Proven right

[metricmonkeywrench]

Despite my wife's repeated attempts to clean out the garage of "all that junk you'll never use" I now have a use for my Squad Stove :bigsmyl2:

The Lee 10lb pot was just too small to break out the turkey fryer...

246319

[RickinTN]

It appears nobody else is going to comment. That is a very narrow base and very top heavy. It's a terrible accident waiting to happen. Your pic may be deceiving, but I don't think so. That much molten lead on the loose wouldn't be any fun.
Rick

[Bookworm]

Drill a hole in each if the stove feet, screw it down to a 12" square piece of plywood. Problem solved.

I would suggest perhaps a mention in passing to the Wife. Rubbing her nose in it would probably be a bad idea...:shock:

[metricmonkeywrench]

LOL figured more comments on the wife... defiantly mentioned in passing while on the riding mower as she was walking away

Surprisingly the stove/pot combination is quite stable without screwing it down, it weighs more than it appears even without the fuel. I have had much more stacked on that little stove over the years.

All the same though I am careful around it and any other hot work, molten metal is molten metal no matter what its setting on.

[Larry Gibson]

That's what I started casting with back in the late '60s; a squad stove but with the Lyman round bottom pot. Made a perforated steel ring to sit on top of the stove with the round pot nestled in it. The ring channeled the heat around the pot and smelted alloys a lot better. I also used white gas or Colman fuel in mine. Cast many thousand 429421s and 311359s with it. Still have the complete set up.

[yeahbub]

I have one of those stoves and it worked great for years. Ever run it on denatured alcohol? Mine sounded like a Saturn V taking off and it burned hot, but never leave the alcohol in there for extended periods. The moisture in it will rust out the tank, which is what happened to mine. I never melted lead with it, but it would sure do it. I get what RickinTN says and have to agree a spill would be most unpleasant. I'm thinking a cradle for the pot with a wide base for stability would be easy enough to fab up.

[frkelly74]

That has happened to me often enough ( the using of something stored ) that My Wife no longer questions my bringing home "junk" knowing that I will probably find a use And it is a waste of time anyway . if I can still find it.

[skeettx]

Great
Yes, it is good to have a stockpile of treasures :)
Mike

[David2011]

We're packing up to move. She looks at EVERYTHING that isn't hers and asks, "Are you going to keep that?" Well, I could pitch it all and replace it in a month. She wouldn't like that very much either.

[RogerDat]

It appears nobody else is going to comment. That is a very narrow base and very top heavy. It's a terrible accident waiting to happen. Your pic may be deceiving, but I don't think so. That much molten lead on the loose wouldn't be any fun.
Rick

I have an early Coleman Peak 1 which I think is even taller than that stove. It is surprisingly stable. I have often used it with a large 12 cup percolator coffee pot on top without any issues. That is not to say some sort of wood base mount wouldn't be prudent for lead melting, maybe with wing nuts for easy removal. Or even a simple block and lip arrangement that the feet slid under.

Rip a 3/4 x 3/4 piece of wood, cut a saw kerf worth of groove along one edge. Cut into blocks and screw to base with the saw cut on the bottom. Slide feet under that lip to secure to base, slide out to remove.

[smithnframe]

Looks like an accident waiting to happen.......be careful!