Next Step, Casting Boolits, Maybe

[leadmonkey]

I smelted some wheel weights and have a nice batch of ingots. Now, I can think about getting some casting equipment, but before I buy anything, I'd like to know a few things. I can't seem to find direct answers to my questions by the search, so I'm pestering you guys again.
BTW, I want this first effort to be a low bucks approach.

I'm considering the Lee Production pot IV, because I really don't think I'll ever be doing enough casting to require anything any bigger. Famous last words? The ingots I made are muffin tin shape, 2 1/2 inches max diameter by 1 inch thick. Will they fit into that pot?

I'm figuring on starting with a Lee tumble lube & size kit, but I may want to try pan or press lubing later on. I'm considering the Lee 356-125-2R mold for starters. Will that work?

[bayjoe]

I just bought the Lee 20 pound melting pot and love it. I cast with the Lee 356-125-2R mold it is a very forgiving mold. Throws a nice consistent bullet.
Sounds like your headed in the right direction. Good Luck and try to avoid the tinsel fairy

[dsbock]

For the extra $10-15 you should go for the Lee Pro 4 20 lb. I've never heard of a caster wishing they had bought a smaller pot.

Good luck and cast clean.

David

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Go ahead and get the 20 lb pot and a 6 cavity mold (don't forget the handles). If the 10 lb pot is anything like the 20lb pot, 10 lbs will be right to the rim, so it is probably more like 7-8 lbs when you leave space for sawdust fluxing and stirring. Then you won't want to use the last lb or two lest you get crud in the spout. That leaves you with 5 lbs to work with or about 250 boolits worth at 125 grains. By the time I get everything up and running I want to make some boolits, not stand around and wait for the pot to come back up to temp after adding lead.

[Bigslug]

I'm considering the Lee Production pot IV, because I really don't think I'll ever be doing enough casting to require anything any bigger. Famous last words?

Yes. Yes they are.

In all seriousness, ten pounds seems like a ridiculously small quantity of lead for a casting furnace. A multi-cavity and/or large caliber mold will empty that out in the blink of an eye, plus a larger capacity pot is going to be more even in it's temperature as the total volume of lead removed from the pot per pour - or added back in cut sprues - will be a smaller percentage of the total. Spend the little extra for the 20 pound pot. You don't NEED to put 20 pounds in it, but be advised - this is a hobby that tends to grow.

If you're looking to tumble lube, you might be better served by the Lee slugs with the "TL" designators - the TL-356-124-2R, or the TL-124-TC.

I lean to large cavity count for most molds, but for high-volume semi-auto plinkers, I consider it mandatory. The extra thirty bucks you spend to get a Lee six cavity instead of a two will save you literally HOURS of time, to say nothing of fatigue spent leaning over the pot.

As to the "first effort / low bucks approach", temper that attitude with the notion that it is ultimately cheaper to buy it right than to buy it twice. "Basic" is fine, but "bare bones basic" is just going to frustrate you out of the hobby. Ask anyone who's ever made ammo on a Lee Loader and they will confirm this for you.

[BNE]

For the extra $10-15 you should go for the Lee Pro 4 20 lb. I've never heard of a caster wishing they had bought a smaller pot.

Good luck and cast clean.

David

What he said.

[dondiego]

I got the 10 pound pot first..........I haven't used it in years since I got the 20 pounders. I might bring it back to life with linotype and my new .22 cal Bator 6 cavity mold. Buy the 20 pound pot.

[Digital Dan]

I get along fine w/o a bottom pour pot or gang moulds and don't mind the time to cast a hundred or so bullets. Takes longer to heat the alloy it seems. I don't shoot belt fed guns either.

