Many of you cast bullets frequently and have done so for years. I am interested in learning which temperature-controlled production pots you believe are best?

Avoid Lee in this case.
Temp control is adequate, but they leak like British sports cars.
RCBS or Lyman

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it just needs more voltage

I have cast tens of thousands of bullets for marketing and used a Lee bottom pour 10 pound furnace. I'm on my 3rd in 44 years and still haven't paid for one RCBS!

Tricks for long life: 1)Don't refine s**** lead, range lead or wheel weight in your good furnace. An old coffee can on a camp stove works fine!

2)Flux often and throw in a "Dross Pot"

3)Don't run with less than a half inch o clean lead in it.

For extremely consistent bullet weights, use a Lee or Lyman "Hot Pot" and a Lyman lead ladle. I get batches of 3 to 4 hundred bullets within 1/10th percent consistency! Yes, it takes way longer and won't make a difference for common handgun rounds. But for silhouette pistols and Buffalo Rifles it makes a huge difference.

Just so you know, and don't tell any wife I said this but, A clean tuna can and a kitchen spoon on the kitchen stove will work in a pinch! (Throw away the evidence in a neutral location!)

Ivan

I have casted for about 30 years and many thousands of bullets. I started with a Lee pro 4 20 pound pot, after many years I bought a second one to replace the first one. I ran it for years. Thought about building a pid controller but after all the drip and other issues I broke down and bought a RCBS and couldn’t be happier. No more dripping and more consistent bullets. The down side is it heats up slower and takes longer to cool down. I wish I started out with the RCBS. I hope this helps.

I started casting in 1975. Still using the same Lee bottom pour pot I bought way back then.

I realize that there is a lot of bad feelings about Lee stuff. I just never understood why.

Now, having said that I realize that I'm not a real big caster. I DO keep track of all my endeavors and as of now I have only cast about 45,000 rounds.

I like the Lee 20 lbs pot. I’m sure others are better but they 3 to 4 times as much.

Same Lee 10 lb botton pour for around 50 years. Age 79 now. Many bullets cast.

They may drip. Did open the hole a few thousandth, for a faster mold fill.

I clean the alloy in a 40 lb pot. Making ingots.

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Casting Bullets | The High Road

Faster and cleaner that any pour pot is a good ladle and melting pot. I cast with 4 molds in rotation from my pot.....Melt, flux, skim and cast....First mold gets too hot. Go to go the second. By the time I'm at the 4th. the first one has cooled down and ready to go again. .Been at it since 1972. Had a Lee pot one time...Tossed it.

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S&W Accumulator

What are good sources of lead for casting?

And alloying metals?

I've used lee #20 pots for decades. After 30+ years the heating element went out in the 1st one.

I use polishing compound (600 grit) when I 1st get a lee pot and use an electric drill. Chuck the pour stem in the drill, put the polishing compound on the end put it back in the hole where the pour spout is. Turn the drill on and using light pressure for 2/3 minutes polish/mate the 2 surfaces.

They don't drip after doing this.

I switched over to a pid controller in 2015. Before that I used a thermometer. The pid cost $20 for everything & I use it to control the temp of the lee pot when casting bullets. And to control the temp of the oven when baking the powder coating on the cast bullets.

Sorry Ivan but I've refined lots of s**** lead in my Lee pots with nary a problem. Just make sure to flux and s****e down the insides of the pot with a spoon.

I do like the coffee can idea, but instead I use old sauce pans. People throw them out.

Back in the 1970's my Dad was a printer (unlimited supply of linotype), plus I had a bunch of pure lead pipe so I used Lyman #2 alloy. (The formula is well documented)

After Dad retired I made a trial of pure wheel weights. They work fantastic, both in pistol and rifle (with gas checks). In recent years I have gone to water drop out of the mold, which has given me a little more hardness.

When the law was passed (but before it was implemented) outlawing lead wheel weights, I spend a couple of days going around to a bunch of gas stations scrounging wheel weights. That's what gave me a lifetime supply, and I usually got a half bucket for 5 bucks.

Back when I started casting bullets, I used wheel weights and they worked well. The tire shops began having contracts with smelters or such so the tire shops would no longer give or sell me their old wheelweights. I was not finding sources with acceptable prices.

