lee 10# bottom pour (HELP)

I have a lee 10# bottom pour pot it is making me want to pull my hair out.. I have lattel poured for a year or more with no problem. the Problem is i cant seem to get a good boolit.. my problem is thus. i get slag and divits in my boolits... i have tried to cast at lest 15 different times over the course of 6 months. i have fluxed with wax, bees wax, sawdust, borits. I have scraped the heck out of the bottom and sides time and time again. i have tried different temps, different alloys, different amounts in the pot. 5 different molds, Lee and Lyman. i have emptied the pot many times and cleaned it to a polish. i have melted the alloy in my lattel pot fluxed and then fluxed and scraped and cleaned. then put it in the other super clean pot, still no good. I'm ready to throw it in the air and shoot the thing with a shotgun.
I have to be missing something. any help would be great.

To be clear, the issue is you still have impurities in your lead even after fluxing?

What temp is your alloy ?
Have you tried a different alloy?
Have you added a bit of tin ?

Now
Is the mold up to temp ?
Is the mold new?
Is the mold clean?
& how many cavitys?
Aluminum, brass or steel/iron mold ?


Do you inspect while casting , maybe the mold is koolin off a bit between pours .
Sawdust does a better job of fluxing than any you`ve mentioned.

Ok , after rereadin the op I see some of my ?? are answered.

How does the stream look coming from the spout ??
straight or squiggly??

How much alloy ya got in the pot 1/2 full or topped off???

& WELCOME TO :cbpour:

Are you using a thermometer to track the heat of the alloy? The numbers on the lee pots are for refrence only they dont conform to any temp range. The bottom pour pots seem to have a slower pour than your ladle does also, making temp more important. Are you gravity filling or pressure filling? Not sure what the term divits refers to, wrinkles dips or craters? With the rod getting the pot fluxed can be tricky on some pots. Scrape sides and bottom completely and watch for oxidation. Some leave a layer of sawdust floating on the melt to slow oxidation. Have you tried "boiling" out the pot. Water and dish soap brought to boil with pots heater and allowed to boil for 10-15 mins. Place a pan capable of holding all the water if pot leaks under spout. Then dump and wipe out and dry good. Some persevatives smear and never get cleaned out other wise. Boiling with soap water lossens them and floats them to top water and soap keep them from readhearing.

Delete, you guys are just to quick for me.

I don't ladle out of mine, but I have not had that problem. I even smelted in it for a while before I got another setup for that. How are you measuring your temperature?

[QUOTE]I have lattel[QUOTE]
If by that you mean ladle, is it a bottom pour ladle? Like a RCBS or Lyman? Dipping alloy off the top of a pot with slag floating, then pouring out of the side of a ladle, WILL result in inclusions in your boolits. Inclusions can look like divots, voids, or fish eyes.

Why aren't you using the Lee pot as a bottom pour?

As usual, we only have ¼ of the info/details we need to quickly solve your problem(s). That's why we're guessing, asking questions.

i have temp at times 500 others 750 degrees. and anywhere between. i have a 10 lbs cast iron pot made to ladle from. i use the lee to bottom pour. i have melted and fluxed in the cast iron pot ladled some boolits and they come out great . then put the melted lead in the lee to bottom pour. and still the boolits come out crappy.

and some need to read my original post again i do say from one pot to the other.
and again i have tried different amount in the lee pot. also many different alloys. from WW+a dash of tin. to lino. to a couple different no.2 plus more.

as for the molds... lee makes aluminum, Lyman makes steel. (read the post)
yes there up to temp i have tried high and low.

the stream is straight and solid. and i have not boiled it i will try that thanks.

Hold on there....pardner! We're just trying to help you out!!!!!!!!

I cast THOUSANDS of boolits out of over 2 dozen molds out of 2 Lee 4-20 pots bottom pours and never have the problems you are seeing. Slag inclusions can mean only one thing....your feedstock is NOT 100% clean. If you made the ingots and did not flux 3x with sawdust, you probably have some gunk inside you ingots. Melt a few down again, reflux 3x and try it anew.

I have NEVER scrubbed out my Lee pots for years and I do not get gunk in my boolits because I KNOW my ingots are pure. If you bought them from someone else.........you have no idea what is in there.

