Which One?

[Blackhawk Kid]

Howdy, I'm new to casting my own bullets. I want a furnace. Which is your favorite, and WHY? Thanks:-)

[Vinne]

I use the Lee 20lb bottom pour and am very happy with it. It holds a lot for any casting section I care to work and can handle double and 6 bangers just as easy. Keep it clean and it should last a lifetime.

[runfiverun]

as far as cost goes it's worth the money to get the LEE 20 lb'er. [80-90 bucks]
the LEE ten lb'er has it's uses for single cavity molds and such but it just won't cut it for a 4-5-6 cavity mold. [50-60 bucks]
stepping up to the rcbs/lyman [if it's made yet] is a whole nother world.
they run 2-300.00 sumthin
after that you have the magma 40 pound pot which requires you to make your own stand but can run all day if you keep it topped off with 1-2 pound ingots while casting [they won't affect the pots temp]
not cheap though.

[dikman]

I can only comment on the RCBS, 'cos that's all I have, but I'm very happy with it. Not cheap though, it all depends on whether you can afford to indulge yourself with one. Over there (in the 'States) the Lee 20 lb is very good value and I don't see how you can go wrong with one at the asking price.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

If you're new to casting, you probably need to know you'll need both a way to clean your lead (smelting) and make ingots, then you'll need a separate pot (furnace) to melt your lead and make boolits with (casting).

There's lots of information on the forums here, both new and old posts, but if you're new, you'll want to do a search on "smelting" and another search on "casting." Then read up on both processes and how they work.

Hope this helps you,

[GunFun]

Lee 20lb not the small one. I have both. Why? Price. Speed from bottom pour. Why the big one? The rest is nice, but really the big thing is speed and temp consistency. You aren't waiting on lead to melt if you get your system down and are casting fast. And let's assume you are adding 1 lb ingots as you go... With the small pot, you are adding 20% of your mass of lead cold every few minutes. This cools your lead way down. You can offset this a little by preheating them on the edge. With the 20 lb pot, you are adding 5% of your mass per ingot. Obviously your temp is going to be much more stable this way.

The other thing that you wouldn't think of is that a lot of sources of scrap lead don't fit easily into either pot. It's best to smelt in something other than your casting pot, but you have to start somewhere. It's a lot easier if you have a bigger opening.

[runfiverun]

I done a write-up on how much a room temp [60-65f] ingot will make a 10,20 and 40 pound pot's temp swing and their recovery time.
airc it was almost 40-f for the 20 pounder and @ 2 minutes recovery time.
learned me to pre-heat my ingots, make them smaller, and pre-make my alloy batches larger.

[Walter Laich]

I was very happy with the Lee 20 lb bottom pour until I wandered into a super deal on an RCBS.
I really like it but wouldn't be able to justify buying one at retail price.
Got a PID to go with it and I'm one happy camper

[engineer401]

I have the Lee and the RCBS bottom pour furnaces. If you can afford it, buy the RCBS.

[LAH]

For the hobby caster you can't beat the RCBS. If cost is a factor for you purchase the 20lb Lee.

[GunFun]

I done a write-up on how much a room temp [60-65f] ingot will make a 10,20 and 40 pound pot's temp swing and their recovery time.
airc it was almost 40-f for the 20 pounder and @ 2 minutes recovery time.
learned me to pre-heat my ingots, make them smaller, and pre-make my alloy batches larger.


I probably read it then. All good points.

I think every caster benefits from a thrift store toaster oven.

Uses:
Preheat ingots to ~400 while casting.
normalize bullets
quench all bullets after an hour at 400f for very consistent hardness.
dry bullets after quench at low temp
bake on powdercoat.

[silverado]

I bought the Lyman big dipper kit and have no problems with it, just add in a thermometer. Comes with the casting manual also with a lot of data.

[ACrowe25]

If you have even money in the budget... rcbs hands down.

If not, lee 20lb.

Don't waste your time in the 10lb like I did. You'll just sell it and buy the 20lb

[silverado]

I can get about 4 pounds worth of boolits when using my 10 pounder. that is without filling the pot while casting. For me that is plenty. If you want to cast more than get a bigger one. I agree that you will be limited in how much you can do with a 10 pound.

[DxieLandMan]

Lee 20lb pot. It is easy to use, bottom pour is good feature and the money I saved by buying that one and not a more expensive one, I used elsewhere.

[GunFun]

One thing to consider, is that the bigger your batches the more consistency you get. Pistol bullets are less finicky, but if you work out an accurate rifle load and your next batch of bullets come out a touch harder or softer, you will have to find your accuracy node again. A big pot and a multi cavity mold (along with oven hardening) help minimize variations in temp and alloy so you can spend more time shooting, and less time troubleshooting.

[10mmShooter]

Lyman Mag 20 bottom pour, I don't like the way the RCBS mold guides work..the lyman mold guides are superior in my opionion.

[GunFun]

Seriously? $260 dollars superior to the highly functional Lee 4-20? Do you guys melt down silver dinner ware to make bullets?

That's a quarter of a magma caster.

[David2011]

Yes, seriously. It is very likely a lifetime purchase. The RCBS doesn't have thread upon thread about fixing the drips. Mine is about 35 years old and still working like new on all original parts. It's never had a single repair. It's just my two cents, though.

If you need to buy a lot of things and the RCBS doesn't fit the budget right now, by all means go with the 20 pound Lee,

David

[GunFun]

O.k. I didn't mean to be rude, but $340.99 vs $75-80 is an enormous mark up. I could see if it ran on 240 and had a closed circuit temperature controller. The RCBS model is another $50! But again, a used magma caster that would also be called a lifetime tool is around $950, with a few molds.

[LAH]

I've repeat this. While my business was at its peak I spoke to many, many people who cast their own. I made it a point to ask them about lead pots. The RCBS was prefered probably 7 to 1 over the Lyman with the Lee coming up a very distant 3rd. The main reason the RCBS was prefered over the Lyman was spout freeze. This may be corrected now but must have been a problem then.

[engineer401]

I purchased the Lee at first deciding to not spend the extra money on a Lyman or RCBS. Sure the RCBS is more expensive. It is easier to use and it doesn't require any modifications or repairs to work properly. Please understand, I own both Lee and RCBS furnaces. I know the differences between the two quite well. As I said earlier in this thread, I recommend buying the RCBS furnace if you are willing to spend the extra money. BTW, RCBS is offering a $50 rebate.

[GLL]

Some clarification :

1) The 40-Pound Magma Master Pot does not require that you build your own stand. It is all provided as a single unit !

2) The 40-Pound Magma Master Caster is a separate casting machine that is supplied with alloy by a modified Master Pot !

http://www.fototime.com/D6EDB6725848581/orig.jpg

Jerry

[hound13]

lots of good choices thanks for that info hound13

[GunFun]

LAH-- Thanks for the input.

I haven't had any issues with spout freeze, but I make a point of poking some bailing wire up the spout at least once a casting session to make sure crud doesn't build up there. I started this after having some flux crud slow down the flow to a slow trickle. Since then, no problems. I keep the flow maxed for consistent fill weights.

[MO Fugga]

I just started casting recently, and went with the Lee 20. Built a nice PID also, and am looking forward to a lifetime of casting. I will no longer be buying Lee products, however.