Casting? Lee Pot, Cleaning

[PDshooter]

For those of you who cast?
How often do you clean your casting pot? I've got a Lee, and it seems that after every casting. I have to do a compleat cleaning.
I melt W/W in a different pot, I flux , and it still the "Lee Pot will Drip, Drip.

Shoot, Shovel, Shut-up

 

[KP95DAO]

Do not let the lead get down to the top of the pour spout. Leave it with about 1/2" to 5/8" left in the bottom. I haven't cleaned since doing this and I use wheel weights and don't flux, though I do skim off the dross and mix the metal. My Lee does not drip.
Just cast up 750 180gr Lee 40 cal last night and lubrisized them the last two hours.

 

[JPM70535]

I use wheelweights that I have cast into 1 pound ingots. I melt these in my Lee production pot and flux prior to beginning casting. I dont think I ever cleaned my pot in between casts.

As far as I know, all Lee pots have a tendency to leak. I use a paper clip run up inside the spout while lifting the pour lever, (while the lead is still dripping) This seems to alleviate the problem for a while.Just be careful and wear gloves when you do this and have a metal container under the spout for the lead to drain into while you have the spout open.

Good luck

 

[braindead0]

Yikes, and use pliers to hold the paper clip...ecck..

I just let my 20# pot drip a bit...it doesn't really hurt anything AFAIK

 

[Poodleshooter]

Put your ingot mould underneath the spout. I never really empty my ProPot. It leaks like crazy at re-heat, but leaving an ingot mold underneath solves that issue.
While we're on the subject of Lee ProPots, what heat settings do you guys use? Anyone use a thermometer?

 

[KP95DAO]

I leave it at highest until the mold gets hot then I back off to around 6. This is with wheel weights. Using a lino mixture I turn it up a bit. Also this is with 6 cavity Lee molds.

 

[PDshooter]

I cast at high temps! the hotter the better! I use a Lyman thermoneter anywhere from 750f to 850f with W/W

 

[JPM70535]

Ditto lowering the temperature dial to between 5.5 and 6 after the lead melts. Seems like at that setting the castings are shiny, not frosted, and the molds fill out completely

I forget to add the part about holding the paper clip with pliers, thought that was a given.

 

[Frohickey]

Where is a good place to get lead pots/furnaces?
Do you recommend the electric ones, or the gas/propane ones?
How about for reducing wheelweights/used bullets back into ingots?
Whats a good price for a lead pot/furnace?

 

[Steve Smith]

Where is a good place to get lead pots/furnaces?

Midway

Do you recommend the electric ones, or the gas/propane ones?

Electric works great for the actual cast pot. I use an old propane grill for reduction from WW to lead ingots. That and a big old cookpot, that is.

How about for reducing wheelweights/used bullets back into ingots?

See above. For clean but goofed up bullets (warming molds or bullets with flashing) just toss them back in the clean lead pot.

Whats a good price for a lead pot/furnace?

El cheapo Lee electric is $43 http://www.midwayusa.com/rewriteaproduct/781020 And works well. The 4" model is $45.

 

[EchoSixMike]

Any problems with using a stainless steel cooking pot for mixing alloy lead and making ingots? I have a load(200#) of pure lead that I'm going to alloy 10:1 and 20:1 with tin(for handguns and BP respectively) and I need a pot to use with my propane burner. Heard a rumor that SS was a problem with lead, and that you should use cast iron. Need to find out one way or the other. S/F...Ken M

 

[Steve Smith]

I have been using cast iron just because that's what I found at the thrift store.

 

[Poodleshooter]

Lodge cast iron deep skillet. $8 at your local walmart. Made in TN,BTW,for those who hate foreigners. It was cheaper than anything at my local Salvation Army store!
I'd like to find the "cornbread" model skillet with wedge shaped dividers. It might make a decent ingot mold,too.

 

[EchoSixMike]

Great, but I need to know if the SS pot I already have will work? If it sucks, then I will go to Wal mart and buy their one American made product, but I'd prefer not to if I can get away with it. S/F...Ken M

 

[Frohickey]

Most of what is in Walmart is made in China.

Part of me says to buy the least expensive since that is how capitalism works. A low skilled worker in China can make cast iron pots cheaper than a high skilled worker in the USA. This allows the high skilled worker to be used to make better stuff than what the Chinese can make, and this makes more money for the US, than the Chicoms.

Another part of me says to buy American because buying ChiCom goods means that its more money going into ChiCom military that we will end up having to fight against in the future.

 

[PDshooter]

Frohickey?
I wish that were true! The skilled American worker is unemployed! the factory he used to work at is now "CLOSED" and moved overseas.
Or in the case of PRK all the illegals are now living here And the "Dems" welcome them with "Open-Arms"


Shoot,Shovel,Shut-up!

 

[EchoSixMike]

Hey guys, what about the SS pot? I'm runnign out of time here. I have 150lbs of pure lead, and I just hooked up with a 5gal full of wheel weights. Time to start smelting, I'd rather not FUBAR something up full of 650 degree lead. S/F...Ken M

 

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

Pure Lead

Find a black powder shooter to sell your pure lead to as it is not worth messing with because you have to mix it with Linotype to make it suitable for pistol bullets wereas tire weights are ideal for most pistol bullets.

Sell the pure lead and buy a LOT more wheel weights with the money.

I have a bunch of lino bars, solder ingots and tin ingots but hate to use them on pure lead.

Some people are lucky to be able to obtain good things as pure lead is rare nowadays.

John Paul

 

[PDshooter]

S/S pot wouldn't hurt anything! I use W/W for my bullets, and just a touch of tin.
You could use a WWII "Old steel pot" melt lead if you had too! What matters is how clean your lead is.

 

[EchoSixMike]

Well Paul, the pure lead is getting cut with tin at 10:1 and 20:1, as needed. The Lyman manual I'm using lists 10:1 at 11.5 Brinnel, 20:1 at 10 Brinnel and W/W at 9 Brinnel. 50/50 lino/lead is rated at 15BHN and linotype is 22BHN.

I have cast some bullets using a rather sloppy alloy of healthy amount of tin, trace amounts of antimony and pure lead and had good results using RCBS Keith 250 SWC in 44mag using 21.0 of 2400, as well as 9.0 of Unique. Fired a bunch off the other day with no problems with leading, so I'm going to standardize on a couple specific alloys, smelt a couple hundred pounds into ingots and then go with a known quantity from then on.

I'm using the 20:1 for my 45/70 and BP loads for Trapdoors, as well as some other low pressure stuff.

The 10:1 is probably going to be my main pistol alloy until I use up this pure lead and tin I have lying about, then it'll be wheel weights, water quenched. I don't really enjoy fluxing the bejesus out of the pot so I'll stick to my nice virgin lead/tin for as long as I have it, thanks.

I'll probably keep 5 or 10lbs of pure lead around for the soft point bullets covered in this monthes issue of Handloader, it seems like an interesting technique.

I'll probably get some linotype for the same reasons, as well as for serious solids. S/F...Ken M

 

[Steve Smith]

Ken, I don't know the answer but I know where to find it, and reasonably fast.

Go to shooters.com click "talk" on the left, go to Cast Bullets, and post a thread there. Those guys are casting gurus. They'll give you an answer quick!

 

[EchoSixMike]

Too late Steve, I already started melting down the wheel weights. Seems to work OK, I now have 21 approx 5 lb ingots setting out in the garage, and plans to do more tomorrow. The SS cook ware had no problems. I do need to get a better mold though, but I'll tough it out with this one until I'm done. Those clips are a real PITA, but free is free.

Anyone know how hard WW bullets are after water quenching? S/F...Ken M

 

[PDshooter]

Looking at a book that I bought way back. "Jacketed Performance With Cast Bullets" By Veral Smith Pg.54 Hot mold, Water dropped with W/W 20-35 bhn aged 24hrs

 

[JPM70535]

In answer to your request for a different ingot mold.
At our local flea market, I found a cast iron cornbread baking pan. It has six ear of corn shapes cast into the pan. Each one fills out with lead at approx 3/4 lb. IIRC they cost less than $5.00 each and the long slender shape makes them ideal for dropping into your lead pot. A friend of mine bought 2 of them and says they work just fine, His only complaint is that the half round shape doesn't stack too well for storage.

Happy casting!!

 

[Steve Smith]

I dont' doubt Veral's word but fost folks who have used tester have found 18-21 water dropped. I haven't tested mine, but my practices are the same as those who have that I know of. I have a link for a BHN tester here somwhere...I'l get it later.