Sir Dripsalot has cast his last bullet

[dbarnhart]

I've decided that if I can find the money, my Lee 10# botom pour pot (aka Sir Dripsalot) has cast his last bullet.

It was doing it's normal drippy thing this morning when suddenly the spout froze. I used a small drill bit in vise-grips to try to open it up to no avail. I decided to just leave it for a few minutes and went into the house. When I returned 5 minutes later Sir Dripsalot had decided to not only clear the spout on his own but to go to full open as well. I have a 10 pound puddle of lead on my bench.

That was kinda the last straw. I only paid five bucks for it in the first place and I've cast close to 5000 bullets with it so I'd say I've gotten my money's worth.

Yes, I know I could take it apart, clean it up and fix it. I've done that several times in the past 3-4 months. The bottom line is that I want to spend my time making bullets and not fiddling with the equipment.

I sense that there is an RCBS Pro-Melt in my near future.

[shooterg]

L-a-d-l-e !!

[40Super]

I'll give you your five bucks back for it,plus the shipping if you want to. I need a pre-heater.

[Chicken Thief]

If 40Super dont get it then i'm willing to pay you for it. A new one will set me back $100+ in Denmark. So a little fiddling dont bother me at all.

[Dakine]

yikes! what would shipping to Denmark cost?

[Jim]

Yup, been there and done that. My Lee pot started that a coupla' years back and I put a boolit through the pot and flung it in the dumpster. Good riddance!

I bought a Lyman 10 lb. ladle pot and don't regret it for one second.

[Jon K]

RCBS is a good choice, for a bottom pour....good pot & great customer service.

Jon

[runfiverun]

wow.
i bought my 20 lb lee to melt down and clean ww's in, so i could use the lead to make shot.
25+ years later i use it for casting.
i still prefer my magma 40 lb pot, but that lee and a 10 lber [i recently bought] get plenty of use.
i did have to clean and slightly adjust the contacts a couple of years back.

[geargnasher]

FYI the spout didn't clog, it froze. Two seconds with a BBQ lighter would have had it flowing again.

Gear

[6.5 mike]

Fixed mine a while back, screw in spout & a ladle, works good. :Fire:

[Ola]

yikes!

Hah! Take a look at the prices in Midway-Finland and convert them to USD.
In Denmark the prices are probably quite similar(?).

http://www.midway.fi/epages/MidwaySuomi.sf/fi_FI/?ViewAction=View&ObjectID=19067&OrderBy=NameOrAlias
( in English)

[Sasquatch-1]

FYI the spout didn't clog, it froze. Two seconds with a BBQ lighter would have had it flowing again.

Gear

Beat me to it. I always keep a butane lighter and a small piece of wire handy for when mine starts getting tempermental. After I get up to temp I very seldom have a frozen spout unless I lower the temperature too much. The wire is for when debris starts to clog the spout. A screwdriver is also a necessity.

[jimkim]

€120.00 = $158.828 I'd say even with high shipping he still comes out ahead.
http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

[dbarnhart]

FYI the spout didn't clog, it froze. Two seconds with a BBQ lighter would have had it flowing again.

It unclogged itself - while I wasn't looking ;-)

Yes, I could certainly continue to fiddle with it and use it, but the 10 pounds of lead on the bench and floor were kinda the last straw.

[thx997303]

If I was that frustrated I'd just weld up the spout and use it for ladle casting. No use wasting the whole pot for one part.

[Bullet Caster]

If you don't want the pot, please don't throw it away. I'd be glad to pay you $5 for the pot plus shipping.

I'm still using a cast iron pot on a Coleman camp stove. Since I ladle cast, I'd just plug up the hole and go on using it. I just don't get it when folks throw away working gear. Any of you guys don't want anything or are going to throw anything away, send it to me. I'll definitely use it! BC

[waynem34]

yup, been there and done that. My lee pot started that a coupla' years back and i put a boolit through the pot and flung it in the dumpster. Good riddance!

I bought a lyman 10 lb. Ladle pot and don't regret it for one second.

hahahahahahhahahahah

[Frank46]

I had a lyman 10 pounder that always leaked. Drained out all the lead, took off the legs and base, drilled and tapped the bottom pour spout from the outside, reassembled and hasn't leaked since. Try it what have you got to loose?. Frank

[mooman76]

You can use the flat rate boxes for shipping over seas. Not the same as here in the US but still cheaper.

[C Broad Arrow]

This is timely! I am trying to decide between a pot and ladle vs a bottom pour. Both are Lees... The Pro 4 and their $46 pot. Are there resons for a pot that outweigh a bottom pour?

I am just starting out in casting so as a noice I would appreciate any input.

[dbarnhart]

I am trying to decide between a pot and ladle vs a bottom pour.

