Rubber isn't lead.

[JeffinNZ]

Team.

I was scrounging around in the bullet catches at the range and noted that at the rear of the slanting plate, right at the base, there was a mountain of pulverised lead. I scooped it all out and must have had a gallon can full. Yesterday I finally got round to smelting it down. That's when the fun started.

I do all my 'raw' Pb smelting over my late father's old Primus parafin (kerosene) burner. That old piece of kit really can produce some heat! After about half an hour the mass in the pot had not reduced. Lots of smoke was coming off however and once I stirred it lots more smoke came off. Then more smoke, and more smoke and MORE smoke. It was becoming increasingly apparent my lead was mostly rubber from the chip material in the bullet catchers. The smoke was bad enough but then the rubber caught fire. The up side was there was less smoke though it was darker. The down side was there was a FIRE.

"Tertle" happened to be visiting. He was in my garage slugging Lee Enfields and taking sulphur chamber casts. All nonchalant like I stick my head in the garage and say "rubber fire". "No, seriously, rubber fire". I grab a sheet of MDF and cover the pot to put it out and then the smoke comes back..........then the fire, then the smoke, then the fire, then the smoke.

Long story short I got about 5lb of lead for a quart of kero and a POWER of smoke and hassle.

:bigsmyl2:

[geargnasher]

I wondered what was causing that dark smudge on the southern horizon earlier!

Gear

[Southern Son]

New Zealand, land of the long black cloud?

[olafhardt]

How does rubber work as a flux? Can used latex items be fluxing rubbers? p

[Mk42gunner]

Next time, (we all know there will be a next time) try floating the rubber off with water, then letting the lead dry a few days.

Who knows, it might work.


Robert

[Euan]

I wondered why it was so dark and cloudy down here, and they had the check to blame some volcano in Chile.

[JeffinNZ]

Next time, (we all know there will be a next time) try floating the rubber off with water, then letting the lead dry a few days.

Who knows, it might work.


Robert

Waaayyyy ahead of you. Didn't work.

[Lizard333]

You have to add salt to the water to chan the density f the water. Bingo. The rubber will float.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Waaayyyy ahead of you. Didn't work.

No doubt a lot of people in here could show you how to pan for gold. The same process should work for lead/rubber :-)

Seriously, I would think that mixing the compound with water - stirring and leaving it to settle, then draining the water - should separate most of the lead from the rubber.

[casterofboolits]

I still have a couple tons of indoor range scrap that used rubber/neoprene curtains that prevented back splatter from the bullet traps. As soon as the white smoke started, I would ignite it which resulted in much less smoke. I pick out the larger chunks by dumping the bucket on the floor prior to shoveling the scrap into the pot.

[Tertle]

No doubt a lot of people in here could show you how to pan for gold. The same process should work for lead/rubber :-)

Seriously, I would think that mixing the compound with water - stirring and leaving it to settle, then draining the water - should separate most of the lead from the rubber.

In Jeffs defence, he did do that, but again the very casual way he just walked into the garage, looked at me, smiled, and said "rubber fire!" and then lent over and picked up a suitable piece of MDF and as casual wandered back out, was just classic and instantly drew my attention!

Very entertaining this lead casting i should have taken this up years ago!

[mroliver77]

I smelt outdoors. Fire is not a problem. I back off and let it burn.

Speaking of fire I burnt the jacket off of 200 lbs of copper wire last week. It got a little hotter than I expected! I spread it around with a pitch fork for a while to keep from ruining the wire. It paid $3.25 lb as #2 scrap copper!
Jay

[Von Gruff]

What surprises me more than anything is that Jeff needed to smelt range lead after his seagulling that big load of lead out of Dunedin just a few weeks back. What was it Jeff, 600lbs or something like that.

Von Gruff.

[Mk42gunner]

What surprises me more than anything is that Jeff needed to smelt range lead after his seagulling that big load of lead out of Dunedin just a few weeks back. What was it Jeff, 600lbs or something like that.

Von Gruff.

In Jeff's defence-- Who ever has enough lead? That reminds me I need to make a scrounging run soon.

Robert

[JeffinNZ]

In Jeff's defence-- Who ever has enough lead? That reminds me I need to make a scrounging run soon.

Robert

Thank you Robert. I can tell you are a very astute individual.

Actually Mr Gruff, I split the haul from Dunedin with constable "Tertle".

It should also be noted that though my house has now been subject to 9 months of earthquakes it remains intact due, I feel, in no small way to the amount of ballist in the garage.

[milprileb]

Jeff, I am going to use that line of BS to the wife who complains her cement patio is cluttered with my 5 gallon pails of lead and wheel weights

"Honey, the weight contributes to offsetting fault lines and precludes cracking of cement and stabilizes the patio from stress fractures. Besides, you would not want all that stuff in the basement and me smelting inside too"

Might be just enough to fog her.