Sounds like you can ladle OK.

Divots = dirt in lead
wrinkles = under temp mold and/or lead

There are thousands of Lee pots out there. Whatever is causing the problem is of your making, not the pot or it's design.

We are here to try to help. Please allow us to ask questions!

Welcome to the forum.

bangerjim

Thank you bangerjim... the last post was just to redirect the readers to there ?'s that have been answered.
I make my own ingots I have used sawdust before. I just use pine from when I work with wood in my shop. Is there another flavor I should try? And thanks again.

[QUOTE=snuffy;2762359][QUOTE]I have lattel

Quote:

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If by that you mean ladle, is it a bottom pour ladle? Like a RCBS or Lyman? Dipping alloy off the top of a pot with slag floating, then pouring out of the side of a ladle, WILL result in inclusions in your boolits. Inclusions can look like divots, voids, or fish eyes.

Why aren't you using the Lee pot as a bottom pour?

As usual, we only have ¼ of the info/details we need to quickly solve your problem(s). That's why we're guessing, asking questions.

---

Just a point snuffy: but the RCBS and Lyman lead dipper/ ladles are not bottom pour, the lead pours from the top of the bowl until you rotate it vertical.

Look at a Rowell with the tube going to the bottom of the bowl, or an old Babbitt ladle with the sectioned bowl to screen slag.

ajssimons, Welcome aboard. It sounds like you have getting the Lee clean down pat; but have you cleaned the nozzle or spout by running a drill bit or wire into it?

Robert

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ajssimons

Thank you bangerjim... the last post was just to redirect the readers to there ?'s that have been answered.
I make my own ingots I have used sawdust before. I just use pine from when I work with wood in my shop. Is there another flavor I should try? And thanks again.

---

The best stuff (if you can find it) is sappy pine. I had some wood I cut up in WY that is almost sticky with sap. Smelled great but was heck on saw blades! It works well. But honestly, any carbon-based life form will work!!!!! Some guys even use old motor oil. I sure do not want to breathe the smoke from all that old engine crud + smelting crud. But whatever floats ur boat.

Many, if they do not have a wood shop, use the hamster bedding from WalMart. I have used alder, oak, pine, cherry, old dry leaves ("that before a wild hurricane, fly!"), sticks, candle wax, mahogany, walnut (although some are allergic).....you can see I cut a lot of different species of wood in my wood shop! I stir with whatever wooden stick I have handy.

Just avoid the "free-bee" dust scraps from big box lumberyards. That can have pressure-treated, flake board, particleboard in it and is not good for your lungs. Some people just insist on getting by on the cheap, but I do........only to a point!

Good luck in your quest for the perfect boolit! You will get there, my friend!

bangerjim

[QUOTE=Mk42gunner;2762789][QUOTE=snuffy;2762359]

Quote:

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I have lattel

Just a point snuffy: but the RCBS and Lyman lead dipper/ ladles are not bottom pour, the lead pours from the top of the bowl until you rotate it vertical.

Look at a Rowell with the tube going to the bottom of the bowl, or an old Babbitt ladle with the sectioned bowl to screen slag.

ajssimons, Welcome aboard. It sounds like you have getting the Lee clean down pat; but have you cleaned the nozzle or spout by running a drill bit or wire into it?

Robert

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My Lyman ladle is darn sure a bottom pour ladle. It pours from underthe surface of the lead. This allows the crud that's floating to stay on top.

ajssimons, now we have enough facts to help better. I suspect your molds are too cold. WW alloy at 700 degrees is plenty hot IF your molds are hot enough. Best way is to get a hotplate, rest the molds on it while the lead melts when starting up. Then cast fast until you start to see frosted boolits. Then slow down to get a gray shade on the boolit surface. Some call that a light frosted look. Then maintain that pace, keep making keepers!

Some in the past have added weight to wooden knob area (lever handle) to increase seating pressure.

Go back to the ladle! I use a tapered brass plug to seal the BP hole, problem solved. The ladle will keep crud out of the mold.

i guess i didn't flux enough with the right stuff. sappy pine did the trick more or less thank you to those who helped. and thank you for all the welcomes.