Casting w/ bottom pours??

[JSnover]

Pressure casting works but it might work better on some molds than others. I really liked the boolits I got when pressure casting but couldn't get over not being able to watch the sprue plate fill.

[Winger Ed.]

couldn't get over not being able to watch the sprue plate fill.

I sometimes do it with a .45--405.

I sort of 'time it'. Get the mold up under there, lift the lever for a second or so, let it down,
then raise it again to make a sprue puddle.
Without a normal sprue puddle, the little dot of Lead left in the sprue hole doesn't always want to fall off.

[GregLaROCHE]

You’re right ED. Being able to see the sprue is important. It can give indications of temperature and if your alloy is clean. I look just about all of mine.

[JCM45]

I agree with GregLaROCHE. Sitting with spout at eye level.

[justindad]

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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Me too. I watch the lead puddle around the sprue hole to grow and splash to Indy when the cavity has been filled. Move to the next cavity as soon as the splash back / bubbling starts.

[Land Owner]

My comfort level is attained when my arm is more closely in line with the action of the mold being filled and not so much eye-level with the spru plate. I use the Pro-Melt's adjustable "Mould Guide Rod", with a gap to mold about 1/4" to 3/8". I can see the spru plate well and observe the hole and puddle.

The rate of alloy delivery to the mold may also be adjustable as well as the spru plate "heat sinking" the alloy as it passes into the mold (if wrinkles are an issue).

[kevin c]

Hmm, I’m at about an inch.

I stand. Even blocked up and crouching down some, my Pro Melt’s nozzle is well below eye level so the guide’s lower to see the stream hit the cavity. I run hot at 720° to 740° to compensate but sometimes still drift low out of the ideal temp range. Maybe I should shorten up.

[Land Owner]

kevin c - to preclude fatigue I sit to cast, which works very well for me. Perhaps in that alone, the eye is closer to the spout and spru plate as the torso is further out and away from the pot, by nature of bent knees straddling the bench (with appropriate safety clothes, yadda, yadda). I too run hot as the spout sometimes cools to the point it does not pour. I then use a propane torch on the spout and maybe bump the temp up a hair, but mostly the torch returns me to casting in quick time.

[bubbau]

I will usually be around a half inch away, lets me see what's going on better.

[kevin c]

Land Owner, I use stacked bottom pours: a 4-20 secured on top to preheat, melt and feed alloy the Pro Melt below.

I’ve always felt it prudent to have a quick get away from 35# of molten lead in case of a catastrophic spill, and standing seems best for that.

I’m probably a bit over cautious.

[Land Owner]

I use a stable, heavy, wooden crate with shelves in the garage as a "bench", keep my casting items inside, and a fan drawing out to circulate fresh air. On the flat top of the bench I have a wide aluminum baking tray, just in case to catch a spill, and the Pro-Melt inside of that. I can sit in front of the crate with ease and there has never been an "incident" with this setup over tens of thousands of casts that has made me concerned. That I have been safe, that I feel safe, that I am cautious too, is the rule rather than the exception.

[rintinglen]

1/4 to 3/8 inch.

+1 Though it varies a bit with mold material. Brass and iron molds keep heat better so they can be a bit further from the spout, aluminum, especially LEE, molds lose heat faster so they are held closer to the mold.

[David2011]

I never had thought about the distance from spout to mold. It’s rarely adjusted but that’s probably because most pistol molds are about the same height. The gap is probably about 1/2” but could be a little more. I’ve tried pressure casting but didn’t care for it. Since far less lead goes through the spout to keep it hot I had lots of freezing problems.