Range Lead Revisted

[Sprintcardriver]

I know, I know:???: but I have two 5 gallon buckets of range lead, grass, dirt, and who knows what else.

I have washed most of the dirt away and will be separating any rocks, plastic and other things that I can determine wont melt. But my concerns, from what I have been reading, any lead with cooper still attached or on. This will explode:shock: ?

I wasn't expecting to go through everything in these buckets.. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Don "Ho"

[felix]

Throw it all in the melter, including dirt if too tired of washing the stuff down. Do it, light the fire, put on a strong lid, and go mow the yard for a couple of hours. No, it won't get hot enough to melt pure copper in that amount of time. Naturally, it depends on your firepower and lack of pot insulation. ... felix

[scrapcan]

water is not a problem if you do as Felix suggests. As the melt starts to come up to temperature it will drive off the moisture. The trouble comes when you drop cold and wet/damp material into an already molten pot of lead.

[LostCajun]

One thing you might want to keep an eye out for is intact FMJ bullets. When the lead core inside these things melt, it expands, creating pressure inside the jacket. And the jackets have an uncanny ability to know when you're reaching in to stir or skim, and then split, spitting a nice little silver stream at your fingers.
Wearing gloves and goggles helps, of course, but you might flinch when you see this. (Don't ask how I know this ;) ) I would make sure all the FMJs had some damage to the jacket, with some pliers or wire cutters of some sort. Having a lid will keep the fountains down while it's all melting, but you still have to get in there to stir and flux, and that's when it gets ya.
Heed the water warnings above, and also look for unfired rounds while you're sorting.
Lost Cajun

[Sprintcardriver]

Ok, now the question arises of pressure? Is there normally pressure that builds up with a lid attached? Or do you just offset the lid to allow gasses to escape?

[LostCajun]

Pressure under the lid isn't going to be a problem. If it's just a regular-fitting pot lid, any gas released during the melt will escape easily. Bets are off if you use a screw-on lid, though.
And the pressure I'm talking about in the FMJs isn't going to blow the lid off. It's more like squeezing a grape. Just enough to really be annoying.
LC

[Lloyd Smale]

felix has got the answer. ITs a waste of time to try to clean it ahead of time.

[felix]

No, it's the blow up that could occur with captured water, that's all. A relatively heavy lid would be a better way to say it. ... felix

[Sprintcardriver]

hope to try it this weekend.

[Freightman]

I smelt range lead all the time, use a big cast iorn dutch oven, I do not clean just sit it in the shop in a very dry place until I get toit. I get 75# form each pot. and a lot of dirt and jackets. The fluxing is pretty well done as a lot of the cast which makes up 80% of what I get has lube still in the groves. Makes some of the hardest alloy I have.
Do not sit and watch the pot it is boring and you can load ammo while you wait.
I have 1500# sitting back in the corner waiting to be done, may not get to it for years as I have 1000# + already done.

[LIMPINGJ]

Freightman with all the wind in the panhandle you would think the dirt would be blown away with just the heavy bullets left on top of the remaining soil. Flying to Amarillo, Borger, Perryton, and Woodward the last 23 years I remember yery few calm days.

[Sprintcardriver]

the kids were kind to me this fathers day. I got a Turkey fryer from HD. And my new castings books. So I have a lot of reading to do and hope to start next weekend...