Let's talk melting pots gentlemen...

[dromia]

Just one Matt, when you going to be taking orders so I can get in line.

[dodgyrog]

It looks like you'll have two orders from this neck of the woods.
Combined shipping with Dromia's might be beneficial.
I can't wait to see the finished article.

[Longwood]

At least with a removeable nozzle, if we later come up with a design that works better, it could be changed.

I am building one from a propane tank but I put a flat bottomed pocket at the bottom for the valve.
I made the rod on my valve with a 3/4" long pin which is smaller in diameter than the valve hole below a simple taper on the rod so it will not lift out of the bottom piece of the valve. That way all I needed was a tapered hole that matched the taper on the rod. No need for so much machining and the holes at the bottom. I may redesign the bottom part of the valve and make another with a long lapped taper on the rod and top part of the valve similar to yours except without the sideways holes then a fast taper farther down on the bottom for a dual seal if mine does not work well.
I am out of acetylene right now so I cant do the little bit of brazing I need to do on the valve so it is removable instead of welding it on but I will try to remember to take photo's as I build to put here.

[Cadillo]

I own four of the WAAGE K4757 20# pots . The current price directly from WAAGE is $162. The company also makes VERY large capacity pots as well.

Jerry

That's a nice looking setup. I went to the website and it's not there. I wonder if they have dropped it from their line.

[tonyjones]

Cadillo,

I don't think the Waage K4757 pot has ever been on their website. They make this pot as a service to bullet casters. Call Waage at 1-800-922-4365 and ask for Marsha.

Even if this pot is not a big money maker for Waage a lot of people here love theirs. I've thought about buying two or three of them on several occasions.

Tony

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

I think I have THE answer on the mould guide/rail. If you have two rods on the right side (supporting the pot), you just need an aluminum rail about 1/2" by 1". Drill a 1/4" diameter hole in each to correspond to the rod spacing and thread them. You can just use a hexhead screw (measure the height before you start it, for the mould depth you will be using) and tighten the screw. I'd suggest square posts.

Rich

PM me and I'll give you my phone number if you wish. We can bounce ideas off each other easier on the telly.

[Matt3357]

I'll PM SwedeNelson to see if he can send me a picture and dimensions and we'll go from there. I am sure I can come up with an easy to adjust/easy to manufacture design. Got one more final tomorrow and one more project due friday then graduation on saturday. So close I can taste it.

Thanks,
Matt

[SciFiJim]

Matt, Congratulations on the graduation. I'm sure its been a long road and at times you wondered if it would ever end. As you can see here, a good educations WILL pay off.

[Matt3357]

Oh it already has Jim, I got a job working for Sunnen Products here in St. Louis designing fixtures and tooling for their automated honing equipment. Can't wait to start June 1st.

Matt

[EDK]

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My brother lives back there. I can have him pick it up about June 5th and bring it to The Quigley.
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Rich

Yeah, right.....with all the junk I bring with me.....and I'd probably end up buying one for myself and have no allowance for months! I'm leaving on the 11th.

[Mohillbilly]

How did I miss this thread ? looks like good stuff and I'll bet I could go pick mine up locally . I do like that shot maker a lot too. Could/ would you do one of those again too ?

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Matt,

does it over complicate things to mill slots on the right hand supports so a set screw could be used to tighten the rail after you set the height for a mould?

Rich

[Matt3357]

Rich,

Since I don't have a mill, yes it would way over complicate things. I have officially turned everything in for school as of 5pm yesterday. I have family coming into town this weekend for graduating and then next week I'll get back to finishing the modeling. I plan on having some choices for you guys.

Mohillbilly,

Local pickups are always welcome. As far as the shotmaker, the price prohibits me from ever making another. However, what I plan on offering is a trade deal. 50% of the lead you give me you get back in shot. So if you send me a 100lbs of lead ($20) and return shipping, I'll send you 50lbs of shot. One flat rate box holds 50lbs of shot. So with this deal, you get 50lbs of shot for less than the price of one bag so long as your lead is cheap. For local swappers, obviously the deal is sweeter. I figure with lead getting harder and harder to find, this will be a good way to bring in enough supply to last me a long long time.

Matt

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Matt,

I have another idea for a solid long term product you can offer. Check your PM's.

regards,

Rich

[Matt3357]

Ok guys. Still haven't had time to finalize the design, but I have been thinking about how I want to offer these for sale. I want to offer a couple of different models for the different types of casters out there but what I don't want is to take open orders and be completely over run. This way I can control how busy I am without upsetting too many people. I am planning on eventually offering the following.

6" diam
Bottom Pour Casing Pot
Ladle casting Pot


4" diam (smaller capacity = cheaper)
Ladle casting pot.

PID control units (for those that just want a unit to control other things)

and finally
8" diam 120lb capacity elec smelting pot.


All units will be PID controlled of course.

These will be done with group buys.

I am going back home the weekend of the 20th to start gathering materials and getting a game plan for how to best produce these things.

I am going to get a hold of 45nut to see what I need to do to offer my services in a group buy.

Matt

[bwgdog]

Matt-Looking forward to a 6" bottom pour casting pot w/pid. Barry

[mpbarry1]

6" bottom pour for me

[tonyjones]

Matt,

If I buy a 6" and an 8" pot will both come with PID controllers or will I be able to save some money by using one controller for both pots (not simultaneously)? Will the connection between the controller and the pot be a simple plug in/out affair? I also assume that both pots will be bottom pour. Have you considered having the bottom of the pot slope toward the valve?

Thanks and regards,

Tony

[dromia]

I'm in for a 6" bottom pour.

[Matt3357]

Tony,

I have not considered that. It would increase the difficulty of the manufacturing for one thing and would direct all junk into the nozzle. If you want one like that, I am sure we could work something out. Good but expected news, I passed the drug test and am ready to start my first day at the new job.

Oh and on the smelting pot. I had not considered a bottom pour option at this time. I would need to up the size of the nozzle hole and valve. Not sure I want to get into that right now, but we'll see.

As far as the PID situation goes, I haven't exactly figured out how I want to offer this set up. I have a couple of ideas as far as stand alone purchases and combo deals, but for simplicity I think I will offer the PID setup as a stand alone entity. So you can order what ever pot you want for a price and add the price of a PID setup into it if you need it. So each Pot alone would have a price and then the PID setup would have a price. That way you could order one PID and then any combination of Pots for it. So you could do what some guys do and get a few of the small ladle pots to keep different alloys in but only have one controller. Anything within reason is possible.

All PIDs will have two connections on them, a standard outlet and a special K type thermocouple case mounted plug. So disconnection of the pot is as simple as plugging and unplugging the thermocouple and cord from the sides of the box. If you can plug in a lamp, you can connect your pot to the PID.


Matt