electric melting pot to actually make the bullets. My electric pot is a Lee Pro 4-20 pot that has a capacity of 20 lb of lead. It also uses a downpour spout, which makes rapid casting of lots of bullets much, much easier. This also gives an opportunity to clean ("flux") your metal a second time.
With this method, I get perfect bullets nearly every time, and you should as well.