nicklock Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 I'm not wanting to whizz on your chips, but there's a few reports that the Lee pots aren't quite as high quality as they could be - and that they struggle with achieving/holding the right temperature after a few uses. I've not heard the same about the Lyman ones though, which is the detail that got me interested in the info above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re-Pete Posted February 26, 2019 Report Share Posted February 26, 2019 I have this one: https://www.cdsgltd.co.uk/lyman-bigdipperfurnace.html Not used it yet, I'm still waiting for some discs etc to arrive.......... And putting a painted mild steel item into the molten nitrate mixture, a powerful oxidising agent, could result in some fireworks....... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted February 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 On 2/26/2019 at 4:14 PM, Re-Pete said: I have this one: https://www.cdsgltd.co.uk/lyman-bigdipperfurnace.html Not used it yet, I'm still waiting for some discs etc to arrive.......... And putting a painted mild steel item into the molten nitrate mixture, a powerful oxidising agent, could result in some fireworks....... Pete that's the pot I've used. Seems to hold temperature quite well. Takes a while to get to temp but then about "7 o'clock " on the dial maintains +500C +1 regarding fireworks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 The case-holder arrived from ballistic recreations this morning... £11 odd for duty and vat. Nicely made, functional and the 2 decks are .9mm stainless. A .17mm Rem case will fit over the internal locating spigot. Also spoke to cdsg at lunchtime.... the Lee shipment had just been cleared by Customs and they were expecting to post it out on Monday, asked about the Lyman pots and they were due in Monday. Getting there..... fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted February 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 4 hours ago, fizzbangwhallop said: The case-holder arrived from ballistic recreations this morning... £11 odd for duty and vat. Nicely made, functional and the 2 decks are .9mm stainless. A .17mm Rem case will fit over the internal locating spigot. Also spoke to cdsg at lunchtime.... the Lee shipment had just been cleared by Customs and they were expecting to post it out on Monday, asked about the Lyman pots and they were due in Monday. Getting there..... fizz Best of luck, I think you'll be impressed by the results. I have found using hot water in the bucket for quenching it's better at dissolving any carry-over salts and leaving the cases a bit cleaner. Rate of cooling makes absolutely no difference to the annealing process. I change the water as it becomes contaminated (after a batch) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 First attempt yesterday.......quite pleased with the results on these .20Prac cases. Took a cautious while to get the salt up to temperature.... the small Lee pot takes all of 375g of the salt mix to the brim once melted and I took some out to get the level just below the lower plate of the case holder. (375g being the size of the pot sold by Ballisticrecreations in the photos on the website) i didn’t want to anneal too far up the case so I cut a couple of 6mm long spacers out of some stainless tube to fit over the spigots. There’s a section in the Ballisticrecreations instructions showing the heating temperature curve of the Lee pot showing it goes higher and then settles back....a bit hit and miss depending on the individual pot so I let it get to 550c and turned it down slightly to stop it heating and annealed x number of cases. Once the temperature had dropped to 530c odd I let it ge5 back to 550c and carried on. Cases were in to the count of 4 and then into the jug of hot water on the floor....good tip on the hot water. 👍 Cheers Fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted March 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 2 hours ago, fizzbangwhallop said: First attempt yesterday.......quite pleased with the results on these .20Prac cases. Took a cautious while to get the salt up to temperature.... the small Lee pot takes all of 375g of the salt mix to the brim once melted and I took some out to get the level just below the lower plate of the case holder. (375g being the size of the pot sold by Ballisticrecreations in the photos on the website) i didn’t want to anneal too far up the case so I cut a couple of 6mm long spacers out of some stainless tube to fit over the spigots. There’s a section in the Ballisticrecreations instructions showing the heating temperature curve of the Lee pot showing it goes higher and then settles back....a bit hit and miss depending on the individual pot so I let it get to 550c and turned it down slightly to stop it heating and annealed x number of cases. Once the temperature had dropped to 530c odd I let it ge5 back to 550c and carried on. Cases were in to the count of 4 and then into the jug of hot water on the floor....good tip on the hot water. 👍 Cheers Fizz Good stuff Fizz! The Lyman pot does the same thing as the Lee, takes a while to settle the temperature. I may experiment with a proper PID electronic controller and use the built in 'stat as a safety. The other thing I've done is sat the whole rig in a stainless-steel deep tray (Ikea roasting tray) so should there be a leak or splash of hot salts, they don't land on a wooden bench top and ignite it (or me and a subsequent trip to the hospital). Having used a rotary gas burner and the hot salt method, I'm sold on molten-salt; cheap, simple, repeatable and precise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Popsbengo said: Good stuff Fizz! The Lyman pot does the same thing as the Lee, takes a while to settle the temperature. I may experiment with a proper PID electronic controller and use the built in 'stat as a safety. The other thing I've done is sat the whole rig in a stainless-steel deep tray (Ikea roasting tray) so should there be a leak or splash of hot salts, they don't land on a wooden bench top and ignite it (or me and a subsequent trip to the hospital). Having used a rotary gas burner and the hot salt method, I'm sold on molten-salt; cheap, simple, repeatable and precise. Thanks Pops 👍 Having read the write-ups and while I was waiting for case holder to arrive, I started thinking about making one with an adjustable deck to save the need for faffing about with spacers and the molten salt level..... I’ve got the discs, stainless nuts and bolts and a bit of tube (albeit with a smaller inner diameter 😕 but I did buy a thinner thermocouple from Thermosense up front) What I do need to do is find someone local that can spotweld in stainless for me. Work in progress......this was the project a couple of weeks ago inspired by Yorric’s version on the SD....reminds me of a Mamod...already had the Wilson, 80mm pulley and the motor from fleabay......half an old chopping board and a bit of the warmer plate from an old Hostess plate warmer. 👍🤣 Cheers Fizz 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted March 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 29 minutes ago, fizzbangwhallop said: What I do need to do is find someone local that can spotweld in stainless for me. Work in progress......this was the project a couple of weeks ago inspired by Yorric’s version on the SD....reminds me of a Mamod...already had the Wilson, 80mm pulley and the motor from fleabay......half an old chopping board and a bit of the warmer plate from an old Hostess plate warmer. 👍🤣 Cheers Fizz 😎 I see you enjoy a good tinker in the shed! Would pop riveting do? I initially wanted to spot weld but found it much easier to source rivets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Popsbengo said: I see you enjoy a good tinker in the shed! Would pop riveting do? I initially wanted to spot weld but found it much easier to source rivets It would be to fix the adjuster nut to the base plate..... I had fiddled with one of the butterfly wing plasterboard fixings but would still have to fix it in some way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re-Pete Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 Here's my story so far...........not a weld in sight. Just need to get some longer studding so that each case is immersed to the required depth. The 308 needs to be longer. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinois Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 I’ve gone for a triple stack with an over sized top disk. The top and second disks align the case and the third disk provides a platform for the case to sit on at the required depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted March 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 I went for a one hole plate as the immersion/heating time is only around 4sec and I'd only get in a mess trying to cope with multiple cases! Where does your thermocouple go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinois Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 I’ve had my disks laser cut. My thermocouple is 4.4mm thick. I’ve had a 5.5mm hole out in disks 1&2 for it to stand upright in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re-Pete Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 My thermocouple?.......haven't decided yet. The whole project is at phase 1, presently. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted March 24, 2019 Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 On 3/22/2019 at 12:55 PM, fizzbangwhallop said: It would be to fix the adjuster nut to the base plate..... I had fiddled with one of the butterfly wing plasterboard fixings but would still have to fix it in some way. Speaking to Kevgun yesterday he suggested the brilliantly simple alternative to welding or pop-riveting..... straight onto fleabay and the various sizes s’be here Tues/Weds. Watch this space... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popsbengo Posted March 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2019 5 hours ago, fizzbangwhallop said: Speaking to Kevgun yesterday he suggested the brilliantly simple alternative to welding or pop-riveting..... straight onto fleabay and the various sizes s’be here Tues/Weds. Watch this space... intriguing ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted March 26, 2019 Report Share Posted March 26, 2019 On 3/24/2019 at 12:20 PM, fizzbangwhallop said: Speaking to Kevgun yesterday he suggested the brilliantly simple alternative to welding or pop-riveting..... straight onto fleabay and the various sizes s’be here Tues/Weds. Watch this space... Bits arrived this morning........ just finished: the secret component was a rivnut ! 😂 Couple of things to tidy up like replacing the 3mm threaded rod case holders with cap screws and possible the guide rods. And the 6” ruler I sacrificed for the rising plate was too narrow to take the 6mm rivnut I originally intended to use and drilled the two top plates for....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Re-Pete Posted March 26, 2019 Report Share Posted March 26, 2019 Come back Meccano, all is forgiven.......😁 Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick 53 Posted March 26, 2019 Report Share Posted March 26, 2019 These case holders are getting better by each person who builds them. Thanks Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick 53 Posted March 26, 2019 Report Share Posted March 26, 2019 Hi, A final note is my wife has said if I spend any more time in the Garage my bed can go in and I live in the bloody garage. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevgun Posted March 27, 2019 Report Share Posted March 27, 2019 It worked okay then Pete👍 now to sort the other problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted April 2, 2019 Report Share Posted April 2, 2019 Finito.....all the bits finally arrived and I’ve re-made the rising plate to include the 6mm rivnut and screw......and I improved on the riser guides to stop the plate dropping off the end although I don’t think you’d ever need to drop it that far down. Quite pleased with that.....shame it’ll probably be a few months before I next need to anneal some cases. cheers Fizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzbangwhallop Posted April 2, 2019 Report Share Posted April 2, 2019 View from above... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob57 Posted April 2, 2019 Report Share Posted April 2, 2019 1 hour ago, fizzbangwhallop said: View from above... Nice job fizz👍, I like the look of that,and sounds a better way of annealing than with a gas flame, you ought to put it into production as a complete kit, I'd be interested in buying one😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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