Jig Man

That works for me except I use Krazy glue with the brush from Dollar General then the nail polish.

When mine wore out on the inside I bought the liner and new plunger it was easy to change out but was still leaky.

Yep that's how I do it.

I haven't bought lead for over 20 years and don't plan to live long enough to have to buy any more. I have close to 100 # of soft lead from X Ray rooms from hospital remodels. I'm wanting to get rid of this other stuff and it seems to stay working at 800°. I've only got about 50 # more to use up then I can go back to the soft stuff.

OK thanks a bunch. I did another run at 800° and it worked just fine. I guess I will keep it and get to work on that 1000 Ned heads waiting to be poured. This is printer's lead so it has antimony or some other alloy in it. If someone at RCBS would have put a paragraph or at least a good sentence in the directions about coming on and off and maybe needing a higher heat setting I don't think I'd have had the issues as I can read the King's English pretty well.

As some of you know I have been having issues with my new one. It was replaced and I have had the same issues (on and off lead stopping flowing, etc). One of their engineers worked with one and called me with his results. He said the cycling on and off was normal (not mentioned in the sparse manual). He suggested higher temps would solve my problem. I did a test yesterday making 1/8 oz Midwest Finesse Jig heads with the temp set on 850°. I waited 'till it shut off and started pouring. It never faltered. With it being 94° I decided to do a second test this am while it is only 72°. I did the same pouring with it set on 750°. It was pouring just fine while shut off. When it kicked back on it was still pouring for maybe 30 seconds then the lead stopped coming out. In a couple of minutes it was pouring again. It seems to me that it will only operate satisfactorily on or close to the high setting. My question to you guys is, "Is this the way you operate yours? If not please elaborate. I'm going to have to make a decision as to whether or not to keep or return it. Thanks in advance for your help.

I got a call from RCBS yesterday PM. It was one of the engineers. We talked about the issues which I have been having. He was perplexed at the unit shutting off and staying off long enough for the lead flow to stop. He listed several things that could cause this issue and that he was anxiously waiting to get one of them back to find out the cause for the malfunction. He also said that he was going to personally take a unit this morning and run it through its paces to see how it functions before shipping it to me. Like me he was baffled that I would get 2 units with the same issue. So I guess I'll be trying out another unit when the truck gets here from California.

Thanks. I got a call this am. Someone is supposed to put the next one through its paces this am before they ship it to me and include notes concerning what was found and done. I hope that they can find out the problem and fix it. If not then I'm going to ask for a refund and wait till August when the new one comes out and give it a try.

It doesn't matter what temp I set it on. I have tried it on high and I would be pouring some jigs and it would shut off and in a few minutes the lead would stop flowing. It is getting frustrating as I have 1000 Ned heads to pour up.

The tech that I talked with said the unit only draws 7 amps and it is on a 20 amp circuit breaker. I make all of my baits in the garage. My house is 13 years old. I run my old Lee pot, air compressor, microwave, toaster oven, etc in there and have never had an issue. The tech said he would have the next one checked out before he shipped it today. It just seems so strange that I would get 2 with the same problem. I decided to try something new. I took the pot to my detached camper building in the back yard. I only has 30 amp breakers. I plugged the pot into an outlet, put some lead in and set it on 650° and switched it on. Just about the time the lead started to melt, same ole same ole... the thing shut down. I'm thinking someone bought parts in China. What little time I have gotten to use it I really like the unit. But my tolerance threshold is not very high to begin with and this is getting to me.

I even plugged it in to 3 different outlets in the house and same thing. I said I was ready to quit and get my money back but they want to try it again with a third unit.

I am about done with this. They said it might be my plug in so I moved it. They said it might be my garage so I plugged it in in 2 different outlets inside the house. At this point all I want is my $379 back.

Well I followed the instructions got it cooled down and started from scratch. When I got to the step of set on 650° I put in some 1/2 lb ingots and started the melt. After 10 minutes it shut off and stayed off for 20 minutes. I am waiting for a call from RCBS.

I got my replacement RCBS furnace today. I put it together and meticulously followed the directions. It acted the same as the other pot. It would heat up a bit then shut off. I called and talked to a lady who said, "That doesn't sound right". She put me through to another lady who said, "That doesn't sound right". The second lady went and talked to a tech who said he has seen moisture cause this problem. His advice was to empty out the lead then turn the furnace to high for a couple of minutes. Now I am waiting for the thing to cool off enough so that I can start all over and see if it works this time. I'm beginning to think there is a reason that they have made a new version. Maybe I'll know something in a little while.

I don't know much about that stuff but I got some at Auto Zone to use in one of my jig molds for some modification. It was very reasonably priced. You might check it out and see if it will work.

The nice lady at RCBS said since my unit is new and defective she will ship me a new one with a return label for my current one. I asked about an upgrade to the Pro Melt 2 but she said it won't be on the market until at least August. So I opted for a new Pro Melt which should be here in a few days via UPS. smalljaw you were so right about the good courteous service from RCBS.

I'd want that largest one with a longer shank hook and the eye closer to the end. How deep do you fish them? I only use 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8 and fish as deep as 50' in the winter.

I may try that when I get it fixed and set up again.

Thanks for the info. bad thermostat is what I had figured. The thing is riveted together so I'm betting it will have to be shipped back. Your experience with the Lee pot is a mirror image of what mine has been. I've been dealing with it for 20 years or so. When I was complaining about having to order parts again, my wife said, "You only go around once. Just get the good one and be done with it." That was so nice of her to take the guilt away from me that way. I just came in from the work shop where I ran it through its paces again to see if yesterday was a fluke or not. I got the same performance so I'll be calling RCBS in the am to get instructions. I really like the way it is set up and works (when it is working). The bar to rest the mold on is a great idea though I don't want the guides on it. They get in my way as I pour at an angle instead of straight on.

I have looked and I can't call them until Monday. I'm hoping for a cure before then.

I don't know if this is the newer version or not. Nor do I know how to tell. All I know is my old worn our Lee works better even if it drips.

I finally got it turned up high enough to melt the lead. Twice now it has shut off and the tip cooled to where the lead has stopped pouring. Maybe there was a reason that most places don't have this thing in stock.

I got mine today and put it together. I followed instructions about how to operate it. I turned it to 650 and put some ingots in. When I checked back they were not melted and the light on the switch was off. I turned it up until the light came back on and went away. I have been doing this for an hour. The light goes off and it sounds like the furnace shut down. The lead has not more than begun to melt. Is this usual? Do I need to crank it up until the lead is melted or is it a dud?

smalljaw that is the same thing that happened to me. I was getting ready to order new parts for my Lee pot. My wife asked if I hadn't done that a few years back. I replied that I had and the dripping was bad and I couldn't stop it. She asked if there weren't something on the market that worked better. I told her what you guys have been saying about the RCBS but that it was very expensive. Her response was, "You just go around once so just go ahead and get the good one and be done with it." So that is what I did. I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Thanks CNC that is good to know.