Stonecrusher
Active Member
I just thought I would share a few pictures of my new pot for making ingots. It is made from a 20lb propane cylinder and is a bottom pour. I tacked three pieces of flat stock onto the top portion so I could use it as a lid and keep the heat in when melting.
The valve is made from a piece of 1 1/2" dia steel turned to 1" dia leaving a shoulder about 1/8" thick on one end. It was inserted from the inside of the pot through a 1" hole in bottom. The shoulder keeps it in place and the thin flange made metal thickness close to the pots metal and enabled me to get better fusion with my poor welding skills and Oxy-Acetylene torch. Also I figured if my weld failed it would keep it from falling out the bottom and dumping the load!
The valve is threaded in the bottom 5/16"18 and is drilled out to 1/2" to allow the lead to flow around the threaded portion. The screw is made like an 82 deg flathead and the seat was machined witha 90 degree included to give a small area to seal against. I extended the screw witha piece of 5/16" stel rod and capped it with a short piece of 1/2" square stock to mate with the removable handle. It has to be removed to get the lid off or on the pot.
Can't take credit for the valve idea, I saw it on another forum. I just adapted it to use the scraps I had laying about. Now I need to try it out. I need more alloy for the handguns!
The valve is made from a piece of 1 1/2" dia steel turned to 1" dia leaving a shoulder about 1/8" thick on one end. It was inserted from the inside of the pot through a 1" hole in bottom. The shoulder keeps it in place and the thin flange made metal thickness close to the pots metal and enabled me to get better fusion with my poor welding skills and Oxy-Acetylene torch. Also I figured if my weld failed it would keep it from falling out the bottom and dumping the load!
The valve is threaded in the bottom 5/16"18 and is drilled out to 1/2" to allow the lead to flow around the threaded portion. The screw is made like an 82 deg flathead and the seat was machined witha 90 degree included to give a small area to seal against. I extended the screw witha piece of 5/16" stel rod and capped it with a short piece of 1/2" square stock to mate with the removable handle. It has to be removed to get the lid off or on the pot.
Can't take credit for the valve idea, I saw it on another forum. I just adapted it to use the scraps I had laying about. Now I need to try it out. I need more alloy for the handguns!