Major Score this Week!

[Axton1]

While running my MOUF this past weekend, mentioned to a distant relative I don't see much lately the need for a bit of lead for my new hobby. He told me that he had some old buckets of wheel weights that were his dad's that have set for 30 years if I was interested.....[smilie=l:
I'll stop right there until I can get a picture becuz:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_192304f8780d344e92.gif (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=4801)
I'll post up some pics when i can get them loaded.
But then, I beleive I've gotten myself in over my head.:veryconfu
The "trade" for these is I get to teach him how to reload and cast boolits too. (Not too bad!)
Then while unloading said haul, I had my son out showing him how to cast some boolits out of a pile we melted down. (Couldn't wait - had to try some immediatley!) A neighbor saw the commotion and got to talking and now I've gone and included him in the "class".
And his son............
And his nephew.....
I HAVE CREATED A RELOADING AND BOOLIT MAKIN' SCHOOL!
Wish me luck!
None of these guys have a piece of equipment one so, got my work cut out to get'm equiped and up to speed! But, the JOY must be passed on!
:cbpour:

[leadbutt]

Good job. Only prob is going to be peace. Without them having their own equipment they are going to need yours. Nice recruiting.

L. Bottoms

[captaint]

Hope you at least got a bunch of WW's out of the deal. That lead is gonna go quick !!! Mike

[DonMountain]

And his son............
And his nephew.....
I HAVE CREATED A RELOADING AND BOOLIT MAKIN' SCHOOL!
Wish me luck!
None of these guys have a piece of equipment one so, got my work cut out to get'm equiped and up to speed! But, the JOY must be passed on!
:cbpour:

Here is what we all need at some time in our boolit making careers! Someone who will let us sit in on a casting session with running commentary to teach each of us the finer methods of casting boolits! Rather than each of us stumbling along for years finding out all of these secrets of how to cast. Good Job! How might we organize more of these sessions? Locally for each of us? :castmine:

[Axton1]

Hope you at least got a bunch of WW's out of the deal. That lead is gonna go quick !!! Mike

Yeah, I wasn't gonna say because this big a score requires pics to believe, but it's probably in the 1200-1400lb range! If I didn't have 4x4 in the truck, I would NOT have gotten out of the hollow they were down in! (Yes, I'll get some pics posted when I can - got called back in to work a few days early and 12hr night shifts leave NO TIME for - well, pretty much anything! At work now!:bigsmyl2:)

And while I've got some ears, got a question. 4-5 of the 5 gallon buckets full of wheel weight were full of water. Dumped out and drying but, rust is rampant! (These things have been sitting for 30 years!) Anybody with in advice on how that's gonna clean up? I melted down apprx 60lbs of the clean ones and they were easy.......but those rusty-crustys............ehh? Should I try to wash'm off first or just throw the sawdust and candles to it in the big pot?

[marvelshooter]

Some one gave me an old cooler nearly full of wheel weights that had sat outside for a very long time with no cover. The clips had formed clumps of rust and I just broke them apart and they smelted fine.

[selmerfan]

In my experience, if folks get a wild hair up their backside to reload on a whim and want someone to teach them, the wild hair fizzles real quick. It seems that handloaders have an internal drive to learn this craft for themselves, aided by others, but the initial drive has to be intrinsic. I have several hunting buddies, friends, and family members that love the idea of reloading, but don't like the reality of purchasing equipment and learning the safety parameters of reloading.

[Axton1]

Marvelshooter - good to hear, sounds exactly like the condition these are in. Gonna give them at least a month to dry out though.......don't need a visit from the Tinsel Fairy......

Selmerfan - been down that road a few times too. Had several people get real enthused - only to give up immediatly when they found that there's a tad bit of work involved in it! (One said: "You want me to read a BOOK?!") I may be new to casting but, 30 years into reloading. At 2 least of these folks have been looking at starting for sometime and I think they just need that little bit of hands-on to get over the "fear factor." They seemed a little intimidated by the process I think. I can understand that - you hear of horror stories all the time. What has been holding them back was watching a relative blow up a shotgun because he had "reloaded some really HOT rounds for doves - doubled up the powder in'm"....yep. Shotguns have recipes and you DON'T CAHNGE THEM! But, I think they can learn to get past that.
I believe it can be a safe process if you take your time and don't try to do anything stupid!
The only difference between an "error" and a "mistake" is, an error becomes a mistake - when YOU refuse to correct it!
And if it don't pan out for them, hey - I tried! I had help once, I'll ask for it again when I need it......kinda why I'm here!
A1

[Stick_man]

Axton1, it is always a good idea to dry any materials that will be going into a pot of molten lead. However, you COULD use some of them before they are totally dry IF YOU PUT THEM INTO A COLD POT. While they heat up, the moisture will evaporate and no problem. I wouldn't put them into a pot that had ANY hot lead in it or you would be rolling out the red carpet for the TF. You could also put them into a pan on a hotplate to warm up a bit to speed up the evaporation. Or, spread a bunch of them out onto a small plank or cookie sheet and put them in the oven for a little while.

Just a couple ideas to speed up the drying process to make them safe for melting down.

Oh, and as far as the rust is concerned, a good fluxing will reduce the oxides back into usable material. :)

Be safe and don't forget the PPE, especially a full face shield.

Oh, and BTW, nice score!