Lead casting, flux, temp, etc

[Old-Duckman]

I did a search and found answers to most of my questions but a couple remain.

I have molds, lead and just ordered a Lee bottom pouring melter. Read some posts it seems that 800 F is a good starting point. I don’t have one of those thermometers that look like a meat thermometer but I do have a laser thermometer. Has anyone used one of those with success?

Flux: some say that if using a bottom pour that fluxing is unnecessary…yes or no. Flux used: seems that paraffin, beeswax and sawdust seem to be the top 3 choices. Any votes for any of those 3 and why or why not?

Some leave unpoured lead in the melting pot but hang a weight on the handle so that the cooling metal doesn’t keep the valve open when you go to melt again. Others empty the melter when done casting. Once again, pluses a minuses for either way.

TIA

 

[Rifleman1776]

800 degrees is a bit high, try about 750. But, don't fret numbers, results are what count. Easy casting and smooth balls are what you are wanting. I have a Lee bottom pour pot but use a Lyman dipper. Lee bottom pour pot valves have a tendency to clog up and cause problems. But, some say Lee pots don't drip. Mine drips.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

With a Lee pot turn the heat control all the way up and leave it there: no thermometer needed.

 

[VA Hawken]

When I started back as a teenager in the 70s, all I had for casting was a Coleman stove and a large ladle which served as the lead pot, along with a Lyman dipper. Never had the slightest clue about temperature, nor did I have anything as exotic as a thermometer. The biggest issue was getting and keeping the mold hot enough to cast smooth round balls, generally, I left a corner of the mold resting into the ladle to keep it up to temp.

Now I've got a Lee bottom pour electric pot, and while convenient, it has its quirks, but it still takes a few passes to get the mold up to proper temp. As Rifleman1776 said, results are what counts.

 

[bang]

800 a tad high unless you are casting large projectiles like mini.
Soot the mold and place it on top of pot while it's heating up. Keep it hot.
Flux regardless. IMO getting the trash out is good.
Leaving lead in the pot keeps the corrosion from eating the pot.
I opened the spout on mine to a #40 (.098) for faster pouring. Also added a spring to hold the handle down to help stop seeping. It very much helps when casting large projectiles.
And use pure lead.

 

[poker]

I have a lee bottom pour and have never used flux, I just skim the dross as needed. Also, I don’t worry about emptying it every time, nor hang any weights from the handle. I have to run a few balls through the mold and right back into the pot, until it gets hot enough to do a nice job.

 

[Freedom]

With a Lee pot turn the heat control know all the way up and leave it there: no thermometer needed.

DO NOT DO THIS
Lead vapor will begin to form around 800F degrees. This vapor is a very bad thing, and easily avoided.

Dials on the Lee pots are completely useless for determining temperature, there's no uniformity from one pot to the next.

Often wrinkles are caused from oil in the cavity so clean your mold cavity spotless with Qtips and acetone.
As a coincidence, wrinkles do often go away with an overheated mold....Because the oil burns off and the wrinkles go away. The root cause is not temperature related.

Lube pins, plate, and hinge very lightly with 2-stroke oil.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I've had 2 20# Lee pots since the late '80's, and this has worked well for me. I do not flux my lead or oil my molds at all, though I am careful to keep them in a clean condition. I use a gloved hand to swing the sprue plate: no hammer or handle to swing it open. I also use a dipper. There are those who will quote numbers about lead fumes so I suggest you check your numbers there, but for lead to vaporize it has to boil which I have been told does not happen below 1200 F.

 

[Nazgul58]

I have Lee pots and for the price you can't beat them. They can drip, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on how to turn the rod. I put my pots in a cookie tray that will hold the entire contents if it empties. Just for safety.
It is not necessary to turn it all the way up, way to hot. All of mine run best at about 3/4 on the knob. It shows 700 degrees give or take. The bullets fill out fine and are not so hot that you have to stop casting when the mold gets too hot. You will quickly find a happy medium.

