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Frank
06-01-2009, 10:38 AM
I'm looking to make quality boolits using a Lee six-cavity mold. I learned now how to make quality boolits from two-cavity molds, I ladle cast and also have a six-cavity mold. Does the six-cavity need a bottom pour furnace? I have a 2" Rowell ladle because the standard type of ladle is too small. I'm looking to develop a "system" that makes me quality bullets as good as my two-cavity molds. Any suggestions?

1Shirt
06-01-2009, 10:41 AM
The hotter the better and consistancy in timing will get you the best results out of the bigger molds.
1Shirt!:coffee:

felix
06-01-2009, 10:46 AM
Cannot be done with typical use. The odds would be better when keeping the produce seperated by cavity, and when pouring can be adjusted per cavity to optimize each cavity's produce. ... felix

runfiverun
06-01-2009, 11:01 AM
dang engineers...
just run the mold hot 350+ and the alloy hotter 800+.and go fast as you can.
or do what i do use steel or brass molds.

putteral
06-01-2009, 11:28 AM
I also ladle cast and use Lee 6 cavities all the time. Once you get the mold hot enough and also the lead, you should have no trouble. I use a soup ladle with a hole drilled in the side and I get a nice consistent pour.
:drinks:

Cloudpeak
06-01-2009, 11:40 AM
I casted with a ladle for years but, after reading this forum for awhile, bought a Lee bottom pour for use with my Lee 6 cavity molds and I'll never go back. Preheat the mold on a hotplate, get the pot up to temp and cast away. I also use the hotplate to premelt lead for the Lee pot. No more "spout freeze" caused by dropping ingots in the production pot. 3,000 plus bullets in four hours with the 6 cavity:-D

Frank
06-01-2009, 12:34 PM
riverfiverun says
dang engineers...
just run the mold hot 350+ and the alloy hotter 800+.and go fast as you can.
or do what i do use steel or brass molds.


That is something that I don't want to have to do - go fast. Again, I'm looking for strictly quality. Speed means nothing to me, unless you have to do it fast to get good boolits. I have some fresh Felix lube I want to try and I don't want to waste it on boolits I would never want to shoot.

Sensai
06-01-2009, 01:34 PM
The speed is to keep the mould hot enough for full fill-out. If you want to go slower, you can reheat the mould between casts. It's easier just to cast at a fast steady rate.

thebigmac
06-01-2009, 03:30 PM
I USED A 10 HOLER FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, BUT ALWAYS WITH A BOTTOM POUR. OLD LYMAN 61 WITH A MOULD GUIDE. POURED THE FARTHEREST HOLE FIRST, THEN AFTER I SAW A SIZABLE SPRUE I PULLED THE MOULD TOWARDS ME WHILE KEEPING THE POUR SPOUT OPEN. AFTER ALL 10 WERE SHOWING A SPRUE. I PLACED THE FULL MOULD ASIDE AND PICKED UP ANOTHER AND FILLED IT, SET IT ASIDE AND EMPTIED THE FIRST ONE. I WOULD KEEP THIS UP AS LONG AS I COULD HANDLE IT. ALWAYS ADDING I lb INGOTS AFTER ABOUT 10 POURS.

mroliver77
06-01-2009, 03:57 PM
I guess mebbe you should give YOUR definition of quality. I use six cav for pistol boolits that I plink with. I can get them visually almost perfect and with a good mold very close weight wise. These boolits pretty much shoot better than I can. Sometimes on long range work I will get a bad flyer and attribute it to an unfound flaw. For hunting ammo I usually use single cav molds. I can produce much more uniform boolits this way. I inspect with magnifying glass and find flaws that go un noticed with my naked eye.
One nice thing about a ladle you get very close to the same nozzle flow with each pour. with a bottom pour pot it flucuates with alloy depth. Uniformity is the name of the game.
Jay

fatnhappy
06-01-2009, 03:58 PM
That is something that I don't want to have to do - go fast. Again, I'm looking for strictly quality.

I'm not sure, but it seems like you have a preconceived notion that quality and speed are mutually exclusive. I would emphatically denounce that notion. I ladle cast for years, then tried the BruceB method of speed casting when I bought a bottom pour. There was a learning curve, but the boolits I've produced that way are every bit as good as anything I ever ladle cast.
Realistically, the decision about casting fast to achieve quality might not be yours to make. IME that decision is made by the idiosynchracies of the individual mould.

Dean

inuhbad
06-01-2009, 04:54 PM
I think his issue is kind of what I have since I'm a newbie... Safety Jitters.

This stuff is REALLY HOT, and quite dangerous. It'd be even more dangerous to go faster than you're comfortable going.

My advice is to just keep casting. The better you get at it, the faster you'll be comfortable going...

