Which furnace would you get?

[heavyd]

If you were in my situation, what furnace would you get? And why?

I will be shooting 200 to 500 of 9mm per week, some 44 magnum here and there, and some 45 acp here and there. Probably more in the future. I do not have significant amounts of time to cast so production is key. Currently have a 4 cavity Lyman mold for the above mentioned cartridges, a lee 20lb bottom pour pot, a Star lubesizer, and a Dillon 550. I am definitely leaning toward bottom pour furnaces for productivity. My price range is in between the RCBS Pro-Melt ($330) and the Magma Masterpot ($575).

Also, would you run the Lee pot along with whatever pot you suggest?

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it.:cbpour:

[Reload3006]

I love RCBS and in years past they warranted everything for life. I hear thats not so anymore as far as their lead melter. Both pots are quality IMO but I would go with the Magma Masterpot. I know both are high quality tools. But my nod would be the Magma. The magma will probably be pouring lead for your grandkids...(lol Assuming your a young man)

[dnotarianni]

I would get another Lee 20# and save the $$$ for primers and powder You can burn out 5 lee pots for the price of 1 RCBS and 10 Lee's for the price of the Magma pluss you can have 2 different alloys hot if your casting different calibers at 1 sitting

[heavyd]

I love RCBS and in years past they warranted everything for life. I hear thats not so anymore as far as their lead melter. Both pots are quality IMO but I would go with the Magma Masterpot. I know both are high quality tools. But my nod would be the Magma. The magma will probably be pouring lead for your grandkids...(lol Assuming your a young man)

I am young, at the age of 24. This will be a hobby for many, many years to come.

[cbrick]

I do not have significant amounts of time to cast so production is key.

Magma without question.

Yep, you could probably get several LEE pots for the price of a Magma but my idea of a tool isn't how many I'll have to buy to keep it doing what I bought it for. Nor is my idea of a tool the aggravation of trying to keep it running or being without it while waiting for yet another one to arrive.

Even if you have to save your pennies and wait to get it (as I did) it's well worth it. There are many reasons for choosing a tool and cheap is one of the worst reasons.

If your casting as much as you say there is nothing like having 40 pounds of the same alloy to get you through a long casting session. Plus the Magma will heat to casting temp 40 pounds in about 10 minutes longer than the RCBS (which I have & use also) will 20 pounds.

If it looks like casting is in your future for years to come you'll not regret getting the Magma.

Rick

[Rockchucker]

I don't know much about the Magma Master Caster but if it's built like their other products you can't go wrong, saying that, I have the RCBS Pro Melt, and if it broke completely (which it won't) I'd buy another in a second.

[Firebricker]

I have the RCBS and love it but I think the Magma has more capacity which would be nice for casting that much a week. Plus I think you can add the Magma Master Caster right to it if you went down that road in the future. I don't you'll out run either pot that much but keeping the Lee with 20lbs of alloy is a good idea. FB

[Hardcast416taylor]

Like about everybody else I started with LEE 10# bottom pour pots. It took about 3 years of fighting with these pots and burning them out to make me go with RCBS. I used 2 at a time at 1 time. Down to just 1 now, gave 1 to a friend I thought could use a good pot. My pot is nearing 30 years old and still no problems. Everyone has their own reasons why they buy the pot they are using, mine is I wanted to end the drip fighting with the LEE.Robert

[engineer401]

I have a Lee 10# bottom pour pot. It is true you get what you pay for. It drips a little. I deal with it. Others here with much more experience than me seem very happy with RCBS and Magma. It seems to the questions are 1) how much do you want to pay and 2) how much are you willing to endure. When I started casting I didn't know anyone who cast. I read a lot of books including the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. It would've been helpful to talk to someone who could show me the difference between molds and furnaces. Since then I began to talk to casters at gun shows. If I spoke to them before I began casting I may have different choices including the furnace purchase. For now, I'll continue to use the Lee pot until it breaks. At that time I will spend more time figuring out what I want.

[largom]

My first electric furnace was a Lee 10 # after 25 yrs. it is still working. I also bought a Lee 20# pot about 8 yrs. ago, its still working. Yes, they both leaked at the spout sometimes but I fixed that problem. There is a thread on the Lee pots where you can see how to fix them. I bought the first pot because I did'nt know any better. I bought the second pot because the first one worked so well after I fixed the leak. The money I saved added a few guns to my gun safe.