Don

 

[EC121]

My Lee pot leaks but I just put an ingot mold under it and let it drip. When the pile gets too high, I pick up the drip pile with pliers and put it back in the pot. A metal pie pan would work, but I already had the ingot mold.
To stop the pot from dripping while heating up, I bent a hacksaw blade into a C shape with a straight section on the bottom and put it from the pot top rim to the spout with the straight section on the spout. This cools the spout and stops the drips while warming up the pot.
Lee's manual says to empty the pot but leave about 1/4" of lead in the bottom.

 

[LST-1185]

I just use a dial thermometer and maintain a temperature between 750 to 800. Haven't tried a laser thermometer, although I do have one, I recall that it doesn't work well with shining objects. As for flux I start off with using a toilet wax ring that is cut up and melted in a steel dog food can. Just a little bit in a well vented area and skim the dross off. Then I applie pine shavings, that I get from Walmart, on top of the melt. I just leave the shavings there and add more as needed. Again in a well ventilated area. At the end of the day I just leave any remaining lead in my Lee #20 pot.

 

[CapPopper]

Can't say about the pot but fluxing is mostly to clean the lead or keep an alloy properly mixed. I haven't seen any benefit to fluxing clean pure lead but i do flux wheel weights when casting for modern guns. Couldn't say on temp either but regardless you want a well ventilated area. Clean hot Molds are very important and I have yet to truly frost a pure lead projectile. Another big thing is to make sure you keep moisture (sweat,water,soda) away from the melt. Sure a drop of water may just get you a little pop but very much will turn it into a confetti shower. A lot of it is just doing it till you get it down.. that and more consistent pours with a consistent period of time between them will oddly enough result in more consistent projectiles. If you are going to be pouring any big Conicals you really need to crank them out. The faster you can fill the mold the better and the faster you start the next pour the better. There is nothing wrong with frosted bullets if you do get the mold that hot.

 

[Rifleman1776]

wrinkles do often go away with an overheated mold....Because the oil burns off and the wrinkles go away. The root cause is not temperature related.

Well.........yes.......no.........kinda. With properly high heat and heated mould the wrinkles do go away. However, as you approach too much heat the cast balls will begin showing a frosty appearance. I heat to where that frosty business starts then turn down the dial just a skootch and that brings me to where I want to be. I don't believe oil has anything to do with it as oils burn off at much lower than casting temps.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I pour at 750 and try to keep the temp from variation as the weight of the projectile will change with temp changes. Probably only important where extreme accuracy is important. I cast for three different schuetzen rifles and it makes a big difference.

 

[52Bore]

I learned to cast with a ladle and by looking at the quality of the bullet (wrinkles) and the color of the surface on my pot - if it starts turning yellow/gold , adjust the temperature down slightly. A big pot helps and I use old GG bullets that I have dropped on the floor to flux.
My pure lead pot holds 50#, so I can easily cast 100- 500 grain bullets without effect.
Good luck

 

[JB Books]

I'm curious how trappers, mtn men, long hunters who cast over a campfire judged lead and mold temp to avoid substandad balls. And did they Flux and with what? Leaving out soldiers who received through a supply chain of I assume commercially produced balls of perfection.

 

[Travis186]

I'm curious how trappers, mtn men, long hunters who cast over a campfire judged lead and mold temp to avoid substandad balls. And did they Flux and with what? Leaving out soldiers who received through a supply chain of I assume commercially produced balls of perfection.

I would imagine dropping a small amount of lead in a ladle and melting it by placing the ladle in some hot coals produced lead hot enough, fast enough, to make wrinkles a non-issue. Speculation though.

 

[hanshi]

I started casting lead ball in the 1960s and by the early 70s I was using a Lee bottom pour pot. I kinda wore it out and sent it back to Lee and it looked brand new when I got it back. I finally got two and wore one totally out. I only have one now and like always I don't flux but turn the heat knob all the way up. I may get back into ladle pouring for at least some calibers.

 

[Redlemur60]

I'm curious how trappers, mtn men, long hunters who cast over a campfire judged lead and mold temp to avoid substandad balls. And did they Flux and with what? Leaving out soldiers who received through a supply chain of I assume commercially produced balls of perfection.

They just didnt worry bout it!

 

[Old-Duckman]

Probably melted the lead in the same pot that they later cooked their stew in.