Here are some PICS of the inside of an RCBS Pro Melt

[Russel Nash]

Yeah, here you all go:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltInnards4.jpg

That silvery looking coil is the "lead" off the thermocouple, see how it attaches to the temperature controller's "black box":

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltInnards3.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltInnards2.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltInnards1.jpg

Here is a good pic of how the thermocouple is like actually in contact with the spout or nozzle:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltPotUnderside2.jpg

Here you can see how the heating element is wrapped around like a coil spring on the outside of the pot:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltPotSide1.jpg

Here's the pot covered back up again with insulation:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltPotSide2.jpg

Lastly, this is what it looks like when the bottom of the case is lowered to rest on the feet. Notice the circular piece of insulation which rides right up next to the bottom of the pot:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltCaseLowered.jpg

If you all ever wondered what was inside an RCBS Pro Melt (now that demand keeps pushing the price up on 'em), well, now ya know.

I reckon if a guy was handy and had some tools, he could fabricate his own version, albeit homemade, for a fraction of the price of the "original".

Well... I reckon....[smilie=1:

[copdills]

Thanks for the information and pics, not alot in there I thought it was a little more

[GLL]

Nice presentation !

Jerry

[Dale53]

It's a shame there were no pictures of the knob side of the thermostat. That would have been useful to show the brethren how to adjust the temperature. I helped a couple of friends (separately) to adjust their thermostats properly. It is not difficult but I did not take pictures of the action at the time. To gain access, you have to remove the rivets from the cabinet (then, of course, replace them with pop rivets when you are finished).

Dale53

[Russel Nash]

^^^ Yeah, I was looking at how the knob attached to the case.

I did take a picture of it.... here ya go:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ProMeltCaseLowered.jpg

It's not the greatest picture. The camera I was using was my video camera for recording pistol matches.

Anywhoo... there is a temperature control knob there which goes all the way to 850 degrees Fahrenheit.

There is also a switch there.

I think... I think when the controller is sending electricity to the heating element, the light will, well, light up the switch.

As you can see there are no visible fasteners attaching the knob/controller to the case.

I didn't want to fiddle with it too much and break something, but I bet the knob could get popped off... maybe a set screw holds it on...??? and then once that is out of the way I'm thinking that you'll be able to see the rivets then.

For the four rivets holding the case together, I used what are called "zip screws" to drill out the head of the rivet. Zip screws are what "carpenters" use to screw metal studs to the bottom track and top cap.

They are self drilling/self tapping.

So when I put the case back together, I used the same zip screws to screw it all back together. I think it worked really well. :mrgreen:

I had ordered the 230Volt model which came with the European cord.

That's why I had to peak inside the case to see what color wires went to what.

Then I put a new American style plug on it.

It worked just fine.

When I called RCBS last week, they said that the 110V controller and the 230V controller were the same part/same part number.

Hey, it melted some crappy birdshot I had made just fine.

If one were to make a Pro Melt from scrap steel, getting a steel tube that thin might be kinda trickey.

Something 1/4" thick pipe-wise might take a little while longer to heat up, but I guess on the flip side with that kinda thermal mass, the melt, I would think would be less affected by adding cool ingots.

I think....:???:

Oh yeah, one other thing, there is a sheet metal divider, which I guess keeps the heat from the pot from affecting the controller and/or the wiring.

[madcaster]

Very intresting!!!

[cajun shooter]

Now you have went and spoiled it for me. I thought for the money that I paid there was a geni inside that big case and that he granted my every wish for a good casting session.

[Pepe Ray]

Mr. Nash;
If I may venture a guess regarding the heat control knob and how it is attached to the box.
If you should attemp to remove it, consider that the light colored outside ring (which I presume is metal) is threaded.
Pepe Ray

[Russel Nash]

Yeah, thanks.

That thought had crossed my mind last night.

In one of those pics of the wiring and how the thermocouple attaches to the controller, I think you will also see the ends of some rivets sticking through to the inside of the case.

It could be a combination of both.

[Dale53]

cajunshooter;
It's the "Casting Wizard" behind the curtain:mrgreen:.

Dale53

[mikenbarb]

And their how much???:???:
Looks like 20 bucks in parts.LOL.

[Russel Nash]

^^^ Hmmn... yeah... I guess they really are selling it on the RCBS name (like BMW or Ralph Lauren clothes)

I wasn't too terribly impressed with the innards either, but then again I never have looked inside another pot from another manufacturer either, so I don't have anything to compare it too.

somewhere else on this forum there is guy by the screenname of jmorris.

he built an automated casting machine.

he bought a sears oven element new for like 9 bucks and wrapped it around some pipe.

so he kinda put the bug in my ear about making my own ... whatever... shotmaker... pot... etc...

I will go see if I can find that thread of his.

I first spotted it on the Brian Enos forums a couple of years ago.

[Russel Nash]

well, heck, I thought jmorris had posted about his homemade automated casting machine here on cast boolits, but I guess not.

Here is the thread on the Brian Enos forums:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29567&hl=cast

scroll down until you see the post by jmorris with all the pics.

jmorris sounds like a handy enough guy to keep around. :drinks:

[Russel Nash]

oopsss... it looks like you have to be registered and logged in to see those pics.

my bad.

I will see what I can do tomorrow about posting the pics back here in this thread.

[j20owner]

oopsss... it looks like you have to be registered and logged in to see those pics.

my bad.

I will see what I can do tomorrow about posting the pics back here in this thread.

I'd appreciate that. I'd like to see the pics.

[Just Duke]

OMG! I almost threw up during the autopsy Russell. <ralph!>
MikeanBarb and I are working in conjunction with a whole new melting system that will be offered as a kit. With Mikes many years of fabrication skills and my engineering skills we WILL! come up with a better mouse trap.

[mikenbarb]

I am 100% confident that the system were working on will be the beast of all beasts in lead smelting and the best thing is that it will smelt enough lead for thousands and thousands of boolits so theirs no worry of making the exact mix to match the previous lot because it will smelt lots of lead at one time. Im hoping to be able to offer the whole setup to smelt approx 300-400(Small size) pounds of lead WITH burner for around 300-400 bucks! My biggest holdup now is the body castings im having made for the bottom pour.:( The biggest smelting beast im going to offer will smelt 1000+ pounds of lead at one time to satisfy the biggest appetites for lead.:twisted:

[Russel Nash]

jmorris on the Brian Enos forums wrote:


In my quest to make my shooting better/faster, without spending too much money, I decided to give bullet casting a try. I knew from watching a friend cast fishing weights, I needed a new angle. After little research I came across Magma Engineering. The company sells a very high volume casting machine (19,000hr) and a slower one called the Master Caster they said would do 500-800an hr. So I looked at the pictures they had and dusted off my drafting scale. The machine is based on a cast aluminum frame (which I couldn’t make) and was manually operated (which I didn’t want), but it didn’t seem overly complicated. So I ordered a set of molds from them for 230grn LRN .45.

I made a melting pot from 7” round pipe with 3/8” wall, it’ll hold just under 60# of lead (1750 bullets worth). Wrapped it with a new (a used one doesn’t like to bend) 3500-watt oven element I got from the Sears repair center ($9.47). I had a few Yokogawa PID controllers, so I used one of them for my thermostat. I hooked the controller to a 12v dc actuated 230v ac solid state relay. I was then melting wheel weights. I soon covered the element with .045 stainless steel to keep the heat in and off my face.

Once I got the bullet mold ($65 & almost three months later) I built a frame out of 1”X1” .095 mild steel. I used double split set collars (2.25 ea.) to hold the oil lite bearings (1.14 ea.), for the main shaft (3/4” OD); this will provide easy maintenance in the future. The mold carriers were machined from 1” solid stock. I rolled ½” solid rod for the guide rods to hold the mold shut. Sections of 5/16 24tpi all thread were used on the sides for adjustment.

