Ordered a Lee Pro 4 20lb today.

[Huntsman]

TOTW is having a 2 day sale, today and ending tomorrow, Jan 1st.
I've been using a Lee Precision melter for the last 4 yrs and figured it was time to upgrade to something a little quicker.
I can't wait to get it so I can start casting some of my "pure" lead Maxi-Balls :-D

[GARD72977]

What is TOTW? I have been wanting to get back into black powder. Have not shot it since I started reloading over 20 years ago. What gun are you shooting?

[Huntsman]

Track of the Wolf. They're my go to store for most of mu black powder shooting needs.
I'm shooting a few bust cast only for a couple .50's, 3 .54's and 2 30-30's for now

[GARD72977]

Funny I ordered some cerrosafe from them the other day. Still did not get the acronym. Never did the Maxi ball thing just shot plain old round balls. Got to get one again. With all the BS gong on I spend money on things I really don't want just because I may not be able to get them later. I had a .45 that I really liked. Kind of looking for another one. See what the gun show has next week. they aren't on the endangered list so I may find a deal!

[shotman4]

when you get it Before you put lead in take some sand {anykind} and spin the drop pin to set it . then wash it out .
next find a weight that will weigh about 4oz and fit it on the lift handle behind the wood knob. I used a 3/8 allthread bent in half about 3in long. you good to go if you keep lead clean

[Huntsman]

when you get it Before you put lead in take some sand {anykind} and spin the drop pin to set it . then wash it out .
next find a weight that will weigh about 4oz and fit it on the lift handle behind the wood knob. I used a 3/8 allthread bent in half about 3in long. you good to go if you keep lead clean

CAn you send me some pics of what you're saying? What do you mean by sand and spin the drop pin?
Thanks in advance.
JMG1894@hotmail.com

[SgtDog0311]

Like the tip about the wieght added to the handle. Shoulda coulda tried the sand but too late now. I have problems with leaking pin and twisting with a screwdriver does not always solve it. Might have had something to do with running the pot low too.

One thing I noted from my thermometer... the heat adjustment does not work at all. It's full blast or off, no matter where it's set. I try to keep temp where it works best by the speed of the operator.

[dickttx]

I bought one a few months ago and it has a large heavy metal knob instead of a wooden handle.

[Ramslammer]

G'Day
I use two of these and apart from the dripping now and then I reckon they are great value for the $ , will say I run them through a PID so don't have heat problems or variations.
Juddy

[Moonie]

I bought one a few months ago and it has a large heavy metal knob instead of a wooden handle.

The 20lb pot has a metal knob? All the 20lb Lee pots I've seen have the wooden knob, the 10lb ones have a metal.

I added a needle nose vice grip to the top of the pin, it adds weight and I can turn it easily if I do get a drip. Haven't used it since I added it as I had just completed casting enough to last a couple of months.

[gunoil]

i need a 30 lb pot, those 45acps empty my 20 pounder quick.

[Moonie]

i need a 30 lb pot, those 45acps empty my 20 pounder quick.

Get a second 20lb'er lol

[Huntsman]

So, I got my Lee pot from TOTW a few days ago and let me tell you, I was pretty excited. I cleaned all the surfaces and removed the factory oil coating and proceeded to give it a whirl. After about 20 mins of waiting for my "pure lead" to melt I began to cast a 420gr TC Maxi-Ball. All was well except it seemed to take atleast 20 casts to get the mould heated up. Soon after it started to leak uncontrolably. I emptied all the lead and wiped out any gunk or **** then filled it back up with lead. Once melted I noticed my stream was to an angle and very thin giving me poor casts all of a sudden. The mould was'nt filling up fast enuf and the lead was cooling by the time it reached the top. I took a #2 finishing nail and inserted it into the spout and looked like some lead was the culprit. Next pour and "voila", a nice even, steady stream of molten lead poured freely into the mould. So I got that part taken care of!

Now, after spending a few hours in the garage casting I noticed my casts were "rough", small tiny little dimples on the surface and not nice and shiny smooth surfaced like I got with my ladle casts formm before. "What the heck!" I thought. So I emptied the lead, wiped, re-filled. #2 nailed the spout and started to cast again. After 40 or so casts still a lot of imperfections in the bullet. I tried a ladle cast and the bullet was perfect????
Is it my heat? Is it the distance from mould to spout? Am I missing something?
I fluxed the lead good with pure bees wax too.
Any help is greatly appreciated,
I will post some pics

Huntsman

[Mk42gunner]

Some molds just work better with a ladle. Usually the bigger the boolit and the less tin in the mix, the better a ladle works.

I myself have a couple of bottom pour pots; a Lee 4-20 that is easy to ladle from, and an RCBS Promelt.

Your perfect boolit with the ladle argues that your heat is correct, you can try pressure filling the mold by holding the sprue against the spout, I have one molde that thata is the only way I can get good fillout. If that doesn't help, report back and someone will have another idea.

Robert

[Huntsman]

Thanks M42 :)
I tried again today, varying the heat and distance of mould to spout and it seemed to get a little better after 15-20 pours.
I think too that the TC Maxi Ball mould might be too long with lube grooves haveing to be filled up all before it reaches the top. I dont really know why its doing this?
Pics on the way.

[snuffy]

Huntsman, you have dirt in your lead. It's being trapped under the molten lead, then flowing out with it when you open the valve. Confirmed by the spout plugging, then needing to be opened by your nail. Bees wax works okay for fluxing, but you need to be sure you get it stirred all the way to the bottom of the pot. Then be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot to knock the dirt loose so it can float to the top to be skimmed off.

Pure lead needs to be as hot as your pot can get it. Without tin in the mix, it is just real hard to get the boolits to fill out. You should also be pre-heating the mold. Most use a hot plate like you can get from Walgreen's or wally world. Set the mold on it turned up to medium/high, let it stay there while your pot comes up to temp.