My lead melter

[500cadillac]

Here are some pics of my smelting pot I made at work out of scrap.

[3006guns]

That looks really nice.....excellent workmanship. If I were to question anything at all it would be the legs. They look a little skimpy where they tie into the pot. After all, there's going to be quite a bit of weight in there. Will the legs hold it without folding under the heat/weight?

[hoosierlogger]

Looks like about a 300 LB bottom pour. Stainless construction. Just make sure you have a way to stop the flow of lead if the valve ever sticks open. Or alot of metal buckets. Other than that it looks pretty good.

[WHITETAIL]

500cadillac, Welcome to the forum!:drinks:
And good luck with that pot.
But I would want a little more robust legs.:rolleyes:

[500cadillac]

Thanks guys.

The legs are 1/8 x 1" ss tube. If I ever need to fill it up I will tie them together.

The tank and flame shroud is 14 ga. and the bottom of the tank is 3/16 or 1/4" I forget.

Should easily hold 6 gallons.

[GLL]

Looks VERY nice !

Just remember that 6 gallons of lead is about 570 pounds ! :) :)

I would weld those legs together before you start to smelt !

Jerry

[docone31]

I would brace those legs, or you might have a bad day.

[chris in va]

Yeah, I wouldn't fill that more than 1/8th the way. Maybe you can cut off the legs and put the pot on a block of wood so the spout hangs off the side?

Putting things in perspective, would you and a buddy stand on it?:o

[deerslayer]

Would you and a buddy stand on it after the strength had been reduced by the heat. . I hope it works well with the bottom pour although you may want more weight at the top on the pour handle. Remember stainless will float on lead and if that floats it could be a problem.
Other than that it looks like a million bucks i wish I had your welding skills and a little stainless lieing around. Let us know how it works Nate

[500cadillac]

Yeah, I wouldn't fill that more than 1/8th the way. Putting things in perspective, would you and a buddy stand on it?:o
Yes. Done it and it takes 300# easy. 1 bucket of ww will fill it enough and that should be less than 200#.

[500cadillac]

I hope it works well with the bottom pour although you may want more weight at the top on the pour handle. Remember stainless will float on lead and if that floats it could be a problem.
At first the handle was part of the valve, but then I realised that it would float so I cut the end off and welded a thin rod to it instead.

[RedneckAlbertan]

How did you build your valve assembly?

[500cadillac]

How did you build your valve assembly?
Both valve and seat are made from the same SS shaft as the handle.

Seat has a hole through it with a chamfer. Valve was formed with a disc sander and drill to spin it. Similar idea as the melter in the sticky thread.

It does drip when filled with water.

[bohokii]

no sir i don't like those legs

maybe you can connect them all together with a cable at the bottom to strengthen them

[500cadillac]

Today I bought a bucket of WW for $25 and melted them down. Got 84 lbs of lead plus the stick-ons which I separated and also some lead left in the pot.

No leaks. 8-)

[Bkid]

That looks like a nice set up you got there. Show us some lead,pics please.

[500cadillac]

That looks like a nice set up you got there. Show us some lead,pics please.

6" tumble lube wadcutter: :roll:

[Bkid]

Thanks , lol . looks like you use a can for a mold. So how is that melter working out for you? Sure is fancy.

[500cadillac]

Works ok so far. Was my first time smelting and I don't have an ingot mold yet so I had to pour the lead in something. :)

[Bkid]

Works ok so far. Was my first time smelting and I don't have an ingot mold yet so I had to pour the lead in something. :)

Ingenious , that is a cheap mold and if it works that is great. I want to make a bottom pour now, it just looks so much easier to use. Looks like you could put a lot of lead in it. How do your heat the melter?

[500cadillac]

Melted some ww today. Used too much used motor oil.

I got a free propane tank with some propane in it :)

[500cadillac]

The first try i dumped out the ingots too soon.

[Doby45]

LOL @ busted ingots. I have done it. Muffins look funny when they squish when you dump them.

[BCM45]

Do you have close up shots of your burner? Is it homemade?

[500cadillac]

Do you have close up shots of your burner? Is it homemade?

The only pic I have is in the first post. I didn't make it, it is cast iron.

[7of7]

6" tumble lube wadcutter: :roll:

What do you size it with?? then, what do you shoot it out of???

[LeadThrower]

All that stainless sure is pretty! Mine is just steel plate so I painted it flat black with high-temp paint. Nice work, thanks for the pics! This is one more example for the big lead pot sticky.