As for the ladle method, I' don't know if my ladle would even hold quite enough lead for a full 6-cav depending on the particular boolit size we're talking about. SIX 230 grain 45 boolits is a pretty good little bit of lead to scoop. I use a 2-Cavity steel mold since I don't have a bottom-pour pot yet. I can't get the lead from the pot to the mold fast enough, and in a manner I still feel 'comfortable' with regards to safety.

If you think quality & speed are exclusive, that's debatable, but I'd bet you can make some pretty consistent boolits while going pretty fast.

That said, if you're looking for match-grade consistency, you're using the wrong kind of mold. Get yourself a 1 cavity mold. There will be a sizable bit of variation between boolits cast from one cavity to another. If you want great accuracy, I'd think using boolits from the same cavity will give you the best results (better than going slow & using all 6 cavities).

I'm a newbie at this yet, and as far as I'm concerned, I pretty much suck at it (for now). I need more time to get more practiced & learn a lot more from the veterans & master-casters here...

Frank
06-01-2009, 05:21 PM
think his issue is kind of what I have since I'm a newbie... Safety Jitters

No, nothing to do with that. I just think using a ladle is more accurate. And having the ladle contact the mold and then turning the mold, waiting for it to fill, then tipping it back, I know it takes time, but I have found that that is the best way to make good boolits. I plan on trying that method with the six banger. If it doesn't give me time to do each cavity slowly and carefully, then I'll have to "downgrade" and pour with the 2" ladle. Then I would have varying pour height and less time to fill (speed - got keep that mold hot!). And when you do things quickly, you get sloppy, like a progressive press vs a single stage press. Progressive press reloading is for the plinkers. :p Since I am target shooting, I want the most accuate load, such as what you get with a slow reloading process. So I will attempt to go slow, but if I have to go faster, I'll do what the mold needs.

My definition of accurate casting is this: Accurate enough so if there is a flyer, I can rule out the boolit.

Bret4207
06-01-2009, 06:24 PM
I'm strictly a ladle man, at least until I have more time with the SAECO pot. Anyway, for 30+ years I've been using a ladle very successfully and using it of 4, 6 and 10 cavity moulds. For the larger moulds, like a 35 cal 250+ gr boolit for instance, I use the Rowell 1 lb ladle. While the Lee 6 bangers do have a learning curve, I cast what I consider very nice boolits that would meet your criteria Frank. The speed comes with practice and fine tuning the process, temp, etc. Once you learn the moulds "personality" it's pretty easy to get good boolits to pile up rapidly.

runfiverun
06-01-2009, 08:20 PM
you are going to have 6 different molds using a lee 6 cavity the best way to get consistency with it is to get terminal temp with it,use a large enough pot to give consistent alloy and be able to hold the mold consistently each time.
practice technique,and weigh your castings to get the most consistent weights.
I.M.O.
if yer trying to get target grade accuracy starting with a quality mold a cabin tree tensioner for it and paying strict attention to time per step is going to be your boolits best friend.

zxcvbob
06-01-2009, 08:26 PM
Get the mold smoking hot before you start and you might have a chance without rushing so much it takes all the fun out of it. You want the lead really hot too, like about 900°.

anachronism
06-01-2009, 08:29 PM
I cast the same way with every mould. Each cavity is filled individually, one at a time by ladle. It is slower than glurping lead everywhere, trying to fill as many cavities as possible before the lead hardens, but the results are worth it. I also only cast when the indicator light on my Lyman pot is off, indicating that the temperature is within a certain range. Wehn I fill the mould, I tilt it forward a little bit, but level it out as I pour the excess lead over the sprue. I get nice sharp bases this way, & very consistent weights.

Le Loup Solitaire
06-01-2009, 08:58 PM
It takes a lot of different brands of whiskey to make a bar. There are numerous ways and methods to effectively fill molds; we're all different and so are the personalities of bullet molds. Also what might work well for one caster may not work as well for another. Bring into the equation, temperatures, mold block characteristics, alloys, and speed , not to mention a few othervariables and it is not a matter of agreeing on what is better or best; If what you are doing is yielding good quality bullets in your opinion and your grouping/accuracy is good enough for you/satisfying you, then you are doing the right thing in terms of procedure. Guy Loverin once said that when casting, "Watch the quality and not the clock". If something is not right, you'll see it right away and adjust whatever needs to be adjusted as its no fun just making sprues and castings that have to be put back into the pot. There will always be proponents of which is better-the ladle or the bottom pour as well as "what works better or best", but the bottom line will always be quality...no matter how you achieve it. Enjoy casting. LLS

Frank
06-01-2009, 09:20 PM
Thanks for all the advice. You can keep posting if you like, but what you all said works for me. :drinks: