I am thinking of laddle casting some 500 gr boolits for my 45/70 Creedmore.I saw a 10 lbs Lyman furnace for $39.95. I have a load of 1-20 lead. It has been a while since I did this.
Any hints!
Gerry
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I am thinking of laddle casting some 500 gr boolits for my 45/70 Creedmore.I saw a 10 lbs Lyman furnace for $39.95. I have a load of 1-20 lead. It has been a while since I did this.
Any hints!
Gerry
There's fellas here can talk better than I but I'll put in here. 10# pot will run out real quick with 500+ grain boolits so if you're trying to economize go with the Lee 20# melter. I use it and it works real well. I've gotten a good cadence worked up now that I have the hang of ladle casting and getting more consistent with my pouring and cosequently more consistent boolit weights. Ladling is the best way to get good consistent boolits.
If liberals knew what they were missing, they’d give up drugs, sex and rock-n-roll for shooting and hunting. But then the rest of us would never draw an elk tag, so to hell with 'em! — James "Mitch" Vilos aka (Pancho Vilos)
+1 on the 20lb Lee pot.I casted from 40lb pot over propane for past 8 years.I just switched over the 20lb Lee pot.I really like it, temp. is easy to control,heats up fast and I can use it in the garage with out having all the doors open.It still needs to be ventilated but not like propane.
Go with the solid 20lb.pot , not the bottom poor. That bottom poor is a sorry set up and is going to get somebody seriously burnt or worse one of these days.
Long range rules, the rest drool.
Leadmelter:
As stated above, use at least a 20# pot to get any quanity. Run your melt hot, it will help the
boolits fill out real well. I cast with a ladle, the 20-1 alloy also and the Lyman 457125
boolit with no problems. Mine drop out at 522 grains. Good casting to you.
Jack
I might add that I like the RCBS ladle the best of all that are available. Also I keep a drill bit that is just big enough to fit in the spout of the ladle on my bench this is to push through the spout hole now and then to help keep it clean. You don't have to do this often sometimes some slag or stuff will want to plug the hole and slow down the lead flow, punch it out with the drill bit and work it back and forth a couple times then you'll be good to go for a while. I made a handle for the drill bit to make it easier to handle.
Originally Posted by Don McDowell
Roger that, I bought a bottom pour and ended up plugging the hole with a screw, works fine now.
Bob
GUNFIRE! The sound of Freedom!
Bob I think I'm going to braze mine shut, that damn thing is going to burn something down someday. Don't know why Lee would of let such a dangerous piece of **** out the door?
Long range rules, the rest drool.
Leadmelter, if you are new to casting with a ladle, buy a copy of the new Lyman Cast Lead Handbook, 4th Edition. Mike Venturino has a multi page writeup in it and with many pointers how to cast with a ladle
Bottom Pour - No
Ladle & 20# Pot -Yes
Otherwise you will be sorry. Not enough melt in a 10# pot and bottom pours will not give you the 0.5gr variance desired for BPCR bullets. Plus, with a bottom pour, the bullet bases will not be razor sharp. They will be rounded and nearly every bullet should go back into the pot
Regards
John
I made my own pot 60+ lbs used a band heater from e-bay solid state controller from Auberins. real tight temp control and when I cast 100 + booltits (560 grs) you can't hardley tell a diff. in higth of lead in pot, I dip cast best way ..
Gerald C
What is it that concerns you Don? Dripping? Not shutting off? FWIW I cast literally thousands of bullets a year and have no complaints. I've had it for 4 years now and it is still going. I just wish it was bigger
SS
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I would advise against the 10lb Lyman pot. If it is the one I am thinking it is, the heating element is exposed to the lead inside the pot and it does not have a temp control on it. Unless you are using a small ladle like the one Lee sells, you will have problems filling the ladle from this pot due to the exposed heating element. The one I had would not get the alloy hot enough to cast large bullets for the big BP cartridges. I ordered a 20lb electric Waage Pot from Buffalo Arms and couldn't be happier with it.
