yet another newby question....

[ssn vet]

How neccessary is a thermometer to a newby just getting set up?

[Wayne Smith]

I use a iron pot on a Coleman 2-burner stove and found that, when I got a thermometer, my bullets started weighing the same! If you have a pot with a thermostat on it you will only use it to check your temps., if you are using a stove as I do you will use it to maintain a relatively constant melt temp.

[Jon K]

ssn,

Consistancy in heat as Wayne said equals boolit consistancy. Also if you smelt at a lower temp, you can weed out the floaters(zinc & unwanted Junk) and you will have a cleaner alloy which is so much easier to cast nice Boolits.

Jon

[Bass Ackward]

How neccessary is a thermometer to a newby just getting set up?


This is a tough answer. On one hand I can say, you can get by without it. On another, I don't know how I got by without mine.

I like a thermometer because I can set a temp and watch my pot cycle to ensure it's working properly and doesn't need to be adjusted. I can record the best molding temperature for each mold and maybe, if I need more or less dimensions somewhere, I can record that temperature too. Smelting was covered by Jon, so you don't get more zinc in your mix than necessary.

[JohnH]

I've been casting since the mid 1980's without one, but have getting one on the "Get List", problem is, typically when I have cash at hand other things are at the top of the list. Obviously you can get by without one, and I certainly wouldn't let not having one keep me from casting. It is kind of like a having a chronograph. You can reload for a life time without one, I've known quite a few who did so. But having one opens another level of understanding unobtainable without it.