Desperately need help due to bone headed move of the year.

[prickett]

HELP!

I left my pot for 10 minutes or so, as I waited for the lead to get to the final temperature and this is what I found when I returned:

5434954350

I'm hoping/betting I'm not the first one to do this. I'm looking for a ideas/solutions for removing the mountain of lead. So far I can think of a hammer and chisel, or a blow torch. Please give me any you have as well as advantage and disadvantages of each.

TIA

[btroj]

If it isn't too wrapped up on the mold guide it won't be too difficult to remove. Get the rod for the guide free and it should be easy to remove.

A torch may be better. A chisel is gonna be awful tough on the Al base of the pot. Keep the heat where you want it and go slow. Work on getting it free from the obstructions and keep at it.

Good luck. Now you know why I keep a small cast iron fry pan user the spout in any lead pot. Been there, done that.

[runfiverun]

we had a pictorial contest a couple of years back for lee drip artwork.
if you can't twist it off the mold guide and the legs, a torch is gonna be your friend.
a cookie sheet is a good catch basin.

[Roosters]

Tinsel Fairy knows when you not looking . . .
Like btroj said I would try carefully with a torch to get the rod loose and see if what’s on top of the plate will fold back . If it’s under it to back to the torch . Have something to sort of rake the lead away as it melts.

Wonder if Lee would warranty that ?? :kidding:

[cbrick]

Ok, I'm an *ssh*le for saying so but I just can't resist.

Isn't that one of them fine LEE pots that some here so highly recommend?

Hhmmm . . .

Sorry about your trouble but geez, no wonder I quit buying LEE casting $%^& years ago.

Rick

[billyb]

Turn your pot on it's side and remove the screws that hold the base on the pot. The lead should slip off the rods. The bottem is all that will come off with the removal of the screws. Bill

[40Super]

Is the whole 20# out the bottom? That would have won the leadcicle picture contest. Remove
around the leg and it should be almost free in one BIG chunk. Your going to have to cut it up to fit back in the pot though.

[Roosters]

Turn your pot on it's side and remove the screws that hold the base on the pot. The lead should slip off the rods. The bottem is all that will come off with the removal of the screws. Bill
That sounds like some Good Advice that came from someone that has been there . . ? :shock:

[geargnasher]

If you use cheap equipment you need to be prepared! I use cheap equipment and have a cookie sheet under the pot base and a stack of ingot moulds handy for emergencies. So far I haven't had any disasters, but some people have burned down buildings with unattended pots, so babysitting hot lead is always a good idea.

Gear

[jonas302]

I would defiantly be switching the cardboard for a metal pan baking sheet

[tward]

Had a similar experience, went to Tractor Supply and bought a ss pie pan. Also got a lee ingot mold that I place in the pan under the spout. It's a lot easier to shake lead out of an ingot mold! Tim

[Gtek]

I left an end mill running one morning to go take a quick leak, worst case you can melt yours and save it. This will be a funny story before you know it-and both eye holes still work and you can still count to twenty one. Thanks for sharing. Gtek

[Dennis Eugene]

Gear is right lucky there wasn't a fire. cheap lesson this time. Dennis

[arkypete]

My suggestion is to put it Ebay as Comtemporary Industrial Art with a price of 1,000 bucks. Then buy a RCBS pot.

Jim

[Inkman]

So question.

Was the lead already molten when you left it? Was is still not melted all the way? Had you been casting and added lead to the pot and were waiting for it to heat back up?

I'm just curious as i can see how that happens if the hole is ajar but the lead not all the way molten yet.

Al

[mdi]

Hmmm, seems like you were gone more than 10 minutes :bigsmyl2:. But I too, am guilty of creating some "Lee Art". Not ragging on the OP, but I was taught early (10 yrs. old) never to walk away from a machine when its running (bench grinder, drill press, cloths iron, or car in driveway, or lead pot). I think the removal of the legs is a good idea (mebbe need a little kroil squirted in there to loosen things up too).

[fredj338]

One reason I put a small bowl under the spout, just in case, ut my Lee pots never drip like that.

[rodsvet]

One of the best advertisements for a Pro Melt i've seen lately. I have a bunch of Lee pots in my garage that I am waiting to give to people I don't like. Just kidding!! I am glad you didn't get hurt. Rod

[JLDickmon]

wow... that's uh... interesting...

[dbarnhart]

When it happened to me most of the lead ended upon the concrete floor in front of the bench. I ordered an RCBS Pro-Melt soon after that.

[1Shirt]

When it happened to me, I used a torch, cussed a lot, and got it cleaned up and working again.
1Shirt!

[swheeler]

That is just what my Lyman moldmaster did, could be a fire, ask Lloyd Smale.

[sw282]

Pricket..lt will come apart easy enough. Just take the base screws off.. The whole unit comes apart easy enough. l had it happened to me too. The pot will actually drain itself quicker than ten mins.

[softpoint]

I've had a RCBS Pro -Melt for 20+ years, and I have had it do that too. Just not that bad:shock:All it takes is one tiny piece of foreign matter to get in the wrong place. The RCBS isn't often a dripper like my small Lee is though. And, I've learned not to go off and leave the area when a pot is on, too. They can develop an attitude that they don't normally have.....

[prickett]

Thanks for the advice all. I'll be trying to unscrew the base tomorrow. Sounds like it'd be much simpler than a torch. But, I always have the torch to fall back on.

I believe the reason for the leak is that the screw that holds the pouring mechanism in place came out. I actually returned with the lead only 3/4 poured and tried to giggle the handle. At that point the screw came completely out. Since I already has a mess on hand, I just let the final 1/4 pot pour.

As to the question of what was the state of the lead when I left, it was at a bit over 500 degrees. Just wanted it to heat up to about 650 in my absence.

[meshugunner]

I have never done that - but you can bet I am going to sometime in the future.

As someone who has quite a bit of experience working metal both steel and lead with a hammer and chisel, I say it's not the answer - it takes a lot of force and the frame wont stand it. IMO the best way to cut that stuff is a hacksaw with a coarse blade. 14tpi if you can find it. I would also use copious amounts of oil to lube the cut and wet down the lead dust (and yes a paper face mask).

If it were my problem I would try to break things down to the point where I could throw the mess into a large pot, melt it down and pull out the steel & al parts. You can do that with a cheap stainless or cast iron pot on your stovetop. From what I can see, I would only cut the pour spout free. Then I would disassemble the pot itself, and the control box on the back and take down the rest of the mess as far as it will go. The base plate and some other parts might just pull away given a chance since the lead was likely too cool to really stick when it coated them. Whatever is left can be melted down and remaining parts pulled free.

Yes the cardboard is a bad idea. Molten lead is hotter than the ignition point of paper. I use a tuna can to catch drips, but if that happened to me, the can would buried in the middle.

[jimb16]

It reminds me of the geyser at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone! BTW, I've done the same thing, just not as badly. Mine was only an 8lb pot.....

[Philngruvy]

I am not going to pick at any specific comments regarding cheap equipment etc. That is a stream of yellow fluid contest that we dont need to get into here, thank you. But, I use one of those pieces of equipment and I have cast thousands of boolets and shot and slugs and yes, it does drip from time to time and is NEVER a problem because I do not EVER leave my lead pot when it is on. I am thankful for you that you are not telling us a story about how your house burnt down because you left the lead pot unattended. As for the remedy to your problem, A torch of lower heat will do the job but be careful not to overheat the aluminum parts, for the same reason you dont smelt lead in aluminum pots.

[brotherdarrell]

My Lee pot looked almost exactly like that two days ago. I grabbed my propane torch and went to melting. It took about 15 minutes to get the mess loosened up so I could remove it. In my case the last time I used the pot I had emptied it and adjusted the screw to open up the hole as much as possible. When I started a new pot I forgot to re-adjust. I never actually left the area, was just busy getting molds ready.

brotherdarrell

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Just to be fair:

we need pictures of your SAECO, Lyman, RCBS, and Magma melting pots experiencing diarrhea...

[tek4260]

This is the reason you clamp a large pair of Vise Grips on top of the stem on the Lee pots.

Seems to be a simple design flaw in that the rod will "float" in the lead. Therefore you have to either adjust the screw to hold the rod down and have a tiny little stream or open it up to get a proper stream to fill big boolit molds, and live with the drip and splatter. The weight of the pliers holds the rod down so you can adjust the screw for max lift.

Also, it prevents this from happening :)

Hope you get it worked out! It probably looks worse than it actually will be.

[dragonrider]

Yeah I have been there and done that, use to have a pic but I must have deleted it from my hard drive. Looked just like the op's.

[PuppetZ]

It looks like the pot is not too old. I had the same model spill 20 lbs of lead during the 2nd session I ever used it. Turn out the nut that old the spout secured to the internal pot was left loose at the factory. I'd check that out.

[ncbearman]

So far this is my only lee art I have to share. I was lucky to learn that watching cheap equipment is a necessity. I agree that disassembly will solve your problem fairly easily.


54475 54472

[dragonrider]

After some searching I still did not find pic I wanted but I did find this on my phone that I had forgotten about.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/PaulGauthier/IMAG0180.jpg

I knew that this one was dripping, when I first noticed it was a little above the coffee can, I decided to see how tall it would get before falling over, Made it all the way to the spout. It had been some time since I had cleaned my pot, I have cleaned it since the pic and it leaks very infrequently now.

[mdi]

Ok, I'm an *ssh*le for saying so but I just can't resist.

Isn't that one of them fine LEE pots that some here so highly recommend?

Hhmmm . . .


Sorry about your trouble but geez, no wonder I quit buying LEE casting $%^& years ago.

Rick
Yep, there's always one that has to show their "superiority" by jumping right in with Lee Bashing :groner:

[meshugunner]

...I knew that this one was dripping, when I first noticed it was a little above the coffee can, I decided to see how tall it would get before falling over, Made it all the way to the spout. It had been some time since I had cleaned my pot, I have cleaned it since the pic and it leaks very infrequently now.

That is a very cool picture. Thank you

[303Guy]

Well, after reading this thread I went and bought a - wait for it - Lee Pro 4-20!:mrgreen: I'll be adding a weight to the plug rod for the weight and ease of turning.

[ncbearman]

Well............I hope I didn't mislead. I'm not Lee bashing at all. I love my 10 pounder. It leaks very little I just have to maintain it well. Which is true with any equipment we use. Someday I will have the ProMelt, but it will be a while. In the mean time I may try to get a 20 pounder.

[meshugunner]

I have the 20lb Lee. Only thing I don't like is the temp control which is awful. I plan to make an electronic controller for it.

[prickett]

Ta Da!
54518

Just had to get the lead off the left support and from around the base. Removed the base and it pretty much fell right off!

Thanks all for the help.

[Frozone]

now to prevent this from likely happening again - put a 6" long piece of 1/4" x 3/4" bar stock under the handle.

[PS Paul]

I really like my Lee pot. Yeah you gotta tweak it a little- same as most any piece of machinery, but the info I have learned on this site has kept me from any disasters. The money I saved on the pot, compared to other pots, was used to obtain LOTS of lead and linotype.

So it leaks a little once in a while? So what. Think of all the fun threads we'd be missing out on if it weren't for the Lee pots!! Har-har!

[shooterg]

Mine did it while I WAS watching ! Just wouldn't shut off. I've been a ladle guy ever since.

[cbrick]

Yep, there's always one that has to show their "superiority" by jumping right in with Lee Bashing :groner:

Superiority? That makes zero sense. Being or even feeling superior has no basis in reality for anything I've ever said on this forum.

