I am fairly new to casting, and need to buy a furnace. I mainly just cast a few hundred bullets a year for my brother's .44-40 with a double cavity iron mold. May eventually buy a Lee. My question is what are the pro's and con's of a bottom pour furnace? I cannot decide which one I really need. Any feedback would be appreciated. If this has already been on another thread, please forgive me.

i love my lee production pot with the pour spout on the bottom....... it's a 10 lb pot but 10 lbs is a lot of lead when i am casting 150 gr. 357 swcs. i'd suggest the bottom spout pot.........


LIFE IS SHORT.................

There are generally a few problems with bottom pouring that you should be aware of. First, unless you lap the valve, almost all of them drip, sometimes quite a bit. Secondly, mold fill-out can be a problem as well. However, I have one mold that won't fill out when using a dipper, but does just fine when I use the bottom-pour feature of my Lee furnace. Lastly, as dippers are inexpensive and Lee, Lyman and RCBS furnaces can be used either way, why not try each method to see which yields better results?

I started casting with a bottom-pour pot about 20 years ago, and will never go to ladle pouring. Yes, from time to time the valve will drip, but proper fluxing takes care of that, because most often, the culprit is some sort of debris between the pin and the opening.
And I have had very little trouble with filling out a bullet. If you pour an adequate sprue, you won't either. The few times I have had bullets fail to fill out, the problem was either too cold an alloy, or too small an opening in the sprue plate. (And IMHO, some of the SAECO moulds have way too small a sprue hole.)

For a few hundred a year, you are probably better off with a ladle. The Lyman or RCBS will do you fine for a two cavity mould. If you move up to a six cavity mould, you'll want one of the Rowell ladles so one ladle full will do all six cavities. Scrounge a heat source, a cast iron or steel saucepan about 4 to 6 cup size, and you're good to go.

If you do break down and buy a bottom pour furnace, get the Lee 20 pound one. It leaks a lot less than the 10 pounder and holds temperature better. The extra capacity comes in handy, too.

I have the Lee bottom pour(dribble master) I just keep an ingot mold underneath the spout and drop it back in the top occasionally. It really isn't a problem at all. It makes casting much faster and easier for me. I learned on a ladle, but the bottom pour is it for me. When my Lee dribbles it's last dribble, I'll get another one.

Thanks guys!

It just comes down to picking a technique to learn, and sticking with it until you are preficient with it. I started with a bottom pour and learned to make good bullets with it. I'm sure a ladle would do just the same.

I like to cast as fast as possible, and believe the bottom pour may be a bit faster.

Rifle- Ladle. Better consistancy on weight. I fought ladle casting for years. A friend tried to tell me it was the best thing since sliced bread for rifle bullets. You know- he was right.

Pistol. Bottom pour for volume. The slight variations in weight (as compared to ladle casting) don't matter and won't be noticed in pistols.

Just my 2 cents worth.

catmandu

Decades ago the Handloader Magazine printed an article that compared a bottom draining furnace to castings done with a ladle. Done by comparing production and visual acceptance rates from several moulds, the bottom draining furnace won ever comparison. More bullets and better bullets. Think that that article was reprinted in their Art of Bullet Casting.

jnemmers,
Most 20 pound bottom pour pots have enough room to allow you to use a ladle if the need arises. Some 10 pound bottom pour pots also have room for a ladle. The Lee 10 pound bottom pour is one that does not -- I would stay away from it. Get a 20 pound pot and use the bottom pour or a ladle as the spirit moves you.

I prefer an RCBS ladle with a drilled-out orifice, especially for wheelweight, and especially for big bore bullets. Some bottom pour pots do not have enough flow for some applications, and again, the Lee 10 pound pot is the worst of the bunch.

As Doubless pointed out, the hole in some sprue plates is too small, and the same can be said of the hole in some pouring devices. Flow is a good thing when you are casting wheelweight.

Lee does make some good products. That said, I would not have one of their lead pots. I have two old model Lyman bottom pour pots. (10lb size). One is cirra 1970 the other was given to me a few years ago and is an even older version. They have worked out great for my bullet casting. Soft lead/tin mix in one and wheel weight metal in the other. Look around, you may be able to fine a good used pot on one of the on line auctions. Casting bullets is about good cheap shooting, save your self some money and find a used pot.

Hog Killer

quote:

Originally posted by Paul Brasky:
There are generally a few problems with bottom pouring that you should be aware of. First, unless you lap the valve, almost all of them drip, sometimes quite a bit. Secondly, mold fill-out can be a problem as well. However, I have one mold that won't fill out when using a dipper, but does just fine when I use the bottom-pour feature of my Lee furnace. Lastly, as dippers are inexpensive and Lee, Lyman and RCBS furnaces can be used either way, why not try each method to see which yields better results?

I

I have an old Lyman Bottom pour lead pot ( about 1972) and I would like to lap the rod and valve. any advise. Also my Lee is dripping only a thin stream of lead. I have cleaned the pot but the valve sits on an angle. Any suggestions? Thanks Marlin

Marlin,
dunno about the Lyman, but the best thing to do with a 10 lb. Lee is remove the rod and plug the orifice, turning it into a ladle-only pot.

Popenmann thanks for the Reply. I finally called up LEE and talked to a live person. He advised me that the orifice is only 0.078 in. in dia. He suggested using a .22 Cal cleaning brush. Too thick, didn`t work. Heated up the pot (empty) and used a wire 0.062 in.got the crud out. My Lyman pot has an opening of .125in. now. I drilled out the orifice.Marlin

Lee's are notorius drippers, fortunately a shooting buddy has loaned me his Saeco bottom pour, and it is a good 10# bottom pour.

As far as accuracy of bottom pour being inferior, I dunno. Perhaps for benchrest or super long range work you might see a difference, but those guys usually use special nose pour molds as well.

I have no problem casting bullets with a bottom pour from straight ww's that with only a quick visual inspection will consistantly shoot 2 moa groups. I even pull off the occasional 1 moa group with them, and thats from both rifles and handguns.

I like to produce bullets as fast as possible, and running a bottom pour pot aids in that, as well as running two molds so that one cools while your emptying/filling the other one.

If you are splitting hairs here, the bottom pours have a tendency to force unwanted air bubbles into the mould as you pour. The slower ladle pour has proven to me to cast a more consistant bullet. When casting for my own use, I will always use a large, bottom pour ladle.
But then again. . . . what do I know. . . . .