First cast

[Tonycalves]

Grabbed a Lee 4 20 pot, MP 5.55 34gr and MP 6.35 in 8 cavity and a .358 96gr. 4 cavity. Cleaned the Molds and smoked'm and started with the 358 and ran almost 100 but was getting flow issues. So only 33 good 1s. Then switched to 5.55 and had much better luck with them.

Realized I need to keep a piece of tie wire 14ga to clear the clogs. I was messing with the heat thinking that would fix flow. 

Upset I waited this long to get into casting. I've had access to scrap lead for the last ten years. It's pure lead used as a filler to fill voids on super heavy lifts 4000000 lbs or under bridge bearing. I have about 90# still.

[Insanity]

Something about playing with molten lead is calming and fun.

[triggertreat]

Good deal!  I have the same pot.  Eventually you will get to the point that it is pointless to weigh them all as they will be within 1gr weight of each other.  It took me awhile to learn all the tricks to achieve this.

If you have spout issues, I recommend placing some scrap material like wood scraps on both sides of the pot to help the spout temp out.  Typically, the spout is too cold if it clogs up even if the pot temp is hot enough to melt lead.  Also make sure there is no wind blowing on the spout.  Another thing is not to use sawdust to clean the lead.

735° to 750° are good temps to use I found for the best results, but the spout has to be protected when running that low.  Lead likes to shrink when cooled when you go up to say 850°.  I did build a PID controller for mine to help keep the pot temps stable.  I would recommend to not add any scrap lead back into the pot until you come to a stopping point and can add all the cuts back in and take a break while doing so.  Pot temp will increase as the lead supply drops, so take frequent breaks to stabilize or think about building a PID controller for it.  There are some great YT videos on how to make one.

[Tonycalves]

I was surprised it is relatively relaxing.

Keith I was thinking about the pid mod. The re adding the imperfects back thing makes so much sense now that you say it. Thanks for the pointers.

I'm gonna keep messing with it and melt all the sheet rolled lead into little bars. I'm sure thats gonna be good practice.

[Insanity]

When I throw my spru cuts and rejects back in I take a break. I hand cast so it's not the same but some can apply. I put my ladle in the lead and my mold over it and let it come to temp the I take the mold off and ladle out give it a vigorous stir and skim. This saves me the hotplate to keep the mold and pins hot and eliminates a extra burn point.

[BSJ]

I use a rimmed baking sheet under my pot

Easy clean up and good backup if the spout decides to stick open or won't seal during warm-up...

[Bob Pratl]

I was surprised it is relatively relaxing.
I'm gonna keep messing with it and melt all the sheet rolled lead into little bars. I'm sure that's gonna be good practice.

Just a suggestion, instead of casting in little bars, use a thrift shop mini cup cake pan and cast little ingots.
When adding small ingots to the melt there will be less temperature variations compared to a larger ingot.
I'm sure that you noticed when casting your .358's that the melt lever drops quickly.

[Greg_E]

Even pouring a few sprues back in lowers the temperature drastically, I've watched my thermometer when I do this. Now I wait until I have a few ounces of rejects and sprues, then dump them in and take a small break. With only a couple of ounces, you can see more than 200 degrees drop. So a half pound cupcake ingot would be a big deal. Even the little candy molds would be enough to cause an issue, even if you are heating them on the side with a hot plate.

[Bob Pratl]

My pot will drop 10-15 degrees F, as read on the PID, when adding 2ea 1"x3/8" ingots and
it takes ~3 minutes to recover. It gives me time to rest re-heat the mold. The thermocouple
is screwed into a weld plate, on the bottom of the pot, next to the spout.

[Greg_E]

I need to look up PID mods, just normal swings are 20 to 40 degrees on my 4 20 pot.

if someone wants to start a thread on mods to melting pots, I'd appreciate the quick study.

[scion19801]

sounds good greg. my 10 and 20 pounders both used with pid controller

[triggertreat]

I'll run many casts until the spout no longer produces the same amount of flow.  I will adjust the spout flow a bit about midpoint to extend my casting time.  I want each mold to fill at the same temperature.  Different flows produce different results as the spout temp and flow rate changes.  I will also alternate mold fills back to front and front to back, so the mold temp keeps up from front to back on a 4 to 5 cavity aluminum mold as they cool rather quickly.  When I stop, I refill to the top leaving enough room to clean the lead without spilling over.  This way I start out will a good 35 lbs. of clean lead to work with and an even spout flow, and I don't have to disturb the seal created on top of the lead as often, which keeps the oxidation to a minimum.  So, with this the PID cannot keep up and this is a good time to take a break while the PID gets the temps back up.  I use sheet lead rolled up enough to fit inside the pot.  This takes a while to be able to start casting again.

I know some will say this is a bit overkill, but I am going for weights that are within 1 grain or less of each other, so I don't have to sort so much.  Plus, why not.  I am also casting to get away from the flaws that come with commercial tins.  This is why I started casting, plus to save on some coins with projectiles.  Casting is definitely relaxing, and I enjoy it about as much as shooting.  It's a new challenge to experience.  I cast a .25 cal pellet and HP slug along with a .30 cal pellet and two different .357 HP slugs.  I will not be casting for my .22 cal.  Those are just too small to work with and not worth it to me.  Plus, those tins come in 500 counts which is good enough as I don't shoot .22 cal much.

There was a good point brought up about the ladle and laying it on top of the lead to heat up.  You have to watch out for steam being stirred in below the protective top skim layer.  Any condensation or sweat stirred in below the skim line can be very explosive.  They refer to it as the "tensile fairy visit".  Always be mindful of this.  My brother learned this the hard way and has splattered lead on his ceiling as a reminded.  Thank God he was not burned too bad.  He was wearing long sleeves while casting lead sinkers for saltwater fishing.  His sweat got stirred in below the top layer or he forgot to heat up the ladle.  He's not real sure which one.

[Bob Pratl]

There was a good point brought up about the ladle and laying it on top of the lead to heat up.  You have to watch out for steam being stirred in below the protective top skim layer.  Any condensation or sweat stirred in below the skim line can be very explosive.  They refer to it as the "tensile fairy visit".  Always be mindful of this.  My brother learned this the hard way and has splattered lead on his ceiling as a reminded.  Thank God he was not burned too bad.  He was wearing long sleeves while casting lead sinkers for saltwater fishing.  His sweat got stirred in below the top layer or he forgot to heat up the ladle.  He's not real sure which one.

Keath that's a good safety issue that you brought up. New casters beware, moisture is your enemy. The Tinsel Ferry visited me twice, once by dipping in a cold ladle and the other time
from a damp stirring stick. Both cases the molted lead was everywhere, ceiling to floor with a loud POP. I do wear safety glasses, so I was OK, but shaking. It will never happen again, that's for sure.

Wayne, just a suggestion, it might be a good idea to post a SAFETY CAUTION sticky on top
as a warning with the DO's and DONT's, to new casters, as casting is getting more popular.