Magma master pot

[Brad]

It finally arrived. It is the 110V version with the PID controller installed.

Holy cow, this thing is huge! I can't imagine what their 90 pounder is like.

Here it is next to my Lee 20 pound dipper pot.

Right now it is sharing to get some lead melted for the first time. I won't cast until tomorrow but want lead in it for a quicker heat up tomorrow.

 

[Rick]

Holy cow, this thing is huge!

Told ya that Rowell #2 ladle would fit in it.

 

[Stonecrusher]

That is beautiful! One day...

 

[Ian]

Me like.

 

[Cherokee]

My wrist and back would not allow me to cast long enough to empty that pot. Sweet...

 

[Brad]

40 pounds of molten goodness. What isn't to love?
She is now full of range scrap ingots. Will cast a heap of NOE 503s for the 44 special tomorrow. Maybe some Lee 158 swc for the wife's new revolver too.

 

[fiver]

good lord you could have filled it from the drips all over the bench.

one thing to watch for is sometimes the lead from halfway down will melt before the top.
this holds the rod up a hair and it will drip lead out.
if your just going to ladle cast strip the rod and handle off and put the blank spout on the bottom.
if your going to bottom pour don't fill it all the way up before shutting it off leave the lead down about 3"s.

 

[Brad]

My old Lee pot did that. I tend to leave the pot down some anyway, I'm too lazy to wait for it to remelt if I fill it when done.

And hey, those lead splatters are a sign of an active caster! My bullets are neat, the manner in which they are made isn't. I do eventually scrape them up and remelt. Sheesh, tough crowd.....

 

[Ian]

Looks just like my bench when I try to ladle out of that little 4"-diam. pot: A scene akin to the morning after the Tinsel Faery and half a dozen of her friends had a drunken party.

 

[Brad]

See Lamar, it isn't just me!

Rick says that should be less of an issue now.

 

[Ian]

I only make a mess like that when I ladle cast indoors, which since I never got my 2# Rowell back hasn't happened in a while. I have two Lyman ladles but honestly I make better bullets with the bottom spout than with those little things. Generally I keep my casting area pretty tidy, but have permanent splatter all over the wall behind the pot. I have always had a certain anxiety level about having little lead bits and dust scattered about, especially outside where I render ingots and in the garage where I store a lot of my scrap, since I don't want my kids or my friend's kids to find any little shiny silver treasures, so I keep that stuff cleaned up. My casting area is totally contained and stays locked when I'm not in there, but when I am in there I can't always pay attention every second to rug rats that are liable to eat anything they find on the floor.

 

[fiver]

I don't have spatters or sprues scattered about.
my wife says I'm the messiest OCD person she has ever seen, I have everything boxed and labeled,,,,,,,, and scattered in at least 3 different places and nothing makes any sense to her.
I keep telling her I just don't have enough room.

 

[Rick]

How long did it take to melt those ingots? I was gonna say you won't make such a mess with this pot but geez Brad you have lead splatter on the mold guide before you even got melted lead inside the pot.

I've never once had the pot being full hold the rod up as it cools and I always fill it before turning it off.

 

[Rick]

Here's a worthwhile modification for this pot for anyone that's gonna bottom pour with it. A 1 inch oak dowel about 6-8 inches long, a 5/16" hole drilled in it and drill & tap the handle for a 1/4" bolt. Use a lock nut to secure the bolt, leaves the oak handle loose enough to spin and makes working the handle far easier.

 

[Brad]

That is bit of styrofoam Rick, they used some chunks to pack the pot and it got everywhere.
Took maybe 25-30 minutes to fully melt. Not bad since the pot was empty and getting some lead in the pot to melt takes time.
I need to see what it takes to make a blank orifice so I can remove the bottom pour parts to make ladle casting even easier.

And guys, I will clean up the casting area before I use the pot. It is probably time anyway.

Rick, a handle like that would help. I would likely turn something from Al on the lathe.

 

[freebullet]

That is a beast of a lead pot! Looks very well built.

 

[Brad]

It is a tank. Seeing a weld seam inside where the sides and bottom were attached told me something. This isn't a flimsy piece of formed sheet metal.

It is heating right now for a trial run.

 

[waco]

That thing is awesome! I love my RCBS Pro Melt but that is a thing of beauty! Very nice.

 

[Brad]

After 21 minutes it is up to 540°. Not bad from a 44° start.
I figure about 30 minutes for a full pot, 700° melt.

 

[KeithB]

With a PID and all that lead mass it ought to hold temps really stable. Nice rig!