June 24th, 2005
The Dying Art of Bullet Making
Who knew that bullet making was quickly becoming an old fashioned activity? I you want a low tech how-to, this one’s for you:
“Like darning socks, making bullets is a dying art. Used to be just about everyone with a need for ammo poured their own, using iron or even wooden molds. These days only a few diehard hobbyists still do it, and they use aluminum molds. But even fewer people still make silver bullets.
“Actually, not many people ever made silver bullets. It’s a difficult process, and their efficacy against werewolves has never been scientifically proven. I suppose their renown came from the perception that silver was a distinguished metal, often spoken of in connection with its higher-class cousin, gold. But today silver is far more common, and it tarnishes over time, primarily because of sulfur pollution from power plants. (By and large, it didn’t tarnish before the Industrial Age.)
“I couldn’t find any references describing real historical silver-bullet-crafting techniques. At 1,764°F, molten silver would ruin traditional and modern bullet molds. They could have been fashioned using jewelers’ methods, but that would require a new plaster mold for every bullet. Frankly, I think people spent a lot more time talking about silver bullets than they did turning them out. I don’t like legends that are all talk, so I decided to see what it takes to produce a real silver bullet: not plated, not sterling—pure silver.
“To create the mold, I first had to construct a bit. I used a lathe to turn a steel rod into a bulletlike shape, then used a milling machine to cut away a quarter-circle wedge of the rod, leaving a sharp cutting edge. Basically I had built a router bit shaped like a bullet. (I’ve fabricated bits like this freehand with a file; which works fine, it just takes longer. Much longer.) After using the bit to machine the graphite bullet mold, I used an electrically heated graphite crucible to pour in 0.999 fine liquid silver at about 2,000°F, which is 230°F above its melting point. The mold must be preheated with a blowtorch to keep the silver from solidifying before it fills the whole cavity. One of the benefits of using graphite is that it keeps the silver from oxidizing, so bullets come out bright and shiny.” Source: Popular Science
Why do we mention something as low-tech as DIY bullets? Perhaps as a counterpoint to the bizarre Bluetooth Pistol mouse we saw on Gizmodo. I think I’d rather work next to the kindly old timer making his minnie balls in the garage, than the scary guy in the cube with the pistol mouse. But maybe that’s just me…..
Lockergnome's Tech News Watch says:
The Dying Art of Bullet Making
Who knew that bullet making was quickly becoming an old fashioned activity? I you want a low tech how-to, this one’s for you: “Like darning socks, making bullets is a dying art. Used to be just about everyone with a need for ammo poured their own, usi…
June 24th, 2005 at 2:06 pm
Boing Boing says:
HOWTO cast a silver bullet
Noting that casting one’s own ammo is becoming a dying art, and that this might mean the extinction of silver bullets, this article describes the process required for casting your own werewolf-slayers: To create the mold, I first had to construct a bi…
June 25th, 2005 at 1:42 am
Red Sarna says:
I cast some round balls for an article in the old “Gun & Shooter” magazine a few years back. I used the lost-wax process to make round balls, and fired them, patched, from a muzzle-loader, because the silver (I got mine by melting old jewelry) was quite hard.
Yours look real purty!!
–Red
June 25th, 2005 at 6:09 am
tweaq says:
that looks freaking awesome. how much did it cost, and would you be willing to sell a bullet?
June 25th, 2005 at 2:47 pm
Raidfrog says:
Damn, another myth shot. How did that masked man do it?
June 25th, 2005 at 6:48 pm
River says:
Yes, you really can fire silver bullets through a gun and shoot something with them. My late husband used one to shoot himself in the head.
June 25th, 2005 at 6:58 pm
Ree’s geekblog :: links for 2005-06-26 :: June :: 2005 says:
[…] us26 June 2005 2:22 am links for 2005-06-26 Real Tech News - Independent Tech » The Dying Art of Bullet Making (tags: weird news myrp) nms - we […]
June 26th, 2005 at 6:55 am
Clayton Longwalker says:
I am unsure where exactly you acquired your information on handloading/bullet making however…
In states where firearm ownership is common place “we” do still cast our own bullets. Many of the factory produced projectiles started as a “homemade” much like what the industry has forever called “Wildcat” cartridges.
Granted “we” do not cast/mold bullets as we did in frontier times but serious shooters still create amd manufacture projectiles in an effort to achieve optimum performance from our firearms.
As reference…
http://tinyurl.com/96aed
June 27th, 2005 at 10:31 am
Birthday Cake says:
There wolf!
