Dipper Casting Help

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  • Last Post 14 January 2018
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BigMan54 posted this 08 January 2018

Tried some dipper casting today WITH A 4 CAVITY mold.  I've never dipper cast anything bigger then a 2 cavity mold before. Couldn't quite get complete fill out. Tried pressure casting each cavity. Turn mold sideways pushing dipper spout into sprue plate hole and rotating to horizontal then "dribbling" a bit of sprue, and then doing the same 3 more times. I also tried just pouring directly from dipper into each sprue hole.  The pressure casting method always worked in the past for 1 & 2 cavity molds. I saw my Dad, Uncle & older cousins do it. Why doesn't this work for me now. I also cast 50+ .45 bullets out of a single cavity mold  just before I tried the  4 cavity. This old 4 cavity mold has cast thousands of perfect bullets using a MAG 20 and PRO-MELT.

WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING WRONG????.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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onondaga posted this 14 January 2018

in the video by 358156hp, he is dropping once every 25 seconds or just short of 3 drops a minute. this is a good casting cadence.

You have to cast that fast with a ladle or a bottom pour pot to be relevant to ideal pot temperature at 100 degrees above solidus of your alloy. This is old news and simply basic to bullet casting.

 

Gary

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onondaga posted this 13 January 2018

BigMan54

Getting good fill out is a matter of thermodynamics and casting cadence. A good start for any alloy is to determine the ideal pot temperature. Use a good thermometer and when pot is definitely too hot and fluxed well. Turn off power. Watch for the very first sign of solidification on the surface. Note temperature of first solidification is the fluidus point of the alloy.

The fluidus point plus 100 degrees F is the ideal pot temp for bullet casting. Then casting cadence comes into importance. 3 drops a minute will maintain optimum mold temperature for good fill-out. If you can't cast 3 drops a minute then raise pot 25 degrees and cast as fast as you comfortably can and don't stop rhythm.

 

Gary

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BigMan54 posted this 09 January 2018

I have both LYMAN & RCBS, standard style. I've had both since the mid '70's too. I use the LYMAN for pouring single cavity molds on those rare occasions when I do any dipper casting. For pure lead to be used in BP. I only have 2 20+lb electric pots and it's not worth the trouble to empty one out and clean it just to pour 50-60 lead balls or 20 MAXI-BALLS. Although I prefer the RCBS ladle for pouring .50 & .54 caliber MAXI-BALLS.  So I just use the little 10lb cast iron over a propane burner for pure lead. And ya just gotta pressure cast those MAXI-BALLS.

Ross,

I've poured many thousands of balls and at least a thousand MAXI-BALLS without junk getting into the molds. It's just the technique, like every thing we do. I've been dipper pouring pure lead round ball since I was 7-8yrs old. It's sorta like drinking from a slow stream or pond. Ya gotta brush away the surface and dip into the clean stuff underneath. Or used to be. Now ya can't drink any water unless it comes out of a clean tap or a plastic bottle. 

My back just won't let me stand to cast. So I sit in an old kitchen chair.  I'm not fast as I once was, but when the rhythm starts I can cast long enough to empty a 20lb pot before I run out of steam. then by the time I clean up and put everything away I'm done for the day. The next day too. As long as I can lift a gun, pour lead and stuff bullets into cases, I'll keep doing it too. Regardless of what anybody says. Wives and Girl children included.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Ross Smith posted this 09 January 2018

BM 54: For what it's worth, my ladle is an old rcbs that is partially covered and has an "tea kettle spout". The way it pours, all the junk floats up away from the spout and has plenty of volumn for my 4 cav noe with a generous sprue puddle. You can also "pressure pour" with it. Had it since the seventies. Does any body have trouble using an open top and open spout ladle. Does dross(junk) flow into the pour?

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BigMan54 posted this 09 January 2018

I was using too small a dipper.

That is EXACTLY how my DAD & Uncle did back when I was little. Hold the bottom of the 8-10cav mold on the edge of the pot and run the ladle up the sprue plate pouring from the lowest cavity.

Thanks, Guys 

Now I have another reason to want a Rowell ladle.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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358156hp posted this 09 January 2018

Check out this video:

This was made by Brad at the ASBC forum. He has it down to a science.

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R. Dupraz posted this 08 January 2018

I have used a 20# Waage pot, which is nothing more than a small commercial melter, for many years to ladle pour. And have a few NOE aluminum four cavity and Lyman steel four cavity blocks.

When casting with these molds, I set them upright across the top of the pot and then pour all the cavities in succession. No pressure pour or tipping of the blocks. And I have found that it becomes a bit of a challenge some times to get perfect bullets from  the fourth cavity unless the molds are hot enough and the pour is done quickly. More with the aluminum blocks than the steel..

Actually, NOE's three cavity blocks work the best for me. Decent volume and easier to get perfect bullets continuously without having to stop to throw the rejects back in the pot. .

 

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BigMan54 posted this 08 January 2018

This was just an experiment. I was using a 10lb pot on a single propane to melt some unknown alloy. I use a 1cav .45 mold to cast bullets for hardness testing. I decided to try my hand at dipper casting using that 4cav mold. I don't know how you guys do it. Thank the Good LORD for bottom pour pots. 

Weather here is a bit warmer than usual. But IT MIGHT RAIN TOMORROW NIGHT.

Great, first fires, now mudslides. 

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Ross Smith posted this 08 January 2018

BM54: Iuse a 10 lb pot on a turkey cooker burner and heat my molds next to the pot while melting the lead(WW). Whether I'm using my Hoch nose pour or noe 4 cavity I get the molds really hot to achieve fill-out. Have to wait 2-3 seconds for the sprue puddle to solidify, then water quench. That works for me, and it's the usually the answer to fill-out. Good Luck and happy shooting. Hope this helps, you guys have certainly helped me alot.

 

By the way- any of you having trouble getting to the range? Utah is, sorry to say, unseasonably warm and sunny, been shootin alot.

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BigMan54 posted this 08 January 2018

Lead is at 725 degrees.

So I'm not pouring fast enough ?

But at least the 1st bullet and/or 2nd should be ok ? they're no better than 3 or 4.

I'm resting the mold on the top of the pot as I pour.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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R. Dupraz posted this 08 January 2018

What Ross said, Mold not hot enough! Pour generously and quickly. The lead and dipper immediately start to cool as soon as they leave the pot. 

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Ross Smith posted this 08 January 2018

HOT enough?

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