Buying the "best' (for U) casting dodad

[splattersmith]

[smilie=s:Ok, I have done a search and read hundreds of posts on this issue so it is OK if it dies.

I am, by necessity, getting into casting. :cbpour: My friend has made me hundreds+ of bullets and will still do it, but that is not the issue. Freedom is necessary. The bullets will are long range/steel rifle bullets in 45/70 and 40/65.

The question is ------ if you had all the money you need (please assume that) [smilie=w:--- would you purchase the RCBS or the Lee (with your friend's exellent and free temp control added to the Lee).

I am not a dip or dipper so please refer to bottom pour machines. And no money arguments, I just would appreciate that out of the decision.

If this has been beaten like a dead horse, I apologize but I will decide on a purchase soon so ?????? I like to buy the "best" because I have been burned many a time and have 'worked up the ladder' at double+ the expense too many times.:cry:

[finishman2000]

money is a non issue..master caster with the steel mold of your choice converted over for it.

[WHITETAIL]

splattersmith, Welcome to the forum!

[WHITETAIL]

I can only tell you what I use.
A Lyman mag 20.
I have it for 20+ years, with no real
issues.:castmine:

[Lloyd Smale]

had two mag 20 lymans before the fire and they were good pots. I replaced them with rcbs pots mostly because rcbs stands behind there products better then lyman. Bottom line is both are good pots and are much better then the lees.

[Bret4207]

Lee's pot is what has kept me a confirmed ladle caster for the 20+ years since I first tried one. Drove me nuts with the dripping, frozen spout, unable to see what I was doing, the wild temp swings. I'm currently trying out an ancient SAECO pot, same as the old Lyman 61, and it's far, far, far, FAR nicer than the Lee. I love my Lee dies and moulds, but not that abomination of a pot.

If money is no object the RCBS is a fine rig.

[HeavyMetal]

I think it's Magma that makes the 40Lb bottom pour. If money were no issue I think I'd explore that purchase!

The idea is the bigger the batch the more consistant the boolits are. Each time we fire up a lead pot we are "creating" a slightly different alloy and it doesn't matter if we use straight WW or not as each batch of those will be different as well!

If my reaserch showed that the Magma was not what they advertised it to be ( reliability issues) I would buy the RCBS in a minute as well as the lyman.

Lee's a good pot for the dollar I've had a couple, and still do, but with unlimited funds I'd go bigger.

[looseprojectile]

I have been using an old Lyman 61 for about thirtyfive years. It's all I need.
Don't know what I will use after it goes. The price of melters is disgusting now.
I will probably bite the bullet and buy an RCBS for a replacement when it goes TU.


Life is good

[PatMarlin]

Welcome to cast boolit heaven splattersmith! ..:drinks:

I think if money's no option I'd go for a camp fire ...:mrgreen:

[jdgabbard]

money is a non issue..master caster with the steel mold of your choice converted over for it.

+1

If money was a non issue, then I'd look into a Magma with a mold with as many holes as it would hold. I think they start at about $1k for the basic machine, though I could be wrong. Either way, I've heard they are a bit of a pain to set up at first, but aftewards made good bullets. Basically you just count to whatever, and pull the lever. Repeat.

[runfiverun]

you can buy just the pot from the magma alone.
with some 4-6 cavity molds and their double spout you can make a pile of quality boolits very quickly.
it doesn't get as hot as some of the other pots do, but you keep the lead in the mold longer so make up for it with mold temp consistency.

[GLL]

Magma 40 pound pot ! :)

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/7B15B3735005792/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/B0A0CF24A2DB2C5/standard.jpg

[finishman2000]

+1

If money was a non issue, then I'd look into a Magma with a mold with as many holes as it would hold. I think they start at about $1k for the basic machine, though I could be wrong. Either way, I've heard they are a bit of a pain to set up at first, but aftewards made good bullets. Basically you just count to whatever, and pull the lever. Repeat.

I bought mine about a month ago.
Opened box and took out machine. Put lead ingots in. Plugged in. 35 minutes later threw 10 tims to bring up to temp (mold) and then for the next 1 1/2 hour every bullet was perfect.
To chenge molds drive 2 roll pins out with a punch that they supply. put new mold in and drive pins in with another punch that came with it. I can change out molds in les than 2 minutes, even hot. and the 45lb pot is so nice since i use 5lb ingots.

Best csting purchase i made.

[jameslovesjammie]

Magma 40 lb is where my $$$ would go.

[Bob Krack]

I've used several of those mentioned above and have had many troubles controlling the flow on several. If $ is no object get one of those PLUS a Lee 4-20 (20 pounder). Use those for mixing or super large boolits and/or 5-6 or more cavity, and the Lee for smaller or less cavity moulds.

Bob

[finishman2000]

Lee? NOT! had one, was my first one. Replaced it as soon as i could afford another. being about 17 at the time you know i had to hate the lee for me to cut into fun money. boughta used saeco which i still have and like. the lee was put away for over 20 years till i just sold it here. always dripped, seemed to leak heat being aluminum. ONLY if money was a concern would i ever buy another product. I also hated their molds.

[splattersmith]

The Magma "Masterpot" looks great ($575) but the problem is the mold selection. It might be fine for cowboy shooting but as a long range BPC shooter, one can get fincky/anal:roll: about bullet shapes and weights (I like :Fire:the money bullet, the Postell and Creedmore in 45/70, looking at the Snover to start the 40/65. We use (my friends do, I shoulds say) Paul Jones and Hoch molds, some slightly modified at manufacture.

