OK Still learning

[chuck40219]

Finally got some good looking/shooting boolits for my 45-70. Lyman mold 457125. Made some with my bottom pour Lee 10lb furnace. Looked better than anything I had cast except round ball.

While out at my shooting buddy's shop I spied a side pour dipper, maybe not the correct terminology. See photo.
249075

After using the dipper/ladle to pour some boolits I found that the good looking boolits I had used the bottom pour feature did not look as good as I thought. The ladle pour boolits were nicer.

So do I convert the 10lb lee pot to ladle only, or sell it with 3 45-70 lee molds for a small price ($50) to fund a 20lb lee standard pot?

Or do I keep experimenting to use the bottom pour to produce boolits to rival the ladle pour ones? Higher temp. with mold/lead, open up the pour spout to allow a greater lead flow, open up the sprue cutter for greater lead flow.

The 10lb pot does not have a large mouth to use the dipper with. And also I found that I run though lead pretty fast (500 gr boolits).

Your thoughts?

chuck40219

[JM7.7x58]

I have stopped buying old Coleman camp stoves at the thrift store. I have enough. I saw one the other day that was priced at $8.50. A stove, a small heavy pot, any type of lid, and a half gallon of gas and you are ladle casting big bullets.

JM

[chuck40219]

I have stopped buying old Coleman camp stoves at the thrift store. I have enough. I saw one the other day that was priced at $8.50. A stove, a small heavy pot, any type of lid, and a half gallon of gas and you are ladle casting big bullets.

JM

I have that setup, just want to go flip a switch and cast. With the stove and other stuff it takes time to setup and break down.

chuck40219

[Bazoo]

That's the Lyman dipper. I use that and a lee 20 pound pot. I find I get good results with lee moulds with about 3/4"-1" free fall and letting the dipper empty over the sprue puddle. I get good results just leaving a sprue puddle too, when using an iron mould. This with coww with minimal tin.

[Dusty Bannister]

It seems you have discovered a very common fact that when casting large bullets the casting ladle seems to do a better job. Of course this is for one cavity at a time. If you decide to use smaller cavities and more of them, you will wish you had kept the bottom pour pot. You are at the point of needing to make the decision to either burn the bridge (abandon the small pot) and get a larger pot, or learn to use the small pot with the casting ladle and add to the pot with small ingots to keep the pot level up so you can dip. Or use another heat source and cast from a different container. Doing that you will give up the controlled heat source of the bottom pour pot.

Many casters start out thinking they will only cast and shoot one or two calibers, until they realize their mistake.

Had you asked, you probably would have found suggestions that you start with the larger pot and you would not be asking the question now. Once you alter the pot, there is little chance you can go back. You will most likely regret selling any of the other molds at some point in the future. Good luck in your decision.

[Maven]

chuck40219, I use that very ladle with a 10lb. Lee furnace, which I "converted" to ladle use by simply plugging the spout and removing the bottom pour bits: Works like a charm!

[JM7.7x58]

I agree that it takes a bit to set up a stove. Also, generator tubes get fouled and have to be cleaned mid casting session, if you don’t have a backup. But I can leave this setup out for a week or two and not worry about it rusting away. I also use my lee pot outside, my basement has no ventilation. It just depends on what I’m doing. If you like those molds I would hold onto them.

Good luck

[Conditor22]

What alloy were you using, how hot was the lead in the pot and did you pre-warm the mold?

I can cast beautiful 45/70 boolits with a lee bottom pour pot using Ideal, Lyman and Lee molds

Poor fill out can be caused by lead to cold, mold to cold, not enough tin in the alloy, the lead puddle on the sprue is too small.

pressure pouring (holding the mold up to the spout in a bottom pour pot) gets the same/better results as dipper casting for me. [and is SO much easier]

[psweigle]

Open up the pour speed on your pot. It will be fine. I open my 20lb lee pot to do 500gr 45-70 for my shooting buddy. He has a lee mold. Makes nice boolits. That wag you can slow the pour speed for the smaller stuff without needing more casting gear. Hope this helps.

[GhostHawk]

I started with the kitchen Nat gas stove, eventually wife talked me into buying a little 4lb ladle pot, electric for sale here, used at an awesome price. Within a year I had bought another new, with Thermostat. Then I found out about the 20 lb Magnum Melter.

Designed as a ladle pot it holds a LOT of melt, and works great.

If it was me, I'd keep the 10lb bottom pour, keep practicing with it. Especially with smaller sized boolits.

Find yourself a ladle pot and a place to set it where you can sit on a chair or stool. I tend to rest the mold over the pot after filling the ladle. That way any drippage just goes back into the pot.

The only molds that I don't put the sprue's right back into the pot to melt are my sharpshooter buckshot molds. The sprue's are just too big, balls have to be clipped off, then eventually they get fed back in and remelted.

Normally little 2 and 6 cavity Lee mold sprues don't seem to have any effect on that big 20 lb pot full of melt.

I don't empty it, when done casting if it is low I add ingots to bring it back up to half an inch of the top and turn it off.

My casting table is a Harbor Freight welding/work table. All steel except for a chipboard top. I cut a piece of sheet metal big enough to fit snuggly inside the angle iron frame. So not much burn hazard. Sprues and drips just get left to cool. Next time I'm waiting for the pot to melt I pick up.

Has the big melter on front right corner, a 2 burner hot plate on left side from front to back and back right corner is an old cast fry pan that holds my dross, skimmings until my next smelting session.

[Victor N TN]

I have and have used everything you spoke of. For me, I won't give up the speed and ease of the bottom drop pot.

[Frank V]

I've got an old Saeco bottom pour pot. I get better more filled out bullets using a dipper. I've locked the screw on the bottom pour down so it doesn't drip & use my dipper. It's also a side pour.

[jsizemore]

You need a pot to bottom pour those itty bitty little ones and a ladle for the bigun's. You don't use a teaspoon to put gravy on your biscuit and you don't use a ladle to put honey in your coffee. You annoy the hell out of momma and things ain't right for the rest of the day.

[chuck40219]

Update, have decided to keep the 10lb bottom pour pot. Have ordered a 20 lb non pour pot.

Chuck40219

[Maven]

You won't regret that decision, chuck!