mould master

[Catsmith]

I have a "mould-master" model 61 that came in a deal I made a while back. The bride got it out yesterday and used it for the first time. Worked like a charm but I have a couple questions.

1. the spout would not pour lead until we turned it up to about 750 or a little better. Is that normal?

2. how do you clean it up without messing it up? overall it looks good but there is some light surface rust on the outside and inside the pot.

3. is this a good pot for a beginner?

[500MAG]

That is a great pot for a beginner. The spout may not have poured due to some rust and other build up. You may want to take a bent paper clip with some needle nosed pliers and run it thru the spout while it is hot to clean it out. As far as the thermostat goes, that thing is rarely accurate, especially at the age it is. I have an old lyman 20 pounder and removed the thermostat and wired it directly. I use it now just for smelting small batches when I am too lazy to set up my turkey fryer and pot.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

As I have said on a couple of occasions this is one of the better pots made over the years; it and the Saeco Model 24 were made by the same company. A ten pounder by design it is a rugged, well made pot. It is a good pot for anybody, then and now and it is unfortunate that it was discontinued. 750 degrees is ok for general casting especially if you are running the pot at 3/4 full; nothing will be harmed. Adding an ingot will of course lower the operating temp for a while. As to cleanup; the pot should be scraped regularly--the sides when you flux. Periodically the pot should be emptied and the bottom cleaned with attention to the corners. Use an old kitchen knife with a point. its amazing how much crud is found on the bottom and of course it works its way over to the valve if you don't get it out of there. For surface rust a few rubs with #000 or #0000 steel wool usually gets that off on the outside, the thermo housing and the inside as well. I spray the outside parts of my Saeco with the high temp stove black made by Rustoleum and sold in department/hardware stores. It looks good, is easy to touchup and prevents rust from appearing or coming back. I wipe the inside of my pot with an oily rag after it cools down...it stinks a little when using the pot again, but it quickly goes away and no rust starts on the inside. If you ever need parts and/or info on how to repair it there are articles/posts on the forum listing links etc. LLS

[Catsmith]

Thanks to both of you. Ran it again on some fishing weights today and 15 lbs later it worked fine.