Minor disaster today

[richhodg66]

Fired up my Lyman 61 to cast after church this afternoon. Cast a pot of pure lead round balls first, single cavity Lyman mold worked like a champ. Got another pot of alloy going and prepped a new to me NOE mold for 6.5 I'd been wanting to try. About the time I got it up to temp and casting good bullets, the screw that the lever that opens and closes the spout pivots on worked loose somehow and the whole thing came loose which meant I had lead pouring all over the place and had nothing I could get under it to catch it. Long story shot, I have an interesting looking lead sculpture and splatters all over my work table now.

Gonna go to the hardware store and get something to fix it with tomorrow and spend some time cleaning it all up once it's cooled down. Shouldn't be a big problem, but it kinda ticks me off that I didn't get done what I wanted to do. Note to self, have something that'll fit under the spout to use as a catch pan in case that ever happens again.

[TexasGrunt]

I always have a metal bread pan close to the pot. If something happens I can get it under the spout and it will hold the whole pot. It's also deep enough to prevent splashing.

[OS OK]

I've had a problem with that screw tightening up for some time...seems the hole is wallered out some and the metal is so thin there's not much to grab onto.
I used some JB Weld to fill the screw threads in a bit, sorta like putting pipe dope on threads...let it cure overnight and screwed it back in gently, careful not to over tighten it, just seat the screw flush with the tub edge.

It's been fine for a couple months now...doesn't come loose anymore.

[richhodg66]

I always have a metal bread pan close to the pot. If something happens I can get it under the spout and it will hold the whole pot. It's also deep enough to prevent splashing.

Wish I was smart enough to learn things the easy way. I will have such a pan from now on. Never had this happen before, though I have had the opposite problem with a Lee pot clogging and not being able to get it flowing. Different kind of trouble there.

This will clean up OK and at least I didn't get burned or damage anything that can't be fixed, just put an end to my casting session early.

[54bore]

I always have a metal bread pan close to the pot. If something happens I can get it under the spout and it will hold the whole pot. It's also deep enough to prevent splashing.

My setup EXACTLY! One should always have a plan in case of a catastrophe

[lightman]

I use a metal pot to put the dross in that I skim. Its big enough to hold the contents of the pot and its close by. I also have a 1-1/2 inch deep wooden box that I set my pot in when casting. Its bigger than my pot and leaves enough room for a landing zone next to the pot.

Oh yeah, glad you were not hurt!

[flyin brian]

My emergency plan is a bit different. I have a 5lb bar next to the pot and if I ever have a runaway situation, I'll set that bar in the pot and it will cool it down enough to stop pouring immediately. I have tried it and it works amazingly well.

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[RP]

Never thought of it as a emergency plan but I have one by chance. I placed my pot on a raised platform to make it easier to cast with view of the spout and mold is more in my line of site. I set the platform inside a large baking tray like you would bake a cake in sides are around 2 inches tall with handles. The reason for this was to contain the drips and over pours I just push off the plate I made to hold my heavier molds closer to the spout. After my pot is cooled off I can just pick it up and move the platform and dump all the lead that builds up in the pan back in my spruce tray to remelt. The pan keeps my casting area very clean and I can move it out of the way just by picking up the pan. Now I realize I have protection in case I have a run away pot.

[LenH]

I had the same thing happen with a full pot last spring. I had been reclaiming some range lead and my ingot molds were still handy.

[dpoe001]

I keep my pot on a large cookie sheet,and have a homemade ingot mold sitting beside it when i cast.

[w5pv]

I have a bottom pour Lyman pot that holds around 20# of smelt and use a pie pan under the pot it will not hold all the pot has but will slow the spill down enough to get other containers in play to save the smelt.

[bbogue1]

These are excellent suggestions. I am just starting to smelt and had not thought of any emergency measures other than a tip over. I just took a standard bread pan (3" deep) and slid it under the spout of my Lee Pro-4 pot and it fit fine. I would estimate the pan would hold 3 times the volume of the pot. I like the raised side cookie sheet, cake pan idea best to keep the work area clean and organized.

[frkelly74]

I use one of those iron corn bread molds as a platform to rest my molds on when filling them. This positions the mold at a good distance from the spout and steadies it very well and It very effectively catches every drip and would buy time in the event of a runaway situation for me to get another catcher under the flow.

[Greg S]

Getting ready myself to move back north and on the next bench plan on using a full sheet cake pan under the pot to catch everything, hot melt, splatter, sprew crumbles ect.

ETA: Right now I'm using an old 9" layer cake pan whichncould hold the contents of the pot but until now, never thought of a need. After Action Reports are a way to learn from a mistake and correct our planning/training to overcome a shortsight or problem.

Thanks for the heads up and glad you weren't burned.

[mold maker]

Don't plan on holding the catch pan if an emergency happens. It will quickly get too hot to hold leaving you with another emergency. A full sized sheet cake pan under everything is an automatic problem solver. Make sure to get the commercial-grade pan that is heavy enough to stand the volume of hot lead.

[Strtspdlx]

I set my pot on my I got pan. It serves two purposes. One is to raise the pot to better view the spout and two for spills you have described it will hold 20lbs of lead and make Ingots from them. I can take a picture when I get home if that's helpful.

[Taterhead]

Getting ready myself to move back north and on the next bench plan on using a full sheet cake pan under the pot to catch everything, hot melt, splatter, sprew crumbles ect.

ETA: Right now I'm using an old 9" layer cake pan whichncould hold the contents of the pot but until now, never thought of a need. After Action Reports are a way to learn from a mistake and correct our planning/training to overcome a shortsight or problem.

Thanks for the heads up and glad you weren't burned.

A full sized heavy commercial sheet pan is what I use also. Although I'm still waiting for my first drip (knocking on wood)! It should be large enough and heavy enough to deal with a full pot.