Zinc ammo

[snoopy]

Ok guys, sorry if this has been addressed before, but I cant seem to find it. I would like to use my zinc wheelweights if possible to make some slingshot ammo, 44cal rb. I know I dont want to use my bottom pour pot that I normally use to cast with, or can I if I clean it afterwards? What about my mould? Anybody else done this? What problems have you encountered and any tips.

[RED333]

Steel mold and ladle to pour with.
I would not want to put zinc in my lead pot.

[Dan Cash]

Having had a zink infected pot which was cleaned, I fail to see the problem. Zink won't make satisfactory .44 round balls for a muzzle loader though, way too hard.

[randyrat]

Heat! 750 F deg or more and then you need to keep your mold hot also. That kind of heat would be kinda hard on your mold eventually. Keep your Zinc away from your other casting equipment, separate your dross and label your zinc alloys ............that's about all I can contribute.

[Walter Laich]

Having had a zink infected pot which was cleaned, I fail to see the problem. Zink won't make satisfactory .44 round balls for a muzzle loader though, way too hard.

Think he was going to use them for slingshot ammo. You are correct about muzzle loader ammo, though

[Buck Neck It]

Molten zinc will dissolve an aluminum mold. You might get away with it for a short while, but don't use an aluminum mold that you are very proud of.

Shady Grady says that his zinc cannonball mold is made of cast iron, "meehanite". He runs his melt and mold at 1000 degrees F.

You can clean remaining traces of zinc from your ladle with HCL. HCL can eat pin holes in a thin stainless pot if left too long.

Zinc dross is good for killing moss.

Have fun!

[jonp]

"Molten zinc will dissolve an aluminum mold. You might get away with it for a short while, but don't use an aluminum mold that you are very proud of."

Why will it dissolve an AL mold? Just the heat or some reaction?

[Buck Neck It]

Zinc alloys readily with aluminum, like tin alloys with copper or lead, carbon alloys with iron, ect.
Heat has a great deal to do with it.

But hey, I ain't no chemist, I am just a guy who likes to melt things and make things.

I once salvaged a bunch of scrap boat anodes for a hot dip galvanizing project. I made ingot molds out of aluminum plate and hull stiffener from my scrap pile. It wasn't long before I had molten zinc running loose on my shop floor. Once it breached the oxide coating, the zinc dug a hole very quickly.

I have never tried casting anything fancy with zinc. I am just reciting another member's post where he was trying to cast zinc bullets in a lee mold. His lube grooves didn't last long.

Maybe someone with die casting experience will chime in, set us right.

[Garyshome]

I used to get the little iron pellets[balls] from around the RR tracks!

[bangerjim]

Even though Zn melts at ~750, you will need to MUCH hotter to actually pour it into STEEL molds. NOT aluminum.

If you planning on just making roundballs for slingshots, no problem with weights. But any boolit you cast will be significantly lighter and you will have to re-work all you loads from scratch.

Not worth it in my book!


That is the problem with messing with scrounging WW's these days....waaaaaay too much Zn! Not really worth much on the scrap market. And you can end up with a whole bunch of them.

banger