How common are zinc ww in Co? Other smelting questions??

[aeronc]

I am about ready for my first smelting experience. I am trying to start this all on the cheap and expand as needed.
1 I got some WW here in colo. and after searching thru most of them I found lots of stick on ww (pure lead as I have learned) and no ww labled ZN. Many styles but I figured if they are steel they will just float to the top. Qustion: is it possible to get some ww and no zn in the batch? How carefully do I need to separate the ww?
2 My setup is a 3 qt cast aluminum pot (no cast iron found yet) and a new electric hotplate. I have a coleman stove as a backup. How long will it take to melt the ww??
3 Aluminum muffin pan for mold coated with non stick. How long does it take to cool enough to allow the ingots to be retrieved?
4 Cardboard boxes will not hold 30# of ww for long if you pick them up. Just thought I would pass that along.
5 The local scrap metal dealer has lead, ww, or linotype for $.50/pound. They were not helpful on what size ingot these were, etc and said just come out. I plan to cast pistol bullets for practice shooting. Which would you buy if this is not too complicated a question?

Thanks

[jnovotny]

linotype for .50 cents a pound

[STP22]

Zinc wheelwieights are as common as the rest of the trash found in a 5 gallon bucket at the local tire store. Figuring out which are which is as easy as having a dial temp. gauge when rendering them into 1 pound ingots...keep the temperature down to 750 degrees or a bit lower.

[DLCTEX]

Using an aluminum pot for smelting is asking for serious trouble. Aluminum is weakened by the temps of smelting and can give way at any moment. You do not want hot molten lead on you anywhere. I would use a thin steel pot before using aluminum.

[mikenbarb]

I would stay away from pre made ingots from a junk yard because you can be sure theres zinc in them and would be just about worthless for boolit casting. Get some WW's from your local tire shops and seperate it yourself so you know its straight ww lead. Just seperate the pure weights from the regular ww alloy for future use. The pure are mostly the square ones but be careful because theres zinc stick on types also. I test them by scratching them on concrete. The zinc will scratch the concrete and the lead will smear. I use the mini muffin pans because they fit my pot great and it depends how fast they cool but usualy in under a minute. I use 4 pans and 4 ingot molds so when I reach the end the first pan will be ready to dump. Whatever is left over gets poured into a large loaf pan for future use and after they cool I stack the large loaf ingots on a pallet next to my garage. You can never have too much lead. And get a good steel pot or cast iron.
PS- Grab all the lino type you can afford for that price and if any left find a member here to finish buying it up for that price.

[mtgrs737]

Linotype for 50cents a pound? Not if I knew about it! I would get all the Linotype they have and trade it two for one with other members for WW's or ingots. Linotype for $1 a pound would be good in my book. Cast aluminum is not the best to smelt in, find a cast iron dutch oven at a outdoor sports store or Harbor Freight tools for saftey. The coleman will most likely get you more BTU's than the hot plate, but what you really need is a turkey or fish fryer and a 20lb. propane bottle, see the same places as the dutch oven. If you keep the melt down under 700 degrees the zinc will not melt and you can skim them with the clips. RCBS sells a good thermometer, I have heard that the Lyman thermometers are not long lived. For ingot moulds you can use cast iron corn bread moulds also available at your outdoor sports big box store. Good luck!

[aeronc]

1Thanks for the info to all . The aluminum pot is gone. I am not sure of the $.50 linotype. The person on the phone was not helpful and said all lead was .50 per pound so just come look at it. I suspect my information is incorrect. Again thanks for the suggestions!!!

[Ugly Dwarf]

4 Cardboard boxes will not hold 30# of ww for long if you pick them up. Just thought I would pass that along.


Ok, that made me chuckle and made my toes hurt at the same time.

[mike in co]

where in co ?
MY TIRE STORE SUPPLIER HAS APROX 25-30% ZN WW!

i can get you range lead with jackets, and very little trash or dirt very cheap.
there is a gun show at chambers and i70 this weekend, get a 50 cal ammo can for a pot.
while there look for a guy selling brass and primers...me.

skip the hot plate for smelting, fire up both burners on the stove with coleman fuel..it seems to burn hotter than unleaded gasoline.
muffin tins, corn bread moulds
get soup ladles at a restraunt supply house...one wiht lots of holes one wiht none.
some gloves, i use lite gloves and pull engineers gloves over them when actually pouting lead.

mike in co....is that a clue
THE COLORADO BRASS COMPANY

[ironhat]

While you're checking out the linotype at the scrapyard ask them if they have any cast iron pots or containers laying about. JAT - I'm greener than you are! :mrgreen: