I use a plumbers pot on a hot plate, with just a little practice you will know how to regulate the temp for best results, I have used the pot on the kitchen stove but I did catch "heck" for doing it, as for the metal if you have pure lead you will have to add something to harden it. The recipe for no.2 alloy is: 5lbs pure lead, 4 lbs of linotype and 1 lb of 50/50 solder. The linotype is getting hard to find, if you have an old printshop in your area you can check and see if they have any.