Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Casting issue today

Just got a Lee 6 cavity mold for 45 cal 200 grain SWCs and tried it out today. I am using a Lee 20 lb pot with the bottom pour. I was not getting good flow from the spout and was unable to get good bullets. Very shiny and not filled out. On a whim, I tried a ladle (Lee) and once I got the hang of pouring from the ladle, the bullets came out great. I had previously cleaned out the pot so it was fresh when I melted this batch. I probably failed to clean out the spout area. I drained out all the lead after I was done so that I can get a look at the spout area.

Is there a better ladle to use other than the Lee? And is there a trick to cleaning out the spout area on the pot? I was really getting frustrated until I tried the ladle.

I've never liked a bottom pour, too much aggravation as you've discovered.

Ladle pour is just better all the way around, as you've also discovered.

I can't think of a single reason for me to ever go back to a bottom pour.

Take a paper clip, straighten it out , bend about 1/2" of the end and push it into the spout and wiggle it around. Have something underneath to catch the flowing lead.

Clean your lead and skim BEFORE putting in a down pour pot!

Hip

Thanks,

I should mention that I am using hardball lead from Rotometal. I am using wood shavings (maple) that I get from my planer to flux the lead.

Whats the cheapest route for a heat source to melt range lead or wheel weights? I have some cast iron pots/pans to use, but the old Coleman stoves don't get hot enough.

For melting in a pot, which is how I’ve cast since the ‘70’s…..I’ve found electric heat (as in kitchen stove) to bee the most consistent, even heat!

I finally got an old, used stove and put out in the pole barn for my casting! Though, I suspect that a single element cook top will work just as well! memtb

A turkey fryer will get plenty hot for cleaning alloy and making ingots and they are relatively cheap.

It can get TOO hot, so a casting thermometer is a good way to ensure of keeping everything mixed and keeping dross formation down.

Rotometals also sells Rowell ladles, which further keep only clean metal going into the ingot mold or bullet mold.

I've used several bottom pour pots (and ladle cast as well) and have had good results with all except the LEE.

A bottom pour pot, as has been noted, work best with clean alloy going in at all time. Really large bullets may fill out better if the pot is always more than half full.
Unfortunately the LEE pot you have has the least effective leverage for spout shutoff and uses pretty soft steels in the spout and pin; a paperclip edge would scratch it, so be careful. I would try rubbing some paraffin or a candle (with the spout open) on the spout first before using metal. Dont burn yourself!
The flux will flow up the spout and release whatever is sticking, if that's the issue.

Could a small brass wire brush be used to clean the spout area, without any damage? memtb

If its really bad, emptying it and tearing it down and cleaning it up with brass or brass wool would be an option.

Another method is to empty it, let it cool of and fill it with water, let it boil and empty the water through the spout.
Re season with paraffin or light oil at low temp.

Thanks! While I may never get a bottom pour…..it never hurts to learn new things! memtb

The best thing for them is preventative maintenance.

Don't throw excessively dirty alloy in them, scrape and flux after you add anything and try not to run them dry; basically keep any grit or dross from the pin and seat.

Rubbing a candle on the spout while open every so often helps too.

Hawk, thanks, great info. I will have time tomorrow to clean out the pot, and will check out Rotometal for the ladles.

Here is a possible choice for your range lead melt down.

I do my initial rendering and casting with a turkey fryer burner and an old cast dutch oven pot from the flea market....

You can crank it up to render, and it's easier to manage your cast temp with a larger quantity in the pot. IMHO...

I do most of my initial melting (notice I didn't say "smelting", I'm not rendering raw ore) outdoors in a large cast iron pot on an open fire. Social fires on the patio can kill two birds with one stone: kibitzing with friends and ingotizing lead.

I'm a dedicated bottom pour furnace guy. I use two: an ancient Lyman and a newer RCBS. What I refuse to use is a Lee. Couldn't rightly tell you where my old ladle is right now. Volume in the pot plays a role in weight consistency, as does mould filling protocols, and each mould is different as to what those protocols are.

Edit: I'll let the level in the pot draw down when casting pistol bullets. I'm not as concerned about dead nuts consistent bullets for backyard steel plate/beer can/pine cone/walnut plinking as I am with rifle bullets headed for group shooting/match shooting.

