Casting w/ bottom pours??

[Hootmix]

How far do most of you hold your mould below the pour spout, 3/8", 1/2", closer when using a bottom pour pot?

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

[Winger Ed.]

I run the pot a little on the hot side and have the mold about 1/2" below the spout so I can see the sprue puddle.
I hold it tilted a little down at the front so if the puddle is going to run off the sprue plate, it will go away from me.

[BLAHUT]

I start about 1/2" below and tilted then move up to touching. I run the pot on the hot side with pure lead.

[Hootmix]

Think i'v been pouring too close to the spout. I have a older Master Caster, but use it 95% of the time w/ handheld DC moulds, running @ 710- 725 degs. w/ a PID controller . I like 9-11 BHN, w/ a bit of 60/40 solider for fill out for both my 40-60 & my 44-40 rifles. Most of the time i also tilt moulds to the front for run off. I built a tray to fit under the spout, now i need to lower it , thank you for the holler back.

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

[sv44]

hootmix, can you tell me how your have set up your master caster to work with handheld molds?
thanks

[Hootmix]

sv44, sent you a PM, and yes be glad to help.

coffee's ready, Hootmix.

[imashooter2]

1/4 to 3/8 inch.

[michael.birdsley]

I have the spout touch the chamfer on the spruce plate on my lee 4-20 bottom pour. something I found worked well while casting jigs for fishing and carried over to boolet making. it works for me


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[Winger Ed.]

Think i'v been pouring too close to the spout.

Experiment and find what works best for you.... and for with which different mold .

As far as distance from the spout goes-- there's a reason it is shaped to pretty much to exactly fit
the countersunk sprue holes, that are also all about the same shape and depth.
You can hold the mold up against the spout and 'pressure fill' the cavity if that works best for a given mold.

[405grain]

I hold the molds about 1/2" below the pour spout. This way I can see what's going on.

[Sig556r]

As long as you can see the sprue fillout, go for the minimum gap

[popper]

minimum gap is best as the cooling stream can be a problem. Never tried pressure casting. I prefer to let the air out of the cavity through the sprue hole.

[cwlongshot]

I agree with those that recommend you experiment. I find different molds prefer different tactics. BUT generally closer is better 1/4-1/2".
I same tge same about stream contact. Generally I prefer the lead contact inside bottom of mold first. NOT sprue. But some molds like sprew splash fill. Most prefer a rapid positive fill to slow.

CW

[lightman]

I hold the molds about 1/2" below the pour spout. This way I can see what's going on.

Me two, and for the same exact reason.

[GregLaROCHE]

I don’t think that I always hold the mold at the same distance. Maybe 1/4 to 3/8 inches. I tried pressure pouring, with the spout pressed into the sprue plate, but didn’t see much difference.

[high standard 40]

There are a few things to consider. How high is your pour spout relative to your line of sight? The higher you mount the furnace compared to your line of sight the better you can see, but you have to have a work flow that is comfortable for you.The goal is to be able to clearly see the spout and the sprue puddle as you pour. Best option is to have enough room to withdraw the filled mold without interference from the pour spot, yet at the same time have as small a distance between the spout and the sprue plate to achieve this. I don't think there is one clearance measurement that works for everybody but you should keep that distance as short as possible. I have mounted an LED puck light on each side of my furnace so that they shine on the pour spout from both sides so I can clearly see what I'm doing and I run about 3/8" clearance.

[HWooldridge]

I push the sprue plate against the nozzle and leave no space. I can usually feel the cavity fill up, then I break the contact and leave a puddle to feed any shrinkage in the base. I occasionally get some flash at the parting line but I just lower the pot temp when that happens.

[Mk42gunner]

When I am using bottom pour pot as designed, I usually start abut a half inch from the spout. This seems to work best for most molds with my bottom pour pots.

Although I do have one old single cavity Ideal mold (313445) that I have to hold against the spout of my Lee 4-20 to get decent fillout. It is such a pain to use that I haven't cast with it for years, but it does shoot well out of my little I frame.

Robert

[GONRA]

GONRA always had spru plate contacting the spout.
Thought that's the way yer supposed to cast?
Verked Just Fine for decades, all kinds of Lyman/Ideal, some Lee moulds.

[GregLaROCHE]

Just to add, I find it easier and more comfortable for long sessions, to be sitting down, with the bottom of the pot around eye level.