Pouring technique?

[tddeangelo]

Honestly, I'd hoped to do both. I've done some reading on the American Long Rifle forums about casting round balls, and for larger caliber, there's a lot of folks who feel bottom-pouring produces voids inside the ball. I'll be pouring either 0.600 or 0.610 balls, so they are definitely a larger caliber.

I figured I'd bottom pour boolits and ladle for round ball casting, but at this point, I'm having fun messing around with it to see what works for me.

[bangerjim]

Size does not really matter! I pour 1.2" round balls in a special 4 cav mold I have with my bottom pour pots (!!) with perfect fill and no voids or wrinkles.....BECAUSE I pre-heat the mold to CASTING TEMP B4 even starting. Pre-heating is defnintely advantageous when pouring very large castings so as not to suck the heat out of the molten metal too fast.

A standard ladle will not even hold enough lead to fill one or two cavities of this mold, let alone 4. I cast many different cals in many sizes and have found no advantage of using a ladle other than using valuable time.

Both pour techniques will get you there with excellent quality boolits, one just a whole lot faster.

[tddeangelo]

What the guys at ALR were saying was there would be internal voids in the larger balls? That if you cut one in half, you'd see them, and if seeing a large weight variation in the balls molded, that voids were likely the cause.

I don't KNOW any of that first-hand, lol, so take it with a grain of salt.

[bangerjim]

Pouring a large volume of molden lead into a large cavity cold mold could create voids. That is why you must have the mold at casting temp to insure the molten lead stays that way while the fill is completed. Also provide a good sized sprue puddle because those large cavities will shrink.

I have checked my "big ones" and they are all darned near all the exact same weight every single time.

Good luck with your big ball casting!

[gwpercle]

I never could master the bottom pour pot, started with a Lyman ladle and have gone back to it.
Got a nice bottom pour pot if I ever need it.
But I can help with the lead mess etc. Get an old sheet cake, jelly roll or pizza pan (thrift store or ask wife) and set the pot on it, 99% of the mess will be caught , then after the pot cools, clean up the hardened, cooled, lead bits and put it back in the pot for next time.
Just get something that is bigger than you think necessary and non-coated.
Gary

[kbstenberg]

You could ask an experienced caster from this site to help demonstrate if any are local.

[fredj338]

When I can't get good fill out, I pressure cast. Hold the spout in contact with the mold & release at full to make your spur. This always gives me good fill out. I tried ladle casting about 35 yrs ago & the BP pot is my choice.

[243winxb]

Heat is your friend.

[JeffG]

I have a bottom pour Lee pot that I've used for 20+ years and it is hard to beat when pouring 6 cavity molds. I started ladle casting much more recently, and feel it has it's place, and I prefer it for rifle bullets since I feel like I can finesse some molds a little better, that may be a little picky about technique. You will find each mold may require something a little different in temperature, pouring technique, etc.

Honestly, I'd hoped to do both. I've done some reading on the American Long Rifle forums about casting round balls, and for larger caliber, there's a lot of folks who feel bottom-pouring produces voids inside the ball. I'll be pouring either 0.600 or 0.610 balls, so they are definitely a larger caliber.

I figured I'd bottom pour boolits and ladle for round ball casting, but at this point, I'm having fun messing around with it to see what works for me.

[goofyoldfart]

I ladle pour, because as JeffG says about finessing molds, I have several that require a little more TLC in the pour issue. Plus I just enjoy ladle pouring for the last 55-60 years. God Bless to all and theirs.

Goofy Godfrey

[mold maker]

It seems that what ever method we first had success with, is the prefered method. Kind of a don't mess with success thing. I do both with little rhyme or reason. But the old SAECO BP pot is still my preference.
As I've aged, the weight of a ladle of lead, added to the weight off a mould has made me turn more to the BP pot. It seems that the less demanding pot handle, makes a difference, after an hr or so.
Our ancestors cast with home made ladles, around the evening campfire, and they obviously had success, so that method has stood the test of time.
I can just imagine the resistance, to using a BP, when they first appeared.
Truth is there is very little difference since both methods are simply filling the mould with the melt before it cools.

[country gent]

I ladle cast almost all my rifle bullets (38 cal, 40cal, and 45 cal.) these are all heavy for caliber and cast 20-1 alloy for black powder. I have cast with bottom pour pots (Lee) and from diffrent solid pots ( dutch oven, a 30 lb pot and a cut down propane tank) My experiance has been that I get a taller steeper bell curve with ladle poured bullets from the bigger pots. SOme reasons for this is faster fill from the modified ladles, ability to "overpour" the mould keeping sprue and base molten longer, and with the big pot ( 120-130 lbs capacity) heat variations are much fewer with this much of a mass of metal, and last is simply the fact that this is what Im used to now. Familiarity and confidence goe a long ways towards consistency.

[popper]

Fill from the handles out, more leverage to cut the cooler sprue puddle.