Anyway, can one use those custom molds in the Magma? :confused:

If not, then it looks like the RCBS is winning by default to the custom molds.

:coffee::drinks::coffee:

[Newtire]

HI Splatter,

I'd say, with a name like Splattersmith, a Lee bottom-drip pot would be the way to go!

Like someone mentioned, the price of pots is thru the roof but then money is no object so the Magma looks interesting.

I have a Lee but then am not a professional caster and it does fine for me. If I need another one, and I'm sure I will, I'll just buy one.

[XWrench3]

i am pretty new here, and do not have a lot of experience with this, so take this for what it is worth (-$0.02) i bought a lee 20 pound bottom pour. it works fine for me. no drips, holds temperature pretty constant, melts lead pretty fast. of course, it has only been used 3 times so far. i have no experience with the rcbs melter, so i have no opinion there. some things that rcbs makes seem to just be over priced in my opinion, and some things that lee makes are just cheap junk. if they were even remotely close in price, i would suggest the rcbs. but they are not. it is like a hundai or a beamer. they will both get you where you want to go, but the ride will be totally different! good luck with your decission!

[finishman2000]

with the master pot you can use any mold you want. the master caster...$1k you can use their molds or they will change over any 2 cavity STEEL mold for $35.

[Lloyd Smale]

I had to make the decision between a magma 40 and two rcbs 20s for the same price. Figured with two i can cast with one and feed it with the other and never have to wait for recovery and if one happens to die i allways have the other to cast with. Plus rcbs has a lifetime warantee and i dont know if magma would stand behind theres that well.

[fredj338]

Definitely the MAgma if money were no option. If nothing else, just for the 40# cap. I think the RCBS is a good pot for the money, much better than the Lee, but then it is 4X the cost. I have a Magma Master Caster & the first one burnt the heating element out. The replacement has been running well for 15yrs now. I also use a Lee 20#. If I replace the 20# Lee, I'll likely buy the RCBS.

[finishman2000]

theres no recovery.......just drop in the 5 lbs'ers and keep going. at 40lb i can run it 1/2 way down, drop in 2 ingots (10lbs total) and keep casting.

Anyone want to buy my saeco? I was going to keep it for 4 cavity molds i still have but will be buying their reg pot for those.

[Lead Fred]

I use a propane stove and a cast iron pot.

The one new piece I will not be without,

Is my themometer, best $30 Ive spent

[Lloyd Smale]

ive heard that. I cant help but to doubt dropping 10lbs of cold lead on 20lbs of hot wouldnt drop the temp enough to effect the bullets though. I could see maybe dropping 5 in 35. With two pots i can ladle in lead right at temp and have a much more steady tempeture. I can cast 5lbs fill the pot and drop 5 lbs in the feeder pot and by the time ive done 5 lbs the feeder pot is right up to temp. I can cast indefineately at the same temp that way. I also rotate which pot im casting with so with two valves to use it should last longer. Just my thoughts. I dont know if there right or not. Again with my way if my pot does fail i allways have two so i can cast while its in for repair.
theres no recovery.......just drop in the 5 lbs'ers and keep going. at 40lb i can run it 1/2 way down, drop in 2 ingots (10lbs total) and keep casting.

Anyone want to buy my saeco? I was going to keep it for 4 cavity molds i still have but will be buying their reg pot for those.

[GLL]

splattersmith:

As finishman2000 indicated the Magma 40 pound Master Pot can be used with any mould. Many people confuse the Master Pot with the Master Caster ! As you can see in the photos the Magma 40 pound pot behaves just like an RCBS or Lyman... just double the capacity (& can be used on 110 or 220 volt).

Jerry

[finishman2000]

ive heard that. I cant help but to doubt dropping 10lbs of cold lead on 20lbs of hot wouldnt drop the temp enough to effect the bullets though. I could see maybe dropping 5 in 35. With two pots i can ladle in lead right at temp and have a much more steady tempeture. I can cast 5lbs fill the pot and drop 5 lbs in the feeder pot and by the time ive done 5 lbs the feeder pot is right up to temp. I can cast indefineately at the same temp that way. I also rotate which pot im casting with so with two valves to use it should last longer. Just my thoughts. I dont know if there right or not. Again with my way if my pot does fail i allways have two so i can cast while its in for repair.

cold, no...i always stage them on top to warm them up. When i was 16 and casting barefoot and no shirt in july i drpped in a cold ingot. Boom! fun!!! next thing i knew i was standing in the middle of the yard in my underware, don't even remeber it going off or how i got there. it was fun peeling lead of the top of my feet with the skin. good time! lol.
remeber that the magma pot uses more watts than the others and it does allow me to keep casting. i try to drop 1 at time though then i use the sprue next.

[Lloyd Smale]

i guess if my budget was a little bigger id love to have a magma and an rcbs to back it up but a guy has to compromise once in a while to keep peace in the family. My wife has been very understanding with me after the fire. Ive spent a boat load of money on loading gear.

[cajun shooter]

Splattersmith, I think that for your BPCR shooting you need a Wagge 4757 that is a ladle pot. I use one for my 45-70 bullets. It sells for around $160 and is thye perfect match for a RCBS Pro Melt beside it for your bottom pour chores. You won't find it on line. You have to call and request one to be built. With this combo you are ready. I use the Rowell 1lb ladle with it as I pour single cav molds