To melt the RAW lead and make into ingots I used a COLEMAN stove (YOU GOTTA PUMP THE CRAP OUTA IT!) The lead I would put in and old hub cap (steel-not aluminum) as it has a lot of surface area.

Worked great!

Hip

P.S. Probably hard to find a steel hub cap anymore!

Thats how I process my wheelweight metal.

The turkey fryer and a large Dutch oven or pan makes short work of bulk processing; but these days its best to go slow and low with the prominence of zinc weights out there.

Thats why a thermometer, something I used to NEVER use, gets used every time now.
No alloy is rendered useless before its too late and when ladle casting it eliminates excessive dross formation and the need for constant fluxing.

Got the pot cleaned out. Took out the metal rod that acts as the plunger/stop and cleaned that up with fine steel wool. Heated up the nozzle with a propane torch and ran some bees wax through it with a pipe cleaner. I need to get more lead before I cast again, but I have enough bullets to get me by for a little bit.

I've used a Coleman stove with good results. It has to be burning right; a nice bright blue flame. Sometimes I use a Mapp-gas torch standing on the floor and stick an old plumber's ladle in between drawers on my tool box to hold it proper distance from flame. I have a steel hubcap center that has a Ford oval stamped in the middle. Makes cool looking lead cookies.

My Gramps used Model T Ford hubcaps as ingot molds for leftover Babbit metal and lead scraps. (Note Model T hubcaps were a lot smaller than "modern" hubcaps - they only subtended the axle hub.) I have some of those ingots he made with the "Ford" script in them and could never bring myself to melt them down. I also have some Model T hubcaps that I suspect he may have used for that purpose, but that's conjecture because he was a Ford mechanic from 1920-1960 and had tons of that kind of stuff.

I believe my ladle is a Lyman. To answer your question ANY ladle is better than a Lee. I only ladle pour after about 12 years now.
Good Luck,
Rick

Rick, I don’t cast near as much as I used to…..my Lyman ladle was bought around 1971/72! 🙂 memtb

Two burner gas hot plate has been my heat source for the past fifty years. I have several cast iron lead pots. My old Lyman and newer Lee bottom pour pots have been unused since about 2000. In my black powder days I used a Coleman stove and iron pot.
Have not cast since I moved to town in 2017 but am out of 30-30 bullets and have a few new moulds to try out.
I have two five gallon buckets of wheel weights down at the farm I need to melt down.

I picked up an inexpensive propane burner off Amazon. Also picked up 50 lbs of lead from the local scrap metal yard. Most of the lead was in the form of hockey puck sized ingots. I melted them down, fluxed with sawdust, and poured into an old corncob shaped cornbread mold. I am not sure but I think there may have been some zinc in there because I noticed some blueish colors on the surface and a small amount of what looked like oatmeal texture on the surface. Not experienced enough to know for sure.

I did a test pour on a batch of 158 gr 38/357 bullets and 200 gr 45 ACP bullets. The bullets filled out nicely and were at the correct weights. The 38/357 bullets had an average weight of 160.3 grains and the 45 acp bullets averaged 201.3 grains. Loaded up some of the 45 ACP bullets on top of W231 and they were as accurate as anything I have loaded up to this point.

so I am not sure if I am overthinking the zinc stuff.

Also, I had cleaned out the Lee bottom pour pot and it seemed to work fine this time with good flow. I emptied the pot after the test pour and ran some bees wax down the spout while the pot was still warm.

Never could get my Lee to flow right. I just picked up a ladle and forgot about it.

I use a Lee pot and I like it. Ins and outs have pretty well been covered. I do a couple things- increase flow adjustment as pot level goes down and have a second pot ready to pour into the pot I'm pouring from. Usually run thee molds- seems to be about the right amount of time to let sprues harden. And usually they're 6 cavity so the bullets pile up pretty fast. I'm an old farmer, used to doing what it takes. Mainly pay attention and figure it out.
I am wondering what brand pot would I like better?
Really like this forum- lots of good info/ ideas.

I use 2 different RCBS PRO MELTS for bottom pour pistol bullets a a Lee Magnum dipper pot with a pid controller for ladle poured bpcr ppb slugs. Works for me. Mb