Did it again!

[Bret4207]

So, there I am today, trying to get the hang of bottom pouring and trying out a few "new to me" moulds. One mould was a Hoch 30-180FN nose pour. Very nice mould, very easy to use for a nose pour. One of the others was a Cramer combo mould throwing a 30-190ish grain pointed boolit and a 30-180FN. As usual with a Cramer it was an absolute joy to use dropping boolits like poop outta a goose once I figured out what it wanted. The bootlits form both moulds were piling up at a nice rate. You guessed it! I now have a pile of 30-180 FN's that for the life of me I can't tell a difference in without a mic on the nose. Not the first time I've done this either. Same thing happened with a couple other moulds I have of the 314 diameter.

The bad news, besides that, was that my Lyman 358430 drops .356-.357 boolits in my current alloy. No good for me and my Smiffs.

The bottom pouring? Well, the SAECO is 100x the pot the Lee is, but it needs to be at least twice as big. And for the life of me I don't know how people use those things without having them way up in the air so you can see the nozzle and mould. It is fast, I'll give it that, but I'm not throwing my ladle away anytime soon. I just can't se or feel what I'm doing. Plus I can't put the mould in the melt to warm and if I find a mould that want nozzle to sprue plate contact it cools the nozzle enough to freeze once in a while.

Oh well, the learning curve never ends, right?

[odoh]

I too wondered how others were doing with the bottom pour thing. Kinda like eating a taco?

[runfiverun]

my spout is almost at eye level, i made a stand on my 48" tall bench for the lees and the magma.
it sped up my rate and cut my rejects.

[Gunslinger]

I have never used anything else as a Lee bottom pour. The guy who taught me to cast was using one, and I got one for cheap when I went solo...

Sometimes it drips, and the springles can reach your hands, and sometimes the lead beam comes out in the wrong direction and sometimes it's blocked so you need to stick a nail in it and jiggle it a bit. Lately I've been gunslingin' more than usual... about 3-500 9mm rounds a week he he. I see improvement indeed. I usually take the pot out on sundays and use two 3-cav molds and often cast about 1800 in 4 hrs. Must say though that as much as I shoot (and I do fast shooting at 12 yards) I'm not at all picky with them. I don't consider wrinckled boolits as rejects, if so then only cosmetically (is that even a word?), as long as the bases are nice and sharp I shoot them! Sizing is usually done during the week, a little every evening :holysheep

Oh I guess I kinda nearly hijacked a perfectly good thread ;), I think the point was that the Lee pot just goes on and on and on.....

I always kinda wondered how it's possible to cast neater boolits with a ladle. When I really put en effort into it and inspect a boolit, I can't see which part of it has room for improvement?!

Has it something to do with the angle you use when ladle casting?

I guess my learning curve has just begun......

[XWrench3]

i put my bottom pour (a Lee 20-4, or is it 4-20) anyway, i put it up on a bench that is roughly 4&1/2' tall. i have a stool that is not quite short enough to see the spout sitting straight up, but if i slide back on the stool slightly, and crouch a little, i can see the spout when i cast. i am debating on whether or not to shorten the stool, as right now, i can see both the spout, and the top of the pot by bending and streaching slightly. if i shorten it, i will have to stand to see the top of the pot (thermometer, lead level, etc.) but my back does get sore casting that way also. it is always something. i have done 99% of my limited casting that way. i have tried a couple of times to cast with a ladel. i am not a big fan of doing it that way. no muscle memory, and i am very messy doing it. i have done some ladel casting of ingots, and that works ok. probably because it is a bigger target. but for those little molds, i'll stick to the bottom pour.

[bootsnthejeep]

i am debating on whether or not to shorten the stool

Yeah, you thought getting a good casting process down pat was frustrating? Wait till you try to shorten a four-legged stool.

[geargnasher]

Yeah, you thought getting a good casting process down pat was frustrating? Wait till you try to shorten a four-legged stool.

:bigsmyl2::bigsmyl2:

Gear

[timkelley]

I got tired of the crick-in-the-neck, trying to see the spout, and put a cinder block between my bench and Lee pot.

