What to do with dross?

[Mach_Cat]

Today turned 250lbs of rimfire lead into ingots.
Surprised at the amount of dross. I have 200 lbs of nice lead and 50 of dross.
Now this rimfire lead is shot into a metal back stop, and drops straight to a bucket.
So no dirt. Just the lead but really surprised at the qty of dross in it.
Any way, what do you folks do with your dross?
Can we just. Toss it in the trash?
Ed

[beex215]

i had the same thoughts about this before. i came up with use in shotgun or fishing sinkers.

[220swiftfn]

I'd be willing to bet that with 50 pounds, it isn't all dross, there's alloy left in there...... I'd toss it in with the next batch and flux the heck out of it (most here swear by the pine shavings pet bedding you can get at Wally World or similar....)


Dan

[labradigger1]

Talk to your local recylcler, some will buy if. You may be able.to trade it for more lead.
Lab

[Tatume]

Talk to your local recylcler, some will buy if. You may be able.to trade it for more lead.

This is a good option. If he won't buy it, he may at least take it and dispose of it for you. You shouldn't just throw it in the trash, as lead byproducts are often considered hazardous materials.

[Whitespider]

WOW‼
What are you using for flux?? And what's your fluxing technique??
I have no way of knowing for positive, 'cause I weren't there, but I'm guessing there's gotta be something well north of 40 pounds good boolit-makin' alloy in that "dross".

[JSnover]

When I have enough to fill a five pound coffee can, I melt it. You'll be surprised how much alloy is left in that dross.
The rest is probably pretty toxic stuff. Since it isn't good for much and you don't have a ton of it, don't expect to be paid for it. Like Tatume said, just ask if they'll take it off your hands. Like bartering for wheel weights, offer a box of donuts.
A buddy of mine suggested mixing it with cement and burying it. I understand the concept but I'm sure that's illegal as hell.

[10x]

If you are getting that much dross you are not fluxing or maybe not using the correct flux.
I collect about a cup of dross off of 50 lb of wheel weights. I dump my dross into an old 8 X 8 cake pan. When ever the cake pan is 1/2 full I will give it a rinse with water, then put it in a small cast iron pot and remelt it fluxing with sawdust and wax. I have even fluxed with used synthetic motor oil. The dross that comes off of this batch is pure dirt,
Synthetic oil seems to soak into the dirt and let the lead clinging to the dirt drop off into the melt.
I let the pot cool and go solid, drop the large ingot out, brush off the surface dirt into a garbage bag, give it a rinse, then remelt it and flux a second time.
it is remarkable how much good Alloy can be recovered from dross.

[Big Boomer]

Pay close attention to what 10x and the other posters have written. I had a large coffee can of dross that was getting heavy and I just kept adding to it. Since I use a propane tank I cut in half for smelting, I dumped the cooled contents and put all the dross in the smelting pot. I was surprised at how much good lead (and who knows how much tin) I salvaged from the container of dross. Big Boomer

[osteodoc08]

I collect it and when I have a coffee cans worth, it goes back in the melt to be reclaimed. Typically gain back alloy and tin by doing this.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

WOW‼
What are you using for flux?? And what's your fluxing technique??
I have no way of knowing for positive, 'cause I weren't there, but I'm guessing there's gotta be something well north of 40 pounds good boolit-makin' alloy in that "dross".

YEP !

when I am done fluxing and reducing, I end up with a light fluffy ash...If there is anything that isn't light and fluffy (like ashes from a wood stove), you need to flux some more.

[mdi]

Mebbe you're not mixing the flux into the melt. I like to make sure the stuff skimmed off my melt is nearly a powder. I flux, stir well and mix, then skim immediately (making sure the tin in the melt is well mixed in)...

[Big Boomer]

A friend gave me a few hundred lbs. of lead pipe that came out of a demolished old school building. The pipe had all kinds of crud in the melted pipe dross. I had a big coffee can full. There was sand and other goop in the can of dross. I finally decided to take a water hose and run water into the can and see what would happen to the crud. It either floated or ran out when I tilted the can but the lead remained in the can. Now I have even more saved lead and perhaps tin. Not to hijack this thread, but does anyone know what BHN lead pipe is? There was a brass junction in one piece of the pipe that cleaned up pretty well that I will try to trade at the recycler. Big Boomer

[Tatume]

Does anyone know the BHN of lead pipe?

Usually lead pipe is very soft.

[DeanWinchester]

All dross gets saved and smelted in with the next batch of wheel weights. Flux the fire out of it with shavings. I use cedar shavings, smells nice ;)

[WHITETAIL]

Yes, the main theme here is when all done with making ingets.
Put the leftovers back in the pot and flux again.

[mold maker]

It's still potentially lead, till it's light weight and fluffy. As scarce as lead is becoming, we can't afford to throw any away.
Flux, and flux again, till it's only ashes.

[John Boy]

I have 200 lbs of nice lead and 50 of dross. Never had this much dross making ingots from sheet lead or wheel weights. You've got tin - lead and antimony in your dross

[MT Gianni]

I average around a 12 oz can of dross from a 100+ lb bucket of ww minus the clips. Get the rest of the components to flow and keep them.

[zuke]

I take my clip's and dross to the scrap yard on weekend's when the gate's locked up and dump it into a stove/washing machine/deepfreeze.They have an area for weekend scrap dumping. I also do some shopping while I'm there.