I have an old 10lb mould master that still works okay but somehow?? the control valve got bent out of shape. ( What it was doing laying there I don't know.) Anybody out there have a mould master layin about that doesn't work anymore that might have a usable control valve they would be willing to part with??? Or maybe an alternative answer. I know that answer, but I would like to keep it. Had it a long time. I did give the Lyman folks a good chuckle when I called them about parts though..Thanks, Hugh

I take it that Lyman no longer carries parts for your mould master? A possible alternative, if you want to keep the furnace, would be to watch for one to show up on ebay that you could use for spare parts. Given that parts are no longer available, you should be able to get one for a reasonable price. Good luck!

Pretty good pots..bet the heating element hasn't given up. Do remember them from the 1960's and into the 70's (along with the 20 pound version), but by the 1980's believe they were superseeded by a sleeker unit.

IF I remember right: stands on two metal legs atached to a bottom support...valve handle hinged at the left and crosses to the right with the valve rod hangind in the middle of that handle...and an arm coming in from the back with an adjsutable screw to limit the height you lift the handle.

Memory is fickle...but the rod that runs the valve is just a rod. Has a shaped end that fits in the recess of the spout at the bottom front of the pot.

Seems that no matter how roughly you straigten the rod, so long as it reaches the bottom of the spout, it should work. May need to lap the end for a better fit and prevent leaking (valve grindigncompound and some spinning should give it a new metal-to-metal seat).

Remember using the 20ound version and being plagued by leaks....didn't want to empty it out..wait for it to cool.. and fix it, so I hung a 7 pound weight on the handle. Was stiulkl there a couple of years later, still serving to keep that valve tight and non-leaking.

Your memory serves you well ribbonstone, thats exactly the pot. Always has worked well, did leak a little (never thought about the 7lb weight, but I'm sure that would probably fix the problem) afraid the old valve is toast, but think I can make a new one. You're also correct about it being just a rod with tapered end. Appreciate your help. May just plug it up and use a ladle. Hugh.

Your memory serves you well ribbonstone, thats exactly the pot. Always has worked well, did leak a little (never thought about the 7lb weight, but I'm sure that would probably fix the problem) afraid the old valve is toast, but think I can make a new one. You're also correct about it being just a rod with tapered end. Appreciate your help. May just plug it up and use a ladle. Hugh.

Liked those pots...were purely function over form in design; no marketing guys got in there to add sheet metal or "style" to it. Worth taking a crack at fixing it...at the very least, don't modify it beyond repair and save the broken parts for patterns. There is some sadisfaction in refusing the "disposable" society.

(Have fixed a lot of things by having the shattered originals at hand...can always glue them back into one pices in order to figure out how it was supose to wrok, then make a new one.)

Liked those pots...were purely function over form in design; no marketing guys got in there to add sheet metal or "style" to it.I'll bet if you look under the sheet metal on the new furnaces you'd find the old mold master there still alive and kicking. That leads me to wonder if the new Mag20 parts are interchangeable with the mold master or can be altered to fit? Might give that a try!

contacted lyman for replacement, they told me the parts on the new pots wouldn't fit. They're going to send me one of each (2) just to try and see if I could make either of them work. I'd say that was pretty decent of them. I'll let you know. Thanks for the response guys.

Lyman sent me a new control valve for their new style pot, whereas it wouldn't work, the top attaches differently, and was a little to short, but the shape looked like it should work better than the original, got a blank piece of stock the same dia. and ground the end to match the new control valve shape and "viola" works great. Get an occasional drip but easily manageable, just keep a little can (cat food) under the spout and every once in a while dump it back in the pot. Thanks for your responses on my original question, just wanted to let you know how it worked out.