Bottom pour pot etiquette

Glaciers

Alaska Land of the Midnight Sun
But John, when one's mind is so great as mine, the amount of thinking to which you refer is actually quite normal.

:p

Now That’s there’s funny I don’t care who you are. LOL

Love ya man, your a wonderment.
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
Care to share a photo of your "device to grip the sprue plate...?"

Sorry, I did not notice your reply until just now.

Here is the sprue plate opener. This is for an NOE sprue plate. But you can make one for any sprue plate shape. The "jaws" are made from a piece of 3/16" bar stock bent to follow the shape of the sprue plate. That is then welded to a mounting plate that bolts to the bench. So, no machining is involved other than drilling a couple holes.

I offered the idea to NOE with no strings attached. Never got a reply back.
20220120_141247a.jpg20220120_141623a.jpg20220120_141638a.jpg
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
While on the topic of bottom pour etiquette, here is a question for the seasoned bottom pourers.

Do you hold the mold up tight to the spout or do you put it on the rest and let the melt pour in from a small distance from the spout. I tried holding it tight and decided to go with the short distance method, which required a small puddle be left on top of the sprue plate. I honestly don't remember why I chose this method. I suspect that it might have been holding a full 4 cavity mold up tight to the spout might have gotten a bit tiring on my old arthritic hands.

Any pros or cons other than tight eliminates the occasional spillage?
 

popper

Well-Known Member
I set the rest on the Lee so I can set the mould on the rest and that leaves about 1/2" so I can see the pour. My body can't take holding it up against the spout. If the sprue spills over, no big deal. It also takes a long time to get up off the floor, even then I need something to help pull me up. Knees just don't cooperate.
I reversed the 'lever' so I open the plate with gloved thumb. Even works for 4x mould (pistol only). I use a SS sauce pan she gave me, sits next to the pot so I open right over it and dump. Old woodworking tool handle for a knocker. Used to use the rawhide hammer but it's handle has a crack in it now.
 
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BudHyett

Active Member
While on the topic of bottom pour etiquette, here is a question for the seasoned bottom pourers.

Do you hold the mold up tight to the spout or do you put it on the rest and let the melt pour in from a small distance from the spout. I tried holding it tight and decided to go with the short distance method, which required a small puddle be left on top of the sprue plate. I honestly don't remember why I chose this method. I suspect that it might have been holding a full 4 cavity mold up tight to the spout might have gotten a bit tiring on my old arthritic hands.

Any pros or cons other than tight eliminates the occasional spillage?
Experimented with the tight against the spout approach using several molds for half of one season. The results were not what I wanted.

Keeping the same level in the pot was established as critical in the first attempt. Aligning the mold to the spout was also critical, even the slightest crack meant lead squirting out in a stream. Varying the pot temperature was tried to get better fill, higher temperatures were more successful.

The bullets filled out very well, the edges on the lubricant grooves were sharp. In final analysis, the weights varied over the range of a grain.
 
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Ian

Notorious member
Do you hold the mold up tight to the spout

Oh hell no! All that head pressure forces alloy into the vent lines were it eventually peels out and makes specks on the block faces which affect bullet diameter. Contact-pouring is only for ladles, only sometimes, and usually only if the ladle is small (one pound Lyman or RCBS).
 

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
Thanks. Makes sense. I suspect that I might have experienced the lead geyser from holding tight and just forgot about it. Not enough RAM to store stuff like that now. Mine is all plugged up with stuff like the theme song from Mr. Ed.

For those with multi-cavity molds, I put a piece of brass tubing on the mold rest. It allow the mold to move to the next cavity without dragging. Alum molds tend to drag on the steel rest. Brass tube simply spins.
 

seagiant1

Active Member
Hi,
Always went with a bottom pour.

About 18 years ago figured to get serious with a bottom pour pot, wanted a MAGMA but could not swing the dough.

Called the nice Lady at RCBS and asked if she had a "second", she said no but had a dent sale for $200 brand new...

Well I jumped on it and never looked back, but the MAGMA'S are nice, but the RCBS is too!

ppp2.jpgppp1.jpg
 
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waco

Springfield, Oregon
Hi,
Always went with a bottom pour.

About 18 years ago figured to get serious with a bottom pour pot, wanted a MAGMA but could not swing the dough.

Called the nice Lady at RCBS and asked if she had a "second", she said no but had a dent sale for $200 brand new...

Well I jumped on it and never looked back, but the MAGMA'S are nice, but the RCBS is too!

View attachment 25482View attachment 25483
That thing is 18 years old? You either don't use it much or you just take way better care of your stuff than I do! LOL!
 

Ian

Notorious member
That thing is 18 years old? You either don't use it much or you just take way better care of your stuff than I do! LOL!

I was thinking exactly the same thing. My stuff looks like it's been through two wars and a revolution even though it has always been indoors.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Do you hold the mold up tight to the spout....
That has never worked for me - the sprue plate freezes the spout and sticks to it, and the fill-out/weight variance is terrible. Otherwise, I get by with a variety of gaps/positions, as long as I leave a little room for air to get out the sprue hole and form a decent puddle - a long, inter-connecting puddle on multiple-cavity moulds.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
....Keeping the same level in the pot was established as critical in the first attempt........

I think this is one of the most critical elements for consistency in using my BPs, but then recycling sprues and adding alloy creates another inconsistency to try to keep up with. This is one of the instances where the PID display has been helpful, as it is very easy to see how much each sprue (or two) drags the temp down and you can meter the "make-up" of the pot level while keeping the temp within a narrower band.
 

seagiant1

Active Member
That thing is 18 years old? You either don't use it much or you just take way better care of your stuff than I do! LOL!
Hi,
Actually, doing the right math it is 16 years old.

I know that as it has 2006 printed on the front label.

I do try to take care of my equipment, but am also, 40 year retired Merchant Marine, so...

Probably, was not at home casting, as much as others, doing a 9 to 5 job!!!