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John J
12-31-2010, 10:14 AM
To all that use a bottom pour pot...how far from the spout to the top of the sprue plate do you leave/prefer?

Thanks

John J

x101airborne
12-31-2010, 10:17 AM
i am currently set at 3/8 - 1/2 inch. Usually around 3/8. Much more, and I start having all kinds of trouble.

skeet1
12-31-2010, 10:18 AM
Around 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

skeet1

trk
12-31-2010, 10:39 AM
I have a Lyman Mag 20.
I will first adjust the rate of flow to where I don't get fins around the base next to the sprue cutter, and then cast - adjusting the height from 1/2" to 1" for the best fill on the bullets.

Temperature of pot, temperature of the mould, rate of production, rate of flow, pressure. They all interact. It's an art. Pay close attention to what's coming out of the mould.

Did I mention alloy?

HammerMTB
12-31-2010, 10:58 AM
Usually "zero" makes the most consistent results for me. I do have 1 mold that doesn't like pressure pour from the spout and in that case it's about 3/8"

Calamity Jake
12-31-2010, 11:25 AM
I let the mold tell me what it wants for good boolits, I have a couple that require pressure casting, a couple that require a laddle the rest 3/8-1/2" away.

wallenba
12-31-2010, 11:32 AM
Just enough so that It won't drag a smear of alloy from the bottom of the spout, plus about 1/16 of an inch.

Moonie
12-31-2010, 11:32 AM
1/3" to 1/2" works best for me for all of my molds. Enough to see the stream and have some clearance between the guide and the spout so I don't drag on one or the other.

runfiverun
12-31-2010, 12:06 PM
i'm closer to 5/8ths- 3/4".
and often i let the alloy run into the mold from the sprue plate.
occasionally a mold likes to have the stream shot directly into the cavity.
i use a 40 lb pot though.

mdi
12-31-2010, 01:22 PM
For me it depends on the mold. Most molds 1/2" or so is good, but one mold I use preferrs contact with the spout, aka; "pressure pouring".

SP101GUY
12-31-2010, 02:14 PM
I'm in the 1/2 to 3/4" range myself.

AJ

snuffy
12-31-2010, 04:48 PM
I never bothered to measure. I'd have to guess less than ½ inch, enough to be able to see the stream entering the sprue hole.

I've never had a mold work well WITHOUT the stream going right into the center of the sprue hole. But then, the bigger 45 rifle boolits require a ladle to fill out, I AKA pressure cast.

Mk42gunner
12-31-2010, 05:07 PM
I let the mold tell me what it wants for good boolits, I have a couple that require pressure casting, a couple that require a laddle the rest 3/8-1/2" away.

I do like Calamity Jake.

The mold will tell you how it likesto be filled, they aren't all the same.

Robert

Echo
12-31-2010, 10:49 PM
+1 for 1/2", +/-....

John J
01-01-2011, 09:19 AM
thanks to all your help..gives me a place to start

John J

WHITETAIL
01-01-2011, 10:10 AM
I watch when I pour so I would say 1/2 inch will do.:redneck:

mdi
01-01-2011, 12:36 PM
Experiment a bit. You may see differences in finished boolits if you let the stream go straight down the sprue hole, or flow on the side of the hole, or tilt the mold to one side, nearer or farther from the spout, etc...

GaryM
01-03-2011, 10:34 PM
Around 1/2 inch. I don't really watch for the distance, I just hold it so i can see the stream pouring in and how big of a puddle I get on the sprue cutter before moving to the next cavity.

dverna
01-04-2011, 09:11 AM
The alloy and pot temperature you are using may affect this as well.

Don

44man
01-04-2011, 10:05 AM
About a foot or so! :bigsmyl2: I plug the silly hole and ladle cast. [smilie=s:

prs
01-04-2011, 12:23 PM
I never bothered to measure, I reckon about a tad or a tad and a half. My 6 cavity aluminum Lee molds like to be tilted a little too.

prs

fredj338
01-04-2011, 12:53 PM
Usually "zero" makes the most consistent results for me. I do have 1 mold that doesn't like pressure pour from the spout and in that case it's about 3/8"

Exactly how I proceed. The exception is my Magma caster. It is fixed @ about 3/8" & seems to work fine for the molds I have used.

AZ-Stew
01-04-2011, 02:24 PM
Somewhere between 1/2 and 1 inch. Never thought much about it in terms of a numeric value. I just set the mould guide so it's "the right distance", whatever that turns out to be. I had to adjust my mould guide the other day when I went from casting with an RCBS iron mould to a shorter Lee 2-banger aluminum mould. Again, I didn't measure it, I just set it so it looked right, from experience, I guess. Sorry I can't give you a number.

Something else that affects proper pour from a bottom drip pot is the flow rate. If that isn't right, and it varies from mould-to-mould, it won't matter at all what the pour distance is. You can't run a hard stream into a small volume (boolit weight) mould, nor can you run a trickle into a large volume mould and expect to get good results. You'll have to experiment a bit to find the right combination of flow and pour distance. Thinking about it a bit more, I'd say flow rate is more important than pour distance. I seldom change the mould guide height, but I frequently change the pour rate for different boolits.

Regards,

Stew

mroliver77
01-04-2011, 06:03 PM
I second stews post.
Jay

troy_mclure
01-04-2011, 09:13 PM
if you "pressure" pour dont forget to back off and leave some sprue. dont ask how i learned this!

mpmarty
01-05-2011, 06:52 PM
about half an inch and I tip the mold on an angle so the lead "swirls" into the cavity.

Bob Krack
01-06-2011, 09:29 AM
If you're not pressure casting, just remember the longer the length of the stream from the spout to the mould, the more the molten alloy is exposed to atmosphere (leading to more oxidation of the final casting).

Bob