These days, it’s trendy to think that the coming apocalypse will be a zombie apocalypse. But limiting one’s paranoid end-of-the-world scenarios breeds complacency. That’s why I feel it is my duty to link to this article on DIY silver bullets,
June 27th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
tweaq says:
i want a couple silver bullets, those are freaking awesome looking. i do shoot, but i just want one or 2 to display. lol
June 29th, 2005 at 8:19 pm
Wolfie. says:
HA! you can smelt all the silverbullets u want! All Werewolfs have cevlarwests nowadays!
June 30th, 2005 at 9:36 am
Link-Fu says:
Make your own bullets
The Dying Art of Bullet Making. I don’t know if I’d fully trust firing a gun with bullets I made, but that’s me….
July 8th, 2005 at 4:56 am
K'Har-El says:
You’d be fine using silver bullets in a firearm, ASSUMING you machined the molds to form bullets of the proper caliber and dimensions for the intended round. Using a bullet made too large could lead to “catastropic failure,” for gun and/or firer. Your barrel’s rifling could be damaged by such rounds, as silver is quite a bit harder than lead, leading to increasingly decreased accuracy, ending up with a new musket! So, making round balls for muzzleloading firearms is probably the only practical and safe use for silver bullets for the layman.
August 15th, 2005 at 11:41 pm
Rusty Preston says:
Found a site that claims to make and sell silver bullets. Don’t know if they are from graphite or not. http://www.bulletforge.com
August 15th, 2005 at 11:46 pm
Matt says:
I’m from Alaska. We have bears from 800-1200 pounds in my area. I carry a 444 marlin. I can carry hot rounds in my cun nut the bullets mushrum out to soon in the target. So I’m looking to make some copper coated bullets that won’t mushrum out as soon. I have the moldes for the finnishing size. What will I need and how do I use it to make a smaller led bullet and make a copper coating around it?
November 29th, 2005 at 4:58 pm
Lisa says:
I have aquired Saeco molds and Lee molds from a bullet maker who passed away. I have these ingots, some say alloy, some have an X on them, and some have a S on them. What metals do I have. The S has a very hi shine, looks like silver. Is this what I have/ How can I check? Is there a way of checking this metal? I know what lead looks like. The X ingots are shiney, yet not as shiney as the S ingots. They weigh about 2 lbs. each.
March 6th, 2006 at 9:47 am
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March 7th, 2006 at 12:25 am
rmark says:
The ingots are most likely an alloy of mostly lead, some tin, and a little antimony, although its possible they are pure lead. The tin helps the melted material flow evenly in the mould while the antimony adds hardness. The shiny “S” ingots may simply be newer, with less oxidation on the outside. Probably the “x” and “s” marked which ingots were of harder or softer mix.
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July 20th, 2006 at 9:25 am
wills says:
The art is not dying, and if you really want to know something about it: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php
August 27th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
jamie says:
Wow, I was going to try to by a case for my boyfriend for his birthday. Is there nowhere to buy them? (9mm)
Jamie
October 7th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
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October 27th, 2006 at 9:23 am
chad says:
sounds very awsome.. im a machine shop and would like to make a run at it…im very into shooting muzzleloaders, and that is the only gun i use during hunting season..maybe ill try one or two out of gold as well….I agree with the comment on size of the bullet, and how hard the silver is…usually the bullet is in a plastic sheath, so the bullet isnt in contact with the barrel. I will let you all know how i make out…Sounds like this could be fun…!
March 1st, 2007 at 9:55 am
Sherry says:
My brother recently found a bullet on my parents property. I was just curious to what period it was from. It looks like it is just a head of some sort no place for any kind of powder. Maybe just a lead bullet. Any ideas where to look for information or pictures?
Thanks
Sherry
March 18th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
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March 26th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
melwin says:
myself i can do bullets
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Caster says:
I have lots of waxes used in Lost Wax Casting, but I really need to add this type of interesting item
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January 23rd, 2008 at 9:33 am
Antoinette says:
Wow, the bullets looks awesome, never thought making bullets were an art.. it really looks great. But I doubt I’d ever fire unprofessionally tried and tested bullets that I made. hehe
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February 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am
M.S.Rawat says:
We are facing problem while making the bullet jacket from 90/10 brass , although the parameters required are ok , however the jacket is not getting in to the proper shape ,time and again frequent adjustment s are required. what could be the root cause for this type of problem.
March 7th, 2008 at 5:13 am
Denny says:
Bullet casting is not a dying art. I have cast and swaged bullets for years. Right now I have the make the most accurate 45 cal target bullet on the market,,, i will stick to lead and not silver..Good Shooting
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