[snaggdit]

I guess I remember that being an issue when I first started casting with my Lee 4-20. I just figured it was something you get better at aiming with practice and it was. Now I just place the mold below the pot (on the base) about where I expect the stream to go and lift the handle. I then quickly correct the aim by slightly moving the mold. I do not hold the mold against the spout, though so this works for me. I have thought about building a mold guide like I have seen in some posts, but then I would need to adjust it sometimes as I switched molds so I have not followed through with that thought yet.

[Bret4207]

I always kinda wondered how it's possible to cast neater boolits with a ladle. When I really put en effort into it and inspect a boolit, I can't see which part of it has room for improvement?!

Has it something to do with the angle you use when ladle casting?

I guess my learning curve has just begun......

Not a neater boolit, a better filled, more consistent boolit. I have moulds that want sprue to ladle contact and others that demand a 1" drop. It's just easier to see what you're doing with a ladle, lots and LOTS easier.

Bad news- the Cramer spire point? Looks like a 311365. The body is a nice fat .313 but the nose comes in around .296-.297. Crap.

[qajaq59]

I don't know how people use those things without having them way up in the air so you can see the nozzle and mould. I wouldn't say mine is "way" up in the air. But my bench is higher then normal and my seat is adjustable so I can see both. But like you I don't know how someone could cast if they couldn't see them. But I'd bet the farm that plenty of people do. It's all what you get used to doing I guess. And I tried doing it with a ladle. Then I quit casting for about 20 years. ha ha If you can do that real well, the more power to you.

[RSOJim]

I've used a bottom pour for many years. I don't have to see the spout, I just automatically place the mold in the right spot. It takes practice just like anything else. However, as an old friend of mine use to say, "use your own syringe." thanks Jim

[Wayne Smith]

Bad news- the Cramer spire point? Looks like a 311365. The body is a nice fat .313 but the nose comes in around .296-.297. Crap.

Get thyself a Swiss K31 before they all dry up. Thou hast the boolit.

[bullshot]

I started ladle casting way back in the sixties and moved to bottom pour and then back to the ladle. I like ladle casting. It works for me. Matter of choice I guess. All my lead drips are caused by me and easily correctable.:wink:

[Shepherd2]

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one with my lead pot up in the air. I'm 6'2" and I cast standing up. I built a sturdy platform that sits on my bench and put the bottom pour pot on top of that. I can see exactly what is going on with the silver stream.

[Bret4207]

Get thyself a Swiss K31 before they all dry up. Thou hast the boolit.

Hmmmm! Ol Wayner scores again. I happen to have a K31 and you're right about that boolit! Thanks!

[Bret4207]

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one with my lead pot up in the air. I'm 6'2" and I cast standing up. I built a sturdy platform that sits on my bench and put the bottom pour pot on top of that. I can see exactly what is going on with the silver stream.

I'm mere wisp of a lad at 5'9" but my bench is about 46" high. I have a nice 8x8 block of oak that might do well for a riser. I also have a second SAECO pot that I may rig above the first to keep the supply up.

All I need is time. Work keeps getting in the way. Currently I'm nursing a good headache. Managed to lower my head to miss a branch just as the tractor took a mighty dip. The head-fender collision had me sitting still for a few minutes till I got my bearings again! OUCH! You'd think I'd at least have a nasty bruise to show for my pain. OTH, I did get the field brush hogged so the coyotes have a travel route for me to ambush them on....:holysheep

[putteral]

I have only been casting about 1 year now. Absolutly love it. I have learned so much here. I have a basic ladle cast system that I enjoy(coleman stove&cast iron pot) Love the 6 cavity molds. I am retired so I can cast whenever I like which here in Florida is all the time. Although I got my first burn this week. Not to bad though. Maybe some day I switch to a bottom pour but I enjoy being outside right now. I shoot my boolits better than any commercial ones that I used to buy.

