Prepping a Ladle before casting?

[CamoWhamo]

Is there anything that can or should be done to a ladle before casting with it?

I have a Lyman dipper. Whenever i have used it the alloy builds up all over the dipper and the spout clogs easily.
I understand the ladle is probably cooler than the lead at first and the alloy is solidifying where i contacts the dipper, but It doesn't seem to matter how long i leave it in the alloy to get up to temp or how hot i get the dipper i still get the build up to some degree.

I also notice when i''m using the ladle i get a lot more oxidization in the Alloy then when bottom pouring.

I've decided to go back to square one, so i boiled the Dipper for about an hour, carding it with a bronze brush every 10 mins or so. This removed 99% of the lead and i'm back to a clean metal.

What can i do to improve it from here?

[turtlezx]

high temp paint

[country gent]

I was my ladles down with the moulds when getting ready to cast the night before. Basically a good scrubbing with tooth brush dish soap and hot water is all. Making sure its clean and free of oils and contaminants.

If the ladles cast surfaces are rough a little work with a wire brush will smooth them out. A bench grinder mounted one on the outside and dremil tool or air grinder for the inside. brush in several directions to break up long lines and smooth evenly, this is harder to do on the inside but a mounted wire brush will help a lot here. I have done this on ladles and it does help sometimes. Also fluxing with the ladle 1 time helps.

Keep the ladle in the pot when cutting sprues and dropping bullets this keeps it much hotter and cleaner.

When casting I heat lead with moulds and ladle on the warming shelf of my pot, then when up to temp I sit the ladle in the mix and flux 2 times with wood chips wax mix. I then start casting. Normally the moulds are a little warm and it takes a couple casts to settle them in. When pouring I lower ladle into led to bottom of pot make a swirl with it and raise full, pour mould full and sit ladle back into pot. They normally float just under the surface. this keeps them hot and up to alloy temp. I( have a stop collar on the ladles shaft that allows me to hook it on the rim of the pot to keep handle back.

A big thin on alloies with alot of tin antimony is to keep temp in the right range and work at a constant pace.

[Ickisrulz]

Is there anything that can or should be done to a ladle before casting with it?

I have a Lyman dipper. Whenever i have used it the alloy builds up all over the dipper and the spout clogs easily.
I understand the ladle is probably cooler than the lead at first and the alloy is solidifying where i contacts the dipper, but It doesn't seem to matter how long i leave it in the alloy to get up to temp or how hot i get the dipper i still get the build up to some degree.

I also notice when i''m using the ladle i get a lot more oxidization in the Alloy then when bottom pouring.

I've decided to go back to square one, so i boiled the Dipper for about an hour, carding it with a bronze brush every 10 mins or so. This removed 99% of the lead and i'm back to a clean metal.

What can i do to improve it from here?

Maybe enlarge the hole? I did on my RCBS ladle and I don't have any problems with it; no clogs at all.

[country gent]

I enlarge the spouts holes to .200-.210 dia on lyman and rcbs ladles. this improves flow for the long heavy bullets I cast. It helps to get more consistant bullets and some with plugging but not with the alloy sticking to the ladles. I think a taper reamer would be even better if you could get it in to the spout hole. The hole on these ladles is usually around 3/16" so your not opening it up much but the added size and smoother surface increase flow a lot.

[greenjoytj]

If the ladle is made of iron would bluing it with a gun bluing solution help to stop the build up of undesirable stuff on it?

[GhostHawk]

Country Gent nailed it IMO.

I do take my ladle to the wire brush on my bench grinder maybe once a year. It is slowly getting better since doing so.

Keep the ladle in the melt as deep as possible.

Before casting I like everything hot enough so that lead does not want to stick.

I have had good luck using BLL on sprue plates and sprue holes that like to "tin" over. 0000 steel wool also helps for holes that have ridges or grooves that like to retain lead.

The BLL evaporates and turns into an enamel like substance as the mold warms up.
It does not migrate, and it just takes a dab. Couple drops on a little ball of steel wool, work the holes, then the top of the sprue plate. Next casting session do it again. Steel wool takes off any thin lead deposits pretty well. And 2-3 layers of BLL hardened up make for a trouble free casting session.

Give it a try, what have you got to lose?

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

I cast some pretty bullets with a very ugly ladle. It is a must to keep the spout opening open and clean. I use a Lyman for small pours and a Rowell for larger pours. The posts about opening up the spouts of the Lyman are right on.

[eagle27]

I use a Lyman pot and ladle and they both stay nice and clean. Changed the ladle handle to pour left handed and I just put it in the melt to heat up. When the alloy doesn't stick to it I'm up to temperature and ready to cast. Preheat the mold over a gas ring and start casting. Never had any problem with blocking of the ladle pour nozzle, it is stock standard as purchased.
At the end of a casting session the ladle is clean with nothing stuck to it, as is the pot if I spring off the wire handle and tip the cold ingot out. Similarly my Lyman ingot mold is perfectly clean.
Lead shouldn't stick 'permanently' to cast if it has the original oxidized finish to it.

[Bazoo]

Might be a dumb suggestion, but do you flux with the ladle? Fluxing with the ladle helps keep it clean. I always flux with and clean with a spoon first... then the ladle.

[eagle27]

I flux and skim the dross only with the ladle. The dross stays in the ladle and alloy drains out when the pot is skimmed properly.