Gonna get a melting but which one

Here is what I need. An all in one pot that I can flux, clean, melt and pour out of. I don't want to get 2 pots right now, can't afford it anyway. I will be melting mainly wheel weights and some cleaner lead but I will have to do a lot of cleaning and fluxing and that kinda boring crud.

I also want to get it all clean so when I do get to pouring my jig heads, pencil lead and other sinkers I can just go and not have to clean. Just take ingots and put them in while I clean what I have poured. I dont want to get a melting pot that I have to get a heat source for either so electric is gonna serve me best for sure.

Anyone have any recommendations? I was thinking about the 4# Lee melting pot but not sure if that is going to be enough to really pour a lot so I was thinking the 20# version. 15 minutes isn't bad though for the 4# version so I don't know. I am not doing a ton of pouring, maybe 200 jig heads, 500 pencil lead and 200 sinkers a year so not going into production anytime soon.

this is just to get started, I can upgrade later to a bottom pour later but having the melting pot gives me something to clean lead in anyway for when I do get the top pourer.

Go ahead and get the bottom pour now. Get the Lee Production Pot IV.

The little 4# laddle pot won't get your wheel weight lead hot enough for a good full pour, you'll end up with gaps and short pours. This is the voice of experience.

If you flux and clean you'll be fine with the bottom pour.

I'm with GCD on this one. Since your not goona pour quantity the
LEE procuction pot is the answer, the bottom pour will make life easy.
And if you wash your ww off and let them dry you'll minimize the need
for fluxing. I make ingots in a cast pot and haven't fluxed yet, skim the
pot and when it cools if i leave a thin layer on bottom for the next melt,
I can take it out and dump off the carbon stuff. I pour with a Lee pot
thats 20 yrs old at least. It smokes the electric ladles they don't last.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crappiedoc

I'm with GCD on this one. Since your not goona pour quantity the
LEE procuction pot is the answer, the bottom pour will make life easy.
And if you wash your ww off and let them dry you'll minimize the need
for fluxing. I make ingots in a cast pot and haven't fluxed yet, skim the
pot and when it cools if i leave a thin layer on bottom for the next melt,
I can take it out and dump off the carbon stuff. I pour with a Lee pot
thats 20 yrs old at least. It smokes the electric ladles they don't last.

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I'd just like to add to make darn sure your wheel weights are completely dry before putting them in the melter, water and molten lead explodes!

I bake my wheel weights in the curing oven at 350* for about an hour to get any moisture out of them, just a little moisture trapped where the clip is attached will pop and spatter lead out of the pot.

im with gcd also....i actually do the this with mine..only thing i do is empty my pot every now an then and clean it out....had my pot for about 6 mths now and havent had a problem yet doing this...and i do pour heads for other people also...

Fish,I have had the Lee 20# for about 6 years now.When I first started and really did'nt know anything about it,all I did was melt and clean wheel weights.At least 500 pounds of ingots later it still works like it did when I first got it.All that you really have to make sure of is to keep a regular screw driver right there to turn the adjusting screw if it starts to leak out of the spout.I think it was the best $60 that I have ever spent,lol.

Fish

Go and get the IV bottom melter, My oldest one I bought in 1984 and it's still going strong. course I clean mine out after every pouring session. If you're gonna clean the wheel weights in it get an aluminum pie plate and after you load up the pot just put the pie plate over the top and it will take care of any splatters.

Make sure you wear EYE PROTECTION, GOOD GLOVES, LONG SHIRT, HEAVY JEANS AND BOOTS. I know a few guys who wear full face shields. I've been burned with lead and I'll always make sure my buds are careful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you need any info let us know and we'll be more than glad to help you out.

Be safe and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!

Fatman

Isn't it a pain in the arse to get all the clips out of the bottom pour pot? I realize they float and anything fluxed will float but doesn't the rod for the pour get in the way?

If I can get away with the bottom pour and still be able to clean and flux then I will definately go that way.

Just an old teaspoon and scoop all the stuff out.Very simple.

When I started I hung the ww on a wire till it melted off and pulled the clip
out and repeated. Still do now that I think about it, cause I only ww lead on
my bucktail jigs which I use Poly-Sil paint on. The antimony makes the lead
tougher, so the lead doesn't dent when it hits something hard, saving the
paint job. I get my lead from scrap metal dealers, I like plumbing lead the best
However when they remodel x-ray rooms you can really load up on pure, soft
lead, it'll come in sheets(the best) or like a wallpaper. The problem with the
paper stuff is the glue, but you can tear around it, which when its free who
cares. Our hospital has remodeled 3 times the last 15yrs. My friend got the
first batch which was 1/16 sheets 4'x8', that was the best I've ever seen,
over 4000# of it. Roof jacks are awesome to.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fish_4_all

Isn't it a pain in the arse to get all the clips out of the bottom pour pot? I realize they float and anything fluxed will float but doesn't the rod for the pour get in the way?

If I can get away with the bottom pour and still be able to clean and flux then I will definately go that way.

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Na, I use a pointed garden trowel with a wooden handle and you can work around the plunger. You need something with a wooden handle to scoop, stir, and scrape the sides with when you're fluxing.

Not only will you have clips float to the top, but some of the WW have a non flammable plastic like coating on them too. These come out in one piece kind of like a used weenie wrap... the kind used for birth control.

I remove all the big junk like clips and plastic before I flux, then take the fine stuff off the top after fluxing.

You'll need to experiment with the temp control when using WW, if they have antimony in them you'll need a higher heat setting.

They are getting to more and more tinny here actually, Might be more antinomy might not, I don't know. They might not even be lead anymore but there are a lot of lead ones out there still and I have a bunch already.

When I have fluxed before we used a ladel, scooped up the stuff off the top with a little lead and poured the lead back in the melting pot. Do you just need to run the garden trowel through the slag and stuff and it will stick to it?

Sorry for all the questions but only time I poured I was using a 50# pot and using a ladel. I don't want to spend $40 on a bottom pour pot and ruin it.

When I get this pot, would it be best to put some clean lead in to keep the junk away from the spout and make it easier to clean and flux the wheel weights?

Fatman, when I pour I always used a shielded pouring area to protect everything. I have been hit by molten lead twice and hated it so I don't plan on it happening again if I can help it. I am thinking I am going to build a small pouring station, basically a box that will contain most of the splatter.

One proeblem I did find is that I have a mold I will be pouring a lot that is 4.25 inches high. I know I can get a ladle but is there any chance it will pour this mold? It is a pencil sinker mold, a really old one and the pour in areas are very small.

One thing for sure, the kids won't be anywhere near this when I am doing it. Gives me something to do when they are in school.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fish_4_all

They are getting to more and more tinny here actually, Might be more antinomy might not, I don't know. They might not even be lead anymore but there are a lot of lead ones out there still and I have a bunch already.

When I have fluxed before we used a ladel, scooped up the stuff off the top with a little lead and poured the lead back in the melting pot. Do you just need to run the garden trowel through the slag and stuff and it will stick to it?

Sorry for all the questions but only time I poured I was using a 50# pot and using a ladel. I don't want to spend $40 on a bottom pour pot and ruin it.

When I get this pot, would it be best to put some clean lead in to keep the junk away from the spout and make it easier to clean and flux the wheel weights?

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I am able to just skim the oxidation and crud off of the top with the trowel and pick up little or no good lead.

It would be better to fill the pot half way with clean lead before putting your WW in the first time.

I never completely empty my pot and let it cool after using it with 1/3-1/2 or more full. This decreases heating time the next time you use the pot, and is recommended in the instructions for the pot.

One safety precaution I have taken with this pot is to secure it to your work surface. This pot is top heavy when full. I drilled a small hole on each side at the back of the base and screw it down before start up every time. Spilling 10 lbs. of 620* molten lead would not be good!

You should be able to pour your pencil sinker mold with this pot, the small gate on your mold won't be a problem because the spout stream is only about 1/8" in diameter. I measured the clearance from the spout to the base and it was 4.25", but you can cut a piece of 1x4 4 3/8" long and make a prop for the extra clearance you need.

GCD is on the money again, I use a wooden handle serving spoon and turn
it over to scrap behind the plunger. Then when skimming the good lead will
drain and I dump of the skum, a little practice and you'll be posting right along
with the rest of us. I also only fill the pot about 1/2 full, much faster heating
time and since my pots old when it goes I won't be out a bunch of lead. I'm
one cheap guy, I started all this with a given Lee production pot and 2 sinker
molds. All of my increases in molds have been paid for by itself, not to
mention the money I've saved by not buying from the store. I've hand cut 2
molds myself with a Dremmel and thats kinda fun also.

