Ladle Cast or Bottom Pour?

[TORCHrider]

I am new to this casting game, but learning more and more from this site every day, so THANKS! :bigsmyl2:


My question is, I will be volume casting (hopefully) for my 9mm, 38, .40, .45 etc. I plan to use 4 or 6 bullet molds. I have heard that bottom pour is the only way to go when casting alot of bullets, but also heard that bottom pour is harder to master/pour correctly. Given my newness, would I be better served going with a 20lb. bottom pour or will I be able to cast almost as fast with a 20lb. furnace and a dipper? Dont want to buy a non-bottom pour furnace only to find out a few weeks later that I need a bottom pour one.

:confused:

Thanks!

[Shiloh]

I use the bottom pour for the absolute convenience and speed. I dont think the learning curve is any different than using a dipper.

SHiloh

[KYCaster]

If you buy a dipper furnace you don't have the option of trying bottom pour.

Both are useful techniques and like Shiloh said, I don't think there's much difference in the learning curve.


Jerry

[robertbank]

I am new to this casting game, but learning more and more from this site every day, so THANKS! :bigsmyl2:


My question is, I will be volume casting (hopefully) for my 9mm, 38, .40, .45 etc. I plan to use 4 or 6 bullet molds. I have heard that bottom pour is the only way to go when casting alot of bullets, but also heard that bottom pour is harder to master/pour correctly. Given my newness, would I be better served going with a 20lb. bottom pour or will I be able to cast almost as fast with a 20lb. furnace and a dipper? Dont want to buy a non-bottom pour furnace only to find out a few weeks later that I need a bottom pour one.

:confused:

Thanks!

Go bottom pour. I volume cast in most of the calibers you mentioned and bottom pouring in volume is so much faster. Do yourself a favour and get the RCBS Pro Melter. The Lee 10# doesn't have enough capacity and it leaks. From what I have heard the Lee 20# pot is only marginally better in the leaking department.

Take Care

Bob

[Rocky Raab]

I was dipper (some would shorten that description, LOL!) for years. Bought a Lee bottom pour last year. Haven't touched the dipper since. And I use only one- and two-holers.

Added: the 10-pound is plenty for me, because I need less lead with the two-hole moulds. Leaking is rare and minor - and I could burn through five Lee pots for the cost of one RCBS.

[Dale53]

I have been bottom pouring for well over fifty years. There is a learning curve no matter what you try. Get the bottom pour. It is hard to beat Lee's value (an RCBS is a better pot but costs a LOT). I have two RCBS pots but, today, I would probably try the Lee. The RCBS pot actually holds 22 lbs. The Lee holds nearer 16.

Get the Lee 4-20 (it has more room under the spout for a variety of different moulds). Buy it from F&M, Natchez, or Midway for a considerable discount.

Welcome to the club!!

I can easily run 700 bullets in an hour from a good six cavity mould and a bottom pour pot. YMMV. I would suggest a one burner hot plate (I prefer the solid steel burner surface). They cost little and allow you to heat up the mould prior to pouring. I heat to just below casting temperature (only one or two pours brings it to casting heat - that insures I don't overheat the mould).

Happy casting!
Dale53

[HORNET]

There's enough room in the Lee 4-20 to use it with a dipper. Gives you the option to try both. IME, some molds do better with dipper pouring than BP but YMMV. LOTS of disagreement on this topic for years.........

[daschnoz]

I'm pretty green to boolit casting also. I have a Lee 4# production pot. The bottom pour makes sense to me. All of the impurities float to the top. If you take your lead from the bottom, you're getting fewer impurities in your pour - at least that's how my brain works.

[GLL]

I cast with the ladle almost exclusively, BUT if you will be "volume casting" 9mm and .45 I would suggest a 20 pound bottom pour pot ! As has been mentioned you can ladle cast a few out of a LEE bottom pour pot as well.

If you do ladle cast do not even consider the LEE ladle !!! Get an RCBS and bore it out a bit ! :)
The Rowell ladle is nice (I have one) but it does not fit into the LEE pot very well.

Jerry

[Recluse]

I bottom pour my smaller, shorter boolits and ladle-pour my slugs and rifle boolits.

:coffee:

[thx997303]

I have used both the RCBS Pro melt and the Lee 4-20 pot.

They both drip.

The RCBS holds more lead.

The RCBS is bigger and takes up more room.

The RCBS has an on off switch, the lee doesn't.

The Lee melts lead much faster.

The RCBS has a better linkage for opening the spout.

So, I'll stick with the Lee 4-20 because it's cheaper and works just great.

Not much to be gained with the RCBS IMO.

[Shuz]

I've come to the conclusion that BP vs LP is a personal kinda thing. Sorta like Chevy vs Ford. Personally, I bottom pour because it seems easier for me, and it also lets me keep a layer of fresh Kitty Litter on top of the melt so that my melt won't oxidize. I also believe that more alloy solid contaminants float toward the surface and therefore away from the pouring spout and the boolits cast.

[shooter37]

If you intend to cast large caliber/weight boolits (45 cal 500 gr. etc.) go with a ladle and dip.
If you intend to cast pistol calibers, bottom pour. I'd stay with this suggestion even if you do both.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Hullo TORCHrider, I have the RCBS and the LEE 4-20, I would not pay the money for another RCBS. For your use with 4-6 cavity molds, I would bottom pour, way faster if you want a lot of boolits, quick. If you try both methods, you will make a decision soon and I bet it for the bottom pour. Some applications are better served with the ladle pour, big heavy boolit slugs as stated above are better served with a ladle. Try them both :redneck: :cbpour:

[fredj338]

I just don't see any point in ladle casting. I tried it decades ago & went right to a bottom pour pot. More convenient & repeatable for me, JMO.

