n00b here, where do I start!

[gofastman]

Hi everyone! [smilie=s:
My Lee production pot and ingot moulds are on their way! I need some help making wheel weights into viable ingots and then projectiles.
I read "From Ingot To Target" but I'm still a bit confused as to the initial melting and fluxing processes.
could someone point me in the right direction?
Thanks

[mdi]

I would suggest you keep your dirty wheel weight smelting out of your casting pot. I didn't and it took quite a bit of cleaning to get all the "stuff" out of the pot, and the black spots on my boolits went away. I have a single burner Coleman propane stove and a steel home made pot, but a stainless steel 1 or 2 qt. pot will do. I like to melt all the weights, clip on only, and flux with sawdust. I dump a half handful on top of the melt and vigorously stir with a wooden stick (paint stirrers work great). I like to keep pushing the charred sawdust back down into the melt to make sure the tin and other alloys are kept mixed in thouroghly. I skim just before I pour the melt into muffin pans. This works for me and keeps my ingots pretty clean. A lot of fellers here smelt larger amounts and they use turkey friers and cast iron dutch ovens. My method/equipment works for mebbe 40 lbs per potful...

[geargnasher]

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, third edition.

Gear

[L1A1Rocker]

I get used WWs and roofing lead. You definatly want to use an old cast iron skillte or pot outside to cast this stuff up into ingots. There is lots of stuff that smells very bad mixed in. You'll want to flux the WW's with saw dust (preferrably) or wax. I don't worry fluxing the roofing lead as it has lots of tar on it.

Once I have nice clean ingots I use a letter punch to mark them as Lead or WWs. I then weigh them and pair them up so I add 50/50 mix to my casting pot. You may also want to multiply that weight by .02 and add that amount of tin to your mix.

Rotometels is a good source for tin but it comes in very large ingots. Melt this down and pour it into a trough of angle iron (or aluminum) to form 3/8ths inch thick triangle rods. This way you can easily snip off the amount you need.

[Larry Gibson]

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook, third edition.

Gear

+1.

Larry Gibson

[badge176]

Sort for junk first, then by type- Stick on v. clip on WW.

I skim off the Fe WWs, Zinc WW, and clips that float on the smelt pot surface using a wire deep fryer "spoon" I got at a thrift store, I melt on a propane 2- burner Coleman stove (2nd or 3rd hand via Craig's list), and I totally recommend investing in a casting thermometer so you can monitor/ control melt temp (below 700) so zinc floats intact and doesn't melt in!. I flux with chunks of wax cut from nasty old candle stubs (thrift store/ garage sales by the boxful), stir with a stick from my tree out front (ash?), and lift dross with spoon (don't tell my wife where that one went!). I found a cast iron corn stick pan at the hardware store and cast skinny 1/2 pound ingots that I store separated by composition (stick-on WW, clip-on WW, linotype, pure Pb, recovered range lead, etc) in separate boxes that hold about 40 pounds each and have rope handles- with grips made from printer paper spools). A big iron ladle (garage sale score) gets it from the cast iron pan to the ignot mold which I slide across the concrete garage floor to act as a heat sink- they cool faster. I do have a mismatched metal pot cover that I use to keep the heat in the pot when I've just loaded up the smelting pan.

I also cut circular heat shields ("fences") for under the grate on my Coleman stove and around the burners from sections of #10 tin cans (notched to ride over the gas supply tube for each burner). They help focus the heat onto the base of the pot. I sit with two floor fans blowing from behind me across my shoulders to force whatever smoke or fumes rise up away from my face/ lungs, but make sure your exit backwards is not obstructed, since if the pot starts to sizzle or pop you want a route away and fast!

I usually smelt on the left burner and heat a small pot of alloy for casting on the right burner. I cast bollits with a little bottom pour ladle while the smelt melts or while the ingots cool, and I end up the day with a stack of fresh ingots, a pile of CBs and a big smile on my face.

[gofastman]

ok, ill check out the Lyman book.
I have a iron pot I'll use for the initial melting

How about skimming dross? is this done before or after fluxing, or both?

I have an P100 respirator and facemask, so i don't think ill use fans, but thanks for the tip

Is there a way to preclean WW's? maybe soak them in vinegar or degreaser?

[Echo]

ok, ill check out the Lyman book.
I have a iron pot I'll use for the initial melting

How about skimming dross? is this done before or after fluxing, or both?
After

I have an P100 respirator and facemask, so i don't think ill use fans, but thanks for the tip

Is there a way to preclean WW's? maybe soak them in vinegar or degreaser?

I don't find a need to pre-clean WW's. Just keep the temp down below 700*, and if you don't have a thermometer, heat the WW's slowly, so the temp doesn't rise too fast and start to melt any Zincies.
It takes my setup (Bayou Classic) about 30 minutes to melt down a DO full of WW's. I stack them up into a peak in the pot, knowing they will reduce and not overflow. My DO will handle close to 50 lbs of WW's, or alloy, and I like to go slow so as not to gt too hot and cause extreme oxidation. The beautiful blues, golds, and purples on top of the melt are oxides, and need to be fluxed back into the melt with sawdust.

[gofastman]

will cedar shavings work in place of sawdust?

[docone31]

Cooking oil, aside from a little smoke, works great for me. I melt down roof boots, and they have residue for sure. It also seems hotter with the oil. My melt is faster.
Did this by not haveing anything else handy.
Worked great.

[plainsman456]

Yes the cedar will work and it will smell good to boot.

[gofastman]

so did I do it right?
I heated some unused, stick-on wheel weights in a cast iron pot, waited until it was thoroughly melted, then added a small hand full of cedar and a couple matches.
After waiting until the wood fully burned down, I stirred it in as best I could, then skimmed off all the junk that floated back up to the surface.
the lead is now air-cooling in the pot.

As the lead was melting, i was poking at it with a wood stir stick, before it turned completely to liquid it broke down into what resembled sand, is that normal?

[gofastman]

^^^ now that it cooled off, it looks like there are crystals at the top, sort of like snowflakes

[adrians]

i use the side burner on the gas grill with a heavy sauce pan ,, throw in my ww, melt, flux as mentioned above with a handfull of wood shavings (stiring all the while) , get some needle nose pliers and pick out the clips , skim, and another handfull of shavings , skim ,and into muffin pan the go. time consuming ,,,,yes ,,,, enjoyable ,,,,absolutely.
gee it just turns me on ,i love it but my wife is p%$^^d cos the grill is more or less ruined now.:holysheep
so next wallyworld sale she can have her very own grill[smilie=1:
regards adrian,,,:evil:[smilie=w::twisted: