Bullet casting bench (lots of pictures - updated 01/06/08)
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- Ysabel Kid
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Bullet casting bench (lots of pictures - updated 01/06/08)
Well, with all the posts on the old forum about bullet casting, I’ve decided to get started. I used to cast blackpowder round ball and conical stuff 20+ years ago. Looking forward to getting into it and casting rounds for my cartridge firearms.
So, with that in mind, I needed to create a workspace. I asked a few months ago for some ideas, and here is what I came up with – my version of the portable casting bench. The idea is that this is something I’ll store in the basement and then roll out on the pad when I go to cast some bullets.
I would like to say that this was carefully considered, size wise, but I’d be fibbing. I made a 20-inch cube as a base for our Christmas tree this year, to try to give it some additional height (we now live in a house with a 2-story family room, so the tree looks short). Great idea – but it looked ridiculous! My wife nixed the idea as soon as we tried it. So, what to do with the cube? Well, I build another, a bit taller, as the base unit, and then mounted the cube on top of it. This became the two-shelf unit for storage.
I then put casters on the bottom of the unit, wrapped the sides in pegboard, and built a frame for the top.
The top is concrete – I wanted a surface that would be fine with hot items. I am no mason – that’s for sure – but I think this will work out pretty well.
Here’s a picture of the right side of the unit. I put a handle on this side and the opposite to help me lift the unit over the threshold in the basement door, and move it around.
You’ll also notice the light switch. Well, that turns on the outlets I put in the back:
And the small light I put above each shelf:
Easy enough to do and it makes finding things on the shelves very easy.
The outlet on the back is for the Lee Production Pot, a fan to blow the lead fumes away from me and a light if I need it. The black cord connects the casting bench to power.
Well, what do you think? I have a few molds, but need to add some more. Need to get some lead and other things, then I can start!
So, with that in mind, I needed to create a workspace. I asked a few months ago for some ideas, and here is what I came up with – my version of the portable casting bench. The idea is that this is something I’ll store in the basement and then roll out on the pad when I go to cast some bullets.
I would like to say that this was carefully considered, size wise, but I’d be fibbing. I made a 20-inch cube as a base for our Christmas tree this year, to try to give it some additional height (we now live in a house with a 2-story family room, so the tree looks short). Great idea – but it looked ridiculous! My wife nixed the idea as soon as we tried it. So, what to do with the cube? Well, I build another, a bit taller, as the base unit, and then mounted the cube on top of it. This became the two-shelf unit for storage.
I then put casters on the bottom of the unit, wrapped the sides in pegboard, and built a frame for the top.
The top is concrete – I wanted a surface that would be fine with hot items. I am no mason – that’s for sure – but I think this will work out pretty well.
Here’s a picture of the right side of the unit. I put a handle on this side and the opposite to help me lift the unit over the threshold in the basement door, and move it around.
You’ll also notice the light switch. Well, that turns on the outlets I put in the back:
And the small light I put above each shelf:
Easy enough to do and it makes finding things on the shelves very easy.
The outlet on the back is for the Lee Production Pot, a fan to blow the lead fumes away from me and a light if I need it. The black cord connects the casting bench to power.
Well, what do you think? I have a few molds, but need to add some more. Need to get some lead and other things, then I can start!
Last edited by Ysabel Kid on Sun Jan 06, 2008 11:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
YK
Dude!!! perfect timing. I have been thinking about what I need to do for a set up for casting. I think Santa is bringing me a pot for Christmas. I have two sharps and some .44's to cast for. I love the cement top. Perfect! I like too the outlet, the switch and lights as well as the fan and ample storage.
Mike Johnson,
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
Now, who's your daddy...definitely a hot setup. Nice & compact.
I'm wondering where's the coffee pot & toaster oven. Nuthin' like a ball park frank in a hot bun while your cookin' up some projectiles! Wash it down with a scalding hot cup of joe' !
Cookin' dogs & bullets...life is good!!
LeverBob
Great setup Kid! (By the way, don't eat & make bullets. Wash up real good before anything else...OK?)
I'm wondering where's the coffee pot & toaster oven. Nuthin' like a ball park frank in a hot bun while your cookin' up some projectiles! Wash it down with a scalding hot cup of joe' !
Cookin' dogs & bullets...life is good!!
LeverBob
Great setup Kid! (By the way, don't eat & make bullets. Wash up real good before anything else...OK?)
-
- Advanced Levergunner
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Very nice sabel.
When I cast some ingots out on the sidewalk once a few drops of lead hit the cement and were very hard to get up from the rough surface. But my shop floor is concrete and splatters dont even stick at all, its very smooth.
You may want to put some sealer on the concrete to keep it looking good.
Great idea!! Nice workmanship!
When I cast some ingots out on the sidewalk once a few drops of lead hit the cement and were very hard to get up from the rough surface. But my shop floor is concrete and splatters dont even stick at all, its very smooth.
You may want to put some sealer on the concrete to keep it looking good.
Great idea!! Nice workmanship!
- handirifle
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- marlinman93
- Advanced Levergunner
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- Location: Oregon
Looks great, and very nicely arranged! I wish I was that organized!
Pre WWI Marlins and Singleshot rifles!
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
http://members.tripod.com/~OregonArmsCollectors/
Ysabel Kid
Nice looking job. I'll try to start casting myself soon. I got 300 lbs of wheel
weights yesterday from my mechanic. A guy that I ran into at the gun shop
said that he would melt down his WWs over a wood fire between two cinder
blocks in a cast iron skillet. I guess such a skillet would be rendered
useless for food cooking after the fact. So I guess I'll get started that way
with a dedicated "smelting" skillet.
This fellow said that I should go with Lee melting furnace and a Lee Pro
4-20 and a Lee Lube and Sizing Kit. So that is my plan so far.
What's your plan Yasable?
spurgon
Nice looking job. I'll try to start casting myself soon. I got 300 lbs of wheel
weights yesterday from my mechanic. A guy that I ran into at the gun shop
said that he would melt down his WWs over a wood fire between two cinder
blocks in a cast iron skillet. I guess such a skillet would be rendered
useless for food cooking after the fact. So I guess I'll get started that way
with a dedicated "smelting" skillet.
This fellow said that I should go with Lee melting furnace and a Lee Pro
4-20 and a Lee Lube and Sizing Kit. So that is my plan so far.
What's your plan Yasable?
spurgon
Ysabel Kid,
Nice set up!
As you start casting, you may find that the pot would be better positioned more to the right to make more room for the bullets, as they accumulate on the left.
Have fuunnn!
w30wcf
Nice set up!
As you start casting, you may find that the pot would be better positioned more to the right to make more room for the bullets, as they accumulate on the left.
Have fuunnn!
w30wcf
aka John Kort
aka Jack Christian SASS 11993 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
aka w44wcf (black powder)
NRA Life member
.22 WCF, .30 WCF, .44 WCF Cartridge Historian
aka Jack Christian SASS 11993 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
aka w44wcf (black powder)
NRA Life member
.22 WCF, .30 WCF, .44 WCF Cartridge Historian
- 2ndovc
- Advanced Levergunner
- Posts: 9362
- Joined: Fri Sep 07, 2007 11:59 am
- Location: OH, South Shore of Lake Erie
Cool! That concrete top idea is brilliant!
I've got some odds and ends of stuff for casting butI haven't started yet either.
Think I'll print this one out. I was thinking of using an old metal file cabinet butI like this better.
I've got some odds and ends of stuff for casting butI haven't started yet either.
Think I'll print this one out. I was thinking of using an old metal file cabinet butI like this better.
jasonB " Another Dirty Yankee"
" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
" Tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?"
- Ysabel Kid
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Pretty much the same as your plan - going with the Lee stuff. I just need to find a source for lead and WW that I can afford, and get started!spurgon wrote:Ysabel Kid
Nice looking job. I'll try to start casting myself soon. I got 300 lbs of wheel
weights yesterday from my mechanic. A guy that I ran into at the gun shop
said that he would melt down his WWs over a wood fire between two cinder
blocks in a cast iron skillet. I guess such a skillet would be rendered
useless for food cooking after the fact. So I guess I'll get started that way
with a dedicated "smelting" skillet.
This fellow said that I should go with Lee melting furnace and a Lee Pro
4-20 and a Lee Lube and Sizing Kit. So that is my plan so far.
What's your plan Yasable?
spurgon
- Ysabel Kid
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I was think of adding removable side pieces on either the left or the right - depending on what I find I need after I get started. I can't move the pot, as the wood bracing is now surrounded by the concrete.w30wcf wrote:Ysabel Kid,
Nice set up!
As you start casting, you may find that the pot would be better positioned more to the right to make more room for the bullets, as they accumulate on the left.
Have fuunnn!
w30wcf
- Ysabel Kid
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I poured it. That way I could work it around the inset for the pot, and make it level with the sides I had rounded over. I also considered tile, paving blocks, and cement backer-board. I think any of them would have worked fine, but a $3 bag of concrete sure did the trick!Modoc ED wrote:Very nice set-up. Did you pour the cement top or did you use a paving block or the like? I think the pegboard will come in handy so that you can hang tools off the side of the cart as you discover what's needed in the future. Well thought out and executed.
- Ysabel Kid
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I will probably end up making an attachment for the fan. I haven't starting using the casting bench yet - just finished it, so I am sure I will discover a few things that work well, and some things that need modified. I'll be sure to let everyone know!handirifle wrote:I like it. I wonder about the fan being too close, might cool the molds too quickly. Other than that looks real good.
- Ysabel Kid
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Thanks! My thoughts exactly on the sealer. I don't want to make it too pretty though - I intend to use it, hopefully a lot!!!Chuck 100 yd wrote:Very nice sabel.
When I cast some ingots out on the sidewalk once a few drops of lead hit the cement and were very hard to get up from the rough surface. But my shop floor is concrete and splatters dont even stick at all, its very smooth.
You may want to put some sealer on the concrete to keep it looking good.
Great idea!! Nice workmanship!
- J Miller
- Member Emeritus
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- Location: Not in IL no more ... :)
Nice set up. I like it.
My cats would find those three sided closed in but well ventilated shelves irresistible for naps.
Put the fan at the back facing away from you and use it as an exhaust fan.
It will pull the fumes away without cooling down your pot or molds.
Joe
My cats would find those three sided closed in but well ventilated shelves irresistible for naps.
Put the fan at the back facing away from you and use it as an exhaust fan.
It will pull the fumes away without cooling down your pot or molds.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
Fly in the Ointment
Good looking rig. Please accept my apology first, but I see some burns in your future.
Do the caster's have wheel lock's on them??
Is there a permanent table some where that you could C-Clamp your portable table to while you cast???
The table looks top heavy???
Please, Please do not see my comments as negative. Please see my comments as a friend who has been BURNED.
Set the fan to draw air off the pot, not to blow across. Tom
Do the caster's have wheel lock's on them??
Is there a permanent table some where that you could C-Clamp your portable table to while you cast???
The table looks top heavy???
Please, Please do not see my comments as negative. Please see my comments as a friend who has been BURNED.
Set the fan to draw air off the pot, not to blow across. Tom
- Ysabel Kid
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Re: Fly in the Ointment
Junior had recommended locking casters. Being too cheap to buy a set when I had a good set of locking casters, I just made a stop. Looks like a picture frame - I push the cart into it, and there it stays until I lift it out. Simple solution - especially when you have wood lying around!HEAD0001 wrote:Good looking rig. Please accept my apology first, but I see some burns in your future.
Do the caster's have wheel lock's on them??
Is there a permanent table some where that you could C-Clamp your portable table to while you cast???
The table looks top heavy???
Please, Please do not see my comments as negative. Please see my comments as a friend who has been BURNED.
Set the fan to draw air off the pot, not to blow across. Tom
It actually isn't top heavy that much. I plan to store some of my lead in the bottom shelf too, just to give it more balance.
I like the exhaust fan idea - that is what I will do! Thanks guys!!!
- Ysabel Kid
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- Ysabel Kid
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darn nice. All ya need is a dedicated set of gloves and safety goggles and a fire extinguisher. A leather apron wouldn't be so bad, either.
Hunter Ed. instructor
NRA Basic pistol Inst.
NRA Personal protection inst.
NRA Range safety officer
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1
NRA Basic pistol Inst.
NRA Personal protection inst.
NRA Range safety officer
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Psalm 1
- Ysabel Kid
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That's why I made it like that. It will go right out the basement door (it is a walk-out), and onto the pad. Electrical outlet is right beside the door. I can't wait to get started!!!RIHMFIRE wrote:Thats real slick...I like it!
But I hope you wheel it outside...when you start.
Good ventilation is a must...