Lead pots

Hey Bob , what do you know about Lyman model 61 bottom pour lead pots ? I scored one at a yard sale last Friday for IIRC 30 bucks - older unit I think because it has the cast iron base . The mica at the power plug is destroyed but I managed a temporary fix for testing . It heats and melts the lead , but it dribbles . Is there a recommended way to clean up the valve area to stop that dribble ? This unit is going to make it viable for me to cast with the aim to sell a few bullets/balls to friends and neighbors . Not for profit but more to enable purchase of more casting supplies for whatever comes down the road ahead . .

I cleared the outlet with a wire and let all the lead run out . It drips because apparently there's a bit of debris in the outlet . From the article you cited this is not uncommon , just annoying . I'll pull the rod in a day or two and clean it out along with wire brushing the whole pot . I think this is the first time this thing has melted lead in quite a while ...

I cleared the outlet with a wire and let all the lead run out . It drips because apparently there's a bit of debris in the outlet . From the article you cited this is not uncommon , just annoying . I'll pull the rod in a day or two and clean it out along with wire brushing the whole pot . I think this is the first time this thing has melted lead in quite a while ...

-- Snag I appreciated foreign cultures more when they stayed foreign ...

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Also get nickel plated high temperature crimp connectors for the stranded wire. Solid wire is for stationary wiring that doesn't vibrate, stranded for anything portable.

I buy used industrial temperature controllers cheap at ham radio (general electrical) flea markets to use as thermostat replacements and remote thermocouple readouts for the basement wood stove and food heating on it. They aren't that expensive new either.

PID is a sophisticated and precise control method that isn't really necessary for a lead pot. Ideally it maintains a constant temperature. The alternative is on/off control that turns power on at a lower temperature and off at a somewhat higher one, like a mechanical thermostat that needs a temperature differential between On and Off to power its snap action.

For calibration the melting point of pure lead is 621.5F, 327.5C. This shows the effect of added tin:

Stratotherm crimps IIRC, I've used some for wiring in kilns with high temperature wiring. I managed to get the correct crimpers 2nd hand off ebay, the new price would make your eyes water. Any recommendations for alternatives to the intended crimper.

I've got a couple of PID controllers that I housed in boxes and set-up so they can be used to control different kilns as the kiln plugs into them and the kiln power controllers are just set to 100% so the PID controller and SSR does the power switching.

Lead oxides build up in pots over time. I believe the steel also scales up under the extended time at temperature. At higher temperatures its more reactive. I do not have a Lyman bottom pour pot, but I have an RCBS ProMelt 20lb bottom pour pot and a Lee 10lb pot bottom pour pot. Its almost impossible to stop the dribble. I just put a bar mold or a catch pan under the spout to catch the drips. After a partial disassemble and cleaning of scale, oxides, and whatever else is there the dribble is typically very little or nothing for a little while, but it comes back. Now I usually only clean my bottom pour lead pots when they stop flowing as well and it affects the quality of my castings.

I've seen guys on tackle groups swear up one side and down the other all you have to do is clean it, or theirs never drips, but there is somebody who never has that problem or who's claimed solution fixed it forever. Like the guy who's racing pad bass boat never chine walks or even hints at chine walk at any speed from 0 to 200mph, and he hits those speeds with a bigger boat and a smaller motor than anybody else. LOL.

P.S. I had a bass boat that didn't chine walk at any speed, but it was a twin tunnel. Not a common racing pad design. It ran like it was on rails.

Anyway, depending on who you believe it might be possible to reduce the or eliminate the drip, but it might be easier to just accommodate it.

A long time ago before I switched over the the RCBS ProMelt pot for my primary test melter I did reduce the drip on one of my Lee pots by increasing the weight on the lever arm that closed the valve. It was not 100%. It was just better.

For larger castings I don't bother with any of my electric melters. I use a propane turbo burner, and a cast iron pot I found somewhere that has a pour spout.

The Lee pot uses a simple analog control. The older style RCBS Pro Melt used a slightly better analog control. When they switched to a digital PID control it almost destroyed their lead pot business. Fortunately for them they sell decent quality molds, dies, and other reloading supplies. RCBS quit selling melters for a while, and finally they got their digital control working properly, or more likely started buying them from a more reputable Chinese supplier. I can't speak to whatever lyman uses. I have a Lyman ladle pour melter, but not a bottom pour pot. Their ladle pour melter has ALWAYS been a little cooler than I would like at max temperature setting.

As long as I stay below the vapor temperature I'm good. Most lure casters run from about 775F to about 850F. To hot to check with my NCT.

Stratotherm crimps IIRC, I've used some for wiring in kilns with high temperature wiring. I managed to get the correct crimpers 2nd hand off ebay, the new price would make your eyes water. Any recommendations for alternatives to the intended crimper.

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I snatch up used crimpers at flea markets and use whatever fits best. If they have calibration specs they no longer meet, like pulling tight on a certain size of drill bit shank, I shim under the dies. For home use a perfect crimp that properly strain relieves the insulation isn't as important as for a machine that will be jolted in the back of a cross-country truck.

The old Stanley 84-203 crimps tight enough to pass a pull test on most everything.

"For those contact-conductor crimp connections not contained in Table 12-1, the tensile strength of the crimp connection shall be no less than 60 percent of the tensile strength of the wire. Reference the manufacturer’s datasheet for wire tensile strength."

Straightening solid copper wire by pulling it past its yield point gives a good feel for wire strength. I've seen the pull force test machine but never anyone using it, an experienced tug by hand was enough.

At work the company bought the proper tools, which cost as if they were hand-crafted by Swiss watchmakers.

For my test run I had the thermostat set at 650 . Don't know the alloy that was already in the pot but it looks like probably pure lead .

Thats a method I teach for using stainless safety wire to make wire forms. Its not perfect, but its pretty good. Spool out several feet. Clamp one end in a vise and the other in a good pair of locking pliers. Then back off until you feel the wire "give." Cut off the ends, and start cutting lengths fo the forms. For heavier wire forms I typically start with straightened wire. 308L TIG wire is a good start with a few standard sizes available.

Pure lead or atleast soft lead is usually used for muzzle loader and cap and ball bullets. Hard cast is usually used for cartridge bullets.

You can get the best "known" alloy from RotoMetals. You can get the most consistent lower price hard cast or soft alloy from PBCastCo. You can get the cheapest lead usually from lucky scavenging or the local scrap yards.

I think 650 sounds awfully low for good castings, but you can't really trust the temperature on an analog dial. You just turn it up until it works, or you max it out. If it uses a thermocouple and a PID controller you can usually trust the digital display is pretty close.

All I was interested in was seeing if it will melt lead . I have 2 varieties on hand , soft lead from old shower pans and lead pipe removed from old houses , other known relatively pure lead . I also have quite a bit of wheel weights cast into ingots . I do as you said , hard for cartridge arms and soft for balls and muzzle loader slugs , I've got a couple of type K thermocouples and a pretty good digital MM , I can verify the lead temp vs the 'stat setting next time I fire it up .

All I was interested in was seeing if it will melt lead . I have 2 varieties on hand , soft lead from old shower pans and lead pipe removed from old houses , other known relatively pure lead . I also have quite a bit of wheel weights cast into ingots . I do as you said , hard for cartridge arms and soft for balls and muzzle loader slugs , I've got a couple of type K thermocouples and a pretty good digital MM , I can verify the lead temp vs the 'stat setting next time I fire it up . Snag

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As this shows, none of the plastic insulations can take molten lead temperature.

Wood stove cement or water glass keep the end of the glass braid from unraveling and will stabilize a winding of threads from fiberglass cloth. I made the water glass from lye and pool filter powder.

I've measured (and felt) enough leakage through the insulation of old heating elements that I would be sure to ground the pot with a 3 wire cord. The highest Ohms range on a multimeter may not be enough to show AC leakage you can feel, I use a Megger that measures up to 1 GigOhm at 1000V.

My temp probes are metal tubes ... I've had one of then over 2000 degrees in my gas forge . I've used them to check melt temp of molten aluminum just before pouring into molds too . Lead temps are not a big deal ...unless you leave a trace of moisture in an open top ingot mold . Got a couple of scars from that adventure !

... My temp probes are metal tubes ... I've had one of then over 2000 degrees in my gas forge . I've used them to check melt temp of molten aluminum just before pouring into molds too . Lead temps are not a big deal ...unless you leave a trace of moisture in an open top ingot mold . Got a couple of scars from that adventure ! Snag

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When I was young and had only woodworking machinery I cast lead salvaged from broken discarded batteries in wood ingot molds routed on the Shopsmith in vertical knee mill mode. The wood slowly charred and degraded and a plaster coating didn't hold up either so I had the bright idea of trying to cast under water since I knew molten copper poured into water would insulate itself in a stable steam bubble and briefly remain glowing.

Lead also quietly filled a flooded mold cavity and hardened with a shiny unoxidized surface. I thought I was onto something until I poured into a cavity with a dimple in the bottom, an old nail hole that the lead flowed over. The resulting steam explosion plated the ceiling with a thin shiny layer. Luckily I wasn't in its path. After that close call I became more careful.

Molten aluminum dribbled into a snowbank freezes into shiny teardrops with pointed tails.

And molten aluminum poured into ant or yellowjacket nests forms some awesome sculptures .

And molten aluminum poured into ant or yellowjacket nests forms some awesome sculptures . Snag

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I found a few other cures on line, like bleach + ammonia which creates a poison gas. One good idea was to first cover the entrance with screening so they can't rush out.

I was once attacked by wasps while sandblasting, and suitably protected. Apparently the sound of the air blast provoked them because they would try to rush the gun until the sand shredded their wings.

The Google AI "knows" we are too dumb and incompetent to do anything like this ourselves. I watch for AI declaring that we are incapable of electing good leaders.

A drop of water in a lead pot can certainly be exciting, but at a much lower temperature a drop of water in a cup of molten plastisol resin can be worse because it sticks when it hits you.

My very first molds were to cast bullets in wood blanks. Typically with cheap pine boards they were good for about 3 castings before they got to big. That was a lifetime ago.

Correction. First mold I made. First mold I bought was for a crappie jig from Palmer. Palmer no longer makes molds, but they sell one of the cheapest lead pots on the market,