The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

TomH wrote:Thanks all for your responses, especially Dromia for taking the time to type such a comprehensive post. I can see the merit now in a gas ring and a couple of pots. It certainly is the lowest cost alternative I would think and I've never been a fan of running out and buying a load of equipment before I have some experience.

One question that does spring to mind, is how do you judge temperature?

You can buy a lead thermometer, a bit like the ones you use for meat.....or you can get a digital one.

For my casting I just use the manual one, not as accurate as the digital or PID, but I just plink and it works for me.

Throw in a bit of match stick without the head, if it just smoulders to cool, if it ignites immediately too hot, if it smoulders some and then ignites temperature is good to go. Served me well for a couple of decades and 100s of 1000s of pistol bullets.

The lead thermometers are good Lyman and RCBS are available here, digital thermometers and PIDs are not necessarily more accurate, PIDs just means that you don't need to keep the temperature right manually.

If I could have only one thermometer then it would be my mould thermometer, mould temperature is more critical than alloy temperature and it is a lot easier to keep your alloy at a good casting temperature than it is to keep your mould at its best temperature.

Of course both are better, just trying to illustrate there is more to successful casting than just melting lead, I only started using a mould thermometer about 15 years ago and it was the single biggest step change in making high quality bullets than all my other gegaw "upgrades". Rowel ladles were another significant step change that made dipping as viable as pouring for volume casting.

As Fred has said electric heat sources work too and he has success that way, I prefer the gas as I find it easier to control, also my ex military cooking gas ring (£25 unused from a surplus shop) gets hot enough for my alloy preparation which I usually do in around one cwt batches. Domestic electric heat sources would struggle to melt that much lead in a timely manner.