You can buy lead balls from .307" to .732" from gun shops. Ranging from £12.75-£40.80 per 100or you could always buy a bullet mould. There was a chap on a rabbitting forum who sold a 6 ball mould for catties.
lead mould
- Thread starter Loenja
- Start date
Is there a reason you don't just use bearing balls? Cheap as chips and a lot nicer than lead, er, all round. 
In the UK: it isn't illegal for catapults. It's illegal to shoot using lead shot with a shotgun over wetlands and it's illegal to use it to shoot certain species such as duck and geese. According to a DEFRA report 70% of duck sold in the UK have been shot illegally using lead shot in the UK.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/b/markavery/archive/2010/11/09/duck-lead-in-the-air.aspx
Cheap and cheerful moulds can be made from cuttlefish. Get a nice thick cuttle"blade"-fresh ones from the beach are better than dry old things from the pet shop,though beggers can't be choosers.
Split it with a fine saw into matching halves as if you were splitting a pitta bread.
Then place your objects to be copied between the two halves and press them back together .
This will leave the indentations of -in this case -lead balls in the matching sides of the inner cuttle fish .
Cut channels wide enough to pour the lead into and score a couple of fine lines leading away from the cavities to the edge of the mould to allow air to escape when the hot metal goes in .
Align the two halves carefully (you can mark the edges if it helps)and bind them together with fine wire or clamp them gently in a vice. Pour in the metal .
You can cast chunky jewellery from silver or gold as well as small sea-fishing weights using this method .
Cuttle moulds have a limited working life but are dead simple to make with just a small saw and a penknife .
Split it with a fine saw into matching halves as if you were splitting a pitta bread.
Then place your objects to be copied between the two halves and press them back together .
This will leave the indentations of -in this case -lead balls in the matching sides of the inner cuttle fish .
Cut channels wide enough to pour the lead into and score a couple of fine lines leading away from the cavities to the edge of the mould to allow air to escape when the hot metal goes in .
Align the two halves carefully (you can mark the edges if it helps)and bind them together with fine wire or clamp them gently in a vice. Pour in the metal .
You can cast chunky jewellery from silver or gold as well as small sea-fishing weights using this method .
Cuttle moulds have a limited working life but are dead simple to make with just a small saw and a penknife .
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Buy a proper mould from Henry Krank & then you dont have to mess about with home made moulds. Pouring hot lead can be a dangerous game, so it's better tp have the right mould, rather than have a home made one fail on you. Some moulds here:
http://www.henrykrank.com/muzzle_loading_accessories.html
You will be wanting a round musket ball mould & .44 is recokoned to be the best all rounder for trajectory & hitting power.
http://www.henrykrank.com/muzzle_loading_accessories.html
You will be wanting a round musket ball mould & .44 is recokoned to be the best all rounder for trajectory & hitting power.
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