However, if it makes you feel warm & fuzzy please feel free to believe that's what it is.

It's nothing more than the LEE stuff is not worth the grief & aggravation, not even if the stuff were free. As for me, I'll save up the money until I can afford the next casting tool I need, one that does what I paid for without needing to re-engineer it to get it to do what I paid for in the first place.

Rick

[prickett]

now to prevent this from likely happening again - put a 6" long piece of 1/4" x 3/4" bar stock under the handle.

I'm not following what you are saying. Do you mean hang it from the handle as a weight to hold it down?

[45-70 Chevroner]

I have seen pictures on here of someone using washers between the wood handle and the arm but using a longer bolt through the handle. I have not tried it as of yet but it looks like it would work. I think they used about 4 or 5 washers, the kind with a small hole and about 1" in diameter. By the way keep using the lee products. My first pot was a Lyman 10 pounder and it did the same thing. That was back in 1971 (I bought it brand new) and I used it for about 5 years and I had problems with it leaking all the time and just like my Lee pots today I payed little attention to it except to make sure that it doesen't happen. I did have it happen a couple of years ago because I got side tracked while the lee pot was heating up. Like someone said in a post above the tinsle fairy knows when you are not watching.

[40Super]

I have the 240v Lee 20# and mine came with a steel handle, not the wood like I have seen in every picture of them like the one above. You can see the black handle in my avatar. I was surprized at that and wonder if they only do that on the 240v models. Mine seldom leaks and I know it's the weight of that handle, I was intending to make one before it came.

Also my temp control is pretty stable, to get 725F I am only on 4.75 to 5.0, it will go up to 950 to 1000degrees( I had it to 875F once and it was still climing plus the control was only on 7.5)

[303Guy]

I have the 20lb Lee. Only thing I don't like is the temp control which is awful. I plan to make an electronic controller for it.
About that electronic controller - any tips? I'm going to build one.

[3006guns]

You've been given some pretty good ideas on how to "get the lead out". As for all the Lee detractors...hey, it's a lead pot with a lift rod, same basic idea as any other lead pot out there. I've had the same thing happen to my SAECO when a piece of junk got caught in the spout, so I wouldn't be to quick to call the pot "junk". Why not find the cause and correct it? It might need some additional weight on the rod, or the nozzle cleaned, or any one of a dozen other easy "fixes" that the OP can do.

I'm not a huge supporter of Lee, but I AM a supporter of ANY company that provides the tools for this hobby...and I do have some of their dies and molds. Good stuff for the money as long as you realize it might have some durability issues if roughly treated. Recognize that fact and you'll have some tools that will give good service.

[popper]

303guy - there are some threads in the stickey, plus somebody here makes the PID controllers.

[donald duck]

Recently stuck a 7mmTCU case in my Lee sizing Die, sent it to Lee, in a week had it back, no charge. so I ordered a 7mm-08 Neck Crimp Die and sent them a check to cover die & postage. I use a Lee Pot to cast a Lyman Ideal 120 grain bullet in 7 mm. Do watch to see that it does not drip. Have had it for several years and still operates fine, I would buy another if I ever had to make a change. I appreciate advice on the web site!!! Have learned a lot. Thanks for all the comments!!1 dd

[gwpercle]

After doing same, I took the opprotunity to clean all the crude out of my newly emptied Lee pot. Seems they don't drip as much when kept clean and I didn't know how quickly the pot got cruddy untill it all leaked out. So while it's empty go ahead and give it a good cleaning.....gary

[PS Paul]

Keep yer pot CLEAN? By God, THAT might just be THE answer!! ha-ha! The first time I ever used mine I had a piece of brass from a fishing weight get wedged under the rod, but I cleaned it quick and have learned to clean mine since. As Lee recommends, I also leave about an inch of alloy in the pot before putting it up UNLESS I plan to cleaqn it which, depending on the amount of crud in the alloy, might be every third use up to only every fifth use or so. That does help.

