SteveRussell
Member
Hello,
Just curious if anyone is using their pressure pot horizontally? Why would you want to use it this way you say? It allows longer blanks to be pressure cast when in the horizontal mode vs. vertical mode.
Using one of my 15-gallon pots on its side, allows blanks up to 20" long to be cast. Also, it allows larger square blanks to be cast, versus vertically. I found a few challenges along the way that may help others interested in this orientation for casting.
The first thing I found is that it is more difficult to ensure correct lid fitment when the pot is used horizontally. Gravity is working against you here and the lid for a 15-gallon pot is quite heavy! I tried numerous things and finally settled on using a small strip of HDPE of the correct thickness (measured with the pot in a vertical position with equal spacing around the lid/pot interface). To form the HDPE strip, I heated it with a hot air gun and left in the recess until cool. When removed, the HDPE kept its curved shape.
To use the spacer, the lid is loosely attached and the alignment strip is placed under the top recess of the rim. The wing nuts are then tightened in opposing order, as you would with car wheel nuts. This (along with an overall lid/pot alignment mark) keeps the lid centered every time you cast and helps to ensure a good tight seal, since the seal is being compressed in the same place every time the lid is secured.
One other thing I found when the pot is used horizontally... It's important to make sure the pot is secured and will not move when loading or securing the lid. To accomplish this, I build curved ramps that fit to the side of the pot, these are screwed into the bench top surface to prevent movement. The holes for the legs are used to secure screws into a wall plate that prevents any rotational movement of the pot. This keeps the pot rock solid and level at all times. Note: The pot was leveled prior to securing the bracing.
The last challenge I found is building a shelf for the interior to facilitate using flat/square molds. While this sounds like it would be easy, it took a wee bit of thought to get a workable design that could be easily removed if necessary, yet remain level and solid at all times. The shelf was made from laminated Lodgepole Pine that was brad nailed and glued at all contact points. Screws were also added, probably overkill but I did it anyway. The shelf is braced with one vertical support (under the horizontal shelf) and two angled supports (with ends cut at 45 degrees). This provides a very stable platform, however, the entire shelf unit could still move side to side (along the interior curve) inside the pot.
To prevent this movement, I hot-melt glued small alignment strips of wood along each side of the bottom brace. This keeps the vertical support from moving side to side and thus, keeps the flat shelf (where the casting molds sit) level. Now that this modification has been made, casting horizontally is a snap and there is no worry of an off-level casting being made. Level castings every time... Cheers!
P.S. In case anyone is wondering, according to the manufacturer's representative and their senior engineer, there is no problem with using a pressure pot on it's side when casting resins in mold forms. In fact, they thought it was a cool idea! Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Using the horizontal orientation requires a few fittings to re-orient the pressure and vacuum gauges and the inlet fitting if necessary.
Just curious if anyone is using their pressure pot horizontally? Why would you want to use it this way you say? It allows longer blanks to be pressure cast when in the horizontal mode vs. vertical mode.
Using one of my 15-gallon pots on its side, allows blanks up to 20" long to be cast. Also, it allows larger square blanks to be cast, versus vertically. I found a few challenges along the way that may help others interested in this orientation for casting. The first thing I found is that it is more difficult to ensure correct lid fitment when the pot is used horizontally. Gravity is working against you here and the lid for a 15-gallon pot is quite heavy! I tried numerous things and finally settled on using a small strip of HDPE of the correct thickness (measured with the pot in a vertical position with equal spacing around the lid/pot interface). To form the HDPE strip, I heated it with a hot air gun and left in the recess until cool. When removed, the HDPE kept its curved shape.
To use the spacer, the lid is loosely attached and the alignment strip is placed under the top recess of the rim. The wing nuts are then tightened in opposing order, as you would with car wheel nuts. This (along with an overall lid/pot alignment mark) keeps the lid centered every time you cast and helps to ensure a good tight seal, since the seal is being compressed in the same place every time the lid is secured.
One other thing I found when the pot is used horizontally... It's important to make sure the pot is secured and will not move when loading or securing the lid. To accomplish this, I build curved ramps that fit to the side of the pot, these are screwed into the bench top surface to prevent movement. The holes for the legs are used to secure screws into a wall plate that prevents any rotational movement of the pot. This keeps the pot rock solid and level at all times. Note: The pot was leveled prior to securing the bracing.
The last challenge I found is building a shelf for the interior to facilitate using flat/square molds. While this sounds like it would be easy, it took a wee bit of thought to get a workable design that could be easily removed if necessary, yet remain level and solid at all times. The shelf was made from laminated Lodgepole Pine that was brad nailed and glued at all contact points. Screws were also added, probably overkill but I did it anyway. The shelf is braced with one vertical support (under the horizontal shelf) and two angled supports (with ends cut at 45 degrees). This provides a very stable platform, however, the entire shelf unit could still move side to side (along the interior curve) inside the pot.
To prevent this movement, I hot-melt glued small alignment strips of wood along each side of the bottom brace. This keeps the vertical support from moving side to side and thus, keeps the flat shelf (where the casting molds sit) level. Now that this modification has been made, casting horizontally is a snap and there is no worry of an off-level casting being made.
Level castings every time... Cheers!P.S. In case anyone is wondering, according to the manufacturer's representative and their senior engineer, there is no problem with using a pressure pot on it's side when casting resins in mold forms.
In fact, they thought it was a cool idea! Oh yeah, I almost forgot... Using the horizontal orientation requires a few fittings to re-orient the pressure and vacuum gauges and the inlet fitting if necessary.
