Lead Spill

[Wrbjr]

Finished casting last night, turned the pot down to low, unplugged the electric cord and went inside to sort out new boolits.... came back out to find my Lee 20 lb pot had puked its guts out. Maybe 10-12 lbs all over the base of the pot. How in the world do I get it from here back into the pot? Hacksaw would take me 3 years... without tossing the whole thing in a turkey fryer and ruining my pot.... are there any sane options? I know I know... never leave a pot unattended. My wife wants to use it as a door stopper....

[bangerjim]

propane torch. melt it back so you can then break it off in pieces while it is almost in the liquidus state. Lead does not stick to aluminum or steel!


banger

[.30/30 Guy]

+1 for the door stop

[Wrbjr]

+1 for the door stop

Ya, she wants to paint it gold and fake a fancy gold door stop. She was pretty serious about it too... gotta get that torch going before she gets here with the paint...

[tja6435]

I had a lesser puke that required a propane torch and flat screwdrivers to pry loose. My adjustable mold ledge set screw stripped out in the pry off, wish I had paid more attention to that

[Wrbjr]

I had a lesser puke that required a propane torch and flat screwdrivers to pry loose. My adjustable mold ledge set screw stripped out in the pry off, wish I had paid more attention to that

Yep, the lead has flown or rather liquified? under the edges of the stand giving the Galena a death grip. I think I'll post a photo of it to show what happens when one gets in a hurry.

[Wrbjr]

Mount Galena

[DLCTEX]

That's art. Save it for display.

[bangerjim]

Flip it over, melt the "death grip" lower jaw with a torch, and lift off the silver pile.

No biggeee! Give the mountain to your wife. Not much of an investment to keep her satisfied!

I see you still have the old wooden handle. That is most of the problem. New Lee's have a steel handle for weight to hold the valve shut. Easy to add.

banger

[waltherboy4040]

Heat gun and a hammer?

[bangerjim]

Most heat guns struggle to get to 650-700F. And the low BTU transfer of just hot air may take a looooooong time to even get that mass up to a temp that will allow it to start to bend.

A hammer will destroy your pot.

A good flame from a propane/MAPP torch played over the bottom carefully will rapidly heat up the mass and it will bend open easily with a screwdriver and a little elbow grease.

And you will have your fully-functional pot back!

bangerjim

[Wrbjr]

Yep! Propane torch slowly played back and forth on the bottom and around the mold shelf.... back in bidness. Of course I had to light and re-light the torch 327 times... but ya gotta do what ya gotta do to cast.

[bangerjim]

Glad you are back among the living!!!!!!

I knew the torch thing would work for 'ya.

banger

[Wrbjr]

Glad you are back among the living!!!!!!

I knew the torch thing would work for 'ya.

banger

Yep... I figured it would just heat sink and not melt... sorta like with a heat gun.... but it worked just fine. Thank you very much.

[M Hicks]

I feel kinda bad for you. But that is funny. I feel safe in saying that because I have earned that t-shirt already.

[sammorgan3]

+1 on the steel handle. Mine has it, used it twice (today no less) to cast maybe 10lbs of boolits and 5lbs of fishin weights (lead wasters). Nary a drip. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen.

[zuke]

paint it gold and sell it on EBAY

[burrkiss]

torch or hammer, try them both. heat the bottom of the pot that might melt the bottom of the lead and wack the whole thing off.

[Catshooter]

It happens. That is why when I'm not casting, there is a Lyman ten pound cast iron casting pot under the spout of my ten pound Lee electric pot. I've never had the Lee dump itself, but if it does I want it in the Lyman. I can just stick the Lyman on my hot plate and pour it back into the Lee.


Cat

[hickfu]

That looks under 5lbs... Give it to the wife to make her happy!!! Its mothers Day Paint it gold and surprise her


Doc