First Attempt at melting range scrap

[pearcetopher]

Hi guys,

after melting the last of the wheel weights I will be getting for a while I decided to try my hand at melting the scrap range lead ive collected the last time I was out

I'm using a 8" stainless steel pot with lid ontop of a 19$ hot plate. I live in an apartment so the outside deck is the only place I can do this and I didn't want alot of smoke so I decided to go for a small setup.

I filled my pot with 8.4 pounds of fired bullets
After 20 mins on full I looked and all the bullet jackets were hollow meaning the lead had melted through. I scooped all the jackets and junk off the top and then poured 5, 1 pound ingots.

my question is when I was on the last ingot or two there was quite a few grains of sand that got casted onto the top of that ingot.

If i make bullets out of these in my lee 4-20 will the sand get into the bullet mold/bullet and ruin stuff?

I know that any rock against a barrel will gouge the **** out of it. Do I have anything to worry about?

Your canuck friend,

Chris

[dikman]

Definitely don't put that ingot into the casting pot. If it's a bottom pour the last thing you want in there is any grit.
It sounds like you didn't do any fluxing? (Fluxing makes a LOT of smoke). I've found that range scrap needs a fair bit of fluxing, to help separate all the crud from it, but I always seem to end up with some grit in the bottom of the pot. I generally leave some lead to harden in the bottom, then take it out and clean out the grit that's left.

The other thing you could do is when the lead is getting low in the melting pot slowly pour it into the mold, but stop before any grit starts to get near the pouring lead. Leave that in the pot for next time, clean out as much grit as possible when it's cold and just add new stuff to it. Theoretically, if you flux enough you should be able to get rid of all the grit - but it doesn't quite seem to work for me (and did I mention it makes lots of smoke? Particularly if you use wax!).

The aim of smelting first is to try and get clean lead for the casting process, so if any ingots get any grit stuck to them just re-cycle them again.

[varmint243]

IMO you can do one of two things
a.) re-melt your ingots in your smelting pot a second time and skim off the crud
b.) skim off the crud when you cast

I have had no issues caused by the little bit of dirt that you describe.
It floats to the top and I skim it off when I cast

It will melt much quicker and easier the second time

[AlaskanGuy]

You can read about the whole process here in this thread i made a while back....

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?219043-For-noob-s-A-basic-lead-ingot-setup-for-Range-bullet-scrap

Alaskan

[bangerjim]

Remelt those and flux....eh!! You HAVE to use flux when melting dirty crapola like that. I know smoke may be a problem for you, but you really need to use some saw dust in there. Not much more smoke than a grill full of cheap discount store hamburger or pork loin steak! And it smells like burning wood, not burnt fat. Use clean pine saw dust. Or similar. Not man-made wood products dust!

Sand and dirt will float to the top and you can try to skim w/o fluxing. Do NOT use those in you pot, let alone shoot them down a barrel.

Be VERY careful when pouring that last bit in the smelting pot. It will contain all kinds of gunk from the bottom and sides. I normally just dump that last 1/2# or so and call it waste.

Porosity in an ingot is not a problem, but those holes are caused by gasses and other things that are NOT abrasive. Check that out and take the appropriate actions.

I applaud you for doing in an apartment what we all do in loading shops, basements, and garages!

Have fun!

banger

[AlaskanGuy]

You could do everything right on the stove... Then you can use the range hood fan for ventilation.... If you have a smoke detector in the kitchen, might wanna take out the batteries first...lol

[pearcetopher]

Stupid question but I don't live on a farm anymore so where does a city boy go to get some sawdust

[AlaskanGuy]

Go to the lumber yard... Anyplace where folks buy wood, or a construction site would prolly work too... Just take a broom and dustpan...

[jmort]

Go to Walmat or pet store get pine shavings aka pet bedding. $3 or $4 will get you a large supply of 100% pine.

[RickinTN]

I had my wife pick me up a bag of hampster/gerbil bedding the last time she went to the pet store. It is perfect for fluxing, and I think cost about $5/bag. I think you'll like it. It is pine shavings.
Rick

[bangerjim]

Just don't get saw dust from anywhere they cut man-made wood products or pressure treated lumber. The chemicals in there are not good for you. And the stuff you create anyway is bad enough!

Use pure bedding/sawdust as mentioned above.

banger

[jcameron996]

+1 on the sawdust. If the smoke is bothering you or causing a nuisance, just use a kitchen match to light the sawdust after you apply it to the top of your melt. This will speed up the process and you will have a lot less smoke to deal with.

[CastingFool]

One of these days (when it gets warmer out, in about 6 mos.) I will have to try fluxing with sawdust. I know just where to get it, too! Bottom of my table saw!

[pearcetopher]

you guys are great
I melt pounds per time to keep it small and not much smoke

that is until last night where i decided to just pour in 10 pounds without sorting and sifting like I usually do

bad idea as there were lots of clay pigeons in there

after 40 minutes I checked out my window to see yellow smoke clouds billowing out of my apartments patio. Scared the **** outta me. Luckily it was dark and nobody said anything. Guess I'm going back to hand sorting all my stuff.

Cheers,

Chris