I measured from the spout to the base and it is exactly 4 inches.I always keep lead in my pot also.I could put that 4 1/4 inch mold onto mine and just tilt it after pouring.That is if the sprue hole is big enough to go around the spout.

Should be able to pour the pencil sinkers fine as the others have said.

Wait till the clips melt off then skim them out and then flux. I've cleaned lots of wheel weights with my Lee IV pot and never had a problem.

I have two of the LEE IV"S and I might take them up on their reconditioning offer, for $38 bucks you send the melter back to LEE and they recondition it to like new for half the cost of a new one.

Fatman

Fatman, $38, does that inlcude shipping both to them and back? I ask because I can get one from Cabelas for $49.99 with $8.95 shipping. If you pay shipping there and back it that is almost the same price as new. If you spend $99 on Cabelas right now shipping drops to $5.

I hope it will pour the longer mold because that one has the fitting to put in a swivel for small size cuttings. If not I will just have to ladel that one.

$54.00 for the 10 pound Lee and $74.00 for the 20 pound at Barlow's.

$50 at Cabelas for the 10#

Well,hop on over and get it already,lol.

As soon as I have the money, wonder if they take paypal?? This thing better work as good as y'all say or I am gonna spike your lead with copper shavings.
:D Like I have ever been steered wrong on here. Thankss everyone for helping me make up my mind. Now I won't have to bother with all the other crap and just be able to pour and have plenty of sinkers and large jigs anytime I need them.

I'm a rookie when it comes to pouring, but I have been cleaning wheel weights for pouring into ingots to make lead shot for a while. I use a pretty big cast iron pot on a coleman camp stove. It's done outside and sometimes in the shed with both doors open and a fan going. I pour ingots into a cast iron mold. I start by piling as much WW as I can get within a couple of inches over the rim cuz they always drop straight down once melting begins. I use a metal scooper strainer used for cat litter to remove clips and trash from the molten lead, and get very little good lead in the process. I haven't fluxed yet and skim the molten lead once all the big trash is out with an stainless industrial size serving spoon. As nasty as some of the WW is and the smoke it produces I cant imagine doing it inside. One day I'll pour from a production pot but so far I have only ladeled the few I have poured. I learn more every time I turn on the computer from you guys.

I won't be doing this indoors for sure, The smoke from them is nasty. A lobng extension cord and well out in open air is wher eI will melt them. Still thinking about melting, cleaning and fluxing them first but we will see. I have a fair amount of "clean" lead to get started.

Fish

No that doesn't include the shipping and handling, I could order all the new parts but this kid ain't no electrician and by letting them do it, it carries a warranty and if blows up they have to replace it!!!!!

The pot new on the LEE site is $75.98 so half the cost plus six bucks shipping, don't know now maybe buy a new one and use the old one for cleaning.

Fatman

I do wonder how hard it would actually be to revamp it. But like you said, the warrenty is worth the extra so you have no worries for at least 2 years.

I never understood why the company sells them for so much when other places sell them for a lot less. Then again there is the specialty factor which doubles the price anyway.

Before buying anything, I'd wait & see what happens with EPA's possible ban of lead fishing tackle. We have until 9/15 to try for a knockout in the first round. If the outcries of fishermen today don't stop EPA from proposing a formal regulation in October, our odds decrease dramatically.

Please help us gather the facts and ideas that will support our objections.

Slab created a special (temporary) discussion forum for us to collect and refine the ideas that will add punch to our comments. We plan to issue a comment on behalf of C.c's 11,000+ membership, but individual comments are also very helpful. If you plan to send a private comment, that's excellent. Please click into the "lead threads" and use anything there as you write your comments.

I ordered the Cabelas IV pot. Expect some more questions in about a week. I bought 4 bass molds and a ponyhead at a garage sale a few weeks ago. First question is how hard is it to modify a do-it mold? Say cut a weedgaurd groove...

As long as you have the correct tools and the know how to be very accurate it is not hard,lol.