Ladle Casting

[floodgate]

When I cast with my Lyman ladle from my old 20-lb. SAECO pot (which is about 2/3 of the time, using lead - tin mixes) the crud does build up on the dipper, especially in the spout. To clear it, I rap the hot dipper on the edge of the pot, first upside down and then right side up to shake it loose; then I submerge the empty dipper into the metal, letting the alloy flow IN through the spout, dump it, and rap once again, upside down, to shake out anything that has come loose. Second or third time it happens I take it as a signal to flux with a pea-size lump of beeswax. Works for me (also with the RCBS dipper I used to have - I need to pick up another at the next gun show), and takes a LOT longer to describe than to do. floodgate

[NVcurmudgeon]

Floodgate, Bet your crud in the dipper troubles will diminish once you get another RCBS ladle. I rake the crud toward me with the fin on the bottom before each filling, leaving a clean spot to dip from. Generally I can manage 15-20 casts between fluxings. Hope you aren't fluxing with Marvelux, my ladle used to get so much crud inside that the alloy capacity was reduced to where I couldn't fill a four-hole mould!

[grumble]

I use an old spoon to stir the melt. The spoon would get covered with crud every casting session. Just to play with it, I put the clean spoon in my tumbler with a bunch of BBs and a little bit of moly powder until the moly treated the entire spoon. That was a couple years ago, and the spoon has never "crudded up" again.

Seems like somthing similar should work with a ladle?

[floodgate]

Floodgate, Bet your crud in the dipper troubles will diminish once you get another RCBS ladle. I rake the crud toward me with the fin on the bottom before each filling, leaving a clean spot to dip from. Generally I can manage 15-20 casts between fluxings. Hope you aren't fluxing with Marvelux, my ladle used to get so much crud inside that the alloy capacity was reduced to where I couldn't fill a four-hole mould!

NV: Exactly why I want another RCBS ladle - that "fin" is real useful. As suggested back on "Shooters", though, I will tap it out to 5/16" for a sturdier handle. No, I tried Marvelux ONCE and swore off on account of all the crud in the ladle and on the walls of the pot. I've got quite a bit of beeswax left over from when we ran bees (but not enough extra to sell; sorry!) floodgate

[Rrusse11]

My Rowell #2 very rarely gets crudded, but that's because I'm running a layer of charcoal on top of the mix. My two quart cast iron saucepan on the gas stove gets fired up with the supplied lid, (~ $8 from one of the local 'dollar' stores), reducing oxides. After a coupla' sessions I skim the now ashey charcoal, and any crud with it, and crumble some more charcoal in.
If the ladle spot ever gets clogged I flux the hot ladle with a candle, and submerge in the melt.
One scoop of the Rowell does my largest 6cav,,,, and holds the heat well.
A little charcoal in the dipper never comes in to play, and the layer of oxidising material is a chemical barrier to atmospheric contamination of the mix.
Cheers,
R*2

[David R]

I know you won't agree with this, but two words

Bottom Pour

Never had any trouble yet with the green 20 lb melter.

[Rrusse11]

[QUOTE=David R]I know you won't agree with this,

Well you got that right,,,,,,, {:o)

[Buckshot]

............When I was dipper pouring I'd do that too. Invert the ladle and give it a rap on the edge of the pot, then drag it backwards across the melt to clean a spot. Then submerge and forward to fill. Depending upon how hot the melt was, I could get a goodly number or pours before fluxing.

One other thing I did was to spray the ladle with Midway mould Dropout. This was about ALL I used it for, after finding out it reduced the diameter of boolits the mould dropped. When I ran out I used a moly spray sold as a lube for machine gibs. Much cheaper and worked the same.

...............Buckshot

[Bret4207]

Some of you may recall my search for the perfect ladle dippers pot last fall. I ended up with a stainless steel measuring cup that I think was 12 cups. It's about 8" high and 5" across. Since switching to that my crud accumilation has dropped at least 75%, along with my fluxing. I think most of my crud came from my old cast iron pot and the rust it always got. What I get now comes from the ladle and alloy. Just a thought.

[MGySgt]

To clear it, I rap the hot dipper on the edge of the pot......


I have an old 22 cal bore brush on an old cleaning rod, I just run it in and out the hole a few times every other time I flux - No cud build up stays and the flow stays constant!

Drew