OK here is my reloading tip.

[gokyo]

So when melting lead and you place a couple of ingots in to the melt and leave them for 15 minutes. If the ingots have not melted and are still sitting up on top of the melt do not try to push the ingots down into the melt with your bare finger.

I would tell you it hurts but I can not really feel anything in the end of my finger yet.

[918v]

I usually toss some error bullets into the pot cuz they melt faster, then add the ingots. For some reason, when you have a shallow pool of molten lead, the ingots melt alot faster. I dunno why?

[layusn1]

Hmm...OK Captain Obvious...J/K

That didn't really need to be said but I'm in a mood tonight.

I'm sure I will do something really stupid when I start casting so I shouldn't say anything.

I would really like to stop crushing my thumb between the ram and the bullet seating die. That is why I LOVE my Hornady New Dimension dies with the bullet seater sleeve, especially with flat base bullets.

[craig110]

I usually toss some error bullets into the pot cuz they melt faster, then add the ingots. For some reason, when you have a shallow pool of molten lead, the ingots melt alot faster. I dunno why?

Heat flows best when two items (one hot, one not as hot) are touching. Since the sides and/or base of the pot are the only part being directly heated, only the ingot areas touching the sides/bottom will absorb the heat. (I'm ignoring the effects of the air inside the pot heating up since most of it will just rise up and out of the pot anyway.) That "touching" can have a pretty small surface area, especially if the ingot has flared sides, unless your pot is so big that an ingot can lay flat on the bottom.

As soon as melting has gotten started, however, the surface area picture changes dramatically. Now, instead of an ingot standing straight up only having two little corners in contact with the bottom (I'm thinking of a line of small ingots), think of all the heat transfer surface area that is formed when there is even a half inch of molten lead on the bottom surrounding the bottom of the ingots. This makes the heat transfer much more efficient and therefore accelerates the rest of the melting. This is why your pool of lead from the melted bullets seems to, and does, speed things up.

Now, you might be wondering why your bullets initially melt fast while the ingots don't. The main difference is the size. Heat flows in metals rather easily, so while that little corner or two of an ingot is being heated by the bottom of the pot, the heat isn't staying in the corner but rather is flowing up and throughout the ingot. So, not only does the ingot have an initial bad heat transfer into it due to the low surface area being in contact with the heated plate, that little bit of heat coming in is trying to heat up a full pound or two (or five or ten, depending upon your ingot size) of lead. That isn't a good picture. The little bullets, on the other hand, are much smaller and so there is comparatively very little lead for the heat to disperse through. Therefore, the heat that goes into it can build up more easily and push it over the 610 degree melting point.

Ok, enough of the lecture. Another way of accomplishing a faster melt is to leave some lead in your pot when you're done using it. I generally leave about an inch or so in my pot. That way, when I next fire it up there is great surface area between the heating elements and the lead and as soon as it gets slushy the other lead I've put in will slide down into the slush and melt pretty quickly.

[Anvil]

Gokyo, you poor bastard. I (have many times in the past) feel your pain. Another casting tip. Once the ingot gets hard and you dump it, don't try to pick it up with your bare naked soft fleshy hand.

There is no advice in the world that speaks louder than your own experience. Just try not to let life keep teaching you the same lessons over and over.

[Fatdaddy]

That reminds me of a time when I was 16 and just got my own ride. I pulled up to Burger King and was talking to some friends up town and noticed some ridges in my brake rotor. I ran my finger over the ridges and burnt my dam fingerprints off slick and crunchy.
At least I can blame it on youth...:biggrinjester:

[killarbb]

here's your sign