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joelhains

I Have A New Dedicated Bait Room! And A Fresh Batch Of Stupidity

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Just moved into a new house. This one has a room that will be my dedicated bait making room. Just moved in this weekend and I just picked up a few new tables to work off of. It should be a great setup after a put up a few selves and everything is put away.

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In my excitement I decided I needed to pour a few jigs for myself. My lead pot usually leaks a bit when it first heats up and I always have to keep an eye on it. Today just after I plugged in the pot I got a phone call and had to leave the room to get a clear cell signal. Well, the conversation got a little heated and I forgot about my lead pot... Until I started smelling melting plastic. I went back to my bait room to see that my lead pot had in fact been leaking and it had melted a hole in one of my brand new tables. A now I have a mess and a brand new table with a large hole in it.

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Moral of the story...never walk away from your lead pot. Learn from my stupidity. And plastic folding tables WILL melt, so put something under your pot if you use a table like this. I have a piece of granite counter top that my pot usually sits on.

Edited by joelhains
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I am going to agree with Vodkaman. I made a pan out of 1/8: thick aluminum with 1" folded up sides all around, and it has saved many accidental spills from going over the edge and onto my feet. Now the 1" lip bothered my hands and made for my molds to  sit too low, so I got a piece of 1" thick particle board set it into the tray. 12" x 12" so I can rest my molds on and they are flush with the bent edge. Works really well for me. I'll try to take a pic when I get home. BTW  nice set up.

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If I,m casting on a plastic surface I use a large aluminum cookie sheet with a piece of 1/8" plywood under it.  I use the cookie sheet no matter what surface I'm casting on.  Never rest a hot mold on a plastic table either.  Plastic is REALLY hard to clean off the mold.

 

That drip is one of the reasons I upgraded to a Pro Melt.  Right now if you shop around you can get the Pro Melt for just over $300 after rebate.  Actual temperature control, holds 20 lbs of lead.  More clearance under the pot.  Has a mold guide, can pour a LOT more lead than a Lee.  I could go on but I won't. 

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Thanks for sharing. I think we all have done things we wish we had not. My pot does the same thing. I use a plumber's torch to get the top layer of lead hot so it doesn't empty out the bottom. May I ask how you are venting the room ?

Just a simple bathroom exhaust fan.

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I made my table 4'x4' out of 3/4" plywood. Used 4x4's for the legs and 2x4's for the braces.

Then I went to a sheetmetal shop and had them cut me a top for it. Their sheets are 4'x4' so on opposing ends I had them bend one inch down.

I don't recall the cost but the sheetmetal was less than $30 I believe.

A smaller table would also be easy to make in the same fashion.

I used to use the cookie sheet idea but when I moved I decided to get a real table and decided just to build one like I did.

Mine sits next to my garage roll up door so if need be I can just slide it out to work outside or to make ingots.

I always make my scrap lead ingots outside.

I'm glad this was the worst of what happened. It certainly could have been worse.

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