Ladel pouring

[kbstenberg]

I have never made a bullet using a ladel. If someone could point me to a thread of the how's and the why's. My thanks in advance.

[Certaindeaf]

I'd suggest the Lyman or even perhaps the RCBS "dipper" instead of a ladle/"spoon".

I found this and thought it might help you..

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...t=ladle+dipper

[country gent]

On big bullets the faster fill of the ladle is sometimes a plus. Its alot of persolel preffrence. I ladle pour almost everything I cast but the lightest bullet I cast is 38 cal and 335 grns heviest is 45 cal and 550grn long heavy for caliber bullets seem to cast better with the ladle for me. I also recomend the lyman or rcbs ladles with the spout. I have both and seem to use the rcbs most often as it holds a little more lead. My ladl;es both hace the spouts opened up to around .205 diameter to improve flow more. Clean the ladle and dip in lead to heat it up to temp. With a warmed mould fill ladle. there are 2 techniuqes for ladle pouring. 1St is to slightly angle mould and pour into sprue plate hole filling sprue and allowing a little to run off the side even. 2Nd is to turn mould sideways and fit sprue onto spout and tip upright together holding foor a set copunt and then relmoving to form the sprue. I dont cast as fast as some do but I get very good consistent bullets.

[Wayne Smith]

On big bullets the faster fill of the ladle is sometimes a plus. Its alot of persolel preffrence. I ladle pour almost everything I cast but the lightest bullet I cast is 38 cal and 335 grns heviest is 45 cal and 550grn long heavy for caliber bullets seem to cast better with the ladle for me. I also recomend the lyman or rcbs ladles with the spout. I have both and seem to use the rcbs most often as it holds a little more lead. My ladl;es both hace the spouts opened up to around .205 diameter to improve flow more. Clean the ladle and dip in lead to heat it up to temp. With a warmed mould fill ladle. there are 2 techniuqes for ladle pouring. 1St is to slightly angle mould and pour into sprue plate hole filling sprue and allowing a little to run off the side even. 2Nd is to turn mould sideways and fit sprue onto spout and tip upright together holding foor a set copunt and then relmoving to form the sprue. I dont cast as fast as some do but I get very good consistent bullets.

Good advice. The second is pressure pouring and works with some molds. I find it essential on my 457122 Gould HP mold, and find it works well on single cavity molds. I have problems using it on double cavity or more simply because lifting the ladle lets some lead get in the other cavity. I want them both filled at the same time, and will over fill if necessary to get the base of the boolit fully filled out.

[country gent]

I use all single cavity moulds and have "vented the sprue plates to one side to allow a controled over pour. On a double cavity the vents would help allieviate the partial filling of the second cavity also. I no longer pour a sprue but a full ladle of lead and let the sprue form from there. After pouring there is very little shrinkage to the sprue as the mould has been filled and gasses pushed out.

[cajun shooter]

When ladle pouring, which is how I started many years ago and I'm back doing now because I sold My RCBS Pro Melt when I thought I would never cast again because of medical problems.
I prefer the RCBS ladle because it has the spout nose shaped to fit the sprue plate. This allows the pressure from the weight of the ladle and it's contents to pressure pour the mold cavity. This will result in a filled cavity with no air pockets. I then tilt my ladle to the side so that a small amount spills on the top of the sprue plate. This keeps the cavity from not having enough lead to fill all the way after shrinkage. Ladle pouring can be very fast once you have a certain steady movement down. I use two three cavity molds to do my 44WCF bullets with no problems. Good casting, David

[dikman]

I started off ladle pouring (using an old soup ladle) and it worked well enough, but I eventually went to bottom pour pots (much easier and safer, in my opinion) which let me sit down to cast. Note, though, that the biggest I cast are .50 cal roundballs and .44-40 boolits. I can see where, if casting big heavy slugs, a ladle may be better.

As to the how, get a suitable ladle - old soup ladle, RCBS etc (I made a similar device to the RCBS, which works well) - fill with lead and pour. Simple.

As to why, cheaper than buying a bottom pour, can pour more lead quicker in one go, some people don't like bottom pour pots.

Not much to it, really.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I started with a Lyman ladle and then added an RCBS ladle, but when I went to a six cav I got a soup ladle type and followed he directions in an article and started pouring "uphill" to fill the cavities on one pour. Pretty messy but worked for a long time until I was able to afford a bottom pour pot. For an excellent article comparing both methods reference The Art of Bullet casting, a book still in print by Wolf Publishing and a particular article by Jim Carmichal. Lots of good info on many subjects as well. LLS

[Bullwolf]

Another inexpensive option that's often overlooked is the use of an electric ladle.



Here's a new one ($35.00) hopefully still in stock at Barlowstackle.

http://www.barlowstackle.com/Palmer-...2-P352C62.aspx

I cast small batches of boolits quite often using a hand held electric ladle. They used to be quite common a while ago for use with cast fishing jigs.





My version [pictured both above and below] is an older Hilts Moulds Hot1, very similar to the more common Palmer Hot Pot, or Hotpot2.





