Lee pot problem

[Many Klatch]

I have a Lyman 20 pound bottom pour that continued to leak no matter what I did. I finally removed the entire assemble and drilled and tapped the spout for a machine screw. It is now a leak proof lead pot and I have to use a dipper. I did find that the bottom pour spout did not fill a .60 or a .72 mold fast enough to get good casts, so I had been using a dipper for much of my casting anyway.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

I got delivery of my used RCBS furnace and it works just as it should. When I get the urge I might still try a fix I have dreamed up for the Lee furnace: to thread the valve rod on top for a steel weight sufficient to seal the nozzle and let the control arm bear on this weight to allow the rod to be lifted for lead flow. Otherwise I'll just drill and tap the nozzle for a permanent screw installation to close it off and then like others have said I'll just use the Lee furnace for ladle pours.

 

[JohnN]

So, I noticed that my older Lee pot has a weighted end on the handle and the newer Lee Pro did not(has a little wooden knob). Not sure if this would make a difference or not so I took a 2" 5/8" bolt and made a weight out of it by drilling and tapping it. Will see what happens today.I can change the weight by adding or subtracting nuts.

 

[mooman76]

I have heard of some taking vise grips and attaching to the end to give added weight. Myself, I've never tried bottom pour. Been ignorant and happy doing it the old way with a dipper.

 

[Zonie]

The added weight may be just the ticket for fixing small leaks.

Remembering that steel parts like the movable plug at the bottom of the pot wants to float to the surface because it weighs less per cc or cubic inch than the liquid lead gives a clue to where the problem may be.

 

[JohnN]

I used the pot today to try out my Lee #4 shot 6 cavity 18 shot mold. The added weight seemed to do the trick. The lead was from ingots I made a few days ago so I think it was pretty clean. I had 1 drip in about 45 minutes of molding. I noticed on their web site that the newer model looks like it has a metal knob for a handle. If anyone is interested it's a 8-32 screw.

 

[Hipshot]

I had a Lyman bottom pour for many years, it was a birthday present from my wife. I used to shoot with the North South Skirmish Association and went thru many many Minie bullets a year. That pot never leaked or failed me. A friend had the little Lee bottom pour pot and that thing always dripped, always. Well I lost the Lyman when we had a flood and my basement became a big indoor swimming pool. That ruined a lot of my reloading equipment. Several years ago I bought the big Lee bottom pour pot but have yet to use it. After reading these post I might sell it and spring for the Lyman again now that I'm fully retired and intent to start casting again.
Hip

 

[coloradoclyde]

I'd buy another Lee bottom pour in a heartbeat...The Lee pot is very affordable and dependable.....Any shortcomings are easily managed

 

[Hipshot]

Yeah CC your right, I should give it a fair try before passing judgement on it.
Hip

 

[Don Steele]

I've been using a Lee bottom pour pot for 20 yrs. Like pretty much everyone else, I got the "Lee-drip" off and on at varying degrees. Also reduced flow...sometimes down to just a dribble. After following this thread for a while I decided to take some of the advice offered and work on the pot to see if I could at least make things better.
Once I got the pot empty, I removed the rod and handle assembly, cleaned the pot thoroughly, buffed out the interior with steel wool, then went to work on the rod end and, the "seat" area the rod drops into and the drain hole (spout) itself.
I used a small drill bit to clear a buildup of crud that was in the hole but didn't actually remove any metal. Once everything was clear, cleaned up, and polished with 4/0 steel wool I set it back up, loaded with lead and got to casting.
Folks....that 20 yr old pot worked GREAT. I had forgotten how pleasant it is to use a good flowing, NON-dripping bottom pour pot.
Throughout the subsequent casting session whenever the flow rate appeared to be diminishing a little bit, I cleared the spout with a bent paper clip and got the "full flow" back. That's a metal issue..meaning my ingots aren't as clean as they should be, and I'll just deal with it.
Results...????
Using a Lee double cavity .395 RB mold,I cast 725 balls that day. I'm one of those guys who weighs my balls before putting them in inventory for shooting. My personal acceptance standard for 40 cal. RB's is +/- 0.1 grains from nominal. When I was through weighing the entire lot, I only had 25 balls that were outside my acceptance range.
Your experience may vary, that was mine. IMHO: The time it took to clean that old pot up was definitely well spent.

 

[hanshi]

You and me both, clyde.