pots??

daleo8803 · August 13, 2009, 07:44 PM

im going to start casting soon and have a question. do you have to use a cast iron pan or pot to melt the lead in or can it be a steel pot? around here a cast iron pan is $25 and that seems like alot to me.. can you use the steel pots with the coatings or not??? thanks

dale

IllinoisCoyoteHunter · August 13, 2009, 08:24 PM

Just stay away from aluminum....like the aluminum turkey fryer pots. These may work for a awhile, but you run the risk of pot failure. Are you going to be smelting WWs in this pot or casting out of it? I smelt my WWs in a large cast iron pot. Pans are too shallow and your run the risk of splashing lead where you don't want it. You also need to be able to stir and flux it well, and this may be difficult with a pan. Any homemade pot made of steel should work, as far as I know, as long as the steel isn't to thin. Cabelas sells a cast iron pot and turkey burner combo deal. It is kinda pricey, but it pays for itself pretty quick, and is everything you need except for the propane. As far as a casting pot, I use a Lee Pro 20 pound bottom pour pot. It is cheap and it works, but will have the occassional drip...which can be fixed quite easily. Good luck!

**Shane Tuttle** · August 13, 2009, 08:45 PM

I bought a 5 quart dutch oven from Harbor Freight for $20. It holds more than enough lead.

You may find it at the Home Depot, otherwise you'll have to buy it online: The Bayou Classic burner. It's an inexpensive, yet sturdy burner. The only drawback is the volume control valve is pretty touchy. Otherwise, it's been good for me.

speedracer211 · August 13, 2009, 10:18 PM

Cast Iron pot from HF and a turkey deep fryer from craigslist.

GP100man · August 13, 2009, 11:02 PM

my first pot was a paul revire stainless 2 qt. , the handle was busted ,best part was $1.00 at yrd sale.
i made a couple out of 6" pipe & 1/4 plate ,left the plate as is & makes a great mold warmer.
went to a small lee bottom pour but some molds still want the ladle

daleo8803 · August 14, 2009, 09:15 AM

thanks guys! i will be casting out of a pot for now. a bottom pooring one is still alittle to much for me to pay for. i have a turkey fryer, all i need is a pot( well pots, one for smelting the lead in, and the other for casting.) thanks again guys!

dale

jmorris · August 14, 2009, 09:54 AM

I made a melting pot out of 7" 3/8 wall pipe then wrapped a 3500watt oven element around the pipe. I had the pipe and the element only cost $9 at Sears, so it’s cheap enough and it will take 60#’s of lead from room temp to casting temp in under 30 min. I later added the bottom pour when I built my automatic casting machine.

dahermit · August 14, 2009, 10:58 AM

Wow!!! jmorris, you are my hero! Very clever, very inventive.

IllinoisCoyoteHunter · August 14, 2009, 10:58 AM

Do you have a video of this beauty working? I would love to see it in action!

snuffy · August 14, 2009, 11:38 AM

Here's a couple of mine.

The big one is a lee 20# pro 20. The little one is the small 6 pound melter, but it does have a thermostat.

Here's a mold guide I made for the lee pro-20. The one supplied by lee couldn't be made to work by me. Not saying someone else couldn't get along with it.

Another view, I modified lee's guide by cutting the "ear" off and screwing the ¼" oak strips to it. There's a chunk of 3/16 alum. angle used in there too. The guide allows the sprue plate openings to be accurately positioned directly under the stream of lead coming from the bottom of the pot. So you get this, a nice straight sprue puddle;

That's a lee 90342 mold, it casts a .429-250-SWC.

August 13, 2009, 07:44 PM	#1
daleo8803 Member Join Date: August 3, 2009 Posts: 78	pots?? im going to start casting soon and have a question. do you have to use a cast iron pan or pot to melt the lead in or can it be a steel pot? around here a cast iron pan is $25 and that seems like alot to me.. can you use the steel pots with the coatings or not??? thanks dale

August 13, 2009, 08:24 PM	#2
IllinoisCoyoteHunter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2008 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 1,527	Just stay away from aluminum....like the aluminum turkey fryer pots. These may work for a awhile, but you run the risk of pot failure. Are you going to be smelting WWs in this pot or casting out of it? I smelt my WWs in a large cast iron pot. Pans are too shallow and your run the risk of splashing lead where you don't want it. You also need to be able to stir and flux it well, and this may be difficult with a pan. Any homemade pot made of steel should work, as far as I know, as long as the steel isn't to thin. Cabelas sells a cast iron pot and turkey burner combo deal. It is kinda pricey, but it pays for itself pretty quick, and is everything you need except for the propane. As far as a casting pot, I use a Lee Pro 20 pound bottom pour pot. It is cheap and it works, but will have the occassional drip...which can be fixed quite easily. Good luck! __________________ ~~IllinoisCoyoteHunter~~ ~NRA LIFE MEMBER~ ~NRA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR~

August 13, 2009, 08:45 PM	#3
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	I bought a 5 quart dutch oven from Harbor Freight for $20. It holds more than enough lead. You may find it at the Home Depot, otherwise you'll have to buy it online: The Bayou Classic burner. It's an inexpensive, yet sturdy burner. The only drawback is the volume control valve is pretty touchy. Otherwise, it's been good for me. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

August 13, 2009, 11:02 PM	#5
GP100man Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2007 Location: Tabor City , NC. Posts: 1,969	my first pot was a paul revire stainless 2 qt. , the handle was busted ,best part was $1.00 at yrd sale. i made a couple out of 6" pipe & 1/4 plate ,left the plate as is & makes a great mold warmer. went to a small lee bottom pour but some molds still want the ladle __________________ GP100man

August 14, 2009, 10:58 AM	#9
IllinoisCoyoteHunter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2008 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 1,527	Do you have a video of this beauty working? I would love to see it in action! __________________ ~~IllinoisCoyoteHunter~~ ~NRA LIFE MEMBER~ ~NRA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR~

August 13, 2009, 10:18 PM	#4
speedracer211 Senior Member Join Date: April 30, 2007 Posts: 176	Cast Iron pot from HF and a turkey deep fryer from craigslist.

August 14, 2009, 09:15 AM	#6
daleo8803 Member Join Date: August 3, 2009 Posts: 78	thanks guys! i will be casting out of a pot for now. a bottom pooring one is still alittle to much for me to pay for. i have a turkey fryer, all i need is a pot( well pots, one for smelting the lead in, and the other for casting.) thanks again guys! dale

August 14, 2009, 09:54 AM	#7
jmorris Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2006 Posts: 3,077	I made a melting pot out of 7" 3/8 wall pipe then wrapped a 3500watt oven element around the pipe. I had the pipe and the element only cost $9 at Sears, so it’s cheap enough and it will take 60#’s of lead from room temp to casting temp in under 30 min. I later added the bottom pour when I built my automatic casting machine.

August 14, 2009, 10:58 AM	#8
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	Wow!!! jmorris, you are my hero! Very clever, very inventive.

August 14, 2009, 11:38 AM	#10
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	Here's a couple of mine. The big one is a lee 20# pro 20. The little one is the small 6 pound melter, but it does have a thermostat. Here's a mold guide I made for the lee pro-20. The one supplied by lee couldn't be made to work by me. Not saying someone else couldn't get along with it. Another view, I modified lee's guide by cutting the "ear" off and screwing the ¼" oak strips to it. There's a chunk of 3/16 alum. angle used in there too. The guide allows the sprue plate openings to be accurately positioned directly under the stream of lead coming from the bottom of the pot. So you get this, a nice straight sprue puddle; That's a lee 90342 mold, it casts a .429-250-SWC. __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?