6 cavity mold ?

[JCools]

Do you ladle pour 6 cav molds? Any tricks I should know?I currently ladle cast 2 cav .358-158gr-tl-lswc's.But found a deal on a 6 cav .358-148gr-wc mold.I do not have a bottom pour pot.Or should I skip on the mold and buy a bottom pour pot?Thanks

[Echo]

Casey Stengle, ex-manager of the NY Yankees was testifying before a Senate committee headed by Estes Kefauver, ex-candidate for Pres. He was asked if he thought MLB was a business, or was it a sport? The Old Perfessor said "Well, Senator, some of my friends say Yes, and some of my friends say No, and I agree with my friends!"

That's about as good as you are going to get, going down the ladle/BP thread.

[JCools]

Have to check it out

[JCools]

Got a link?

[steg]

I have an old Ideal mold 7 cavities .360/158Gr it wont fit under my bottom pour, so I do it with a ladle, no special technique, just keep casting until you find what your mold likes, I would advise you to get a Lyman dipper, that would work well for what you want to do IMO.............................steg

[soldierbilly1]

I have a 358 six banger, and I do ladle the melt in. Works for me!
billy boy

[MBTcustom]

I discovered Lee 6cavity molds last year. In a very short period of time, I was feeling like Scrooge McDuck with boolits. I ladle cast all my boolits. I highly recommend you get on of the ladles that has the funnel in the bottom. If you accidentally scoop up some crud in the melt, it keeps it on top.
All my experiance is with Lee aluminum 6 cavity molds. The lee molds like to be run hot and fast (again Scrooge McDuck) I started out with a melt temp that works well with my cast iron molds (640 degrees) , but I was getting bad boolits. "cant remember what the problem was" I decided to pump up the heat and when I got to about 680 degrees, that mold started running like a cheetah. I got the 45 RN and the 357 SWC, now I have 4 coffee cans level full with boolits for my guns. Almost makes you wish you could rent the molds, cause two weekends worth of casting will render you with more boolits than you are likely to shoot in 5 years.:lol::lol::lol:
:drinks:

[steg]

Goodsteel, I remember the times I've said that'll be enough for quite a while, and before you know it your firing up the pot to make more, they tend to go fast, no pun intended, LOL....................steg

[Taylor]

I just recently bought a Lee 6 ,for me it is cumbersome to work with.I am not sure I like it or not.Pile's up the boolits though.

[Wayne Smith]

I ladle cast everything, including six banger .45 420gr boolits. On the big ones I will pour the first three, refill my ladle, and pour the second three. I can usually get all six smaller ones with one filling of my Lyman ladle. If you have concerns get a bigger ladle. Rotometals on the top of the screen sells big ones.

[Fly-guy]

The solution is simple, get both of them! If money is a problem, buy the mold now and then buy a Lee 10 pounder later. The Lee pot runs about $50 or $60 and in my opinion works better than the Lyman 20 pounders. :bigsmyl2:

[smilie=f: guy

[XWrench3]

while i am really not a fan of ladel pouring, i have tried it with both double and 6 banger molds. it can definitly be done, but i am sure you will have to make some kind of adjustments (lead temp) in order to keep the boolits coming out correctly, unless you have a very large ladel. and can scoop enough lead at one shot to fill all 6 cavities at one shot. or maybe cast with the mold on top of a hot plate. that idea just came to me, so i have not played with it. i have a lee 20-4 bottom pour pot, which i like very much. i would reccomend it to anyone. to me, it is the best thing since sliced bread. right now the only thing i ladel pour is ingots when i am smelting. i found a very large ladel at a yard sale someplace that works very well for that.

[EDK]

I use a LEE MAGNUM MELTER pot and an elderly ladle from HENSLEY & GIBBS to do my casting with pistol boolits. The BIG 50 SHARPS moulds require either a LYMAN or RCBS to get proper fill-out. I'd investigate the ROWELL ladles or something similar that is shown in the ROTOMETALS catalog.

IMHO, a serious caster needs a 20 pound...or larger!...melting pot to cast pistol boolits in quantity. The MAGNUM MELTER at under $60 at GRAFS is ideal for me.

Differences of opinion is what makes political elections and horse races.

:Fire::castmine::redneck:

[JIMinPHX]

I use a bottom pour pot now, but I had only a ladle for the first few years that I cast. I ladled every mold that I had & that included Lee 6-cav. molds. The larger ones required 2 or even 3 dips to get all 6 cavities filled, but it did work & I got good boolits. A bottom pour pot is nice to have, but you don't need it. Getting a bottom pour pot is sort of like moving up from a hammer to a nail gun. They both can give you good results. The more expensive one is faster & easier.

