For you casters a ?

[fyrfyter43]

Only recently have ladles been offered that can be easily used with a left hand. Traditional ladles could only be handled with the right hand efficiently. I got turned off of them very early on.

I don't know how you've made it 62 years on this rock if you let something as relatively minor as being left-handed be such a handicap.

I'm also left-handed, but I don't let it hold me back. I've learned to adapt to living in a right-handed world.

 

[fyrfyter43]

My comment was to Texcl. I don't care if you or anyone prefers to use a dipper.

Apparently texcl also prefers casting with a ladle. Here's what he said about his bottom-pour pot.

I had so many problems with the nozzle clogging I started using my little Lee furnace and a ladle. I like the set up alot better, though it would be nice to have about 2x the capacity

Kinda goes hand-in-hand with my earlier comments about preferring to have a bigger pot for my style of casting.

Apparently the original poster is going to be ladle casting, so texcl and I both offered our advice that he would be better served by the bigger pot that he was considering. I don't think anybody asked for advice on fixing their bottom-pour pot.

 

[fyrfyter43]

To be honest, Paul, I (and I'm sure I speak for others, as evidenced by some past posts) have had enough of your condescending, holier-than-thou, know-it-all attitude. Good bye!

 

[Sharp Shooter]

You wont regret going with the bigger pot.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I am glad you have a choice now of a bigger, wider mouth pot, and an ambidextrous dipper. Take care. :hatsoff:

 

[fyrfyter43]

Ol Ephraim,

Here's a example why I would prefer a bigger pot than the 10# that I have.

This morning I went upstairs to cast some ball for my cap & ball revolver (.454). I started casting around 9:45. By 11:00 the lead was so low in the pot that I couldn't get enough in the ladle to fill both cavities in the mold. Here are a couple of pics of the fruits of that hour and 15 minute casting session.

These pics were taken before I sorted the balls and before I added any of the sprues back into the melt.

When I sorted the balls, 9 were wrinkled and had to go back into the melt. There were 217 usable balls. So at 141 grains per ball, I made usable balls out of nearly 4.4# of the roughly 9# I started out with. There was probably 1.5 - 2# left in the bottom of the pot when I stopped casting...the rest was sprues and the 9 bad balls that I returned to the melt.

Once I returned the sprues to the pot, I had to call it a morning, since it takes about 1/2 hour for the lead to come back up to temp, and I only had an hour until I had to leave to pick my daughter up. A bigger pot would have had enough lead in it that I could have continued casting for that hour.

With as often as I shoot, those 217 balls will last me no more than 2-3 weeks. I would have much preferred to get 450-500 balls out of this casting session, but it just can't happen with this small pot.

 

[R.M.]

My sprue's and culled balls go right back in the pot. It seems to make the pot last longer without waiting for a new batch to melt.

 

[paulvallandigham]

You make this too easy.

4 consecutive responses from 6.54 PM. to 7:24 P.M. With an edit at 7:19 P.M.

You weld up the hole in your bottom pour pot, then show us a picture and complain About not being able to get those last 2 lbs. of lead out of the pot with your dipper???

I would suggest that you take R.M.'s advice, but I don't want you firing shots at him, Too! So, I will simply concur with R.M. by suggesting that you put the sprues back in the pot as you are going along, and that will extend your casting time.

I learned to pour my "feeder " lead for my pot by making grooves with a finger in the flower bed, then letting the ground dry before pouring the "sticks", they were/are about 3/8-1/2" in width, and about 8 inches long. I can stick them into a pot that is half filled with molten lead, and they melt down much quicker than If I put in larger chunks. That gets me back up to Temperature, and casting again. To clear the pot at the end of a casting session, I simply pour the remaining lead into molds held under the pot, after turning off the machine. I occasionally get a bit of lead sitting on one side of the bottom or the other, but it weighs less than the sprues I add to the pot. When everything is cooled down, I upend the pot, SAFELY, NOW, and dump the bits of lead onto the top of the molded lead pieces.

To start a cast, I first melt a couple of my thin sticks, then begin adding the one and two pound ingots. The melted lead helps speed the heating of the ingots to melt them.

Like you, I don't know many people who enjoy sitting around waiting for lead to melt.

Good luck to you. :thumbsup:

 

[fyrfyter43]

You weld up the hole in your bottom pour pot, then show us a picture and complain About not being able to get those last 2 lbs. of lead out of the pot with your dipper???

I wasn't complaining about it at all. I was stating fact. My post was directed at Ol Ephraim (the original poster) to illustrate WHY I recommend the larger of the 2 pots he asked about.

That's much more than you've done to help the original poster with his decision. In fact, I think it's safe to say that "you don't have a dog in this fight", as you cast using a bottom pour pot. The original poster is interested in pots for ladle casting.

My casting technique works quite well for me, thank you very much. I think that's well evidenced by the fact that I was able to cast 217 good balls in an hour and a quarter, with 9 more being culled because of wrinkles.

The ONLY thing I would change is the size pot I am using.

 

[Otter]

I have both a Lee !0# pot and a Lee 20# pot. I use the 20# pot more than the 10 pounder. I used the bottom pour function at first then switched to ladle pour. IMHO, I just seem to get fewer "culls" with the ladle. The ladle seems to fill the mold faster, but I pour mostly .530's, .575's and 500+ grain BPCR bullets. I also drop the sprues from the just cast projectiles back into the pot right away, before they cool off too much. In summary, the 20# pot just lets me cast more lead before having to "recharge" it. By the time it needs to have more ingots added, I need a break anyhow.