Lead dippers?

So space aliens stole my old Lyman mold pour ladle!....It's just plain gone!...I searched everywhere. If not space aliens possibly one of my dogs took it into the backyard and chewed the handle off.

Whatever disappeared my lead dipper...I need a new one. It seems the distributors I use carry both the Lyman and the RCBS mold pour ladles. So what's the better of the two common brands led dippers?

The search for my old lead dipper continues...however I have a feeling I'm going to have to have a new dipper in hand before I find my old one.....

I'm a big fan of the Rowell ladles myself. What are you casting and how big is your furnace?

I just have small lead furnaces...a old Lyman 'Mini-Mag' and a newer Lee whatever model of approx. 4 pound pot. I can't use a big dipper.

I got a good buy on a big ladle on flea bay the other day , it one from the 20's I wanted it for my smelting , when making ingots. there were plenty listed at reasonable prices and some that they thought were made from gold.

If you have a multi cavity big boolit mold (say a 4 or 6 cavity 250+gn) then the RCBS would be what you are looking for. Otherwise it would be your choice.....

The RCBS is just a little bit larger than the Lyman, not much but it helps with the last pour on a four cavity mold. It also has a fin on the bottom to clear a spot through the surface scum to ensure you get clean metal in the bowl.

I bought the RCBS on Dean Grinnell's advice and have never been sorry about it.

Robert

Sounds like the Lyman is your best choice unless you are pouring big boolits.

I prefer the RCBS for most use I have all three 2 rcbs ladles, 1 lyman ladle and a rowel #1 ladle. I mostly cast bullets in the 365 grn-550 grn range several double cavities so the added capacity of the RCBS is a plus. I also like the bottom rib of the RCBS not only for scrapping and clearing the surface but also to make sure the sprue plate is fully closed. The Lyman is good and very useable but is the smallest capacity of the 3. The rowell is bottom pour and holds just over 1 Lb of lead the handle is also longer. I recently converted one of the RCBS ladles to a double spout for the 2 cavity moulds, haven't had a chance to try it yet.

RCBS hands down! It's usefulness makes the Lyman look silly!

I received a Rowell from Amazon the other day. I've yet to try it, but it sure looks nice.

I use the Ideal for boolits 250 gr and under because it's relatively light and handy. The RCBS comes into play with heavier boolits.

If you only have one ladle, you can always pour satisfactory smaller boolits from the RCBS, but you may have more rejects if you pour bigger ones with the Ideal.

The late, great blackpowder cartridge guru Paul Matthews wrote an article once on how he'd calculated, estimated, fasted and had visions, etc., and arrived at the design for the perfect lead ladle for the large boolits he customarily poured. The drawing he showed had the Lyman/Ideal spout setup, but was squarish and held much more metal; just enough for large mould cavities, but not too much for operator comfort, according to his calculations. He had a welder fabricate his design, tried it, and pronounced it perfect.

RCBS came out with their lead ladle a little while later, of cast iron, but remarkably close to the size and shape of Matthews' drawing. Coincidence? I think not.

By the way, speaking of coincidence, what are the odds your old ladle will miraculously reappear after you've bought a new one? If you get the RCBS, you'll have the maximum flexibility when that happens. Otherwise, you'll just have two of the same ladle.

Rowell for me. I have two.

Yeh...I think I'll get the RCBS dipper. It costs about six or seven dollars more than the Lyman so no big deal.

I've totally thrashed my man-cave looking for my Lyman dipper....it just ain't there or anywhere I can find it. I've been 'pouring' bullets with a modified 1/4 cup cooking measure with a dowel-rod handle lashed on. It works to make a few bullets...however I cast a lot of rejects too.

You will be happy with the RCBS lade. I would recommend opening the spout hole up to .200-.210 dia from the .187 size this gives a better flow and faster fill. Another if casting on an electric pot is to shorten the handle a couple inches. They work real well and will get most of the lead out of the pot.

Funny, I came across this thread. I have 2 cast iron ladles that I do not use. was going to list them in the S&S.

On another note, I was curious what some are using for multi-cavity molds with heavy boolits. I made a larger ladle to cast with and wondered if anyone here needed a larger capacity ladle larger than the rcbs. I made one, it has a 10 ounce liquid capacity.... could make one larger than that..... for sale perhaps.