[Dusty Bannister]

Since you mentioned the thought about starting with tumble lube, and then going on to pan lube, and possibly the lube sizer, do not get the bullet mold in the TL design. Get the conventional lube groove designs and you will not have to buy another mold later on. Conventional lube designs tumble lube just fine. Read the sticky on getting started with 9MM and save some spinning of wheels and avoid some problems. Have fun with this. Dusty

[Wolfer]

I cast for years with a Coleman stove and a yard sale pot and the lee dipper. Tumble lubed or hand lubed without sizing. Cheap but I eventually moved on a little. I now have the 10 lb pot and has been said it runs out pretty fast. All my molds are 2 cavity. If I was starting to cast a high volume I would definitely look at the six bangers.
I didn't buy sizers until I started casting rifles and had to seat checks but now I size almost everything.
I assume your casting for a 9mm. I have no expierence there. Woody

[spfd1903]

Definetely go with the twenty pound pot. Liquid Alox is effective on either TL or regular lube groove profiles, so if you intend on tumble lubing, for sure buy the "TL" molds. The Lee two cavity molds are less than half the cost of a six cavity, plus you have to buy at least one set of handles separetely for the six cavity. That being said, i have never regretted buying a six cavity. Which ever choice you make, you are going to enjoy this pursuit.

[ACrowe25]

For the extra $10-15 you should go for the Lee Pro 4 20 lb. I've never heard of a caster wishing they had bought a smaller pot.

Good luck and cast clean.

David

This exactly. Not only is it only a few dollars cheaper more alloy = more consitent melt temp = easier on you for consistency. Trust me... I bought the 10 then just recently the 20.

['74 sharps]

Tumble lube will work fine with a non-tumble bullet mold..............

[bangerjim]

20 pounder.....................NO LESS!

banger

[snuffy]

I'm not going to do the dance around the bush, the lee 10 pound "production pot" is also called the drip-o-matic! If you're looking to create some interesting drip art then get the Lee Production pot IV.

The design of the valve rod at an angle does two things. It does NOT seal well causing drips, and it is in the way for dropping in ingots, fluxing and if you ever try dipping with a ladle, it prevents you from using more than half of the molten lead. It's just too small!

The 4-20 isn't that much more money, the valve seals better. The valve is along the front side so you can stir/flux well, and use it as a dipper/ladle pot.

As for the molds, the lee 6 cavity is well worth the extra dollars. It is made better than the 2 cav, the production rate is much faster. Lee recently re-designed the 2 cavity molds to be like most other molds with actual alignment pins. The old design relied on the formed/extruded aluminum blocks with pins that aligned sideways. They worked but were easily damaged. As said, either design, TL or normal lube grooved boolits, can be tumble lubed. As far as that goes, a TL boolit can be lubed with a conventional lubber like the Lyman 450-4500.

[Garyshome]

I bought the smaller Lee pot, It took forever to case any amount of projectiles. Then I bought a Lee 20 lb'er, that raised production considerably, then I started using both pots, and about doubled my speed of production. Lee 6 cav [or any other 6'ers] molds are the way to go, run 2 at a time. Then the slowdown is the operator, not the equipment.

[Cherokee]

Agree with what snuffy said in post #14. 20# pot and 6cv mold and handles

[Wayne Smith]

Don't worry about lubing. You can tumble lube grooved boolits and you can traditionally lube tumble lube boolits. As long as your boolit isn't so big that the lube sizer wipes out the little tumble lube grooves. Then you might have to buy some loob grooves from Waksupi!

[Finarfin]

I would get the Lee Pro 4. That seems like a good one and about as cheap as you can go. If you really want to go cheap, buy the Lee $5 dipper and pour your boolits from whatever it is you are now using to melt lead, unless it is in your kitchen. I use the Lyman Big Dipper 10lb and it has been fine. I do wish I had gotten a 20lb bottom pour, but it hasn't been a big deal for me. I am not a high volume caster.

[Finarfin]

Elsewhere on the internet I have heard of pan lubing with 50% beeswax, 40% vegetable shortening, and 10% petroleum jelly. It is supposed to be a good lube and the boolits push right out. I plan on giving it a shot here fairly soon when some beeswax arrives. I have seen mixed reviews on the tumble lube, but it seems to work fine for many.

[Echo]

I went to TL as a last resort, when I cast up some 92 gr boolits for popcorn loads in a 38 Special. Little pills were a pain to size in either my old Lachmiller or the Star, so I went to the TL route - and haven't looked back! Works, easy, cheap, &cetera. I don't have to size them, and I now use the process on my 45's and 40's, as well. And no TL boolits, just regular loob grooved boolits. I use Recluse (45/45/10) loob...
And forget pan-loobing - it can be made to work, but leaves a lot to be desired.