Getting Started with Bullet Casting

Adam Have you ever cast a boolit???

... Easy as fallin off a log huh??

...WTH....get a ten cavity then....its just as easy and much faster.
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I go through about 600-700 cast bullets a month. I make a few more than that so I can always have them on hand.

The point dahermit was making is the 10 pound pot will run out of lead too fast. Filling a 6 cavity mold, especially a 200 grainer, will drain the pot in a few minutes, then you have to add lead and wait for at LEAST 15 minutes for it to reach casting temp again. By then the mold has cooled, so it has to be re-heated.
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I guess we look at this in a different way. In my mind there is a finite amount of bullets that can be made from 10 lbs of molten lead. Whether I use a 2 cavity or a 6 cavity mold I'm still getting the same amount of bullets. The difference is time saved. I use a burner on my gas stove to preheat my mold so after 2 or 3 batches of rejects I'm ready to roll. The choice is between spending more time casting the exact same number of bullets or filling my pot back up with WW's and going off and doing something else reloading related with my time saved.
 
I guess we look at this in a different way.
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Yes we DO! It's not possible to get a full ten pounds in a lee 10 pounder. Working capacity is really only 8 pounds. THEN, you can't use all 8 pounds of it, if it gets past ½ full, it won't make good bullets. reason is flow rate, it slows down when there's less lead in it. Simple physics.

Also. a lee pot tends to increase temp with less than full pots, it always climbs in heat towards the bottom. The temp control is just under the knob on top, it really only senses the air inside the tower behind the actual melting pot. This means the heating element that is below the mid-line of the pot has less lead to heat, hence the higher temp. Temp fluctuations are one reason for poor bullet consistency.

This all means you can really only cast maybe 200 45 200 grain bullets before you have to stop to refill the pot. Keeping the mold hot while waiting for the lead to reach casting temp, is a good idea. It should be ready to go when the lead reaches casting temp. I use a cheap walgreens hot plate for that.

So whether you do those 200 bullets with 32 casts with a 6 banger, or just under a hundred casts with a 2 cav, you'll still have to wait for the lead to melt.

A 20 pound pot really only holds 18 pounds, but you can see it will cast a lot more before you have to re-fill. Or you can pre-heat ingots on the hot plate, and on top the pot, so the recovery time is much less.
 
10#vs.20#

first off $$ issues just a few more bucks ya got twice the capacity !!

Then with the 10#er `bout the time ya get warmed up & going you`ll be out of alloy & have to start all over.

I know I own both !
 
Yes we DO! It's not possible to get a full ten pounds in a lee 10 pounder. Working capacity is really only 8 pounds. THEN, you can't use all 8 pounds of it, if it gets past ½ full, it won't make good bullets. reason is flow rate, it slows down when there's less lead in it. Simple physics.
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I don't use a Lee pot. I don't use a bottom pour pot.

Also. a lee pot tends to increase temp with less than full pots, it always climbs in heat towards the bottom. The temp control is just under the knob on top, it really only senses the air inside the tower behind the actual melting pot. This means the heating element that is below the mid-line of the pot has less lead to heat, hence the higher temp. Temp fluctuations are one reason for poor bullet consistency.
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I don't use a Lee pot.

This all means you can really only cast maybe 200 45 200 grain bullets before you have to stop to refill the pot. Keeping the mold hot while waiting for the lead to reach casting temp, is a good idea. It should be ready to go when the lead reaches casting temp. I use a cheap walgreens hot plate for that.
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I don't cast 200 gr bullets.

So whether you do those 200 bullets with 32 casts with a 6 banger, or just under a hundred casts with a 2 cav, you'll still have to wait for the lead to melt.
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32 vs 96 is exactly the point I am trying to make. All for $40 more. Waiting for lead to melt is poor time management and something you are assuming I am doing. What I am actually doing is depriming brass, priming brass, resizing bullets from previous batches, organizing and cleaning.

Lesson: Reading is fundamental. Assumptions are not.
 
I'll be checking out from this thread as well. Every point that I was trying to make to the OP has been made.

Snuffy: The time saving concept of 32 vs 96 is the only point I have been trying to make. If you want to debate a point with someone it helps if you don't to this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
 
I've used a Lyman 10# pot for since 1969 or 1970, and it's served me well. I just took delivery on a Lee 20# bottom pour two weeks ago.

I think I'm going to like it a lot better. I think the metal temperature will remain constant longer (bigger is better? :eek:) it allows me to cast for a longer period of time before stopping to throw sprues and bad boolits back in the pot. By that point, I'm usually ready to take a break for a few minutes anyway.

The point about allowing the level to drop below half is correct. The temps will change (noted on my thermometer during casting) as the level approaches the 1/2 full level. If this is true of the 10# as well, then you really only are getting to use 2 or 3# of metal before everything starts to change. With the 20#, you probably can cast 8 or 9# before needing to be concerned.

I'm also not sure I'd recommend a 6-cavity as a "first mold". It can work, but in my experience, it's a LOT easier getting a single or double cavity to produce good bullets from every hole, every time. My recommendation would be to start with one of those, then "graduate" up to a multiple cavity (4 or 6).
As usual, this is just my opinion... take it for what it's worth. :)
 
look at the end product. buy top of the line once and you are done for a lifetime of casting. i buy lyman i molds, botom pour pot ans luber. i now have some 25 or 30 molds and have been casting for 50 years. cjs
 
Hmmm. I started out on 2 cav moulds and have 3 or 4 6 cav moulds now. I didn't sell off my 2 cav moulds and I wont let noobs operate my 6 cav moulds. They are slightly more delicate than thier smaller steel counterparts.
 
All of you must be very young. I started with what was available...single cavity Lyman's (no such thing as Lee or RCBS molds then), dipping from a plumber's pot on the kitchen gas stove.
 
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