Casting Set Ups besides factory pots?

[moodyholler]

With out opening a can of worms I would like to hear about some casting set-ups using coleman stoves or other such heat sources and what pots are used on them. I am thinking of setting up an outside system to do my casting. Thanks, moodyholler

[Harpman]

I use a coleman, and a dutch oven pot, I like it alot, it holds way more than I can cast before the fuel runs out. remember to raise it up, with wood strips or something underneath the feet . I didnt do this, and noticed the bench under it was getting HOT....It does heat up good and I think mine will get to about 850 degrees if I let it. A work mate or any type bench outside works good, have enough room next to it to place the bullets. another reason I like the coleman, is I also built a square pot out of steel, with shot bolts on one end, and I make my own #9 shot for shotgun reloading.

[imashooter2]

I use a $5 yard sale Coleman gas stove with an old stainless steel 2 quart pot salvaged from my father in law's estate and a Lyman dipper. I set it up either in my shed on a work bench or on a small wooden table in the shade of a big maple, depending on the weather. I drop the bullets into a 5 gallon bucket half full of water and set that on top of a second bucket to raise it to a more ergonomic height.

[bdoyle]

I use a 15,000 btu burner ($33.95) with the 5ft hose and regulator($22.95) from Buffalo arms. I hook this to a propane tank like you would use for the BBQ. I went to Longs and found a cast iron pot for under $10, holds about 35lbs of lead. Stick this on a 2ft x 4ft x 1in piece of plywood across two saw horses, add a lyman thermometer and a rowell ladle and you are good to go. Breaks down easy when she HAS to put the car in the garage.
I did fabricate a sheet metal guard around the pot. Acts as a heat shield and give you a spot to warm moulds up. If you are going to be outside it will help keep the heat around the pot. It will easily run past 900deg but it is not to hard to maintain any temp. I passed on the coleman stove when the pot got to heavy for the grill.

Brian

[imashooter2]

I passed on the coleman stove when the pot got to heavy for the grill.

Brian

2 quarts of lead is 47 pounds. Take an inch or so off the top so it doesn't spill and you are right on the 35 pounds that your pot holds. The grill on a Coleman will hold that with plenty of safety margin.

[moodyholler]

Thanks a bunch. Exactly what i'm looking for. Now to find a pot!!!!!!!!! I am going to order a thermo also. moodyholler

[NVcurmudgeon]

moodyholler, whichever kind of pot you wind up with, make sure it has a flat bottom. My late father-in-law, who taught me how to cast used a Lyman pot with a round bottom. He set it on his Coleman stove with an iron ring with a hole in it to take the pot, also a Lyman product. Between Lyman's scary pot and ring combination, and his own sheetmetal heat duct, he had a setup that could only be described as Mickey Mouse. How he never upset the pot on himself is a real mystery to me. He was also a certified genus at casting. He had close to zero cull bullets from his casting. I once weighed 100 of his cast bullets vs. 100 Sierras. Gordon's castings had less weight variation than the sierras. I use a coleman stove with a flat bottom 12 lb. Potter pot. Over several decades the weight of the full pot has slightly bowed part of the grill around the burner, but not enough to bother anything.

[MGySgt]

Thanks a bunch. Exactly what i'm looking for. Now to find a pot!!!!!!!!! I am going to order a thermo also. moodyholler

One thing to remember - stay away from aluminum - the lead will eat it away over time and you will have an event that if you don't get burnt bad - you will remember for a long time.

I used an aluminum stock pot from a messhall to smelt WW in. After a few hundred pounds, you could see where the inside looked rough. Plenty of metal left, but I threw it aweay and went to cast iron.

Drew

[woody1]

I use the side burner of an old BBQ for heat. Free for the asking usually and the side burners are generally little used. The pot sits inside a home made shield to better direct the heat. The pot is two quart cast aluminum and no problem going on 5 years. Regards, Woody

http://www.hunt101.com/img/311093.JPG (http://www.hunt101.com/?p=311093&c=556&z=1)

[bdoyle]

Imashooter2,
Maybe I should of said coleman type. This was a briefcase type stove that I picked up in the late 70's to go in my 4x4. It had a 1/4 inch wire grill that would glow red and bend. I used a 6inch x 6inch L605 stainless plate for support. This was from a laser cutting operation that cut out .5in squares. Supported the pot nicely. Since moved on to the buffalo arms burner. I used the stove for about 2 years and now I been using the burner for about 5.

