RCBS Easy Melt

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Last week I ordered the RCBS Easy Melt from Midway. In stock at $109, with free shipping and a $25 rebate............couldn't pass it up. Will be used, strictly for the occasional ladle casting session.

Arrived mid week. Got a couple of casting sessions in, since then.

The #2 Rowell ladle fits with room to spare.

The PID, once set, fluctuates less then the Lyman Mag 25, I also own. The Lyman varies about ten degrees, while the RCBS by less than two. Neither furnace has a on/off switch. RCBS manual states not to operate the furnace with less than one inch of lead inside......and not to unplug it until the temperature is down to 160 degrees. Set the PID to 0000 to shut the heating element off, but allow the cooling fan to run. Lyman makes no mention of this in their owner's manual.

The Lyman pot is painted steel, while the RCBS is bright metal, like the older Pro-Melt.

Took a little over half hour to melt 20 pounds of alloy, I had in it from the previous casting session. My 220V Pro-melt will beat this by half. After the session was over, it took several hours for the pot to reach the unplugging temperature of 160 degrees. I ran it in my garage, with the door open, air temp was @ 60 degrees.

Overall, I like it.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
How do you like the ladle? Once I tried mine I haven't looked back.

Interesting on the unplug temp. They must be concerned with electronics overheating and warranty issues. Good of them to include that in the instructions.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Ladle isn't that bad......once you shorten the handle for better balance. Cut mine down to an OAL of @ 12 inches. I've been casting 300 grain 44 Mag HP's from Ricks mould that Eric customized with Glen's pin design. Mould throws one PB and one GC bullet.

That is a very nice casting mould. Bottom pour or otherwise. Bullets literally fly off the pins. I'm using Roto-Metals Pure ingots to Lino at a ratio of 3 to 1 for @ 13-14 BHN.

This is my first attempt at ladle casting.........been bottom pouring for 40+ years. Having issues with GC being too loose. Everything else looks great. Bands filling out, bullets dropping at .4315 diameter.

Had hoped for larger diameter for the Marlin carbine. Shot some PB at just under 1600 fps and got 2 1/2 MOA groups at 60 yards, seated off a tripod.

Rick's coming over Sunday and will bring the borescope, to check for leading.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Some pics

P1090097.JPG

Have to get around to threading the rod on the cut off portion. For the time being, I just salvaged a broken LEE mould handle with high temp RTV.


P1090100.JPG

P1090101.JPG

P1090102.JPG
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Nice looking HPs on those bullets.

That's a HP design by Glen Fryxell so I dubbed it the Fryxell profile pin. It's . . .

Fryxell Profile pin, HP cavity of .150" diameter at the mouth, cavity with 7 degree taper and extended .250" into the bullet with a rounded tip.


 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
I've been shooting them into river/beach sand. The half dozen or so, I recovered are completely flat and loosing only about ten grains. The one in the middle, shed half the nose and still weighed 236 grains.

P1090103.JPG

Compared to NOE's 265 RNFP solid, 15-16 BHN at 1540 fps.

P1090104.JPG

Sand will tell me that at least the bullets aren't shattering and for the most part, retaining the majority of their weight. So at worst it will preform as a solid. My plan is to try them out on deer, this Fall. BTW, they do feed 100%, in my unmodified Marlin.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
A decent blood trail.........which I haven't been getting from the 265 RNFP solid that I've been using for the last several years.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
That is the sum of my expansion testing for hunting too. If it stays together on the berm then it certainly will on game too. Sand is hard on bullets.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
That is the sum of my expansion testing for hunting too. If it stays together on the berm then it certainly will on game too. Sand is hard on bullets.

Precisely. Should be some expansion on game but that the nose will stay intact and bullet weight retained should mean punching all the way through and blood on both sides.

I also have the Fryxell profile pin in two Lyman 429640 molds, one is now a PB, the other still GC and they both have the Fryxell profile pins. Haven't yet talked John into trying that one. :(
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Precisely. Should be some expansion on game but that the nose will stay intact and bullet weight retained should mean punching all the way through and blood on both sides.

I also have the Fryxell profile pin in two Lyman 429640 molds, one is now a PB, the other still GC and they both have the Fryxell profile pins. Haven't yet talked John into trying that one. :(

Mainly, because I'm not crazy about dealing that protuberance sticking out the bottom of the mold and the fact it's a single cavity, to boot. :sigh:
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
But john . . . It's a hunting bullet, just how many do ya need? Besides that, ladle casters have no worry about clearance "UNDER" the pot now do they?
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
That protuberance is of no concern to a ladle caster. Get the mould and pin hot, cast 30-50 for testing and hunting and return the mould to Rick. Done.
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
But john . . . It's a hunting bullet, just how many do ya need? Besides that, ladle casters have no worry about clearance "UNDER" the pot now do they?

That protuberance is of no concern to a ladle caster. Get the mould and pin hot, cast 30-50 for testing and hunting and return the mould to Rick. Done.


Beg to differ............I rest the mould on the edge of the pot and the ladle on the edge of the sprue plate, while pouring. To conserve energy, mine. Not to mention my bad shoulders.