lead laddles

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I have free wheel weights 100 pounds
a propane camps stove
and a stainless steel 8 quart pot that is willing to go to the cause
even a muffin pan to make ingots in

but i need a ladle

so looking around i see lee ladles the concencus from what i read is they work fine for 2 cavity 230 gr molds and small pots

i see lyman , and rcbs ladles they look nice many people like them

so i was looking some more and see ROTO metals ladles , how are they price seems to be good looks like the 1.5 , 3 , 6 and 13 oz have no handles , thats fine for savings i can add wood handles


my budget is very tite , so i am trying to find what works on a very tite budget


just getting started so my only mold is a 50 cal R.E.A.L that i am borrowing but more molds are in the future as money allows.

so what are your suggestions for low priced ladles , for pouring in to a mold and for pouring ingot or do you use the same one for both.

[BABore]

You can't go wrong with the RCBS ladle for your requirements. It has a fin for moving dross aside and the current pour holes are a decent size. I usually drill them out to 0.160 if they're under. The ladles you point out from RotoMetals are nice enough, but you will have a bit more difficulty pouring with that type over one with a nipple like the RCBS. You can file a groove in the pour spout with a small triangular file to get a finer control on them. The RotoMetal or spoon type ladles are also not a bottom pour type that I can detect. That will mean that you will fight any dross or floaties that get in the cup. The Lyman ladle is ok, but the ones I have don't have a dross fin. They are also smaller than the RCBS. Another good ladle is the Rowell #1, 1 lb ladle. It is a true bottom pour ladle, but has a pour spout like the spoon type. I filed a groove in mine and it works well. About as fast as a bottom pour pot. The down side is it doesn't work for all molds. Some molds may need more of a pressure pour and that can most easily be done with the Lyman/RCBS nipple type. If funds are short and you need one that can do all pouring methods, get the RCBS and don't look back. Later on you may want to get the Rowell #1. The cheapest plcae to get them is from the maker.

http://advancecarmover.thomasnet.com/item/rowell-ladles/rowell-ladle-1/item-1018?

[stubshaft]

I use an RCBS ladle for casting and made a ladle from a soup ladle for use when I smelt lead. I knocked off the plastic handle and made one out of wood. It has lasted me over 22 years so far. The RCBS or Lyman will hold about 1# of lead the only modification I made to it was to drill out the tip for a faster pour..

[GLL]

Although I have a couple of the Rowell ladles I seem to end up using one of my RCBS versions most often ! I also bore out the spout on the RCBS ladles to get better flow. I shortened and rethreaded the metal rod handle on one of mine to get better control . The photo shows a brand new RCBS before the spout was modified. An hour after the photo was taken it did not look so shiney clean ! :)

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/DF1271887CEBA67/orig.jpg

[BABore]

I use an RCBS ladle for casting and made a ladle from a soup ladle for use when I smelt lead. I knocked off the plastic handle and made one out of wood. It has lasted me over 22 years so far. The RCBS or Lyman will hold about 1# of lead the only modification I made to it was to drill out the tip for a faster pour..

You sure about the RCBS or Lyman holding a pound of alloy? I'm thinking the RCBS may hold 4-5 ounces and the Lyman maybe 3-4 ounces. I sure wish they would hold a lb like the Rowell.

[RayinNH]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=86784

Ray

[x101airborne]

For ingots and ingots only, I use a stainless 3/4 measuring cup on 2' of broom handle. Split the end of the handle and insert the flat handle of the measuring cup. Secure with two 1/4x1 1/2" bolts. Has worked for over a year now and fills most ingot / muffin tins with one scoop. Also big enough to remove clips from the smelt. I got real fancy and drilled around 10 1/8th inch holes in a 1 cup measurer on a stick. Now I can scoop clips and just shake the scoop a little. Lead falls out, clips stay in.

[stubshaft]

You sure about the RCBS or Lyman holding a pound of alloy? I'm thinking the RCBS may hold 4-5 ounces and the Lyman maybe 3-4 ounces. I sure wish they would hold a lb like the Rowell.

Brain fart! I meant to type 1/4#.

[Swede44mag]

just getting started so my only mold is a 50 cal R.E.A.L that i am borrowing but more molds are in the future as money allows.

so what are your suggestions for low priced ladles , for pouring in to a mold and for pouring ingot or do you use the same one for both.

If you are casting for a Black Powder rifle you will need to use pure lead instead of Wheel Weights for your REAL bullets or you will not be able to get them down the bore.

[mroliver77]

I would go with the rcbs and not look back!
Jay

[mooman76]

On a tight buget, make your own. I've been using the Lee for years and it works well for me. I have a small juice can I use for ingots with a pair of pliers. A clever person here(Jim) bought some metal measure spoons and attached one to a handle. Someone here was selling a couple ladles cheap a couple days ago and I don't think he sold them.

[Southern Son]

I use the RCBS for casting boolits and an old stainless soup ladle for doing ingots. Got the ladle for $2.00 from Crazy Clarkes.

[bhn22]

I have several LEE ladles. I use them for fluxing & scraping my casting post. That's about all they're good for. I buy them at gun shows for a buck or two each. When the wood handles burn off, I drill holes in pieces of a old broomstick I keep around for this purpose. I tried casting with one in my innocent days and it almost ended my interest in casting completely. I replaced the LEE with a Lyman, and then replaced the Lyman with an RCBS. I use the RCBS for casting, and a 1 lb Rowell ladle for casting ingots. My neatest toy is a military surplus pierced mess hall serving ladle that I use for straining wheelweight clips & bullet jackets fragments from scrap.

[Bret4207]

I wouldn't even bother looking at the Lee ladle, nor would I jump to a Rowell for under 4 cavity moulds. RCBS or Lyman type ladles work fine.

If the budget is really tight, any old soup or gravy ladle that a wood handle can be added to (think hose clamps!) will work fine. One of my best ladles was an old dump find riveted steel gravy ladle I added a dowel handle to (complete with hose clamp) and bent the bowl a little narrower to make accurate pouring easier.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

thanks for the ideas , i think for ingot a soup laddle will work for me , very good idea to make one with a hole in the bottom to strain clips and such.

i had been thinking a large food service spoon with many holes in it , (think lunch line spoon for the peas) for straining clips and such

my first batch of R.E.A.L bullets i just picked out the stick on WW and used them i will probably continue with that i have tried 2 down the bore and the bullet doesn't start any harder than the hornady 410gr conicals i was using

told the wife last night i want the rcbs dipper , i can see were the preasure generated by the lead weighing down on the lead flowwing into the mold could deffinitly help fill out all the bands and the nose

maybe i can get the smelting together for this weekend we will see.

[songdog53]

When pouring ingots i use long handled ladle that is older than i am. Came from Father-in-Law when was pouring babbit bears for old saw mill and planers back in the day.