Ladle/dipper Recommendation?

[randoma]

New caster trying to decide what to get for a ladle.. I realize that is a ridiculously open-ended question that is all based on user-preference, but needing to buy one mail-order and not finding much in the way of good pictures, I'm kind of at a loss for what to get!

Lee is clearly the cheapest, but Lyman and RCBS have ones that aren't much more..

At the present I just have a Lee 2-cav .45 caliber mold (on order) and a cast iron pot and hot plate for heating. So I'm looking for something suitable for a small budget!

[detox]

Both the Lyman and RCBS work well. I once broke my Lyman handle where it screws into cast iron dipper. I had to rethread then screw it back on. I never have owned the RCBS

[williamwaco]

Lyman and RCBS are minimal but are fine for a two cavity mold.

The Lee is a toy. If you buy it, you will eventually toss it for one of the others.


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[randoma]

Is there something you'd recommend other than those three?

Lyman and RCBS are minimal but are fine for a two cavity mold.

The Lee is a toy. If you buy it, you will eventually toss it for one of the others.


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[jmort]

I'd get the Lyman ladle

[bangerjim]

I use the Lee "spoon" for just that.............stirring and skimming my casting pots! That is about all it is worth.

I HIGHLY recommend the Lyman one. I have it and it works extremely well, keeping the pour clean since it pours from the bottom side. And it holds more than enough soup to fill a 2 cav 300gn 45 mold in one dip. Being CI it holds the heat very well.

I bought mine locally at Sportsman's Whorehouse.


banger

[country gent]

I have usedthe luman ladle for years with excellent results. It holds enough for bigrifle bullets and the spout allows for pressure casting the mold. ( I use all singe cavity olds for rifle bullets cast from 20-1 alloy) I have opened the spout up to .200 dia on my ladles. I tested a RCBS today for the first time. I worked very well and holds aout 1/2 again what the lyman does. It cast very good looking bullets from a Lyman 38 cal 335 grn postell mold, A 45 cal 535 grn postell, and a brooks adjustable 45 cal PP mold. total run was around 500 bullets in 5-6 hours. Rowel makes a very good ladle also buttheir smallest is a 1 lb capacity. Alot to be handling for extended lengths of time. I will be sorting and weighing bullets tomorow, so will know more then. My bullets are shot out to 500 yds over black powder. Either the lyman or rcbs would be a good choice. I also agree with williamwaco, The lee is a toy only allows for pouring ( cant pressure pour with te spout on it) is small capacity and short in length ( meaning your hand is closer to the hot lead). Pick up a stainless slotted serving spoon at the local wall Marts, krogeers, dollar general for fluxing and skimming. You dont really want that in the ladle your casting with.

[North_of_60]

I'm new to this as well. I decided on the Rowell bottom pour. Just came yesterday form Rotometals.

Attachment 85252

Attachment 85251

[randoma]

In practice, how much difference does a bottom pour ladle make? Also, could I just make a ladle out of mild steel (rather than cast iron)? I'm assuming the main thing is to have some mass so it doesn't cool too much while you're pouring.

[bangerjim]

In practice, how much difference does a bottom pour ladle make? Also, could I just make a ladle out of mild steel (rather than cast iron)? I'm assuming the main thing is to have some mass so it doesn't cool too much while you're pouring.

The Lyman unit cost me about $30.....much cheaper than wasting hours of you time trying to cobble together something that is available commercially, a proven performer, and is designed exactly for the job you are doing! Quality tools = quality work.

But only you can put a value on you time! Mine is worth $180/hour!

banger

[detox]

The Lyman and RCBS are designed to pressure fill. You tilt mould then put the ladle spout into sprue plate opening then pour. You can also pour away from sprue plate opening, but fill may not be as good because of less pressure (especially at base of boolit).

Dip deep into pot to prevent getting top level slag into dipper. Slag is #1 cause of voids. When ladle casting, flux about every 30 boolits to prevent heavy dross/slag build up on ladle and surface of melt.

Candle wax will work as flux. Drop in wax then stir pot until vortex swirl forms. Stir until wax stops smoking then skim off residue.

Remember that each mould is different and some will require different alloy temps for each. I have one that likes 700 degrees melt temperature and another that likes 800 for perfect fillout of boolit. Buy a casting thermometer and take notes

I preheat my moulds using propane torch...about 150 degrees is a good starting point for mould. I check temp with cheap infra red thermometer.

I once ladle casted only until I got good at using my RCBS Pro Melt bottom pour pot. I can produce same results with eather. You will also have to flux less often using bottom pour.

