Documentation

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I have to start documenting what I am doing in the smelting and reloading room. I am trying to just remember what ingots are what. A few I have marked and I seperate WW from range lead by putting them in different places but I need to do a better job. I don't mark when a batch of boolits were cast. Yesterday I had to look back on one of my posts to see when I had cast some mono samples up. I thought it had been at least a week and it turned out to be three days! I do document loaded rounds well but there is room for improvement in other areas.

[10x]

I have 1/4 letter stamps.
Wheel Weights get WW
Pure lead gets P
Linotype gets L
50/50 gets FF
Unknown alloys get a U

When I clean lead and make ingots they get lined up on a 2x12 to cool. After they cool they get stamped in the same general area on each ingot.

[FWAddit]

Yes, those letter stamps are a good idea. Permanent marker works okay, but it can wear off.

I have a good supply of ingots of unknown composition bought at a bullet caster's estate auction. In the absence of information about their metal content, I stamp them with the BHN suggested by a Lee hardness tester. That gives me a starting point for selecting which ones to melt down for a particular application and what, if anything, I should alloy them with.

[frankenfab]

I code my alloys by casting them in to different shapes.

For mass storage, Linotype is in pigs from the original molds that came from the type machines. Wheel weights are in bars from molds made from channel, and have a "W" cast into them.

For csting pot size, Lyman ingots are Linotype, cornbread sticks are wheel weights, cornbread wedges are Pure Pb, and the little stainless steel condiment cups are hollow point alloy.

I know how much each different shape ingot weighs, so all I have to do is count them to tally poundage.

[nicholst55]

I use an electric engraver to mark them: 'WW' for wheel weights, 'PB' for pure lead, 'WW+2' for wheel weight plus two percent tin, 'L' for linotype, etc.

[44fanatic]

I cast different size ingots for what type they are. My ingot molds are 2" square and about 1.5 deep.

1/3 full, for WW...1lb ingot, go in the blue milk crate
full for Range scrap...3lb ingot, go in the black milk crate

I only have 18 ingots made from stickons. Go in the green milk crate

Special alloys and solder bars go in one of two 6"x6"x6" plastic boxes.

I only have 1000lbs of lead and three calibers that I am casting for so it is pretty easy to keep everything seperated.

As for cast boolits, they go in clear plastic boxes marked with caliber and the type mold they came from.

[captaint]

I stamp my ingots with steel stamps. WW LL PB SS for stickons. Works for me and doesn't wear off. enjoy Mike

[pdawg_shooter]

I too stamp my ingots with letter and number stamps. I use the BHN number to identify them. Makes it easy to get the right blend later.

[Calamity Jake]

I store my 1# ingots in 5 gal buckets marked with what is in them, when there's about 50# left in the bucket I smelt enough to fill it back up.

[Cherokee]

Permanent marker has worked for me for 40+ years. It does not wear off cause I don't handle them much. Still got some Lino from 40 years ago that still says "Lino".