Your question intersects two topics, I think.

Bottom pour method vs Ladle pour method: It's really a matter of personal preference. Whichever works best for you. Ladle pour can certainly be done with simpler equipment. You can ladle pour using a cast iron pot and coleman stove. There is nothing inherently flawed about the bottom-pour method - As you get into the more expensive melters (RCBS, Magma) they are all bottom pour. (I can't recall hearing of any complaints about the bottom-pour mechanisms of the RCBS Pro-Melt or Magma Masterpot)

Lee: Lee products have enabled a whole lot of people to get into bullet casting and reloading who otherwise could not afford it. On the other hand, you cannot create a bottom pour pot with the quality and engineering standards of a Mercedes-Benz and give it a street price of under $60.

Almost all the complaints I read here (and have myself) about Lee pots are related to the bottom pour mechanism. Lee ladle-pour pots (and bottom-pour pots that have been converted) seem to be very trouble-free.

Conversely, If you don't mind some tinkering and fiddling (and in fact view the tinkering and fiddling as part of the hobby) then you'll be pretty happy with a Lee bottom-pour pot.

As for me: I prefer bottom pour. I was able to acquire a used Lee pot from another caster for $5. I knew of the pot's foibles but figured it would be the best way for me to try casting to see if I liked it. I'm a tool junkie and so my personal preference is for high-quality tools that are very trouble-free. Now that I know that I enjoy casting and can produce nice boolits, it's time to move up to some higher quality equipment. The RCBS Pro-Melt will be here in a couple of days. I have a very nice 4-cavity brass mold from Tom at Accurate. By this fall I plan to have either a Star or Ballist-cast lube-sizer.

[bonza]

I have two Lee 20lb pots, one bottom pour the other for ladle. I bought them both at the same time, about a year ago. I chose the two styles because I wanted the bottom pour for casting with alloys, & the ladle pot for casting with pure lead as I cast mainly large (610gn - 660gn) Minies, & find I get better results with a ladle whereas my alloyed bullets cast just fine from a bottom pour. I've had three or four Lee 10lb bottom pour pots over the last 30+ years, & all developed problems, so was hesitant to buy the 20lb ones but, so far, they've both been trouble free (touch wood!).

[dbarnhart]

It appears that Sir Dripsalot is just about to embark upon a journey to his new home in 40Super 's kingdom. May 40Super have better luck with Sir Dripsalot's incontinence than I have. :-)

[40Super]

I fear not of the drip,it is going above a 20lb pot (that is a recovering dripahaulic) so there should be room for the lead to drain,unless I'm pidling around and not emptying out the 20# fast enough.I'm also hoping the heat from the lower one will help it not freeze up .
Someday I plan to go the RCBS or Balisti-cast route also,but thats another day.Thanks dbarnhart[smilie=s:

[Rrusse11]

This is timely! I am trying to decide between a pot and ladle vs a bottom pour. Both are Lees... The Pro 4 and their $46 pot. Are there resons for a pot that outweigh a bottom pour?

I am just starting out in casting so as a noice I would appreciate any input.

Broad Arrow,
Personally I like to keep it simple, I've got a $5 cast iron saucepan and a gas stove with a Rowell ladle. Check out Bill Ferguson here at theantimonyman.com, grab the short handled small Rowell and splurge on a thermometer. Knowing your melt temp is IMO the most important aspect of casting, it's all about repeatability.
The above combo and you can cast just about anything. I've tried the bottom pours, and find I have much more control with a ladle, and get better boolits. Take the time to read what Mr. Ferguson has to say about alloying and properties of mixes, the most knowledgeable source
I've ever come across.
It's a bit of the "Ford vs Chevy" debate, whatever works for you. But if you're just starting out you've probably already got a heat source and a
suitable vessel. The bottom pour design of the Rowell ladles is excellent and it's adaptability of casting 22cal to ingots will always be usefull, even if you do change over at some point to a at times problematical commercial pot.
Cheers,
R*2

[dbarnhart]

Not to hijack my own thread but I spent my first casting session with the RCBS Pro-Melt this morning. What a difference. No drips, Recovery time after dropping in a cold ingot was maybe 5 minutes (I normally keep them on a hot plate or use another pot to melt them but I wanted to test recovery time).

I REALLY liked the mold guide.

Between the Pro-Melt and the 4-cav brass mold, I was amazed at how quickly I could make piles of boolits.

[Chicken Thief]

So did he get a but plug or is he going to another home?

[bowfin]

Chicken Thief,

Would there be an issue with the voltage and cord?

I have a new in box Lee 220 volt that my wife accidentally bought me for a present two years ago.

[dbarnhart]

So did he get a but plug or is he going to another home?

Sir Dripsalot is getting a new home with 40Super.