They are still found for sale new and used in a couple odd places. They pop up on E-bay occasionally as well. They tend to go for around 20-30 bucks unless you find a really good deal on a used one.



There's a few other threads on Cast Boolits about their use. A quick search turned up this old thread.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...th-A-Hot-Pot-2

In short, the Palmer Hot Pot is simply small hand held melting pot that you pour from like an electric plug in ladle.

One downside is that it only holds a few lbs of molten alloy at a time, and requires a somewhat smaller size ingot than a bottom pour pot. On the upside, they are quite economical to get started out with at around $30 dollars or so.

I've found that mini muffin pan ingots work quite well with the small hand held pot, so I often custom blend up smaller ingots just for use in mine.






- Bullwolf

[shooter2]

I went to a ladle years ago. I think the quality is better (fewer rejects) and therefore, just as fast. I would urge you to buy a Rowell bottom pour ladle.

[Deadpool]

I went to a ladle years ago. I think the quality is better (fewer rejects) and therefore, just as fast. I would urge you to buy a Rowell bottom pour ladle.

Definitely recommended! Just beware, getting larger ones (#5 for example) require two-handed pouring.

[country gent]

Some of the rowels we had at work required 2 man pouring even with the lighter die cast materials ( mish metal or aluminum mix). The #1 rowel if I remeber holds close to 1 pound of lead.

[bhn22]

I was ready to give up casting when I tried the ladle as a last resort. The first bullet was my first ever "perfect" bullet. I stayed up half the night casting because I didn't want the experience to end. Not all bullets have been perfect since then, but I can get much more consistent bullet weights and fewer rejects with the ladle. I think I just couldn't get my first bottom pour furnaces to fill the moulds fast enough. I had to adapt my first Lyman ladle for left-hand use, now most ladles will work with either hand.

[John Boy]

Ladle pouring - piece of cake:
* Fill ladle full with melt
* Turn mold 45 degrees to accept the spout in the sprue hole without dripping melt on top the the sprue plate
* STUFF the spout into the sprue hole and turn mold vertical
* Pour into the sprue hole for 5 seconds ... that's it
Some folks spead some melt on top of the plate to keep the mold as close to the temperature of the melt in the pot

[Deadpool]

Some folks spead some melt on top of the plate to keep the mold as close to the temperature of the melt in the pot

This is a really good point. A lot of issues with casting are due to a sprue plate that isn't hot enough. Your mold could be 375F but the plate could be sucking all the heat out of it. Keep your sprues large. It helps to empty the ladle onto the sprue plate after filling your cavities, and also by connecting the sprues together it makes it easy to collect them after if you have several cavities to deal with.

[NavyVet1959]

Although I have the Lee 20 lb bottom pour pot, I was curious about ladle pouring and sometimes got aggravated when the Lee decided to drip or get stuck up. I was at a restaurant supply store one day and noticed some 1 oz stainless steel condiment ladles for about $1 and figured I would give one a try for ladle pouring. Instead of pouring from the top where the oxides are, I wanted to pour from the bottom. My solution to this was to just drill a hole in the bottom of the ladle, get a ladle full of molten lead and move the mold under it while still over the melting pot. Originally, I used a 1/16" drill bit for the hole, but it seemed to flow a bit slower than I would have preferred, so I moved up to a 3/32" bit and I liked the flow rate a lot better. It holds enough lead to fill a 6-cavity 230gr mold while also leaving some in the ladle, so the oxides do not go into the mold.

The advantage of the condiment ladle is that the handle is closer to vertical and you're not trying to *pour* the lead, you're just allowing it to flow from the bottom of the ladle.

I like it well enough that I use this method quite often. The only disadvantage (for me at least) is that my casting table is at a height that allows me to sit while casting with the bottom pour pot, but if I use the ladle, I must stand.

Something like this ladle:



Basically, look for a deep ladle -- it's probably be half a sphere. You don't want one of the wide shallow ladles.

[dikman]

but if I use the ladle, I must stand.

Yep, I had to stand too. It wasn't until I got a bottom pour and found I could sit down that I realised how civilized using a bottom pour is!

[btroj]

Rowell #2 ladle made me a believer. Bullets are better, far fewer rejects. I find it easy even with 6 cav moulds. I have a few moulds that were about I possible to keep hot enough before, not any more. By pouring that much molten lead into and over the mould the heat transfer is far greater.

I doubt I will ever go back.

[376Steyr]

Rowell ladle with the "bombardier" method works good for me with multi-cavity moulds. You can move a lot of lead and pour a heck of a big sprue (which I knock off directly back into the pot) which keeps the mould toasty warm. Once the mould is up to temp, I start experimenting with angling the mould blocks, altitude I'm pouring from, and pour rate. Once I find the "sweet spot" combination I can crank out perfect pours one after the other.
Since you don't have the pressure of a bottom pour to force the air out of the cavities, you need to pour so all the air bubbles out the top and under the sprue plate.

[jmort]

I have a #1. Have you used a #1? The #2 seems a little large. I also have a #7 which is great for smelting.