Flea market buys and a few Q's

[Drphilwv]

Howdy all,
Still havent cast my first boolit but went to the flea market today to find a pan to melt down some wheel weights. A fellow had some estate sale items and there was a white masonry bucket with some casting equipment. In addition to a ladle, some odds and ends, and a single conical bullet mold with no label, here what I scored for a $20
Lyman Mold Master XX. pot looks kinda rusty inside. How do I clean?
Multiple trays of lyman ingot molds
RCBS 440-R double round ball
Lyman 515 935 single round ball
RCBS 454-R single round ball
there a couple other things that I will need to clean up to figure out what they are.
Cool huh? All of them have a bit of surface rust, but the interiors look quite clean. What's the best way to clean all this stuff up? I guess I need to get a cap and ball revolver, since I have nothing that shoots round ball at all.
Dr.Phil

[GRUMPA]

You did real well for $20, wish I could do that well on casting items. As far as the rust I use a wire brush and some elbow grease.

[slim1836]

I used a wire brush attached to a drill on my LEE pot with good results in the past, but now just keep it full of lead before turning it off.

Slim

[runfiverun]

every single item you mentioned was worth 20 dollars except maybe the ladle.
if it's a larger 2/3/4 lb one it's easily worth the 20 dollars too.
hope you rememberd to hit the guy up for any lead he had too.....

[Drphilwv]

The ingot molds have several lead ingots with them. The lead looks like it was poured a few decades ago. The ladle is quite small - like enough to pour a few bullets only. I wonder if some brass wool would be safe to clean up the exterior of the molds a bit.

[Gliden07]

I used a wire brush attached to a drill on my LEE pot with good results in the past, but now just keep it full of lead before turning it off.

Slim

I used the same thing to clean up some Lee 38/357 dies that were in my press and to clean the surface rust off the press parts when it was dismantled. The Brass Wool will work but it will be a lot of work!

[Huntducks]

PB blaster and 0000 steel wool on the molds there is little you can do to the exterior of a mold.

[jcameron996]

Good score. I have been watching for something like that for a while with no luck. I guess half the fun is in the search.

[azrednek]

Call me a bit paranoid if you wish. A couple years ago I watched a meth lab being busted on TV. I don't have the slightest idea of the function they served but I saw two RCBS and possibly one Lee melting pot. Something to keep in mind cleaning the lead pots. The possibility of chemical contamination. Buying the lead pots with casting equipment would signify legitimate use but just keep in the back of you mind the possibility of cleaning out a dangerous chemical and take appropriate precautions.

[wv109323]

Just use steel wool or a fine sand paper to clean the pot. Flux the lead in the pot quite a bit to get all the loose stuff out.

[williamwaco]

Any good commercial calcium/lime/rust remover will work quick and easy especially with a wire brush.

I use CLR from Walmart, Lowe's, or Home Depot.


I have also used it on iron molds BUT NO WIRE BRUSH.

You can use a tooth brush on your molds but nothing stiffer than that.


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[Drphilwv]

Thank you for the help fellas. Nah, no meth stuff on the pot - just lead and some rust. It looks like it was last used some time ago. Not sure lead fumes are any safer! Will load it up tuesday and see how it runs.
Dr.Phil

[Drphilwv]

and I have ID'ed another piece as a single conical .515 bullet from Dixie (Starr style clamps mould).

So, anyone want to trade round ball (440, 454, 515) or 50cal conical for .311, .358 (rifle), .270 molds? I don't shoot any round ball anything and I already have a minnie ball mold for my Enfield replica.

Phil