Dumb new guy question about melting lead.

[smoke1]

So I'm a dumb new guy at this. I've decided ot take up casting because .577 bullets ain't cheap. My question is how much pot do I need? I don't plan to cast tons of bullets at once but I also don't want to buy something so small it is frustrating to try to cast more than a few at a time.

I see some all in one set ups on ebay. Is that better to start or is a pot with a separate heat source better?

This will be set up on a fairly permanent basis in my reloading/shop area.

EDIT> I only plan to case for the .577 and round balls at this point.

Thanks!

[P Flados]

The most common starter choices are probably the Lee 10# bottom pour and the Lee 20# bottom pour.

The 10# pot will do fine for small batches. It will do Ok for higher production but is not optimum.

My Lee 10# pot that I bought in the 1970s died about a year ago and I upgraded to the 20# pot. The 20# pot is a lot nicer in several way and I feel that it is worth the difference. However, the 10# will certainly do the job.

I recommend that you click on the Titan Reloading link at the top of this page when you are shopping for Lee products. There might be a few places where you can save a buck or two, but you will not get much better service than Titan and you will be supporting an outfit that supports this forum.

Edit: OK, I just went and confirmed my suspicion. Titan is out of stock. Good luck finding a reasonable priced pot. When the craziness is over, check out Titan when you are shopping for Lee stuff.

[Bazoo]

For cheap you can do a single burner propane camp stove and a pot. Aluminum is not safe to use, but stainless or steel or cast iron is all fine. Cast being best. Lyman or RCBS cast iron melting pot will suffice but a larger one is better. I've used this setup, but for ease and cost I moved to an electric melter. A Lee magnum melter is what I have currently.

[smoke1]

The most common starter choices are probably the Lee 10# bottom pour and the Lee 20# bottom pour.

The 10# pot will do fine for small batches. It will do Ok for higher production but is not optimum.

My Lee 10# pot that I bought in the 1970s died about a year ago and I upgraded to the 20# pot. The 20# pot is a lot nicer in several way and I feel that it is worth the difference. However, the 10# will certainly do the job.

I recommend that you click on the Titan Reloading link at the top of this page when you are shopping for Lee products. There might be a few places where you can save a buck or two, but you will not get much better service than Titan and you will be supporting an outfit that supports this forum.

Edit: OK, I just went and confirmed my suspicion. Titan is out of stock. Good luck finding a reasonable priced pot. When the craziness is over, check out Titan when you are shopping for Lee stuff.

Yeah the gun world has gone sideways. I will check them out regularly until they get stock in. Thanks for the tip.

[smoke1]

For cheap you can do a single burner propane camp stove and a pot. Aluminum is not safe to use, but stainless or steel or cast iron is all fine. Cast being best. Lyman or RCBS cast iron melting pot will suffice but a larger one is better. I've used this setup, but for ease and cost I moved to an electric melter. A Lee magnum melter is what I have currently.

Propane and burners I have. Can I just use a fry pan and a dipper?

[Walks]

If the pan is CAST IRON.
Lyman dipper is best. Especially if you are using a shallow frying pan. Use a FULL dipper each time. Those 58cal bullets take a lot of lead.

[Bazoo]

Yes you can use a frying pan. I used a 6" cast iron pan for a while. Trick is with that, keep it mostly full. Make sure it's never used for food again.

I have a couple broken small air compressors that have small tanks. I have ideas to turn the ends into melting pots. If you have access to something like that and the skills to do it, might be an option for you.

For that matter, you could likely use the lower half of an empty 1 pound propane cylinder once the top half has been "vented".

[MrWolf]

There are threads on cutting a propane tank to make a pot. I did one myself and was not hard, just make sure all the propane is out of the tank. I found free ones at local place that refilled propane tanks as folks would bring in tanks with old fittings and they charged $5 to leave it there. He offered all I wanted. I also heard about taking one of those free old fitting tanks and using a propane swap place to get a refilled one with new fittings but that is only a rumor I am repeating... Good luck.

