Harry O
02-18-2014, 10:19 AM
I have a Lee 20” bottom pour lead melter/furnace. In the past, I had the usual problems with it leaking. Long ago, I rigged up a 3oz weight pressed onto the top of the main on/off pin. It helped, but did not end the leaks. For various reasons, I am using that pot for a cleaning/smelting pot now.
My wife bought me a new Lee pot recently and it has several minor differences from the old one. One of the changes is the top of the pin is threaded instead of having a separate screw next to the pin. Another change is it has a small steel weight for the handle instead of the lightweight wooden handle. The weight is about 3oz like the one I used before. I expected that it would help, but not end the leaks, plus it was off center.
I also had an 8oz steel bearing from a roller bearing (a little less than 2” high and about 1” diameter) laying around. After annealing it, I drilled and tapped the center to match the threads on the pin.
After adjusting the pin height, I screwed on the bearing and locked the two in place. I first tried it out yesterday and it worked perfectly. No leaks at all and when I dropped the handle, it shut off quick. Now to see how it works long term.
My wife bought me a new Lee pot recently and it has several minor differences from the old one. One of the changes is the top of the pin is threaded instead of having a separate screw next to the pin. Another change is it has a small steel weight for the handle instead of the lightweight wooden handle. The weight is about 3oz like the one I used before. I expected that it would help, but not end the leaks, plus it was off center.
I also had an 8oz steel bearing from a roller bearing (a little less than 2” high and about 1” diameter) laying around. After annealing it, I drilled and tapped the center to match the threads on the pin.
After adjusting the pin height, I screwed on the bearing and locked the two in place. I first tried it out yesterday and it worked perfectly. No leaks at all and when I dropped the handle, it shut off quick. Now to see how it works long term.