Brian

[Bad Ass Wallace]

$60 and a bit of time; melts 30kg in 10 mins

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/Pot_2.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v152/BAWallace/Pot_1.jpg

[Wayne Smith]

I use a Coleman propane stove hooked to a 20 lb. bottle, like used on a grill. I use the Lyman pot, but would change to the RCBS if I were buying now, simply for the lip on the back. Now I use a set of vicegrips to grab the side to poor into muffin tins when I'm smelting. Yes, I empty the pot completely. The other pot I use is a 1qt stainless cooking pot. I began with this and still use it. The pot holds 20 lbs and I've never emptied it casting, but I have and do routinely refill it and wait until it gets back to temp. My bullets became much more uniform in weight when I got a casting thermometer and kept the melt at about the same temp. I've never had any problem with the weight.

The stove is on a resin table on the back porch that is covered with a piece of 3/4" ply. This keeps the spills off the resin table so it can still be used for eating!

I use the Lyman ladle, but just got the 1lb Rowell. I've cast 500gr 45-70 bullets, a Lee 6-banger in 200 gr 44-40, and the usual rest. For the amount I'm casting this is more than adequate. I can see that if or when I start casting more I will want to upgrade.

[Junior1942]

Here's a look at me over a campfire casting 320gr Lee R.E.A.L. 50 caliber muzzleloader bullets. That's a Lyman pot and ladle. The pot hangs by a rope over a small fire. The article is at http://www.castbullet.com/hunting/bhunt.htm

http://www.castbullet.com/hunting/photos/bhunt02.jpg

[John Boy]

http://i22.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/a1/78/83_1_b.JPG

An antique Clayton & Lambert that I snagged off eBay.

[Newtire]

I, like Woody, also use a heavy gauge aluminum pot from the thrift store on a Coleman stove with a "Dollar-Store" spoon for a dipper. Got a Lee 20 pound bottom pour that I mostly use but can cast more BPM (boolits-per-minute)with the dipper method. I have a swivel seat barstool to pivot around on to drop the bullets into the 5-gallon water pail. I did burn a hole in one of the thinner aluminum pots one time & played hell getting the lead scooped out & into a nearby container before it all leaked out. The Lee pot is much more "sanitary" (now that it doesn't leak anymore) just slower for me is all. I think I'll try leaving some lead going on the Coleman to refill the Lee pot someday & see if that speeds things up a bit. Always running low on lead when I get casting at a good rate.

[felix]

Newtire, if you are running low on lead when casting at a good rate, that means your style of casting is very much like mine. That is, you probably cast at a snails pace when compared to the rate as advanced by BruceB. We need extremely hot lead to make satisfactory boolits, meaning the lead level has to be down quite a way. What really helps matters is to get the mold handles good and hot before casting. This would allow a fuller pot for the same quality of boolits. I place the whole mold into the pot when warming up from the start, by letting it ride on top of the lead for 10 minutes or so after the lead is already melted. Remember the trick of not having tight screws holding the mold to the handles. You risk a mold warp otherwise. ... felix

[David R]

Nothing fancy here, I have an RCBS pro melt set up on a workbench. Wet towel on the left, 3 lb coffee can for sprues on the right and a bucket of water on a chair so I can drop em in. I can get 500 boolits in 1/2 hour with a 6 banger, 300 to 400 with a 30 cal 2 cavity. I only pour for 1/2 hour, then I quit.

I remember when I lived in a trailer park, I would open the side doors of my old dodge van and pour boolits with a ladel while I was sitting on a kitchen chair. Coleman stove on the floor of the van, 0ne quart cast iron pan, me sitting outside. Its all I had at the time and it worked fine.

Johnboy, I had one of those and it burst into flames. Scared the heck outa me. Threw it out.

David

[carpetman]

I use an old Ideal cast iron pot. It rounds towards bottom,but the very bottom has a flat about the size of a coffee cup. I use this on a Coleman stove. When I started,I used it for smelting wheel weights and for casting. Now use a Lee bottom pour and like that better for casting. I still use the cast iron pot and Coleman for smelting. The pot has a bail,but I don't use it. I use water pump(Channelocks)pliers on the lip and dump it into my LYMAZ(backwards N--rare collectors item)ingot mold. I don't like to completely empty it as the next batch of wheel weights melt faster if I leave some in it.

[Wayne Smith]

If you are gonna water drop remember to keep the water container well below the lead. You really don't want to splash water into your lead pot.

[waksupi]

Wayne, don't worry about splashing a little water into a lead pot. Unless you can fuigure out how to get it below the surface of the lead, it is a non-problem.

[Willbird]

You know Waksupi I have found that to be true, I still try to avoid it...I did find out tho that raindrops due to velocity DO make some pretty wild action happen in the smelter. I have shoveled chunks of Ice right in there with WW (long handled shovel) and not had a problem.


Bill