[randoma]

Thanks for the very informative answer, Detox.

Is candle wax any better/worse than sawdust for flux? I have lots of sawdust, not so many candles...

I have a non-contact infra-red thermometer, with a max temp reading of 1000F - is that acceptable to taking temperatures or is the surface going to be significantly cooler than the rest of the pot? (I'm assuming it isn't since you have both)

Bangerjim - the Lyman is only $21 shipped at Amazon, but I have a little machineshop and part of the fun is seeing what I can make. And yes, on many occasions, I've spent hours just to make something that I could buy for less than half what I spent in materials.. Here's an example:

Roller Stand

Sometimes the journey is it's own reward.

[bangerjim]

Thanks for the very informative answer, Detox.

Is candle wax any better/worse than sawdust for flux? I have lots of sawdust, not so many candles...

I have a non-contact infra-red thermometer, with a max temp reading of 1000F - is that acceptable to taking temperatures or is the surface going to be significantly cooler than the rest of the pot? (I'm assuming it isn't since you have both)

Bangerjim - the Lyman is only $21 shipped at Amazon, but I have a little machineshop and part of the fun is seeing what I can make. And yes, on many occasions, I've spent hours just to make something that I could buy for less than half what I spent in materials.. Here's an example:

Roller Stand

Sometimes the journey is it's own reward.

It may be that price. I don't keep trac of what things cost. If I want it...I just buy it when I see it.

An IR thermometer will NOT work for molten lead temps. 1) it does not read shiny surface well and 2) if it did, it is only reading the temp on the top surface. You want to read the temp down in the pot where the heating element is. I have 2 of them.

It will read the INSIDES of your pot because they are NOT shiny! But that again is not the real temp you want.

I know what you mean about making things. I have a large and very complete machine and wood shop and sometimes catch myself designing things in my head that I know I can make in hours and hours, yet I can buy commercially for a small investment! In my younger years, I did a lot of that making almost everything. Now as the old clock on the shelf runs down, I buy what I want.

More power to you!

banger

[Mk42gunner]

I like the RCBS dipper or ladle, it has a fin on the bottom that is handy for clearing a spot to get clean alloy from. I try to never get slag/scum/oxidized stuff into the ladle.

Robert

[dikman]

Randoma, a fellow club member has a Lyman dipper, and I thought the design looked very good. Unfortunately, they are expensive here in Oz, and shipping on them can cost almost as much again if bought overseas! So I made my own from mild steel plate for the sides, a piece of 1 1/2" pipe with a segment cut out and high temp silver soldered the sides onto the pipe. I turned a nozzle down on the lathe and silver soldered that to the pipe, welded a nut to the side and made a handle from steel rod, screwed into the nut. It works pretty well, and has cast a lot of balls, but there is one minor problem with using steel (as opposed to cast iron) - the lead tends to stick, even though it's hot, and occasionally clogs the nozzle. I solved it by buying an RCBS Pro-Melt (yes, I know, it would have been cheaper to buy the Lyman ladle).

If the Lyman is only $21 shipped, then buy it. That's great value!

[randoma]

Dikman - thanks for the caveat regarding steel.

[williamwaco]

Is there something you'd recommend other than those three?

See:

http://www.rotometals.com/Ladles-for-Casting-s/8.htm

http://www.theantimonyman.com/ladles.htm

These are very popular.

I personally use the Lyman but I only use it on two cavity molds. It will not adequately fill a six cavity.

[detox]

Your infrared thermometer is perfect for checking mould temp. Some of my moulds reach as high as 280 degrees and some as low as 150 , but never over 300 degrees. When you find the sweet spot make a note of it then pre heat to that temp before next casting.

Sawdust works good for ladle casting. I keep sawdust away from my bottom pour pot

[bhn22]

I ended up with an RCBS ladle after going through a number of Lymans over the centuries. The one I ended up with has the square back, and the "rudder" of course, and has been changed over for left-hand use. It came that way, before this one, I had to drill a hole in the opposite side of the bowl, and run the handle through the hole and into the threads on the other side. It worked, but reduced capacity a bit. I also have a 1 lb Rowell ladle that I bought for pouring ingots. It works great for ingots, but not so great for bullets. The extra capacity pouring over the mold overheats the mold pretty quickly, plus it really doesn't pressure cast balky molds well at all.

[randoma]

Sawdust works good for ladle casting. I keep sawdust away from my bottom pour pot

Why is that? Also, is candle wax different from paraffin wax (like for canning)?