Lee ladle & 4lb pot ?

[6.5 mike]

Does anyone use the 4lb Lee pot or ladle? I've never tried ladle casting, so any help/imputs would be a help.
I've read that the ladle is very small, but this my work out because I'm wanting to cast small lots rather then fire up the dripomatic. I'd only be making 20 to 25 at a time for paper patch experaments. The largest would be 8m/m, mostly 30 cal stuff.
Plus it's getting a little warm for long session's here in n/w fla. Thanks.

[stubshaft]

I use a Lee 4/20 pot and a Lee 10lb pot now and generally ladle cast all of my boolits. Call it personal preference. When I first started out I used a soup can over a hot plate and cast Lee 30cal. 155gr boolits. So in answer to your question it is entirely possible to use a 4lb pot and small ladle (I personally prefer a "standard" RCBS ladle).

[jimkim]

I have used the four pound pot and a Lee "spoon". It belongs to a buddy of mine. He loves it. I like it a lot and have thought about getting one for myself. If you are only casting a few hundred bullets at a time it works pretty good. If you plan on casting thousands in one day I suggest getting something with a higher capacity. I usually use my drip-O-matic.

[6.5 mike]

Thanks stubshaft.
Jimkim, I usually do use my dripomatic, but am more looking to make a small amount as I've found I have 4 rifle's that need pp'ing. Odd bore sizes.
Do you keep the ladle on a hot plate or what, to keep it hot? When it come to this part of casting, I are a dummy. Thanks

[dromia]

Pot dipping is a good method and has its adherents, I use it for boolits .45" and above.

However in my experience the Lee "ladle" is worse than useless. I find its lack of capacity means that the alloy doesn't hold the heat long enough for a decent pour. I'd get a Lyman or RCBS ladle.

I know that you don't anticipate casting many by ladle but for the few you do I feel a decent ladle would make that job a pleasure rather than the frustration the Lee would.

[6.5 mike]

Dromia, thanks, that was one of my questions. Guess I'll check the rcbs & lymans & see what I find.
My plan is to cast 20 to 25 to check the diamensions after wrapping with paper. Like I said, it's a small amount. Rather then firing up the bigger pot I can make a small run & do my figure,s from there. May be able to BEAGLE the molds in a couple of cases instead to get what I need. Wo'nt know until I try them.

[GLL]

Forget the LEE ladle! I only ladle cast and agree with dromia that the LEE is "worse then useless" !

Get an RCBS and bore it out a bit .

If you graduate to 4 & 6-cavity moulds you might invest in a larger size Rowell as well !


Jerry

[6.5 mike]

GLL, why do I need to bore it out?

[GLL]

Mike:

I find for my purposes the increased flow rate from the slightly larger bore makes for better fill out !

Jerry

[anachronism]

LEE ladles are only good for scraping the pot while fluxing. They're the best tool I've found for that purpose. I use a Lyman ladle, adapted for left-hand use. I couldn't figure out how to adapt an RCBS ladle, so I have to be happy with what I have.

[mtgrs737]

I started out casting 35 years ago with a 4lb. Lee Bullet Caster pot. Later I got a second one to keep things moving along. My first on cost less than $12 and I used a Lyman dipper. I still have them and use them for soft lead low volume casting and lead hammer casting. I made thousands of boolits with the Lee pots, like most Lee products they were a good value.

[Bret4207]

The Lee ladle is a glorified spoon. It's not a very good ladle. Lyman and RCBS both offer a much better ladle. Even a small gravy ladle with a wood handle attached makes a better tool than the Lee spoon.

[BABore]

The Lee ladle is a glorified spoon. It's not a very good ladle. Lyman and RCBS both offer a much better ladle. Even a small gravy ladle with a wood handle attached makes a better tool than the Lee spoon.

I think the Lee ladle is actually a soup spoon designed for those with a cleft palate.:-D

[22lover]

Go to a sporting good store in their grill/BBQ area. Mine has a dandy stainless ladle that ran me all of $2.99. Works great for it, although I use a bottom pour for boolit moulding.

[6.5 mike]

GLL, ok I can see how that works. Thanks to all who replied on this, been a big help.

[mooman76]

I don't see why people have such a problem with the Lee ladle. I've used it for years. Yes the capasity is small but it works fine on anything I have 2 cavity or less. I did do a few minor adjustments to it. I bent the ladle so it scoops better and I took a file and cut an edge on pour spout so it pours more direct. I also took and coat the ladle with bull plate lube. It keeps the garbage from sticking to it.
On the 4 lb pot I got one and soon realized it was too small for much but small uses like you want to do so it should work fine for what you want. I moved up to the 20lb top pour. I still use the 4lb for BP so I don't have to switch back and forth. I don't cast as much of that and because I can pour using a hotter temp with pure lead it helps offset the temp when I add lead. You might want smaller ingots like half pound to add to the pot when you pour so it doesn't change the temp as much adding.

[Sixgun Symphony]

The LEE ladel works well with the LEE single and two cavity molds. :castmine:

[Ole]

I used it for my first mold - 2R-155 double cavity.

It didn't work well with my 6 cavity- .44 mold, so I got a 20lb production pot.

So it depends on what you're trying to cast, IMO.

[big boar]

Forget the Lee ladle, get the RCBS or Lyman. I've used them all and the Lee doesn't even come close to the other 2. I have 2 Lee pots, use and like them a lot but forget the ladle.

[6.5 mike]

Thanks for all the info, been a big help. All my molds are 2 cavity so may try the lee 1st. I'm going to need something to stir my smelting pot anyway, so it won't be a waste.
I have looked at the lyman & rcbs, may upgrade if I don't like it. I do want to try doing this the old way, just to see if it's better than a bottom pour. Also only making up small batches this looks like what I need.
I'm going to look at the stainless ladle's for my smelter. Didn't think about the bbq thing, good call. Thanks again.