Very Old Saeco Melting Pot: Help and Advice

[Phlier]

And forget the welders gloves. Go to Costco and get a pack of 3 pair leather gloves for ~$20. Provide all the insulation you need, unless you get really attached to a particular boolit and hang on to it, admiring your handiwork. You'll only do that once. Makes picking up the sprue to dump back in the pot easier than bulky welders gloves.
And most folks find that they have best results with the 9 sizing their boolits .357/.358 - as large as will reliably chamber in the weapon.
And the SAECO is a great pot - I have a couple, and they are better-made than the equivalent Lyman.

Great suggestions, thank you. And yet another new guy question... If I'm casting at .356, will a Lee .357 or .358 sizer swage the bullet hard enough to increase the diameter of the bullet, or will I need to get a new mold that will cast at say .358?

That just like my pot. Always leave some lead in the bottom, if not full. And I always turn the thermostat to zero/ off when I unplug it. Don't know if helps/hurts it, just something I do.
You should be able put it in your will when, you pass on to where you can cast in gold!!!!!

Dad left it completely empty, so I'm going to clean the inside of it, then I'll leave alloy in it from then on. Thanks for the tip.

As for casting in gold in the next life, where I'm going, I'll just be happy if they have #2 alloy...

[jeepyj]

A sizer will not generally increase the boolit diameter. You'll to save more more money and pick up another mould for those 38s. That's the best part of this hobby is you can keep spending to save. HaHa

[Phlier]

A sizer will not generally increase the boolit diameter. You'll to save more more money and pick up another mould for those 38s. That's the best part of this hobby is you can keep spending to save. HaHa

Darn it, I kinda suspected that was the case. So yup, I'll be needing to buy another mold right off the bat. I haven't even received my .356 six cavity mold from Midway yet. Ah well, I'll probably just hang on to that one anyway.

I probably should've just come here and asked for some advice prior to purchasing that mold. Better late than never... Think I'll start a new thread asking for mold suggestions.

[45workhorse]

Great suggestions, thank you. And yet another new guy question... If I'm casting at .356, will a Lee .357 or .358 sizer swage the bullet hard enough to increase the diameter of the bullet, or will I need to get a new mold that will cast at say .358?



Dad left it completely empty, so I'm going to clean the inside of it, then I'll leave alloy in it from then on. Thanks for the tip.

As for casting in gold in the next life, where I'm going, I'll just be happy if they have #2 alloy...

Amen to that

[skeettx]

BUT each gun is different, cast some bullets, size them with what you have, load a few, see if they will chamber well, shoot a few
and see if they are accurate or go sideways.
THEN you will know
Mike

[Phlier]

Will do, Mike, thanks.

[Bent Ramrod]

You can always "Beagle" your mould to increase the diameter of your castings a little. There's a Sticky on the process somewhere around here.

[Phlier]

You can always "Beagle" your mould to increase the diameter of your castings a little. There's a Sticky on the process somewhere around here.

I'll look around for that, thanks!

[Eddie Southgate]

I would take that pot over any other that was ever on the market . I inherited from my grandfather the Saeco 24 that I learned to cast with and had it stole by a dope head along with most of my 310 stuff and Tru Line Jr press . It has taken me 25 or so years to replace most of what was stole from the shop but I just about have it all now. I just got the Saeco pot replaced two weeks ago and it felt like a lost child had come home. I got a Lee production pot , biggest Lyman and RCBS pots and I still prefer the Saeco.

[robertsm53]

I would like to get the info on repair parts /heating element as well. I have 2 of these and one is out of service due to the heating element burned up and the thermostat control burned out. Any info on parts and repairing would be greatly appreciated.