new smelting setup

[robpete]

I finally got my new setup going. It consists of a bayou classic turkey frier burner, a harbor freight dutch oven and various molds and spoons. I ran it for about 7 hours yesterday by myself. I'm guessing I moved about 1,100 lbs and reduced it to about 800 pounds of usable alloy. I had a blast, but definitely got a little wired out near the end. When I got out of bed this morning, I felt like I got hit by a truck. The good thing is that It only hurts when I move......
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[jonp]

Thats a nice pile of lead. You moved, what, 1,900lbs of lead in one day? OY

[robpete]

My end result was the second picture(approx 800lbs), a bucket of clips & dirt, and a full bucket of jackets(hope to cash in on them!)

[338RemUltraMag]

My end result was the second picture(approx 800lbs), a bucket of clips & dirt, and a full bucket of jackets(hope to cash in on them!)

Run a magnet over the jackets first, you will loose about 1/4 to 3/8 in steel.

[Oreo]

Shove a garden hose in the bucket of dirt and knead the dirt with your hands letting the dirty water overflow the bucket. You'll rinse away most of the dirt leaving behind a mixture of coarse dirt and lead fines. Smelt that and I'll bet you recover another 15lbs of lead.

[jlm223]

Nice job, I built a table out of steel, so I did not have to bend over so much, helped out on the back some.

[Just Duke]

Well that's a pleasant sight. I was also admiring the late 1800 coped relieved panel wainscot case work on the walls.

[Echo]

+1 for the table. My redwood picnic table gave up the ghost (38 years old, can't blame it) so I had another built (NOT redwood, anymore! Seen the price?) and put my turkey cooker on it, with my molds on the bench, so not so much bending & stooping.

[jonp]

Well that's a pleasant sight. I was also admiring the late 1800 coped relieved panel wainscot case work on the walls.

Yes and I bet that floor is pretty also. I bought an old fishing lodge on a lake in Northern Vermont a number of years ago and renovated it. Besides the 2 wrap around porches the inside floors were all maple but pretty beat up. I stripped and sanded them and they turned out to be birdseye maple from a local sawmill that went out of business in the 30's. Two floors full of it. Wow, was it gorgeous when I got done with them.

[robpete]

The house is actually an investment property that my father-in-law and I bought. It's directly across the street from my house, so it's a convenient storage "shack". It's actually a 3,500 sq ft Victorian. It was built in 1900. We have it totally gutted, but agreed on keeping the paneling and pocket doors.....as well as all of the built in cabinets and mantles. they're just to beautiful to shred into rubble.

[Smoke4320]

Great pile of lead
That shound keep you shooting a while

[rr2241tx]

Great job! I took a 5 gallon shore can and cut it in half with slots to fit over the rods that support the ring on the fryer and hold the rest of the can up high enough to meet the sides of the dutch oven just beneath the handles. I cut out the bottom of the can to fit slightly loosely around the dutch oven and now I use about 10% as much propane as I used to when smelting and greatly reduced the "scorch factor" of working next to the pot as well.

[MGySgt]

I made a ring out of flashing for my heat shield. It just sits on the out side of the fire ring of my turkey fryer. Even the thin flashing cut down immensely on the amount of propane that I use when I smelt down WW or blend an alloy.

[TheGrimReaper]

WOW!!! You did good.

[robpete]

Great job! I took a 5 gallon shore can and cut it in half with slots to fit over the rods that support the ring on the fryer and hold the rest of the can up high enough to meet the sides of the dutch oven just beneath the handles. I cut out the bottom of the can to fit slightly loosely around the dutch oven and now I use about 10% as much propane as I used to when smelting and greatly reduced the "scorch factor" of working next to the pot as well.

Would you mind posting some photos of the above setup? I'm all for saving propane!



WOW!!! You did good.

Thanks Grim!

[rr2241tx]

Photos of melting pot shroud. I took the photos inside but I don't recommend running the pot inside unless you really really want a divorce.
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[dondiego]

The hole for the thermometer is a good idea too! You guys have always amazed me with your ingenuity.

[Jal5]

Nice job Robpete! What's your source of lead, WW or range scrap or what? That was a lot of lead.
I put a similar outfit up on concrete blocks at a suitable height for me and laid a concrete slab across it that is supposed to be for a garden walkway. Very solid and a good height. Joe

[robpete]

Joe- mainly wheel weights and range scrap. However, i let everybody know that I'm always on the hunt. It's amazing how much accumulates.....usually free of charge!

[Idz]

Windscreens make a big difference. Any idea what your melting efficiency is? It can be figured out by weighing the propane bottle before and after a melt, and weighing the amount of scrap in the pot and the weight of lead smelted from it. My windscreen/furnace is a box made of patio pavers and I get about 12% efficiency.

[Boosted98gsx]

If you run any future batches of this, I would recommend Rowell #5 Casting Ladle. They really make ingot pouring a breeze.

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/casting_ladle_bottom5.htm

Plus, it has a free floating foregrip, so you can spin the ladle whilst keeping your support arm stationary. Makes the stress a lot less. Here's a picture of my smelting setup where you can see my #5

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v448/Boosted98gsx/Guns/Casting/20121125_130500.jpg

[500MAG]

If you run any future batches of this, I would recommend Rowell #5 Casting Ladle. They really make ingot pouring a breeze.

It is on my "got to get" list.