I began using lead shot (for shotshell reloading) for casting bullets. It was a biut softer (without alloying) than generally used, but for the fairly low velocity 45 Auto bullets I was casting it worked. There was a trace of leading in the barrel throat, but it did not progress and shooting accuracy was acceptable.

Time constraints mostly saw me stop casting but lead availability and cost were also factors.

I wouldn't mind getting back into bullet casting but lead availability and cost would seem to remain a factor.

About 12 years casting now with a Lee 20lb bottom pour. A few years back I acquired a PID that I now use to control the Lee as well as the oven I use for powder coating .

I keep the Lee clean, and have polished the orifice as described above. Some days she drips, some days not. But she is always ready to drop lead for me. The addition of a NOE guide for the molds helped alot as well.

I have 2 RCBS furnaces. One is 25 years old and the other is about 6 years old. One for pure lead for round balls for My muzzle stuffers and one for handgun bullets. Never a leak or problem. Originally bought a Lee for round balls, but got tired of the pot 1/2 draining out after shutoff and the constant drip, drip, drip while casting. Sorry,,, I don't go near the Red Kool-aid.

-I've had quite a few over the years. Right nowthe only one is a Lee Bottom pour. I had an Ohio Thermal(RCBS bought them out) and an RCBS. They were sold when I quit casting for a while The Lee I have now cost 5 bucks full of lead. It leaked a fair amount till I drilled it out a couple or 4 1000s. My dipper potis an old thing that has 3 positions for the plug...low med high. Actually works fine for much of my casting I do use Casting thermometers which seems to help keep in them range. I do my ingot casting in an old pot used by my father in law when he was a plumber. Propane fired with a portion of a gas tank cut off. Maybe O2 tank. Holds 150 lbs...It was perfect for my shot making ingots The old cast iron pot that came with it I made smaller ingots for casting bullets.....different alloys

Used a Lee since the 70s, cast thousands of bullets with RCBS molds, sized in a RCBS sizer. About 15 years ago bought a RCBS 20 pound pot. Have a piece of wire to unclog it and have cast thousand of bullets using it. RCBS molds wore out and RCBS replaced them very quickly. Very good customer service. However, would not buy any of their china mfg stuff.

I started casting with a lee 10 lb and would never go back to one. They drip and an easy fix is to put an ingot mold under your mold. Dump it over when it is full.
RCBS has a great warranty, Lyman not as much.
If I were new at casting I would go for a Lee 20 lb, actual 17-18 dipper pot. Get a Rowell 1 lb dipper or a Lyman dipper. Pour over the top of the pot and let the excess run back into the heated metal.
Most of my casting flaws went away when I switched to dippers.

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Front sight and squeeze

Thanks to all of you for your recommendations and comments! A lot of good information that will help very much! As always, the folks on this forum make it a great place to exchange information and receive help!!!

I'm on my third lee pot. First was a 10#, second 20#, and now on my third, a 20#. They've lasted an average of 12 years each. Yeah they each dripped so I keep an ingot mold under it to catch and return.

I keep telling myself that I'll bite the bullet and buy an RCBS or Lyman one day.....

If you can do it. I was just like you and bit the bullet on a RCBS. After getting up to speed on it, I asked myself why did you take so long to do it!

I started casting over 40 years ago with a 10# Saeco bottom pour. Still have it but haven’t cast in years. It always worked well with the Lyman molds I used. My sizer lubricator is also Saeco.

I started with an old Lyman Mould Master that worked great.

I took a long hiatus from reloading and sold all my casting equipment.

When I started back up about 10 years ago, I went cheap and bought a Lee 20# bottom pour.

Some people swear by it and others swear at it. Count me in the latter group. I could never stop the dripping.

Bought an RCBS pro melt II and haven’t looked back.

I'm still using the same Lee pot I bought in the 1980's. Yeah, it leaks sometimes, but not all the time. I figured out how to prevent it by meticulously cleaning the port after I finish casting a batch.

Nevertheless, reading all about the better stuff on the market I thought I would look them up.

Wholly Mackerel! If I bought a new one it would completely kill my cost savings making boolits.

If my Lee finally gives out after 40 years, I guess I'll buy another Lee. I only cast about 2000 rounds every year anyway. The "good" ones for me are not cost effective.