[qajaq59]

I have only been casting about 1 year now. Absolutly love it. I have learned so much here. I have a basic ladle cast system that I enjoy(coleman stove&cast iron pot) Love the 6 cavity molds. I am retired so I can cast whenever I like which here in Florida is all the time. Although I got my first burn this week. Not to bad though. Maybe some day I switch to a bottom pour but I enjoy being outside right now. I shoot my boolits better than any commercial ones that I used to buy.

Casting, loading and shooting are perfect hobbies once you retire. They eat up time and you can be as picky as you want and still have time to go to the range. I remember loading cases at 2 am so I could shoot the next day when I was off work.

_______________

And Bret..... OUCH!!!! That had to really hurt!
Good thing it didn't knock you off the tractor and under the wheels.

[Wayne Smith]

Hmmmm! Ol Wayner scores again. I happen to have a K31 and you're right about that boolit! Thanks!

Wow! Thanks, Bret. Once in a while I have the opportunity to add 2 and 2 and, low and behold, sometimes I get 4!

[TAWILDCATT]

I started in1937,with gilbert toy soldier caster and a 73 win rifle and mold and tong tool.I used a metal ladle for yrs,then saw phill sharps book with a miller pot
which was the gilbert with a spout added.3 lb pot.I bought a lyman and used that
until it burned out and got their 20 lb which melted.they offered me their new pot
but I could not afford it so I got it for the club.I now have a saeco[bad thermo]and a lee 20-4.mine has a mold guide.the saeco has too.mine does not drip much but I know how to stop it.
any one have a lee six cavity.take the spru cutoff and have a ball mill from cavity to cavity.that way you can pour continuos**
thats the way H&Gs are made.
I am crippled because there is only one machine shop in this county,and they mostly have CNC.I have a dunlop lathe and it made the swiss center fire but dont have a mill.and at my age I aint agetin one.

[mroliver77]

Wildcat, you are old enough to be my daddy and then some. :) I love your been there done that a long time ago posts! I started with a Lyman ladle given to me by Willbird and a steel sauce pan. Top that off with a Lee TL mold for the .45 and I was addicted fast! I went to a Lee 10 lb BP and now have added a Lee 20lb BP and a Lyman 20lb BP. I have some nasty back/neck issues with surgery and metel and screws etc. I can only cast for about 30 min at a time before it becomes too painful or numbness sets in. I raised my pot and thought that was the answer but still is a killer. I am 6' 2" 270lbs with clean pockets (Doc says 6'3" after the replaced disks with bone ;) ) There are certain molds I have that just dont cast well unless I use the ladle. So I still use both and like both. If I take much pain meds the hole is harder to hit with the BP. ;)
Jay

[dubber123]

Bret, you gonna try lapping the 358430? Which one is it, the 150, or 200 gr. version?

[moses]

I have a lee 4-20 (I know it's 4-20 because I am looking at the box lol )
Drips almost never, but when it does it's a run away train until I turn the little screw thingy! I can live with it for the price!

I cast outside, well kinda, I am in the garage with the door open and the pot just outside of the garage on a folding metal table, I use a 5 gallon bucket upside down to sit on and it is the perfect height.
I love casting and :lovebooli
Only been doing it a month or two but I am hooked!

[Bret4207]

Bret, you gonna try lapping the 358430? Which one is it, the 150, or 200 gr. version?

It's the 200. I swear I've cast with it before and got fatter boolits. I checked my mic and it's on. The alloy is the same I've been using for years, at least 15 years, all 25+ year old WW. I might be thinking of another mould- I got this to duplicate the old 38 Special Super Police load and the the 38 S+W Super Police for my little S+W Perfected. My rememberer has been on the fritz for some time, but I thought I'd used it. I may be thinking of the 360271 I also got for the Perfected, that throws a 360ish boolit. I dunno, this is what happens when I don;t write things down.

Anyway, at this point I'll probably measure it with a different mic and if it's still skinny I'll maybe try Beagling it. To be honest it's not real high on my priority list right now. I've got 347 Gazillion things to do before cold weather sets in.