[GhostHawk]

A I cast for decades with a 7" cast frying pan and a heat source and a lymon dipper.

B Many here prefer bottom pour pots. It is quick and easy. They also leak, drip, cause problems.

C Eventually once I discovered this site and got back into casting more I found a lee Dipper pot for sale used here, reasonable.
Only a 4 lb pot, but enough to see if it was going to work. It let me move my casting out of momma's kitchen into a dedicated casting area. Steel table, concrete floor.

D From there I graduated to the Lee Magnum Melter. It is a dipper only pot, but holds 20 lbs of alloy. Much longer casting sessions, especially for the large bore large weight cast boolits. Also keep your eyes open for a good cheap 2 burner electric hot plate for prewarming your molds while the pot is melting. Makes life much simpler.

E I suspect you will find for larger bullets that pressure casting with a ladle with a nipple will work better than bottom pour.
At this point you need to try as many things as you can. Then invest in what works for you.

I cast for decades on wood fires, camp stoves, kitchen gas stoves, it all worked.

IF you are smelting down wheel weights, you'll want to do that outside. Turkey fryer and a big cast iron pot from walmart.

I hope this gives you things to think about. And is some help. Its your life, your time and money. You decide what works for you.

[farmbif]

ive been using a 3 quart cast iron pot, a 12" dutch oven pot, a Lyman dipper and a lee 10# bottom pour pot for decades, does everything that needs to get done.
ive used a few different burners including a turkey fryer and Coleman stove w propane adapter

[smoke1]

Well, I've got plenty of propane and at least one Coleman stove around here. I would think that a propane set up would be outdoor or very well ventilated area set up.

[smoke1]

There are threads on cutting a propane tank to make a pot. I did one myself and was not hard, just make sure all the propane is out of the tank. I found free ones at local place that refilled propane tanks as folks would bring in tanks with old fittings and they charged $5 to leave it there. He offered all I wanted. I also heard about taking one of those free old fitting tanks and using a propane swap place to get a refilled one with new fittings but that is only a rumor I am repeating... Good luck.

A good buddie of mine runs the local branch of a regional welding supply business. Empty tanks, welders and plasma cutters are not a problem.

[1Hawkeye]

I would suggest a Lee 20 pound bottom pour pot with Lee molds for the round balls and a Lyman 575213os mold for the minnies. Back in the day I was casting minnies with a Lee 10 pound pot and it always seemed just when I hit my stride it was time to refill the pot. The cost difference between 10 and 20 pound pots is about 10 bucks and well worth the extra money.

[smoke1]

Would one of those electric single burner hot plates get a small pot hot enough?

[1Hawkeye]

No I think they max out at about 500 degrees and you'll need at least 700-750 degrees.

[smoke1]

No I think they max out at about 500 degrees and you'll need at least 700-750 degrees.

Thanks. Looks like propane is the answer.

[Old School Big Bore]

The ten-dollar single kitchen-gadget aisle hotplate will melt a two-quart cast iron pot full of alloy, but not hot enough to flux it nor cast from. The camping type propane stove will do the job, but it's minimal, and if you use camping cannisters rather than a larger tank it will get expensive. Before I could afford a turkey fryer base for smelting large-volume alloying jobs, I welded up a stand from an industrial-engine clutch spacer disc, some angle iron and a section of tubing, with a salvaged water-heater burner. It put out as much heat as my current turkey fryer setup. I used a cut-off refrigerant tank with one edge beaten into a spout shape and two rebar loop handles welded to it, and later found a half-inch thick, domed steel pressure vessel end about 12" across and 10" deep. It takes longer to heat up, but boy does it work on WWs, pipe, etc. I also made up a structural steel ladle for filling ingot molds out of the big smelting pot. There are great benefits to being around oilfield/industrial workshops. I grew up in my late Dad's engine shop, and was welding and fabricating brackets for power unit skids by age twelve. The point is, the larger smelting-type rigs will work for casting with the larger pots.
Be careful with your cast iron pieces, some cheaply made pots will crystallize if you've put too much heat to them. You don't want sixty or eighty pounds of melt to suddenly escape a cracked vessel.
Good welding gloves and eye-pro are a must, as well as heavy, non-synthetic clothing, and if you're gonna work on a deck that needs to look nice after you've cleaned up, a sheet of expendable plywood and some leftover tile squares will protect it. That also works on concrete slabs, as the heat of a spatter can steam-pop flakes of concrete loose and get you in the doghouse with SWMBO.
Be careful and good luck with your casting.
Ed <><