I am not a big fan of Lee products but some of their items are very good and soom are very poor. I don't usually buy cheap products unless I consider it disposable and I have disposed of a few Lee items. If one of my pots quit working tomorrow I would buy another Lee pot.

Larry

[220swiftfn]

I love RCBS and in years past they warranted everything for life. I hear thats not so anymore as far as their lead melter. Both pots are quality IMO but I would go with the Magma Masterpot. I know both are high quality tools. But my nod would be the Magma. The magma will probably be pouring lead for your grandkids...(lol Assuming your a young man)

What RCBS will honor under warantee can be a little confusing at times. Case in point; I have a Pro-melt that I bought used (stamp date 1982 IIRC) shipped FULL of lead. After it got molten, the spout dropped out (REALLY glad I had a saucepan under it, BTW). Anyhow, RCBS shipped me a new pot/spout assembly and a cut-off rod under warantee. What they DON'T warantee is the electronic components, but even then, they have the parts (cheaper to fix than replace might be a factor to consider....)


Dan

[220swiftfn]

There are also a few people that stack two pots (the top pot feeds the bottom pot, you pour from the bottom pot.)


Dan

[heavyd]

There are also a few people that stack two pots (the top pot feeds the bottom pot, you pour from the bottom pot.)


Dan

I would be interested to see how they do this. It would need to be a sturdy setup to prevent something from falling by accident.

[Jammer Six]

I've been toying with the idea of casting. I love the idea, but my range doesn't allow cast boolits. That, among other things, has kept me on the sidelines so far. I tell you that so that you may assign the weight you see fit to my opinions. :)

Like you, I've been researching what pot to get if and when I pull the trigger.

What I've found, by reading everything in reach, is this:

There are some people who are happy with Lee and Lyman.

There are some people who are unhappy with Lee and Lyman.

There is no one who owns and operates an RCBS or a Magma that is unhappy with them.

After a lifetime of buying equipment for various endeavors (I was a general contractor) I no longer wish to buy the Sears models anymore. I want to go straight to the one that will be the last one I buy. I'm going to end up with it anyway. So I'm going to skip all the steps and heartache in between, and if I go for it, it'll be a Magma.

Good luck!

[Bret4207]

If you were in my situation, what furnace would you get? And why?

I will be shooting 200 to 500 of 9mm per week, some 44 magnum here and there, and some 45 acp here and there. Probably more in the future. I do not have significant amounts of time to cast so production is key. Currently have a 4 cavity Lyman mold for the above mentioned cartridges, a lee 20lb bottom pour pot, a Star lubesizer, and a Dillon 550. I am definitely leaning toward bottom pour furnaces for productivity. My price range is in between the RCBS Pro-Melt ($330) and the Magma Masterpot ($575).

Also, would you run the Lee pot along with whatever pot you suggest?

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it.:cbpour:

What makes you think a BP is more productive than a good big pot and good sized ladle? Your productivity comes from large capacity moulds, getting the mould temp and pot temp balanced and not having to slow down. I fail to se why so many folks think a BP is somehow "faster" than a ladle.

[imashooter2]

What makes you think a BP is more productive than a good big pot and good sized ladle? Your productivity comes from large capacity moulds, getting the mould temp and pot temp balanced and not having to slow down. I fail to se why so many folks think a BP is somehow "faster" than a ladle.

Quoted for truth.

[Jammer Six]

What is a "BP"?

[Reload3006]

Bottom Pour

[finishman2000]

any of them except the lee. cheap and built that way. yes it will melt lead, will drip and drip and drip.
i have an old seaco and a mastercaster. both will out live me.

[Jammer Six]

I'm not considering a bottom pour for speed-- I'm considering it so I don't have to deal with the ladle.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have a Lyman Mag20 which I am very happy with.

[starreloader]

Been Ladle Casting for 35+ years, 10, 8, & 6 Cav moulds with a 100 lb pot... Working with a ladle is easier than looking down and lining up the BP spout and the sprue holes, tried that and didn't like doing that.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well...people are funny! You would have to hold a pistol to my head to get me to use a ladle!

I looked at the Magma option and wanted one bad,(still do!) but the price is to much to justify how much I shoot. From my 30 yrs experience the best pot out there is the RCBS Pro-Melt, hands down! Just a quality product backed by an excellent company!

[cbrick]

I have a Lyman Mag20 which I am very happy with.

