lee pot as a shot maker

[beex215]

the pot already has a fine enough drizzle. all we need is to flow that drizzle onto an angled surface, then dropping that in some water or coolant.

sounds like that would work. anyone done something like this?

[ukrifleman]

I made shot many years ago and was told by an old guy, that there was only 2 ways to do it.

Either dropped from a shot tower or dropped 3/8" through a `sieve into water, to produce `round` shot.

Molten lead droplets remain relatively round for the first 3/8" or so after passing through calibrated holes, before going pear shaped and then going round again. A shot tower takes this dynamic into account, to allow the shot to form into a round shape before cooling them.

One thing I found was, that I had to grade the shot after being formed, I never did manage to produce regular sized pellets, I also had a fair amount of pear shaped rejects, but enough good stuff to make it worth the effort.

I used a 5 gallon metal container with holes drilled around the sides to allow the water to drain away and maintain the 3/8" drop height as the container filled with lead.

I wish you luck with your project and to answer your original question, I am not sure that just `drizzling` molten lead down an angled surface will do the job, but I hope you prove me wrong.

Anyway, best of luck with your project.

ukrifleman.

[leftiye]

My lyman makes drip statues if you let it.

[koehlerrk]

I don't see why it wouldn't work... it would be slower as you're only going to have one shot-stream running as opposed to the other shot makers that have 6-12 or more drippers going at once. But unless you need tons of shot you should be okay. Try it and let us know how you made out.

[beex215]

i do not have a lee pot. i was thinking about getting one and if this would work, it just adds another reason for me to buy it.

[Cap'n Morgan]

You could make some sort of attachment to the pot to make things happen faster and easier. I'm thinking of some sort of a "trough" made from thin gauge metal or steel, with a row of tiny punched holes and an inclining ramp below. The material used must be thin enough to prevent the lead from freezing, else you must use some sort of pre-heating to get things rolling - litterally speaking. Some sort of adjustment of the handle to control the level of the lead in the troug would also be nice, but not absolutely necessary.

Perhaps someone should contact Lee and ask them to come up with such a gadget for their pots. It would probably be dirt cheap and I'm not asking for royalties...