Picked up some casting equipment

[TANSTAAFL]

All those suggestions are point on and if casting only one alloy will work great.

My problem is I cast several different alloys, so drain the pot down after each casting session. Maybe I just need to get more Lee pots, as the current one is starting to get around forty years old.

 

[gene mosier]

hi sharp shooter, i have a lee production pot 4. it works pritty good except for the drips. to help this i wraped some sheet lead around the handle rod for more down preasure on plug. the only thing i don't like is trying to scrape the sides when i flux with rod in the way. i had to remove the internal rod and plug the hole with a ballbearing and go with a ladle to pour large 530 grain,45/70 slugs. the internal hole is too small to fill the mold fast enough. if your casting 58 cal. you should have no problem with the bottom pour. i pour my bullets & round balls at around 850 degrees. i use any kind of lead i can get my hands on-sewer pipe,lead flashing. if you can mark it with your fingernail,it's soft enough to shoot in a muzzleloader,so i'm told. good luck and enjoy your new pot, i think you will like it.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

I did notice that the rod gets in the way when trying to flux but I can deal with it. So far I have not had any drips. I have had it plug up though. Im sure it will work fine.

Thanks

 

[BrownBear]

It's good gear, if kinda fiddly. It works well enough for me casting muzzleloading fodder that I haven't been inclined to go back to a $400-500 model. I used a Saeco furnace and gang molds for close to 30 years before it died. I shot a mountain of cast bullet rifle loads and 10 years of competitive handgun, shooting a minimum of 1000 rounds a week and something like 50,000 rounds a year. If I was still feeding hungry handguns there's no way I'd put up with the fiddly Lee. But when I'm casting 500 RBs every few months, it's just dandy.

 

[MSW]

BrownBear's point is well taken... the Saeco is great gear (had a friend who let me help, but that was long ago and far away) I looked into one, but the sticker shock was more than a bit off- putting.

 

[BobKrohn]

Drips.
I put a small aluminum pie tin under spout and dump accumulation back into pot as it builds up. There is enough room on mine to get the mold (mould?) in no problem.
When drip get too bad and won't respond any more to wire poking, I drain pot and scrape inside.
Will try the added weight on arm idea next time too.

Question:
Would polishing nozzle/stopper help slow down accumulation of crud there??

 

[paulvallandigham]

Yes, polishing the tapered rod(pin) will help stop crud from attaching to its surfaces, and clogging the spout. Polish both the rod, and the spout hold for best results. If you don't pour lead on a frequent basis, the pot should be emptied ANNUALLY for maintenance, and at the time, you will want to inspect the rod and the spout for any rust, or crud, or pin hole created by the rust in these places, and polish the surfaces to remove them if possible. The smoother the two surfaces are, the easier it is to sluff off any crud that passes over the surfaces.

 

[rkmeyer]

What Stumpkiller said. It has worked for me for longer than than I
want to remember.
Dusty :wink: