New guy lead ???

[Dogchaser]

Figured I would join after a day of casting last Sat.with a shooting buddy.

I'm getting some "stuff" together and lead is the main component sooo......

I can get a deal on lead from an indoor range. All lead is .22 RF from bullet traps and is powdered/pulverised.

What do I need to do to alloy this raw material for use in .45 ACP and 44 Mag cast bullets?

What do the experts think is a good price per pound for splatered .22 lead?

Any problem melting this into ingots?


I can tell this will be more addicting than reloading and I should know better.:Fire:

[MT Gianni]

Do you clean it up for them or is it in a bucket ready to go. If you clean it up I think it is a fair trade, If it is ready to go 20-25c a lb should be top end. This is soft lead but not pure so it should be alloyed with something to shoot at 44 mag pressure type loads, 45 needs a hard surface to grip shallow rifling most of the time. WElcome aboard. Gianni

[Dogchaser]

Do you clean it up for them or is it in a bucket ready to go. If you clean it up I think it is a fair trade, If it is ready to go 20-25c a lb should be top end. This is soft lead but not pure so it should be alloyed with something to shoot at 44 mag pressure type loads, 45 needs a hard surface to grip shallow rifling most of the time. WElcome aboard. Gianni


It's already in coffee cans at about $.22 per lb.

The alloying procedure is my main concern.

[mooman76]

Sounds like a fair price if it is fairly clean. I know it will have some dirt and stuff in it but if it has allot then it may not be worth it. You could alloy it with some linotype if you can get it or some WWs. Water quinching them will make them harder. You could try water quinching them as is and see if they come out good enough!

[Ghugly]

I guess it depends on where you live. I would take all they have at that price. I would really be pleased to find a couple of tons at that price.

[mtgrs737]

I would add 20% linotype for 45 acp bullets and 50% linotype for high pressure 44 bullets as a starting place then go on from there if needed. If it is fairly clean then that price is fair and I too would take all I could get. Linotype is available from ebay but you need to buy the 50lb. flate rate shipping boxes offered to make it pay. :castmine:

[redgum]

I try to keep all the .22's, HBWC's and any other swaged lead boolits recovered from the range, to mix 50/50 with clip on wheel weights. I drop them straight from the mold into cool water and they are right fine in my .45's

[Buckshot]

...............Dogchaser, welcome to the board, and glad to have you. The 22RF bullet is commonly pure lead with about 1% tin and no antimony so the advise to add some lino is good. It will harden it up handily with it's antimony content.

Since the lead you'll be rendering is in tiny pieces you'll probably have to do some heavy fluxing. Lots of surface area to oxidize. When you melt it down, be sure to dipper off the lead from the upper part of of the pot to fill the ingot moulds. This assuming they use a sand bed to catch the lead? If so there may be considerable rock dust in the lead.

While it's true that it is lighter then lead and should float, a lot of it will not. It becomes trapped under the lead against the bottom of the pot. In rendering down WW's, the amount of dirt and dust trapped thusly can be a real eye opener. When fluxing while rendering don't stir across the bottom.

I use an 8qt cast iron dutch oven for this. When done after a couple 5 gallon pails of WW, there'll be maybe a half cup of dirt/sand/ whatever covering the bottom of the pot. By whatever safe means you have at hand, tip the pot to pour out most all the remaining half inch or so of lead without any of this dirt escaping. At some later time when its cool you can pull out the remaining lead, flip it over and scrap off a goodly portion of this crud.

..................Buckshot

[cbrick]

Dogchaser,

Welcome. Yes, you should have known better but it's too late, your already past the point of no return :-D.

All pretty good advice given already except the water quenching 22 rimfire bullets. There's no antimony and without antimony in the alloy you'll die of old age before you get it to heat treat. Water quenching is a form of heat treating. Add some wheel weight (about 4% antimony + arsenic) or lino (12% antimony, no arsenic) if you want to harden it for the 44.

Good luck & let us know how it goes for you.

Rick

[Dogchaser]

Buckshot, our traps are steel and set up soeven the paper doesn't end up in the lead. It should be pretty pure.

Do you guys use Marvelux or Bee's wax for fluxing ? Last Sat. I got to use both and didn't really see a difference.

Dogchaser