First Smelt ever this weekend.

[novalty]

Well my father-in-law was down to visit, and decided to kill a few hours and try out my new equipment for my first smelt. My father-in-law was the one that got me into reloading, and into casting, but he had only used a Lee 10lb pot for smelting down his wheel weights, so he was curious to see how my 6qt dutch oven and Camp Chef Fryer would work. So we get all set up, and he places the first 20lbs, into the dutch oven, and looks on disapprovingly of me as I add another 20lbs. We fired up the dutch oven and got the lead melted down cleaned off and fluxed twice with pine sawdust. After we started ladling (Thanks to RayinNH's awesome ladle), and my father-in-law really likes the setup and tells me to go get the rest of my wheel weights. While we didn't get through all 200lbs, we were both amazed that we did get through 100lbs of the wheel weights in a couple hours just taking our time and being careful. Will try to get a pictures of the ingots we cast posted soon. We left about 3/4" in the bottom of the dutch oven for the next smelt. Overall it was a great time, and everything went smoothly. Next will be getting the RCBS Pro-melt broken in. Pretty soon I'll be able to hang up my sign :castmine:

[Don Purcell]

novalty, be careful, it becomes addictive as you start seeing those ingots pile up. You need more and more and then before you know it you are meeting shady characters in dark alleys to make a buy on buckets of wheelweights and on it goes...

[runfiverun]

where are these dark alley's??? :lol:

[45-70 Chevroner]

Dutch oven pots work great for smelting. You want to be cautious though, do not hit or bang on the side of the pot, they can crack or break open and you don't want a mess like that. I have been using a cast iron harth pot for years it is about 10" deep and 12" across the rim. I have it rigged to use two 3/4" rebar supports across a 55 gal. grease drum using any kind of wood that is available. The pot will hold about 60+ pounds.

[justing]

still looking for a good casting pot any ideas (on the cheaper side?)

[novalty]

still looking for a good casting pot any ideas (on the cheaper side?)

The 6qt. dutch oven I am using was $29.99 from Harbor Freight.

[novalty]

Got a few pics tonight. Got 70 bars from the along with what was left in the dutch oven (about 3/4"), guessing I had about 20-25% waste.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m11/novalty1970/IMG_6677_zpsd4b4e42d.jpg (http://s100.photobucket.com/user/novalty1970/media/IMG_6677_zpsd4b4e42d.jpg.html)
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m11/novalty1970/IMG_6673_zps69a24a18.jpg (http://s100.photobucket.com/user/novalty1970/media/IMG_6673_zps69a24a18.jpg.html)

[Cherokee]

You are hooked now. You'll be surprised how fast those ingots convert into boolits using that Pro-Melt.

[blackthorn]

If by "looking for a new casting pot" you mean a pot for melting raw Wheel Weights (WW), cut the top off an old 20 lb propane tank (free for the work)! Used on top of a turkey frier burner you can melt a lot of WW in short order. On the other hand, if you want advice on a "casting" pot, I like my 20 lb RCBS!

[novalty]

Well I just got my bill from Mihec for a 4-cavity brass 9mm 125gr cramer mold with HP pins and handles. So I am expecting that to arrive in the near future.

[chirodr1]

I picked up an eight quart cast iron pot at a Salvation Army store for about $3.00. Works like a charm. Check any second hand stores in your area.

[Lizard333]

If by "looking for a new casting pot" you mean a pot for melting raw Wheel Weights (WW), cut the top off an old 20 lb propane tank (free for the work)! Used on top of a turkey frier burner you can melt a lot of WW in short order. On the other hand, if you want advice on a "casting" pot, I like my 20 lb RCBS!

This is the setup I use. Propane tanks are very good choices as tanks.