Suggestions for a casting furnace base pad?

[Tom in Pittsburgh]

I'm getting ready to go back into bullet casting. Last time around the kitchen stove and a cast-iron pot got me in trouble with the missus, so this time around I have picked up a 10# Lyman melting pot. Is there a good, readily available material that I could use as a surface to put the pot on. I want to avoid particle board or plywood -- since they're flammable, and I know asbestos is a no-no.

What do you folks recommend?

TIA

[montana_charlie]

Actually, there's nothing wrong with plywood. While it's true that you are dealing with high temperatures, you would have to work pretty hard to set plywood on fire with a Lyman pot.

The disadvantage of wood is that lead drips and spatters tend to lock into the grain...making cleanup difficult. For that reason (not for fireproofing reasons) I like a piece of sheet aluminum on top of the wood.

CM

[RayinNH]

Tom, a large cookie sheet works well, especially if your still doing it inside the living quarters, the low side will catch most errant pieces. Out in the workshop a two foot square piece of sheet metal will do nicely...Ray

[waksupi]

Try Hardibacker. I just used some for my shop floor, since it in not flammable. I wanted to be able to safely weld, cut, and forge in the shop. I'm putting some of the scrap pieces on the work bench top under my casting pot, and also find it is good to use when soldering, or need a place to put hot metal.
It comes in 1/4", or 1/2", under $15 for a 3X5' sheet.

[Shiloh]

Had a piece of scrap masonite under mine for a while.

Shiloh

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Plywood, masonite and even a sheet of cardboard will work if you protect it with some aluminum foil wrapped around it....2 or 3 wraps is better. Lead never sticks to aluminum. The base of the melting pot will not really get hot enough to bother the cardboard if you use that. A sheet of thin....1/16" or 1/8" or 1/4" sheet aluminum cut to any size that is convenient for you, works better--as long as it is somewhat larger than the immediate area in which the pot sits. For a long time I used one of those heavier gauge aluminum oblong baster trays that are sold in the supermarkets or Walmart/Target/K-Mart etc. The trays come in adequate sizes-a foot X 18"or 24" is big enough) have 3/4"-1" high sides all around that keep the spatters and drips inside the perimeter. They're not expensive. LLS

[Bret4207]

Any cookie sheet type thing will work. I used a hunk of 1/4 plywood years back with no problems.

[WHITETAIL]

I would go to the scrap yards and poke around.
See if they have any sheet metal scraps.

[RP]

Check with some cab shops they will have drops for sink cut outs lead dont stick to mica. I also use bakeing pans under my pots catching any drips spills or overruns after casting move pot and dump the pan. Just the pans is all you really need the way I look at it they work as a safety net in case I have a major mishap to contain the lead.

[mooman76]

I have mine sitting on a partical board top workbench. it is painted with a good paint and the lead splatters peal right off easy. If you don't like that a cheap cookie sheet would work well.

[Chihuahua Floyd]

I use my table saw. Big sears floor mofel job that was given to me.
Drop the blade under the surface, folded towel beside the pot for bullets to land on or bucket of water on the floor if I want to quench. Good hight, cast iron top, wide enough and pretty hard to move.
CF

[vinceb]

This works out well for me . Needed to raise pot height . Nice storage area to .

[Depdog]

Went to WallyWorld and got the biggest cookie sheet with sides on it. Looks like a 1/2" tall giant rectangualy cake pan. Any drippings just come right off and got back in the pot. Keeps the table in the basement clean and I have two Lee Pots inside the pan. One I cast out of and one to keep the casting pot full while it melts new lead.

Glenn

[Tom in Pittsburgh]

I have read all of the replies, and finally went for sort of a middle route. I bought a close-out 18" x 18" ceramic floor tile at Home Depot. I tried it out, and it is just what I needed.

Thanks for all of the helpful suggestions.

Tom

[Lotec]

There is a most excellent product that is a fine solution to this question. It is water proof, it does not burn, it's tough, fairly light weight and it's relatively cheap. Durock cement board comes in 2' x 4' x 1/2" sheets. This Durock has fiberglass reinforcement matting incorporated in the cement (concrete) rendering it quite fexible. It cuts easily with a reciprocating saw. The exterior surface is reasonably smooth, but a very large cookie sheet (the kind the commercial bakers use) covers any spill contingencies. Durock's best attribute in using it for casting is that it is a poor conductor of heat and doesn't burn.
Menard's and Home Depot has it in stock. It is used in bathrooms and such other high moisture areas in place of gypsum board.

[Lloyd Smale]

Like some here know i lost my whole barn and all my loading gear last year to a fire caused by a pot overflowing so im a little anal now. FIrst i never leave my pot unatended anymore and what i did was bought a work bench at lowes (but a guy could do the same with a homemade one) i then took ceramic tile and covered the whole work top with it. then i got two teflon cookie sheets and put my pots on top of them. I wont be called stupid twice

[grages]

Although late, better late than never. I'm using a cinder block under my pot, has two storage bins and provides the needed elevation.

Shawn

[BruceB]

My RCBS furnace sits on a piece of 1/4" aluminum plate, 24"x30". Nothing sticks to it, and molten alloy freezes almost instantly on contact due to its ability to conduct heat. Clean-up is dead easy, and it looks good afterward.

When I build a new shop, hopefully later this year, I'm thinking of going to a sheet-metal (ductwork) fabricator and having a galvanized-steel top made, with a roll-up "backsplash" and roll-down front to cover the entire length of my benches. That will stop the steady disintegration that occurs with wooden tops over the years, with all the hammering, cutting etc etc that goes on.

[beagle]

Nice looking rig there. I made one similar but wider and on the extension to the side, I mounted a 4" cooling fan from Radio shack to sit a mould on when it got too hot to cast good bullets. Of course, the fan opening has to be covered or small pieces of lead will drop in and become small airborne missiles./beagle

This works out well for me . Needed to raise pot height . Nice storage area to .

[DLCTEX]

+1 0n the Hardi-backer. Like Duroc, it is a cement/fiber board, but harder. I find Duroc tends to be crumbly on the edges. I used 1/2" thick board. I do like the idea of the cookie sheets having a raised edge to contain a large spill. I have come back to a pot to find a stalagmite built up to the spout that stopped the flow. Scary, I don't leave the pot unattended anymore.