New to me propane burner

[onelight]

Sounds like you married well . Not many women like to shoot.
I need to learn some lessons on bargain hunting , some of you guys put together great casting kits really cheap.
Good job.

[jsizemore]

It takes a while for the deals to come around. Patience!

[mjwcaster]

For me it does take a while, I normally don’t go looking to hard.
I just keep a mental list of things I would like and then search the local sales ads and face book groups whenever I get bored.
Eventually a good deal will show up locally.
If I can get it I do, if I miss out it just wasn’t meant to be.

It too me over a year to get another 110v compressor for my garage, I wasn’t too serious and the timing was never right for the good deals I found.
Finally got serious and lucky, $35 for a decent compressor a few miles from my house that needs a little tlc, a but is the perfect size for what I wanted.

When I started casting I lucked into a $5 Dutch oven and 50cent ladle at the same shop.
Didn’t find another ladle I liked for 5 years, just recently found another 50 cent one that feels good, nice size and solid.
Perfect timing as my old one is getting loose.


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[lightman]

I built my stand and burner from some scrap that I had laying around. My pot is the valve cover from a high pressure railroad tank car that a buddy gave me. I cut some of the hinges and latches off of it and welded a couple of handles and a tab to hold a thermometer. I have the Dutch oven and Lyman ingot mold that my Grandpa started casting with. I use the Dutch oven for smelting small batches of alloy and for a landing zone for the wheel weight clips that I skim off. I bought 6 or 7 more Lyman type ingot molds at a gun show for $2 each. For a long time I used kitchen utensils for skimming and dipping but finally splurged for a nice Rowell Ladle and a large skimmer.

[1hole]

I'm an old shooter/reloader guy who likes for words to mean what they should mean. Not that it matters a whole lot but what gets called a "smelting" pot by many of today's shooters is really a melting pot. Smelting is the process of obtaining metal from ore and none of us do that!

Getting words right matters sometimes. Like cartridges are not "bullets"; bullets are not "projos"; no matter what Joe Biden (and other Democrats) say, not all semi-auto firearms are "assault weapons" and not all military ammo is "large (or 'high') caliber"; self defense is not being a mean ol' "vigilante"; revolvers are not "pistols", etc.

[lightman]

I've always called melting scrap lead in bulk in order to pour ingots "smelting". I know its technically not correct but I doubt that I'll change. There are other terms that bother me worse. Lupy or Loopy for Leupold, for one and several of the ones that you listed.

[mjwcaster]

I'm an old shooter/reloader guy who likes for words to mean what they should mean. Not that it matters a whole lot but what gets called a "smelting" pot by many of today's shooters is really a melting pot. Smelting is the process of obtaining metal from ore and none of us do that!

Getting words right matters sometimes. Like cartridges are not "bullets"; bullets are not "projos"; no matter what Joe Biden (and other Democrats) say, not all semi-auto firearms are "assault weapons" and not all military ammo is "large (or 'high') caliber"; self defense is not being a mean ol' "vigilante"; revolvers are not "pistols", etc.

I agree, but what word to you propose to differentiate between melting and cleaning scrap and melting clean lead to cast?
Two very different actions that need to be described differently.
While not technically smelting from ore, when melting range scrap you are taking a mixed material from the ground and extracting only the element(s) you want, to the best of your ability.

There are many words that have different meanings depending on the context or industry.
Most people seem to be able to accept and adapt.
Casters seem to have done the same and understand what is being described.

Now my pet linguistic peeve is abbreviated terms for firearms failures.
Casters know what we mean when we say ‘smelting’.
But what is an FTF?
Or a FTE?
Failure to fire or failure to feed?
Failure to Extract or Eject?

Using the same abbreviations for different failures leads to confusion.
I have proposed and some times used a four letter abbreviation.
FTFe
FTFi (I dont like this one, maybe Fr)
FTEx
FTEj

The exact abbreviation doesn’t matter, just moving on to distinct terms for different failures.

And considering I have never gotten any traction in changing actually confusing terms to something useful, I fear you are spinning your wheels with the whole ‘smelting’ issue.

Particularly on this board, where is has been discussed many times over the years.

Btw- you do realize your on a board that spells ‘boolits’.
We as a community have already agreed to take some linguistic liberties.
Maybe some day ‘boolits’ will be added to the dictionary with our definition.
Language is always adapting, keeps life interesting.


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[kevin c]

I think you're smart to have considered the ground you have to work on. Level, smooth (at least under the feet of the stand) and firm. Nothing to predispose tilting, tipping over and spilling. A leveled piece of heavy plywood set on ground that doesn't let it shift or rock should do it, provided (as again you smartly realized) it doesn't pose a trip hazard.

Setting everything higher up is easier on the back, but does mean even more care that that heavy pot of molten metal is on a very stable platform, and that the pot itself is stable (I'm considering welding a wider ring onto the base of my propane pot, for instance).

FWIW, I describe what I do to my scrap lead sources as "processing", and my gear as "processing"equipment.

[jsizemore]

I'm an old shooter/reloader guy who likes for words to mean what they should mean. Not that it matters a whole lot but what gets called a "smelting" pot by many of today's shooters is really a melting pot. Smelting is the process of obtaining metal from ore and none of us do that!

Getting words right matters sometimes. Like cartridges are not "bullets"; bullets are not "projos"; no matter what Joe Biden (and other Democrats) say, not all semi-auto firearms are "assault weapons" and not all military ammo is "large (or 'high') caliber"; self defense is not being a mean ol' "vigilante"; revolvers are not "pistols", etc.

Scrap lead is our "ore". Words are tools that communicate our thoughts and experiences. When we say "smelt" folks understand what we mean, even you. The tool has worked.