Just got a #20 from lee and works great with lyman dipper. Like to know more about the heat control from Gerald C ?
The LEE Magnum Melter is a 20 pound capacity dipper pot at about $54 at GRAFS. Nice and simple, spare parts available, cheap enough to see how far you can throw it when it shoots craps or give it to a newbie willing to tinker.
I use a H&G ladle that I bought in the 80s...it needs a new wooden handle and a trip through the sand blaster to clean it. Got the RCBS and lyman also, but I like the H&G best.
Yes, stay away from the 10# production IV pot. Mine leaked like a sieve and would never buy another. I have two bottom pour 20# and they drip once in awhile during the casting session. I also have the 20# mag melter not a bottom pour. I have one for each job I need it to do so I don't mix alloys. If your ladle casting only don't get the bottom pour. I've heard lots of guys hating the bottom pour but I've not experienced the real bad problems others have. Maybe it's a matter of time but I've not experienced it yet.
If liberals knew what they were missing, they’d give up drugs, sex and rock-n-roll for shooting and hunting. But then the rest of us would never draw an elk tag, so to hell with 'em! — James "Mitch" Vilos aka (Pancho Vilos)
im very glad to have only had 10# of lead when my lee bottom pour decided to start leaking. lucky also to have been outside on a barrel top with plywood as even getting my ingot mould under the spout got hairy when it filled up and i didnt have something but an old fry pan to catch the lead as it dripped non-stop from the stupid spout.
best thing i found from my cheap aproach to casting is that i also ran a metal screw into the spout and now have a small....read SMALL...10# pot to ladel from. maybe with smaller boolits that dont take as much lead to fill it will be the ticket but im on the waiting list for a 20# pot and NOT a bottom pour either.
bigger is better here and spend a small bit more and get a quality pot that will last you long enough to hand down to the next ladeler in your line. better yet spend the 30 or 40 dollors and experiment outside with the bottompour so you can speak from experience to that next in line of yours and the benefit of the old fassioned way of using a ladel to pour from....its kinda like loading and shooting bp in cases...smokeless is a lot less painfull to start with but the pride just isnt the same from the shorter , easyier experience.
my lee bottom pour is about to go into major surgery today to have it's ,well i wont say it but im gonna put a screw up in it and take the handle off and ladle just like i do with my lyman solid smelter,,,,,,,,,,,,,, drip,,drip,,drip,,drives me CRAZY,,
Get a Waage 20# pot! It has a thermostat for maintaining constant temp and you'll need 750F to 800F to get good fill-out on the heavier weight bullets!
"The South died with Stonewall Jackson!"
The waage 20# is a good pot, it's hard to beat. But for me it's just not big enough and I cant afford there larger 30# or bigger pot.
The next pot I need I will build it myself using a 10" cast iron blind pipe plug and get a 3500 watt Ceramic Band Heater and put a high/low high temp limit control with a well for the probe in the pot for precise temp control.
This pot will be large enough for making alloys and casting several hundred bullets with out adding lead to the batch.
Kurt
+1 for the Lee 20# pot. I use the bottom pour for my multi-cavity CAS moulds, and ladle my BPCR moulds. I did slightly enlarge the hole, and polished it and the rod. This greatly reduced - almost eliminated - any dripping. I find the bottom pour to be a little quicker & easier for the smaller CAS bullets. I have also found it to be impossible to use the bottom pour to get a good fill in the larger BPCR moulds. A ladle is absolutely necessary. It will take a while to get the hang of using the ladle, but once you do it goes fairly quickly. You can, of course, also use the ladle for smaller bullets.
The biggest advantage the Lee has over the others is it's cost. It's cheap enough that I consider it to be an expendable item. It would cost only slightly more to replace it than it would to repair it should it fail.
Oh - I use an RCBS ladle, and I also slightly enlarged it's hole, too. It wasn't pouring fast enough with the smaller hole.
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