[wv109323]

I would get the biggest pot that I could heat and maintain temp. If store bought get a 20 lb. Over the 10 lb.
I find with small pots you need to add lead more frequently. It takes longer than you expect for the lead to get back up to the correct temp. after cold lead is added. When lead is added and you wait for the lead to reach temp. , your mold gets cold. So I like to get lead and mold at correct temp. and cast a lot.
When you need to add lead you catch a break, put your mold on a hot plate and wait till lead is correct temp. cast a second round if needed.

[RogerDat]

My vote is Lyman dipper ladle and Lee Magnum 20# pot. Can do anything one needs to cast. Has the option of holding mold over pot and pouring some extra lead along the side of the mold to add heat. A nice bottom pour is faster but not sure how much and that speed advantage goes out the window if you have to fiddle with it leaking or have to clean up a drip mess.

Hot plate will work, buy one that is 700 watt or more, plain soft lead will be a challenge to melt in a cold garage over a hot plate unless the wattage is fairly high. The older spiral coil design hot plate tends to have a rheostat control so burner maintains heat by controlling the amount of current. The newer style with metal tops use a thermostat switch to cycle on and off. That cycling doesn't work as well with molten lead as the constant output of the older coil hot plates.

I have cast with a dipper out of a cast iron or stainless steel pot from Salvation Army. The handle is a key factor for that equipment. No bakelite or plastic. No single small screw through handle into pot. Stainless steel I bought and have seen fairly often have two rivets hold the handle on. I have a small cast iron with a single 7/16 inch threaded bolt coming out of it for the metal tube handle to screw onto the pot. Heck just don't trust handles to move a pot of molten lead adjust the position a bit but don't try to move it from burner to say an ingot mold to pour from the pot.

Even though the temperature of a pot of molten lead is not as hot as the temperature aluminum melts at the aluminum gets softer with the heat required to melt lead and the weight of the molten lead is a lot of pressure on that soft aluminum so you don't want aluminum pot. Not unheard of for the aluminum pot to bulge out or sag and if it lets go big mess and if your feet or legs are down below it... yeah boots with socks and jeans are a good idea no matter what but one hates to find out exactly how much protection they provide.

If you plan on melting scrap lead that you scrounge from scrap yards or berms then you need to melt that cruddy lead in a pot separate from your casting bullets pot. The crud from scrap lead will clog a bottom pour and make a mess on the sides of the pot that then ends up in your bullets.

Starting with a hot plate also leaves you with a hot plate to use to pre-heat molds or ingots with when you get an actual lead melter. You never want to drop a cold ingot into the pot, need to heat it up so it is bone dry and warm. Same for a ladle, or mold. Any moisture going under the molten lead expands with explosive force. Cold lead or ladle will get a brief bit of condensation as it approaches the hot lead. You will need to change your shorts if you stick a ladle into a pot and there is a loud thump and you find yourself dealing with recoil from a ladle. Aside from the possible geyser of molten lead. That reminds me lid for pot is a nice touch.

[MrWolf]

A good buddie of mine runs the local branch of a regional welding supply business. Empty tanks, welders and plasma cutters are not a problem.

Once empty a Sawzall cuts through like butter. Very easy to do and can do 100 lbs a time easily, properly supported of course. You buddy may even be able to cut one for you at work.