Ok, I think I'm almost ready...

[jason280]

I've been picking up lead over the last couple of weeks, think I almost ready to start smelting and pouring ingots. I can already see this will be addicting, just need a lot more lead!!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/Jason280_5/Lenox%20etc/Lead%201_zpshuucjyzg.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/Jason280_5/media/Lenox%20etc/Lead%201_zpshuucjyzg.jpg.html)
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/Jason280_5/Lenox%20etc/Lead%204_zps7lkmdrd6.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/Jason280_5/media/Lenox%20etc/Lead%204_zps7lkmdrd6.jpg.html)
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/Jason280_5/Lenox%20etc/Lead%203_zpsvak4acjs.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/Jason280_5/media/Lenox%20etc/Lead%203_zpsvak4acjs.jpg.html)
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a377/Jason280_5/Lenox%20etc/Lead%205_zpsri9ljmlr.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/Jason280_5/media/Lenox%20etc/Lead%205_zpsri9ljmlr.jpg.html)

[C. Latch]

If I were you I'd separate out the stick-on weights from the clip-ons.

What do you plan to start casting for?

[jason280]

I will, I plan on separating them down to make sure I get any zinc/steel weights out of the bunch as well. Is there a difference in composition/hardness between the clip on and stick on weights?

I'd like to start pouring for my .41, .44, and .45 caliber single actions. Haven't decided on any molds yet, still in the planning phase, but would like 210-225gr in the .41 and 265-285gr in the .44 & .45 Colt with as large a meplat as possible.

[William Yanda]

Generally clip on are harder than stick on. Stick on are often close to pure lead. ymmv
Welcome to the world of casting.

[C. Latch]

Is there a difference in composition/hardness between the clip on and stick on weights?



Yes. SOWW are soft. Soft enough for muzzleloader bullets. You can mix COWW and SOWW for handgun bullets that will expand a little bit, or at least be soft enough to make it easier to get a good gas seal.




I'd like to start pouring for my .41, .44, and .45 caliber single actions. Haven't decided on any molds yet, still in the planning phase, but would like 210-225gr in the .41 and 265-285gr in the .44 & .45 Colt with as large a meplat as possible.

I started with my .45 colt (ruger BH) and, with a great deal of hindsight, unless you live in bear country....get a $20 Lee 452-255-rf mold to start with for your .45.

It will make a ~262 grain flat point that will do pretty much everything you need a bullet to do. Shoot a few hundred of them then look at other molds.

[Scharfschuetze]

How come your scrounged lead looks so much cleaner than mine? :)

[jason280]

Yes. SOWW are soft. Soft enough for muzzleloader bullets. You can mix COWW and SOWW for handgun bullets that will expand a little bit, or at least be soft enough to make it easier to get a good gas seal.

This is where things start getting a little confusing for me. Is it worth trying to "harden" up the SOWW to get them closer to the clip on variety, or should I simply pour them into ingots and save them? At this point, I really want to get as hard a bullet as possible, and stick with it in my molds. Not really looking for any expansion, and won't be casting for my ML's any time soon.

I guess I need to research a little more on increasing lead harness, I definitely have a lot more to learn!

[jsizemore]

The unpainted SOWW are close to pure Pb. The painted SOWW are about the same as COWW. Most folks start out thinking they need as hard a boolit as they can get and discover that they don't. Having the soft Pb handy gives you the chance to see if your too hard alloy is the cause of your leading.

[swamp]

Keep the stick on separate and save for you m/l. I shoot a lot of straight coww and it works for me. If I have trouble with fillout I add a little tin.

[Wayne Smith]

The soft stuff is really needed for Cap and Ball revolvers and swaging. Using anything harder than pure will break the loading lever. Patched round ball can be ww metal. I would save the pure for hunting if you hunt the ML season. Other than that save it and sell it to cap and ball shooters or swagers.

[C. Latch]

Yeah, just set the SOWW aside for use a) in muzzleloader concicals, b) to trade to other Blackpowder shooters, or c) when you figure out that 'hard cast' is a marketing tool, not something you either want or need for magnum handgun shooting.

A 50/50 mix of COWW and SOWW with just a bit of tin added (say 1% pewter or tin by weight) is a great alloy. You can even get by without the tin. Or do 60/40 COWW/SOWW or 70/30 or 80/20.

Or, for simplicity sake for a guy just starting out, just cast from straight clip-on weights. They will be a bit hard, but not too hard to be useful, if they fit well.

Fit is everything. You need to know your cylinder throat diameters and your bore diameter before you know what to size your bullets to.

People read cast-bullet marketing literature and think they need super-hard bullets with a gigantic wide nose to be useful. I'm far from the most experienced shooter here but have already figured out that softer bullets are likely to seal better, leave less lead in the barrel, be more accurate, and still penetrate very deeply unless you're trying to kill stuff standing behind trees.

[jason280]

Thanks for the information, that's why I joined up here years ago!

I still have a lot to learn, and still need to do a lot of research on the subject. I still want to pick up as much lead as possible, and have told the local tire stores to save all they get. I figure once I get close to 1k pounds, I should be OK to start smelting!

[osteodoc08]

You've got enough to start smelting now. No need to wait for 1K pounds.

I'd personally seperate out the SOWW from the COWW. I'd smelt the COWW first as that is what I typically use as an all purpose alloy for my 41, 4 and 45 colts.

A few helpful hints and caveats.

1. Wear proper personal protection equipment and smelt out doors.
2. Always be sure to use dry raw product and never add additional product (to be smelted) to the liquidus, always assume there is hidden moisture. If you need to add more, wait for the melt to become solidified first. This prevents any moisture from becoming a visit from the tinsel fairy.
3. Seperate out the zink and non desireable stuff before smelting and keep temps low. If your melt turns all kind of pretty colors, you are way to hot.
4. DO NOT SMELT in your PRODUCTION FURNACE
5. Whatever you are fluxing with, allow it to be completely burned out and charred before stirring.
6. Dont hesitate to ask questions here.

Best of luck and have fun!

[bangerjim]

This is where things start getting a little confusing for me. Is it worth trying to "harden" up the SOWW to get them closer to the clip on variety, or should I simply pour them into ingots and save them? At this point, I really want to get as hard a bullet as possible, and stick with it in my molds. Not really looking for any expansion, and won't be casting for my ML's any time soon.

I guess I need to research a little more on increasing lead harness, I definitely have a lot more to learn!

Don't worry yourself about hardness now. Just re-melt the separate weights, flux well 3X with pine sawdust, cast into ingots, and mark them very well so you will know what they were. I highly recommend the very inexpensive 1/4" letter stamp set Harbor Freight sells. Sharpies come/wear off easily.

Once you get some molds, loading and sizing dies, and start really mixing alloys, then you worry about hardness. I do not and NEVER will mix up a batch of "stuff" of a certain hardness. I add the necessary ingots of soft, COWW, hardball, Sn to the pot based upon the alloy calculator on here....and just common sense from years of doing it. Having several hundred pounds of one alloy......you will most certainly want a different one(s) as you move along, so keep everything separate and well marked. Mix as you need it.

Welcome and have fun.

bangerjim

[C. Latch]

Thanks for the information, that's why I joined up here years ago!

I still have a lot to learn, and still need to do a lot of research on the subject. I still want to pick up as much lead as possible, and have told the local tire stores to save all they get. I figure once I get close to 1k pounds, I should be OK to start smelting!


I don't own 1K# of lead. Probably half that. I go through phases where I cast and shoot often, then other hobbies come to the forefront and, for example, I went ~10 months without casting last year. I had a bunch of bullets set aside and they carried me through the summer where I was focused on other hobbies.

I started smelting, in my casting pot (the only pot I have) when I had less than 10 pounds. It would be wonderful to have separate setups for smelting and casting but it's not the end of the world if you do not.

[Duckiller]

Smelt before you get to 1k lbs of lead unless you want to quit casting. Smelting 1k is a major undertaking. Find a cast iron pot at a thrift store and a turkey fryer on sale someplace or at a yard sale. Two or three pots of lead coww is enough to smelt at one time. Give you lots of pretty ingots. You seem to have a interesting mixture of lead. Try to determine the hardness of your lead items before smelting, then smelt everything of the same or similar hardness together. You don;t need really hard boolits. Most of mine are made from COWW for .38, .357, 44,45, 7mm,308, 314, 32,and other hunks of lead that I want to throw down range. As long as the are sized to fit they work fine.

[jason280]

cast into ingots, and mark them very well so you will know what they were. I highly recommend the very inexpensive 1/4" letter stamp set Harbor Freight sells. Sharpies come/wear off easily.

I like this idea, thanks!!

[canyon-ghost]

As you can tell by what is said, you can add a little bit of pure to wheelweight. It's easier starting out to just use straight wheelweight. My single actions will shoot wheelweight with no trouble, 41 mag, 44 special, and 45 Colt. It's a fair alloy.
Good Luck,
Ron

[Victor N TN]

What I want to know, is where did you get the lead to begin with. No body around here is selling it. All the tire places sell it back to the wholesalers. Unless I order it offline, I'm up the creek.

[Officer29]

What I want to know, is where did you get the lead to begin with. No body around here is selling it. All the tire places sell it back to the wholesalers. Unless I order it offline, I'm up the creek.

I'm up that same creek. Evidently that creek runs from one side of our Nation to the other. When the Govt. closed our last lead smelter and the tire shops are not allowed to use lead anymore the supply is almost non existent. Tire shops here won't even let you have it anymore they are required to turn it in for recycle. You just gotta love some of the decisions our Govt. makes. :groner:

[jason280]

What I want to know, is where did you get the lead to begin with.

All of the lead can from local sources, two tire shops and a salvage yard. One of the tire places still has two more buckets of wheel weights, need to go ahead and snag them as well. That's kind of why I've been trying to hoard as much as possible, you never know when a sure source may dry up.