[mooman76]

I recommend getting a ladle or even making up one that will do all 6 cavities in one pour. Makes life easier. Also have everything ready and close at hand. Once you get going good you won't want to slow down or loose your momentum. You'll go through lead real quick once you get going. You need plenty of heat.

[JCools]

Thanks guy's.I got a couple more???The molds I'm gonna buy are not "TL" molds.Can I tumble lube these boolits?Or do I have to pan lube to fill out the bands?

[63 Shiloh]

Hi JCools,

Yes mate, you can indeed tumble lube non TL designs, I have done it successfully with 9mm, .38/ .357. Using just Lee Alox cut with 40% mineral spirits, I give them two 'coats' of lube.

Search for Recluse's TL recipe 45-45-10, members here have found it to be outstanding.

Another TL method is to dip lube your boolits to the grease groove and stand them up on the bases.

Pan lube is an option, however, for pistol sized boolits you would be better served with a Lee push thru sizer.

Of course I am going to tell you to go and get a Star lube sizer, once you get one you will be a very happy man !!

Mike

[41mag]

Thanks guy's.I got a couple more???The molds I'm gonna buy are not "TL" molds.Can I tumble lube these boolits?Or do I have to pan lube to fill out the bands?

Well based upon my limited experience with a boolit of non TL design and TL'ing, I can say that it works just fine. I ran some Lee .452 300gr RF GC's through my 454 to 1500fps using a pre lube before sizing in a Lee sizing die, and setting the checks, then a follow up after. The only leading I got was a couple of streaks during the initial 5 rounds. After than nothing for the next 25 or so.

My initial lube was with straight LLA the second was using the 45/45/10 mix.

Hope this helps.

[357shooter]

Thanks guy's.I got a couple more???The molds I'm gonna buy are not "TL" molds.Can I tumble lube these boolits?Or do I have to pan lube to fill out the bands?
Like the others said, it's works. I have noticed that a bullet with a Keith style lube groove (big & deep) isn't as accurate when loaded with a full-house magnum load and tumble lubed. I'm talking loosing 1/4-3/8 inch at 25 yards. This was in a 357 magnum with a max load of H110 and a 180 grain bullet weight.

I suspect the big empty groove combined with the big charge suffers from the empty and unsupported groove.

This doesn't happen with lighter charges, and may not happen with lighter bullets even with a magnum charge. I didn't test that.

[soldierbilly1]

I use a bottom pour pot now, but I had only a ladle for the first few years that I cast. I ladled every mold that I had & that included Lee 6-cav. molds. The larger ones required 2 or even 3 dips to get all 6 cavities filled, but it did work & I got good boolits. A bottom pour pot is nice to have, but you don't need it. Getting a bottom pour pot is sort of like moving up from a hammer to a nail gun. They both can give you good results. The more expensive one is faster & easier.

JCools:
this is true. I now run the six banger with two ladle scoops full. Seems to work better for me. The 6 bangers also seem to need more heat, ie, the melt needs to be hotter. I had always heard that the 6'ers were for the more advanced, experienced casters. This also seems to be true, they seem to be a bit more crankier than the deuces!
good luck
Billy boy

[XWrench3]

I had always heard that the 6'ers were for the more advanced, experienced casters. This also seems to be true, they seem to be a bit more crankier than the deuces!


actually, i started casting with both a 6 cavity, and a double. they were about the same as any other lee mold. it seems every one has its own "personality"at first, and likes things done its own way. i do not know if there is a varience in materials, or it might even be something like the type of cutting fluid when they make them. once the mold is "broken in" meaning it has gone through about 5 heat cycles, they all seem to settle down and work well, once up to temperature.

[Cowboy T]

I cast mostly with 6-cavity moulds, but sometimes I'll use a 2-cavity. Experience has taught me that a 20lb downpour pot is a very good idea. My choice was Lee's Pro 4-20, but others should be just fine as well.

The nice thing about the Pro 4-20 is its more powerful heating element, compared to the 10-lb'er. That means it'll heat and melt your alloy faster than the 10-lb'er will. And 6-banger moulds *will* empty that pot fast.

[JCools]

I cast out of a small(4" dia x 5" t) S.S. pot on my turkey fryer set up right now.I use a Lee ladle.After casting about 200 boolits last night.With my Lee 2 CAV-LSWC .358dia-158gr-TL.I can deffinately sat I will need a bigger ladle to cast w/ a 6'r.I do think I'm gonna pass on the 6'r and get an electric pot instead right now.Cause after some research and casting(some of the best boolits I ever have).I think the LSWC's serve my needs better than regular wadcutters.Thanks for the responses it really helped in my decision.Being a relative newbie.