I gotta ask, do you have any experience with any other pot to compare with? If you did would you be as happy, less happy, more happy? I also have a Lyman, it was my very first pot and I used it for years before I got the RCBS in the early 80's. I loaned the Lyman to a friend to get him casting 7 or 8 years ago and he still has it, it's still going strong. Still have & use the RCBS (keep a different alloy in it) but my main pot is the Magma, built like a tank, 40 pounds of alloy is a joy to use and it will no doubt outlast me.


I'm not considering a bottom pour for speed-- I'm considering it so I don't have to deal with the ladle.

Deal with a ladle? For many years I only bottom poured, had never cast a single bullet with a ladle and I also considered that it would be both slow and a hassle. How wrong I was, I get far fewer rejects with a ladle which at the end of a casting session makes for a higher total bullet count. Over a few years I came to mostly only ladle cast. Don't discount something that you have no experience to compare against. Don't cheat yourself out of a great casting method based on an assumption. Like I did for so long.


Well...people are funny! You would have to hold a pistol to my head to get me to use a ladle!

Yep, I thought the same way for years right up to the time I learned better.
Rick

[Bret4207]

I'm not considering a bottom pour for speed-- I'm considering it so I don't have to deal with the ladle.

Still not sure I understand. What is there to "deal with" with a ladle? I've heard this before and compared to trying to hit the sprue hole with a BP I don't see anything involved with a ladle that requires "dealing with". It is my impression a great number of people think as I did, that a ladle is a makeshift method of casting and that a BP is somehow the "proper" tool.

Do as you wish of course, but if you want quantity and quality it's pretty hard to beat a 6-10 cav mould and big ladle.

[leadman]

I had a Lee 10# and the 20#. Then I got a RCBS ProMelt. The thermostat is commercial grade so the temperature hardly varies at all. This results in boolits closer in weight so better accuracy.
The mold rest is much better than the Lee and is really appreciated with the Lyman 4 cavity molds.

Not having used the Magma I can not comment on it. If I was younger maybe the 40# capacity would be a big plus but after 20# my body needs a break.

[Springfield]

I still have one LEE out of the 5 I have owned, an RCBS and a Magma Master pot. I never touch the LEE anymore, the RCBS I use just for pure lead balls and the Magma is used for everything else. If you are trying to save time the Magma is the way to go. Just cast for hours and keep chucking ingots in the pot as it is larger and it has more watts(1500 versus LEE and RCBS 6-700) It also comes with an optional double pour spout which also speeds things up. Mine has been trouble free for 6 years now, and I cast 3 times a week. With a LEE 6 cavity 800/hr is very doable, as there is no waiting for lead to melt, no spout freeze-ups. Cast for an evening and shoot for 5-6 months.

[Irascible]

RCBS (800 watts)was reputed to have a better thermostat then Lyman when I bought mine 30 years ago. It's still running strong.
I bought a second one about 5 years ago so I would not have to keep switching alloys. that pot gets 1/25 for BPCRS. The original pot gets all the alloy changes depending on what I'm casting for.
Lately however, I've been dreaming of the antimony mans electric ladle pot. I cast inside and don't need the flames of the gas pot. I've never ladle cast, but the BPCRS boys mostly seem to.

[Dave C.]

Lyman.

[1bluehorse]

Pretty interesting reading. Seems everyone has valid reasons as to their methods and the equipment they buy and use. Plus everyone seems to be pretty content as to their choices. Good, as it should be. For someone just starting out casting I see nothing wrong with recommending the Lee 20lb'er, it may have a couple issues but it will certainly melt lead and fill a mold okay. Obviously the biggy is the cost factor, and for the price it's a pretty darn good pot. The two complaints I see most are inconsistant temps, (buy a thermometer, it will help) and the drip,drip,drip. Yes, I have one and yes it drips. Got tired of it (tuning the screw, adjusting the flow, disassemble to clean the spout, turn the screw, drip, turn the screw,drip) :killingpc and bought an RCBS pro melt. (Haven't used it yet, reasons forthcoming) Started fluxing with sawdust (per instructions read here, WOW!!) melt is much cleaner (always THOUGHT I was doing a good job of that before) and guess what, the Lee drips LESS, alot less. I'm gonna continue to use it a while longer just to see if this indeed continues. Then I'm going to give it to the same kid I gave my old model 61 to as he says it's on it's last legs. Also for you ladle guys, I just happen to have a brand new Lyman ladle, had it for years, I may have to get it dirty..... :cbpour:........ummmm,maybe not...