My Casting Equiptment So Far

[trapper44shooter]

I have my LEE double cavity mold, my LEE ingot Mold, LEE Ladle , Sprue Lube I am buying the Traditions 1858 Remington New Army .44 Cal. Steel Frame, 12" Oct. Barrel Buffalo when we get our taxes back I love it check it out fellas it on old south firearms front page

[kmw1954]

Nice start! Decide on a pot yet?

[toallmy]

Your on your way and welcome to Cast Boolits .

[Wayne Smith]

Let's see, you need a heat source, a pot to melt lead in, and a ladle at the least. Heat source can be an old Coleman stove, pot can be a 1 qt toss away ss kitchen pot (do NOT use aluminum), you will burn off the handle but I'm still using mine, and buy either a Lyman or RCBS ladle and you are good to go.

[lightman]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. You also need a source of lead. You about have the basics covered, but you can keep upgrading until its silly!

[trapper44shooter]

It is going to be one of these two LEE Furnaces Lee Precision Pro 4 20 Melting Pot 90947 OR Lee 90009 PRODUCTION POT IV 110V I am kind of stuck the only difference is one hold 20lbs & the other one hold 10 lbs what do ya fellas think ?

[kevin c]

While the 4-20 may not actually hold 20# (more like 16 to 18), it still will have about twice the alloy of the other.

If your current needs are met with the smaller pot, and you don't anticipate needing more capacity down the line, then the smaller pot will do. If you think you will need to cast more or bigger boolits, then the higher capacity pot will be appreciated.

[gwpercle]

If the Lee ladle , open spoon type , doesn't work well for you , try using a Lyman ladle that has a little spout on the side . The Lyman bowl is filled with lead , the little spout is pressed onto the sprue opening and turned upright to fill the cavity under pressure . It's called "pressure casting" ...
This is the only method I found that would give consistently well filled out boolits with no wrinkles or flaws . But try the Lee ladle out first , it may work just fine for you .
Gary

[AntiqueSledMan]

Hello trapper44shooter,

When I started casting, I used the Lyman Ladle. It worked great. I had a cast iron pot which I made a steel plate it could set in, thus leaving a nice surface for warming molds. I fired it with a sunflower heater on the underside pointing straight up at the pot.
The plate was set on two concrete blocks and I sat on a stool & cast away. As years went by I upgraded to a LEE bottom pour pot. It does drip at times, but I just set my ingot mold under it. I cast out in the garage with plenty of ventilation. I wear safety glasses, long sleeves, and leather gloves while casting. It's an enjoyable hobby. You'll want soft lead for that 44. Make sure there is no wrinkles, you don't want a chain fire.

AntiqueSledMan.

[Dragonheart]

I will ditto on the Lyman Ladle. I started out with a Coleman Camp Stove and a cast iron pot, but with the price of fuel if you cast much an electric pot will be cheaper in the long run.

Also, AntiqueSledMan brought up safety, which many think is unimportant until an accident happens. I would suggest you take his advice. I will add a couple of points there like Never put cold or wet metal into a molten metal pot. Select your casting area carefully and always keep children and pets away from your place of casting as this area will become contaminated with lead. Lead & kids is a very bad mix.

[Hossfly]

Yes electricity very much cheaper. @ .08 per KWHour that Lee pot only cost about .08 cents per hour to run. Melting 150# WW needs propane or wood fire to make ingots with. I would start with 20# pot, just because it will hold 18# don’t mean you have to fill it up.

[trapper44shooter]

I am waiting on my LEE 420 Pot it was donated by one of the members & another good man sent me another .454. RB Mold to help me get going & I am just without words on how to thank them & another member sent me a SFRB full of lead ingots to get me started casting this is truly the most honest & generous forums I have ever had the honor to be a member .I live on a disability income & by these fellas doing what they have done I will be able to begin learning how to cast my own 44 cal round balls it would have taken me at least a year to even buy half of the tools I need & lead is VERY COSTLY even on Ebay 25 lbs can cost as much a $75.00 I KNOW THAT THE GOOD LORD WILL BLESS THEM MANY TIMES OVER FOR HELPING ME

[Tazlaw]

Good deal Trapper. I have been a recipient of items from members as well. Awesome group of guys.

[GONRA]

GONRA sez - Trapper44shooter - THIS IS THE WEBSITE FOR YOU! Have Phun!

[trapper44shooter]

I am having a small problem with the furnace it will only drip no matter how much I turn the screw left & right the bottom pour spout must be clogged up I wonder if I can take a stiff piece of wire & see if I can get it un blocked it is in very good shape

[RydForLyf]

I am having a small problem with the furnace it will only drip no matter how much I turn the screw left & right the bottom pour spout must be clogged up I wonder if I can take a stiff piece of wire & see if I can get it un blocked it is in very good shape

I use a small drill bit in a pair of vise grips. Just wiggle it in there.