I decided that sitting around pushing a lever (to let the lead flow), and pulling a handle (to throw the bullets out of the mold) might get in the way of some “quality time”. So I went through my stuff and came up with a gear reduced motor that ran at 4rpm. With two bullets in the mold this came out to 480 bullets an hour, about right. Then I hooked a solenoid to an arm that pulled a ¼ stainless steel rod from the bottom of the pot; a ¼ 20 bolt can be adjusted for the amount of flow. Under the pot I milled a slot that diverted the molten lead to the stainless steel orifice plate that has two holes in it the correct distance to hit the center of the mold holes. The solenoid is controlled by a home made timer (duration of flow) using a 555 integrated circuit (from Radio Shack). I can adjust the pour time from 0 to 10 seconds with 10 turns from a 0-1meg ohm potentiometer (1 sec a turn). This fine adjustment is needed for the sprue (part above the actual bullet/s) to fill properly without spilling over. A double pole single throw switch controls the whole process. When the actuating arm hits the switch, the timer, with a double pole double throw relay, stops the motor while simultaneously pouring lead.

As soon as the timer stops the flow of lead the motor begins to drive the mold down, cutting the sprue then hitting two pieces of angle iron that split the mold apart, dropping the sprue into one divider and the bullets into another. Then the process begins again. I found a fan is needed to keep the mold cool enough for the 480 rnd an hour pace, in summer heat. I also added an extra timer for a cool down pause (1-30secs), after the mold opens, to further cool if needed for 350 + grn bullets. The last addition (not in photos) were two 12vdc solenoids to tap the mold carriers, to knock a bullet out if it happens to get stuck. It’s still not finished out, but you can see how it works.

After a few hours of playing with my new toy, I had quite a pile of bullets. They were though, a few thousands over .452. I looked at the sizers available and again they were slow or expensive. A trip to CDC surplus got me a 3” pneumatic ram with integral limit switches for $25. I machined a sizing die from stainless steel. Mounted it all to a piece of 3/8” plate steel. I used a double split set collar to hold the sizing die in place, this will allow for different calibers. I machined a piece of brass that threaded into the ram to drive the bullet through the die. I made a bullet carrier from UHMW to carry the unsized bullets from a feed tube to the mouth of the die. The carrier rides in an aluminum housing that has a momentary switch on the end. When the carrier goes in, far enough for the bullet to drop in the die, it hits the switch that drives the ram down to it’s limit then back up. After this process the bullets are perfect .452. I am still experimenting with different bullet lubes; however, I have been using a water based dry lube for forming steel that seems to work well (just dip and let dry).
One interesting thing, I can, by changing the alloy of the bullets, make anywhere from 210grn to 240grn bullets from the same mold.

As for saving $, using range brass, Nobel Sport BA 10 and Win primers 1000 rounds sets me back $21.


http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/ControlPanel.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/Caster4.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/Caster1.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/Caster2.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q101/chills1994/Caster3.jpg

Enjoy!

[j20owner]

WOW!! What a setup!

[Bullshop]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=7235&highlight=drip+pot
BIC/BS

[deltaenterprizes]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=7235&highlight=drip+pot
BIC/BS

Great idea,thanks!

[Bullshop]

OOPS I posted this on the wrong thread. It was ment for the dripomatic thread, sorry.
BIC/BS

[Hardcast416taylor]

HMMM....If I remember how my pard as you can find and weld a bottom onto it. Take the electric element out of 2 yard sale fry pans and wrap around the pipe adding small weld clips to hold elements in place. Make a cut out for the connection of the coils in a equally high piece of 10" pipe. Carefully fit the 10 over the 8" piece of pipe and weld the 10" onto the piece the 8" is welded to. We used a liquified insulation between the pipes that cures and looks like concrete. We mounted legs, 1" x 6" pipe nipples to the pots base and welded another plate to the 1" pipe ends after leveling them. We plug in to the elements to melt about 75 lb of lead in about 30 - 40 min. We then either unplug 1 or the other elements to control the head while pouring. After 25 yrs it`s still serving me to melt scrap lead to make ingots. :castmine: Robert

[madcaster]

This thread deserves a bump daily!