Remelting lubed bullets?

[3030man]

Hi guys my first thread and question here. Is it possible to remelt bullets that have been lubed with Lee liquid alox? Or do I need to wipe them off first? The reason is I have a 405 and 340 rain mold the 405 mold gives me a .460 diameter vs. a .47 at best with the 340 mold. At the range the 405 is shooting really well.

Thanks in advance.:drinks:

[Sundogg1911]

welcome 30-30 man,
yes you can. just toss'em in the pot. the alox will smoke and stink, and will also help flux the alloy. I just melted down about 8000 that I bought with a bunch of reloading equipment at an estate sale. They were all over the place weight wise. melted them into ingots and they turned out to be pretty hard.

[trk]

Remelting 'range' lead is done ALL the time.

It will smoke a little. I don't hesitate to toss in one or two in the lead pot, but if you have a lot use your smelting pot. (They'll pick up dirt and sand, get rid of it before putting into your regular mix.)

[Carteach0]

I sometimes flux with ALOX. No issues.

[madcaster]

What about boiling the bullets outdoors in some water and skimming frequently to remove the old lube?
I figure that you are trying to save the hard work that you put into casting them in the first place?
Haven't tried the method,but it SHOULD work?

[Sundogg1911]

i wouldnt waste the time, but if you do....MAKE SURE THEY ARE COMPLETLY DRY BEFORE TOSSING THEM IN THE POT! I saw a guy toss wet wheel weights into a hot pot of lead. thank God He had long sleeves and long pants. He only got a few burns to His face and hands. It could have been a lot worse.
besides, if you get the alox off before melting them you will have to add flux to the mix. If you melt them i wouldnt recomend using your casting pot unless you are just adding a few at a time to the mix just as flux. and i also wouldnt recomend melting them all indoors. I have a rangehood setup above my workbench, and it still filled my garage with stinky smoke.

[Murphy]

3030man,

Welcome aboard sir.

Odd that you should ask about the smelting of boolits that have already been lubed. Just yesterday I had a few batches of lubed boolits from previous projects that I know longer had a need for, other than the alloy.

Sundogg1911 is right on about making SURE THEY ARE DRY. I'm not sure how many boolits you wish to re-smelt that are lubed. But what I did to be on the safe side, was to fill my smelting pot full and crank up the burner. As they slowly melt down, they'll pretty much rid themselves of any moisture. Just be sure not to drop any in until you are done with one batch, then do a second. Works for me.....

Murphy

[3030man]

They are not "wet" the alox lube is dry. It sounds like I can remelt them without having to wipe them. Thanks for the input, I'll be coming back for more.

[Duckiller]

Remelting is the way you erase mistakes, correct over production, dispose of boolits you no longer have guns for , change so-so boolits into outstanding projectiles. Just fill a cool pot with lots of alloy objects and then light the fire. Nature will take its course. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING WET IN HOT LEAD/ALLOY. Enjoy