Very Newbee questions HELP!

[FNilo]

Hi all. I have been viewing for a while trying to see how hard it is to cast my own. After reading lots of posts, I decided to give it a try. Many of you have been doing it for years and maybee you can give me some pointers. I'm sure that these questions have been answered many times before but if you can send me in the right direction I would be helpful. Sorry I these questions sound silly!

Anyway, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on equipment until I knew if I could do it. I am going to try the pot and dipper method and move up from there if need be. All I have for equipment is a 4 qt. cast iron pot, propane turkey fryer burner and slotted spoon and ladle. Moulds, dipper and sizer are on the way.

So while I wait for other equipment to arrive, I obtained a bucket of WW's and tried to smelt some usable lead. I melted it down, (don't know the temp. since I do not have a thermometer) skimed off the clips and other garbage, fluxed with pariffin wax (this is what I had) and began to take all the crap that floated to the top. As I stired the lead and continued to remove the stuff at the surface but I don't know if I am getting it all. I keep adding flux (pariffin wax) every so often and it seems like it is never ending. How do I know when all the crap is out? As I stir and skim (for about 15 - 20 mim at least) and continue to skim there is always a thin layer developing on the top looking like ice forming on a bucket of water. Is this the lead cooling on the surface or more crap. I have been trying to take it off abut it always develops. I don't know if I am throwing away good lead or is it just crap. Should I continue to stir and skim until the surface is shinny like the rest of the pot or I am wasting time? I don't want to try to cast with impure lead. As I said before I am just smelting right now, will try to cast when other equipment arrives.

I got tired of skimming last night and poured into pop can bottoms. After they cooled I removed them and they looked ok I guess but was not sure if they were ready to go so this morning I re-melted, added flux,stired and skimed, added flux, stired and skimed, etc............. and continues to form this ice looking film on the surface. How far do I go?

Any suggestions would be helpful. Sorry about being long winded.

Thanks!!

P.S. My wife says that I am already hooked!

[Bullshop]

After the clips are gone anything you skim off that has weight is metal.
The surface is oxidizing and that is normal. If you are skimming the oxides you are depleating metals and wasting your recource.
At this point any foregn matter should skim off as a lighter weight black, brown, or gray dust.
BIC/BS

[9.3X62AL]

Ditto to Bullshop's statement. That is how I was shown by a mentor, and I have used that method in dipper and bottom-pour casting sequences.

[FNilo]

Thanks. It sounds like I am overdoing it.

Thanks again!!!

[44woody]

FNiloa couple of pointers thaat might help you get a magnet to take the clips out with then turn them into the scrap yard to be recycled and not in our land fills then be careful of zinc wheel weirghts they cn mess up a bunch of good lead I have found them with clips on them and stick on types get your self a pice of pine wood stick something with alot of sap in it to stir your lead with this will help flux it or do like most use a paint stick keep the stick on ww seperate from the clip on ones the stickon's are soft lead and good for black powder guns :castmine: 44Woody

[carpetman]

FNilo---Sounds like you have it well fluxed. Certainly you can cast using the same set up you have for smelting. I cast that route for several years and then went to a Lee bottom pour. I'd never go back to ladle casting. I don't particularly like most of the other Lee stuff I have,but the bottom pour furnace--despite the horror stories many will tell you,I've had good luck with mine. What molds,and sizer you have on the way?

[FNilo]

Carpetman. I ordered a Lee 2 cavity swc mould and a Lee .452 sizing dye for my 45 acp . I know is is a slow (and cheap) way to go but I just want to get my feet wet before jumping in head first. Like I said before my wife already said that I am hooked!!!

Any other suggestions? Thanks for all the help!

[9.3X62AL]

Oh, lots of other suggestions are possible, keep us in mind as the questions occur and you'll get answers in depth here.

The Lee molds are a great buy considering their price, go to the "Stickies" on "Lee-menting" to optimize the tools' capability.

[Goatlips]

FNilo, I've never used a thermometer for melting down weights (next time I will, now that I have one) but I learned on one of these boards that a rough test for
the temperature that LEAD WW will melt and ZINC WW will still be floating is the temp where beeswax will set itself on fire. Perhaps parrafin or candle wax would be the same, someone here will know I bet. Anyhow, most crud seems to stick to the sides and bottom of my cast iron pot, and scraping will get it to float so you can skim it off. Here's some pictures of this stuff happening:

http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com/smelting2.html

Good luck with porpoising in the silver stream!

Goatlips

[hivoltfl]

FNilo I think your wife is right you have the sickness, welcome to the club.