Mistake 1:
I put the pot on, then left the area and forgot it for about 20 minutes.
It dipped about 9 pounds of lead into a nice inverted mushroom. I had to hammer that sucker hard to get it to fit back in the pot.
Mistake 2:
The pour mechanism got clogged. I tried to use a piece of iron wire to clear it, and the wire broke. Completely jammed the pour hole, I had to empty the pot, let it cool, disassemble the lever mechanism, then put heat back on to clear the hole, then let it cool again and reassemble.
That said, it works now again. Harbor Freight red.