Zinc W-W's

[ShrnShndl]

Hope you guys can help. A friend of mine gave me a 5 gal bucket of w-w and now I've heard they are using zinc to make w-w. Is there any way to tell the difference between the lead and zinc? I've never used w-w, so please keep it simple, that's the way I operate best. Thanks for your time.

[xcrider]

My experience has been that the Zinc WW will float to the top so I skim them off right away. When I smelt I run my pot temp around 700 and if I remember right that Zinc melts at a higher temp, so far it hasn't been a problem not doing a "pre sort"

[imashooter2]

Many, many threads on this subject. Do a forum search on zinc and you'll find a wealth of information.

[kawalekm]

Hi ShrnShndl
Just keep you pot set at a temp that will barely melt lead, say 625-650F. It's best if you use a casting thermometer for this. This is the one I have.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=595204&t=11082005
Any zinc weights will float on top and won't melt at that temperature. You can fish them out quickly. Any weigh that sinks into the pool and starts to melt right after you put it in is lead-based. Any weight that floats and doesn't start to melt is zinc-based.

If you crank the temperature up too high, you'll get to the point where zinc weights will melt too. I don't know exactly what that temp is, but it's at least 750-800F. One or two in a whole pot's worth doesn't seem to ruin a whole patch, just pay attention.
Michael

[ShrnShndl]

Thanks for the info, I have a thermometer and will keep the temp in the pot low.

[xr650]

I have been operating under the assumption that zinc are riveted.
I sorted these out of my pile.
Sunday I was melting the WW and found a wght floating that looked like a regular lead one. I skimmed it off and was glad my pot temp was low enough not to melt it.