[OnHoPr]

When I seen the OP I thought is was a silver back grizzly scat pile. But, then I thought there wasn't any griz in Ohio.:kidding:

[Elkins45]

It's nothing more than the LEE stuff is not worth the grief & aggravation, not even if the stuff were free.

Rick

You can get the 20lb Lee pot for about 20% of the price of the RCBS unit. I'm willing to do some reengineering at that price. Besides, as others have said, buying the RCBS pot is no guarantee that it won't drip. I love RCBS but they are way too proud of their lead melter for my taste.

[youngda9]

I agree. And if you can't get a simple needle-hole arrangement to work on a Lee pot then you deserve to pay through the nose for a RCBS pot, LOL.

[meshugunner]

@303Guy:

Temp control is the big shortcoming on the Lee pots and many people have gone ahead and upgraded them. There are several good threads on CB by people who have done this. I will post one for my project.

Basically you need three parts:

A type K thermocouple in a stainless jacket rated above 800F - available on ebay for $2 rated to 1500F
A solid state relay rated at least 10A - available on ebay for less than $10
An electronic control unit that responds to the thermocouple and switches the relay on and off.

Most people buy a PID control unit available on ebay for less than $20. The hook up is very simple and most of the work will be to house the control stuff and install the thermocouple in the pot.

Note: Cheap electronic parts on ebay usually come from the Far East and take two weeks to arrive. You can find these from US suppliers but you will pay more.

I plan to build my own control circuit. It's a very simple circuit (if you know some electronics) and the components cost about $5. I will post the circuit too but I don't recommend doing it this way unless you are into it and just want to build the electronics. Turning a very simple project into a much more complicated one to save less than $15 is not smart IMO but I can't stop myself.

[Just Duke]

Turn your pot on it's side and remove the screws that hold the base on the pot. The lead should slip off the rods. The bottem is all that will come off with the removal of the screws. Bill

What he said. Then sell it and then rob the kids college fund and buy a RCBS Pro Melt and you'll never look back.

[Shyoldman]

You can hate me, if you REALLY want to get rid of a pot. :)

[cbrick]

I agree. And if you can't get a simple needle-hole arrangement to work on a Lee pot then you deserve to pay through the nose for a RCBS pot, LOL.

I'd bet you would really love my Magma pot huh? LOL

Rick

[Just Duke]

Ta Da!
54518

Just had to get the lead off the left support and from around the base. Removed the base and it pretty much fell right off!

Thanks all for the help.

Your the luckiest guy. You should have bought a lottery ticket that day. Another member here burnt his whole shop down not watching his melter. The cookie sheet is a much better upgrade from the cardboard in your first post.
If you guys have wood work benches go down to Home Depot and buy a piece of Hardie Board and throw on top of it.

[gabe123]

After some searching I still did not find pic I wanted but I did find this on my phone that I had forgotten about.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/PaulGauthier/IMAG0180.jpg

I knew that this one was dripping, when I first noticed it was a little above the coffee can, I decided to see how tall it would get before falling over, Made it all the way to the spout. It had been some time since I had cleaned my pot, I have cleaned it since the pic and it leaks very infrequently now.

Dragonrider,

Since you went all "Bill Nye the Science Guy" with your event, I hope you collected some useful imperical data cause I have a couple of questions.

#1 How long did it take for your stalagmite to form?
#2 When you dismantled your treasure, did it break into sections when bent or did you have to resort to mechanical means to disassemble it?
#3 Did you try to catch any of the individual drops that came out?
#4 Have you been able to replicate the results?

I do like your style to let things play out. Many of our common use items came about by accidental means.

Myself, I would have tried to catch some of the droplets to determine if they would make shot. Who knows, maybe Lee could market their pot as a dual use device. Making lemons out of lemonade, no wait, I may have that backwards... oh well, lets see if I can do it.
[smilie=s::popcorn::confused: