Funny how spending a few days in single digits re-calibrates your internal thermostat. That 'bomb cyclone' a week or so back made this morning's 22 degrees seem not nearly so bad. So I feed a few splits into the wood stove, glance at the three trays of empty brass resting close by - set near the stove so they'll dry out after I wet tumbled 'em yesterday - and proceed to the kitchen to get the coffee brewing.
The mould came yesterday. A 432-277 SWC 4-Cavity PB, in brass, by NOE. The result of spending too much time in this fine thread... http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-Keith-Bullets
I don't know a thing about moulds. But I'm instantly smitten. A work of art, really. It puts me in mind of those rare guns we sometimes come across. You know, the ones that come easily to hand, like God himself wrote the specs. The ones where the trigger breaks like the kiss of an angel. The ones where it seems like you can't miss.
I'm in no hurry. Don't have anyplace indoors to melt lead, anyway. So it'll probably be spring before I can find out what this bullet casting business is all about. But you never know... here in the Mid-Atlantic we frequently receive a mid-winter surprise. A day or two of mild weather. Maybe, if I have all the stuff together...
I suppose I'm asking the unanswerable. Like this site needs another 'which pot?' thread. It's all just personal choice, isn't it? The old internet thing - everyone recommending what they themselves use. Which is fine, certainly there's value in that. But maybe there's something more, wisdom lying there around the edges?
Cheap is always good, of course. Well, except for those times it's not. I long ago learned that buying the least-cost option often leads you to the 'upgrade path.' What starts out easy on the wallet ends up anything but. I'd rather buy once and be done.
What I'd like, alas, is unobtanium. The RCBS Pro-Melt 2. Gots the nifty PID already built-in. One of those latter-day features that I'm guessing would be more helpful for a newbie like me than for you gentlemen who already have that ingrained sense of timing and temperature control, hard won over hundreds of hours and thousands of boolits.
Then again, I see lots of recommendations for the Waage. I winced when I got the email from Marcia... "a price of $237.00 plus $30.00 UPS shipping to your location." It would appear they've raised their prices of late. But it surely does look like a nice pot. I look at that nice, wide lip - and contrast that with some of the YouTube videos I've seen, where the mould is resting precariously on the lip of lesser pots...
But that then introduces the whole bottom-pour or ladle-from-the top divide. Simple, classic, and slow(er). Or somewhat-less-simple and speedy(ier). Ease of fluxing vs. ease of pouring. Drips vs. no-drips. Ladle tech vs. cantankerous valve openings.
I know. There are no wrong answers. Just different choices.
I suppose my default - what I'll go with if nothing else nudges me - is the Lee Pro 4 20-lb furnace. I know... it drips more than it should and lots of guys really hate it. But it seems ubiquitous in the bullet casting world, and that probably ought to count for something. I can't imagine its popularity is only because of its relatively low price.
Anyway, if you gentlemen (and ladies, if there are any about) have any advice for a hopefully-soon-to-be-bullet-caster, I'd love to hear it.