[Shooter30-06]

I am in the minority but I prefer dipping. I started with a 10lb bottom pour but had constant problems keeping it open due to the buildup of lead oxide and other debris. With a dipping pot you simply scrape that stuff out with a problem.

[Bass Ackward]

I love bottom pour for everything with the following exceptions:

1. Bullets 400 grains or larger get the dipper.
2. Bullets 1" long or longer regardless of caliber and I go to the dipper.
3. All 22 caliber slugs get the dipper.

So for 90% of my molding, the bottom pour is a luxury I enjoy.

[AZ-Stew]

GLL pretty much covered it.

I started with a dipper because I couldn't afford an electric casting furnace. I melted my alloy in a pipe tobacco can (folded seams, rather than soldered, so it didn't leak) heated over the kitchen gas stove and used a Lyman dipper. First boolits were round ball and Minie for muzzle loaders. As I accumulated guns, I accumulated casting gear. I bought a Lee 10 lb bottom pour and never went back to the dipper. That pot is 35+ years old and still works, but I've recently acquired an RCBS. I also have a Lee 20# pot, but I don't use it since the "incident". I was stirring the alloy in it one afternoon and bumped the valve rod. The rod jumped up and landed on the bottom of the pot. Since the spout is swaged into a hole in the bottom of the pot, there is a ridge around it that prevented me from using the stirring spoon to guide the valve rod back into the spout. You'd be surprised how fast a 20# pot can empty when the valve is wide open. Fortunately, I have a number of ingot moulds. I hectically went through my bench drawers, grabbing all the ingot moulds and swapping them out under the open spout. I was able to catch all the alloy, with little of it going onto the bench top. I'd have kept using the pot, but when the same thing happened a couple hours later, I immediately retired the Lee and ordered the RCBS. Call me clumsy if you will, but two rapid pot drainings in one day were enough for me. I'm lucky I didn't end up wearing any of the melt.

In addition to better (safer?) construction, the RCBS has better temperature control. The Lee pots will have temp swings of 50 degrees or more, while the RCBS stays within 15-20. It's better, but as others have said, it's also more expensive. I'm not bragging on my RCBS or trying to sell you one, just reporting my experience.

Regards,

Stew

[XWrench3]

if you want to mold a bunch, ANYTHING, and EVERYTHING you can do to speed things up is worthwhile. casting is not necessarily a speedy afair to begin with. bottom pour, in my opinion, is the ONLY way to go. i have tried casting from a ladel, it is not for me. much easier to move the mold, than try and hold the ladel and move it across the mold, or even worse, try to hold both of them in your hands and try to pour. get a 20 pound bottom pour, and never look back! unless, you can find a larger one!

[OLPDon]

I have 2 RCBS Pro's one is for pure lead and the other is Lyman #2 mix. If I had to do it all over again I would do it all over again. The RCBS pour great and they don't leak. I stack ingots atop the furnice to pre heat them after I place the moulds I intend to use ( I use more then one mould at a time. I can cast good boolits from .17 cal to 14 ounce fishing sinkers.

They get a work out also although not much over the past year. If you can come up with the $$$ I would recomend RCBS
Don

[Daddyfixit]

I started with dipper and like you feared got a bottom pour a week later! GO FOR THE BOTTOM POUR! I use a 20 year old LEE & still going.

[TORCHrider]

Thanks for all the great feedback guys. At $60 I couldn't resist getting the Lee 20# bottom pour. If it doesnt't work well I will sell it later and get an RCBS. I just love new hobbies.
:bigsmyl2:

[Willbird]

MY dad passed in 1986, but he always said "you cannot get GOOD bullets from the bottom pour". I have never worked up an extremely accurate rifle load and explored his theory (but I will pretty soon here). I will say I was casting some LEE 480 pistol bullets the other day in nearly pure lead from the bottom....the mold was not "working" yet.....and I went to the ladle just for giggles...and with the same pot temp and mold temp the ladle bullets filled out perfectly....back to the bottom and it took more time and mold heat to get that working.

[geargnasher]

I'm with Bass except I don't cast .22s yet.

Gear

[Dale53]

I have cast everything from .22 - .45/90. You can cast perfectly good (for high levels of competition) bullets EITHER with a ladle OR bottom pour. You just have to learn how with each. This is not an opinion, it is a fact. I'm sorry for you good people that believe otherwise - you are just deluding yourself.

I happen to prefer bottom pour, others prefer ladle casting. That's fine, just don't try to give bad information to newbies - that's NOT good karma...

FWIW
Dale53

[DLCTEX]

I was loading some 22 Hornet this week and was going to test loads for accuracy, so I weighed the sized, lubed, and gaschecked 225438 and Bator boolits that I cast a while back. I was surprised at how consistent the weights were. After weighing about a double handfull from each type I had not found one that varied even .1 gr., so I quit weighing as it was a waste of time. These were poured from a Lee 10# pot and ran the moulds hot and fast. I did visually inspect when sizing/checking and rejected a few blims, maybe a half dozen from about 300 of each. I preheat the moulds and then dump a few back into the pot to get the temp right. Alloy was WW. I also cast 45 cal boolits including RD 460-340 and 460-420 (I think those numbers are right) with very good results with the same pot. Each to his own.