Ladle casting question

[duke76]

Yesterday I finally got fed up with my Lee bottom pour pot (always Dripping) so I decided to ladle cast which turned out rather well other than on some of the boolits the bands were not filled out as well on one side of the boolit. Am I doing something wrong,? Do I have to do something to the mold 170 gr LEE .309? I never noticed that it did this with the bottom pour pot is that because it was pressure casted. Thanks for all help

[44man]

Make sure the lead and mold is hot enough. Break the top inner edges of the blocks with a small, fine file, just take the sharp edge off. Make sure the vents are all clean. Open the hole in the ladle just a little and KEEP THE HOLE AND NOSE CLEAN. Fill the ladle with the same amount of lead each time. Hold it tight to the sprue plate, turn them up and HOLD them together for a longer time so the cooling boolit can pull lead from the ladle, NOT FROM THE SPRUE. Tip it off and leave a good sprue and wait long enough for it to harden before cutting. Other then this wait and the time holding the ladle to the mold, work a smooth, fairly fast, even pace. Do not get in a big rush. Keep the mold and ladle clean.
If you are holding the ladle above the mold and dribbling lead in, you will not get good boolits.
If the nose gets tinned or the hole gets dirty, dump the ladle, tap the back on something to clear the hole and wipe the nose on a rag. Fill it and keep going.
Never dip the spout below the lead or stir the pot with it. Use a spoon with a long wood handle rivited on for that.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Your unfilled bands could be temperature too low. Aluminum moullds disipate heat fast. Also, if the incomplete bands are in one spot, make sure the mould is clean, then smoke it as Lee advises. Different moulds have very different preferences for best results. The Lyman standard procedure as 44man said often works well. Some of my moulds produce perfect bases only when I hold the ladle against the mould, then roll it away from the sprue hole, making a generous sprue. I also tap the HANDLE of the mould lightly on the edge of the pot before the sprue solidifies. You can see the sprue settle as the mould takes more alloy. Other posters have found that their moulds and/or technique require even more drop than my rolling method. I never stir the pot except when fluxing, which is about every 15-25 casts when I add metal. When the pot needs stirring, I do use the ladle because its weight helps in scraping the sides and bottom of the pot to float dross to the top. After fluxing, I skim off the dross with a spoon, making the pot ready for the next series of casts. The RCBS ladle with its bottom fin makes it easy to keep a clear spot open between casts. I try to put the ladle with ONLY the spout under the melt between casts, it helps keep the spout clear. I ladle cast ALL my boolits because I really hate furnaces that dribble, unless they are the other kind-the ones that freeze the spout. So far this past winter and spring
my good boolits are 98% of castings. Above all, remember that casting is not an entirely precise science, there is a lot of art to it. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Last winter and so far this spring I am averaging 98% good boolits, cast with a ladle over a Coleman stove.

[duke76]

I guess I should have clarified what I am pouring the lead out of, It is Lees spoon with the grooves on the side to pour the lead out of. Do the ones with the spout such as the Lyman work better. I degreased the mold and smoked it at least 2 or 3 times and my bullets are frosty looking which makes me think my temperature is hot enough. Maybe it is not venting correctly? can that happen on just one side? how do you know where the vent line is to clean it or widen it with an awl or file?

[floodgate]

Duke:

The little Lee "spoon" is a pathetic excuse for a ladle (but I find it useful for other tasks around the shop). Get a Lyman - or better - an RCBS ladle and your problems should go away, especially if you try NVcurmudgeon's and 44man's tips above.

floodgate

[OLPDon]

Duke
Just my two cents venting might make a differance but the spoon doesn't provide pressure to assist in filling the mould. I would try to beg, borrow or buy a dipper from someone. If you did not have a problem bottom pouring it a pressure/venting problem. Venting might compensate for the lack of pressure but it might not. If it were me before I made any changes unreverseable to a mould I go with Dipper first. (If you intend to ladle Cast you need a Dipper)
Don

[45nut]

Duke,,have a look at this post to prep those molds:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=654

[FISH4BUGS]

I have no complaints with my Lee 20 lb bottom pour furnace. I have very few drips, and if it does leak, a quick twist of the screw back and forth cleans it up. If there are any complaints, it is that the spout has a tendency to close up when adding more lead. Apparently, the lead cools down (even if I preheat the ingots on top of the furnace) and causes the spout to freeze up.
A quick propane torch flame on the spout always clears it up. It starts to flow again right away.
Maybe I am just lucky..........

[Freightman]

That is my expierence Fish.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I attach the smallest pair of vice grips I can find onto the top of the screw of the spout rod and this extra weight keeps the Lee 4-20 from dripping. from time to time I turn it a bit to keep the spout clean. I only melt ingots that have been fluxed well in this molding pot and I have very few issues with it. All my smelting is done in a cast iron kettle over a turkey fryer fueled by propane and I flux it well before I ladle my ingots into molds for later use. Plenty of lead avialable in town but you have to keep after it and it come easily.

[duke76]

Thanks, fellas. before I do anything else I will order a RCBS ladle and see if that makes a difference. Todd

[TAWILDCATT]

Impaitiance is the mother of disaster.having said that the lyman or rcbs ladle is the proper tool.But you should learn the right system to use it.
generaly you turn the mold on its side and mate the ladle turn whole unit upright.then turn ladle over.