Lead Smelters - A Warning

[JFriis]

In the bottom of one of my buckets of wheel weights I found these little gems waiting for me.


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The bag is full of brand new clips, fresh paint never used.
The box is full of the chrome stick on style wheel weights.

The thing that really caught my eye was the two batteries. Holy crap that would suck if I just threw those into the smelter!

Be careful out there!

[454PB]

That's why I wear heavy leather gloves and inspect every single handfull of weights as they get moved from the bucket to the pot. I found a dozen razor blades in one bucket.

[Ugly Dwarf]

That's why I wear heavy leather gloves and inspect every single handfull of weights as they get moved from the bucket to the pot. I found a dozen razor blades in one bucket.

Yup, once I learned about zinc weights and what they can do to the melt, I started sorting it all. Much more time consuming and dirty work, but worth it.

Those batteries could have made for an exciting day.

[bbs70]

That's why I wear heavy leather gloves and inspect every single handfull of weights as they get moved from the bucket to the pot. I found a dozen razor blades in one bucket.


I wear leather gloves and I also pour the contents of the bucket out onto the concrete to visually check for razor blades and the like before I stick one of my paws into the mess.

[The Dove]

I always dump it out on the concrete first to check for contaminents. Heck, one time I found a playboy magazine in the mix. Could you imagine me smelting that? HAHA

The Dove

[Mumblypeg]

I thought it was only me that got WW with razor blades. Reckon why they throw the blades in for?

[dominicfortune00]

They probably do car inspections also and use the razor blades to scrap off the old inspection sticker.

When they get dull, they get tossed into the nearest handy receptacle, the wheel weight bucket.

[Down South]

I usually find a surprise in every bucket or two, always best to use good gloves to sort out the mix.

[docone31]

The razor blades are for plugging tires.
When they plut the tire, they use the razor blade to trim off the plug.
Anyone who just dumps into his melts is in for a suprise or two once in a while. When you dig out enough lug nuts, nuts, bolts, wrenches, you start to look for the suprises after a fashion.

[Ricochet]

And valve stems, of course.

[Bret4207]

I save the valve caps, stems, nuts, bolts, occasional tool. I sort through ever since I found several 410's and 22's in a bucket.

[Echo]

I bought a Saeco furnace, an H&G 38 rn 6-gang mold, and a box full of solder snippets from an old rummy who was going out of business 30 years ago. I'm glad I went through the solder snippets before casting them up into ingots - I found 6-8 sr primers in the bottom of the box! And they didn't get there accidentally. Dodged the tinsel fairy again!

[Typecaster]

My favorite find was a condom wrapper. Maybe a customer used the ol' barter system for a tire...

Richard

[home in oz]

What happened to the lug nuts?

Used to have 3-4 in each bucket of WWs I scrounged.

Makes you wonder.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Now you know why I have a 1" round magnet that is 7" long that I use when sorting a pail of ww. It picks up steel and iron objects on or near the surface. I must lead a charmed life, only found screws and nails so far. I also use the magnet to remove clips from the smelt pot when they surface. :coffee: Robert

[jsizemore]

My favorite find was a condom wrapper. Maybe a customer used the ol' barter system for a tire...

Richard

Maybe he was plugging the tire!!!