The first step..

[JohnnyRingo]

So I've decided (obviously) to take the plunge and get into (mostly) self sufficiency when it comes to projectile shooting. Now, slingshots notwithstanding, the first thing I understand that is necessary for boolit casting is raw materials. And it seems that the general consensus is that tire wheel weights make outstanding boolit material.

Here's my question for those of you who engage in this practice - Where do you go and what do you say? Going to work today I counted 5 tire/auto shop places along my 20 minute route, and I imagined just walking in and saying, "Hi, I'm curious as to what y'all do with your tire weights," and just going from there. is this how anyone else does it?

Also, when you acquire said weights, do you want to wash or separate them, and if so, how?

Any help for this starting process is appreciated.

-R.

[docone31]

Welcome, I like your avatar.
When I ask for wheelweights, I usually just walk up and ask for them. When I tell them I cast boolitts, they are very gracious. I have my own business, so I ask them for a bunch of cards to put in my shop. So far, I have not had any negative responses. Mostly I accept what is given, never cherry picking. I also leave some for others.
With prep work prior to melting, I pick out the crud, and melt away. The crud either burns off, or gathers at the side. When I pick out the steel clips, most of the crud goes with them. I keep a coffee can next to the pot. I toss the clips into it, then into the trash.
Watch for the "floaters". Wheel weights that do not seem to melt. They are zinc. Nada. Toss em, they are more trouble than they are worth.
Stick ons are "pure" lead. Same em for batching later. At least keep the number of stick ons the same per pot load.
Good luck, and happy casting.

[rusty marlin]

I wear rubber gloves and sort by the handfull. The obvious trash goes in the garbage; I've been finding more and more zinc and steel WWs lately too. If I have a doubt about the materal I scratch the WW with a rusty pitted piece of steel I have around. If lead alloy the WW makes a dull sliding sound, if Zn it makes a higher pitched scraping sound, it will also "tink" if tapped against the steel.

I start to skim the clips off as soon as the load has fully melted, and most of the slush is fully integrated itself. This garentees that an Zn clips that have gotten by my screening will float and can be scooped out.
I lost over 130# when I first started using WW because I didn't know how to handle "the floaters". I just kept turning the heat up till they melted. Now I have several lifetimes supply of fishing sinker stock. :roll:

I sort out all the MICRO marked weights too. They are the only ones that I can instantly tell they are from the same company. When I get a full 5 gallons I'll process them down and see if a single source makes any differance in the quality.
Probably wasting my time, but WT heck, its mine.

I also sort out all the soft stick-on WWs for my pure lead pile, there are some super hard stick-ons that I've been finding lately too, as I don't know what they are, they go in the trash.

I usually ask if they are saving their WW for anyone in particular. If not, I ask for them. Have never had to pay yet. They have to pay to get rid of them here as hazardous waste, so me taking them saves the shop money.

[docone31]

Rusty, you can pull a lot of that zinc by melting the stuff and then lowering the pot temperature. It clumps on top and can be scooped out. There will be some zinc left over but the pot can be heated and then casting can be done. A little zinc, I have not found detrimental.

[Bob Krack]

I sort out all the MICRO marked weights too. They are the only ones that I can instantly tell they are from the same company.
Probably wasting my time, but WT heck, its mine.

Others that come to mind are AL (American Lead), Snuggle (Micro, I think), Sears (Micro I think)

Many of the Zinc WWs are marked "ZN" and the steel WWs are obvious but if'n ya miss the steel ones, they just continue to float and will not melt.

Vic

[Crash_Corrigan]

Splurge on a RCBS thermometer and keep your smelting pot at less than 700 degrees temperature. Zinc melts @ 740 or so and if your alloy is at 700 and there are ww's still floating then they are suspect and need to be discarded.

After all the dross is skimmed off then you can flux. I recommend Pat Martins California Flake Flux. It smells good and gets the job done quick. He sells a box for 20 bucks and I doubt you can use it all in 10 years.

As far as obtaining the ww's. Bribery is nice. Find out if there are any shooters there and you can include a box or two of rounds for their favorite calibre. If not then go by there at the end of the day with a few six packs of an adult beverage and see how many ww's grace your trunk that day!

AS a final effort when all else fails offer a fair price for the bucket of ww's. You do need them and they do not.

[RustyFN]

I just walked in and asked if they had any WW's they wanted to get rid of. I figured if they wanted money they would let me know. If they didn't want to get rid of them then I would offer to buy them. The crazy part is nobody wanted to sell weights or give them away. I finally found two places that give them to me and don't want anything. I wanted to do something for them for being so nice so I asked them what they like to drink. Both places wanted pop so I will bring them a 12 pack every time I get a full bucket. I cant remember when I started casting but it wasn't long ago ( this year ) and I have about 600 to 700 pounds. It was hard for me in the beginning but don't give up, you will find lead if you keep looking.
Rusty

[JohnnyRingo]

Crash

A question about flux - namely, what is it, and what is it for? I am unfamiliar with the melting process and all. I understand that there is a temperature at which most good material melts and the chaff can be scraped. But beyond this I dont know much...

By the way, is "Crash" an official nickname? I ask because it will probably be my call sign...funny story..

-R.

[Mumblypeg]

JR, You can't do that too many times in your job can you? Crash that is.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Fluxing is an important part of smelting ww's into ingots. When you flux you stir into the mix an ingredient that disolves and causes the impurities to come to the surface and cleans up your alloy. You can use wood chips (CFF), wax, oil, stir with a paint stirrer (wood) or a variety of fluxes. The California Flake Flux is nothing more than wood chips of a certain mix of trees. It carbonizes in the alloy and cleans up the impurities and gives you a clean alloy that is properly mixed. Without flux the impurities stay in the mix in suspension and end up in your cast boolits. This is not good.

Your alloy will melt into a liquid at anywhere from 465 to 550 degrees. When it gets to about 700 degrees you need to remove the clips and other crapola (dross) from the top of the mix with a large spoon or ladle. If it does not melt into the alloy at 700 degrees you did not really want it in your alloy anyway. This keeps out the dreaded Zinc. AFter the dross is removed, lower the heat a mite and stirr in your flux. Give it a good stir and mix and you will notice that some of the crap from the side of the vessel will come up to the surface. Also dross in suspension will come to the surface also. All this dross is something you want to get rid of. Scoop it off and then flux again. You will get a mite more.

Skim and scoop and then start to ladle your alloy into ingots. Save your soda and beer cans. Remove the tops with a can opener and rinse them out and dry them well.

Ladle your alloy into a can about 1/2 to 2/3 full and pick it up with a pair of pliers and put it aside to cool. Later on when you start molding boolits all you need to do is to remove the outer layer of aluminum with a pair of pliers and you have clean and dirt free alloy for making boolits.

You can also get some cast iron molds in the shape of a corn dog from Lodge cast. They usually have 6 or so molds intended to make corn dogs with but they also work great for us. Muffin pans and mold work only if they are well rusted or made of cast iron. Soda and Beer cans are cheaper and about as effective. Those non stick muffin pans do not work usually. The coating wears off and the lead sticks to the bare metal leaving you with a mess. If you insist on using muffin pans get steel ones and spray with with water and leave them to dry and rust in the sun for a few days. The rustier the better. Molten lead will not stick in rusty metal container.

http://s272.photobucket.com/albums/jj187/dancorrigan/?action=view&current=IMG_0038-1.jpg

The above is a pile of smelted lead ingots formed using a lodge cast iron skillet minature pan which I picked up at bass pro shops. It was supposed to be an ashtray but worked well as an ingot mold. Casts about 2lbs of alloy into a flat and round ingot of about 3 inches in diameter. Stacks well and I can fit them into my Lee 4-20 easily. I presently have about 60 gallons of them kept in 5 gal plastic buckets. You do not want to have to move any of those buckets. When I moved recently I had quite a job to move them to my new location. It sucked big time.

[RustyFN]

If you know how to weld you can make something like this fairly cheap.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8db32b3127ccec44fb99be1fb00000010O00DZOGblm4Yg9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d922b3127ccec4d22d1a50cc00000040O00DZOGblm4Yg9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/
I bought wax to flux with because it was easy. Now I am starting to use some other things for trial and error. I bought the 20" slotted spoon for scooping clips and the 24" solid spoon to clean the top. I bought them at a restaurant supply store for $3 each.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8db29b3127ccec4448c22257800000010O00DZOGblm4Yg9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

I use a six quart dutch oven ( $12 Harbor Freight ) and a 186,000 BTU burner. It will melt lead fast.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8db32b3127ccec44f2219209c00000010O00DZOGblm4Yg9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/
My wife bought me some cast iron muffin pans. Here is my finished product.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d834b3127ccec40aa52d077800000020O00DZOGblm4Yg9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

I just started this year and have learned a lot here, and have so much more to learn. It's a lot of fun and makes reloading very inexpensive. I can't imagine shooting and not casting now that I have started. Welcome and good luck.
Rusty