Anybody watch How Things Work on Discovery channel

[quack1]

The show last evening was about lead. Showed how it was mined, then they went to a refinery/smelter and showed the process. After that they made a stop at Sierra Bullets and showed how lead is used in jacketed bullets. Casting bullets wasn't mentioned, though. Last part was how lead is used in batteries. Prety interesting show.

[SharpsShooter]

I saw that too. I like shows along those lines. I watch "How its Made" and "How do they do that" too when the topic is interesting.

SS

[Calamity Jake]

Time warp was another good one!! For some reason they have taken it off the air.

[DLCTEX]

I was interested to hear that 99% of lead is recycled, but we are still running out.

[4570guy]

Those shows are fascinating. Even though I'm an engineer, I'm still amazed at the degree of automation that is used in manufacturing even simple items. It makes sense, but its still neat to watch.

[mold maker]

We are always running out of something, like oil.
Funny how when the price gets high enough, they suddenly find more than we can use.

[SharpsShooter]

Those shows are fascinating. Even though I'm an engineer, I'm still amazed at the degree of automation that is used in manufacturing even simple items. It makes sense, but its still neat to watch.

I'm with you there. I program automation systems and it is really amazing what can be accomplished. I also like Mythbusters and Junkyard wars.

SS

[Jbar4Ranch]

<--- Spent 23 years working at a lead smelter.

[IcerUSA]

I like automation also , puts so many of use out of work and will make this country so much easier to take over once they get our gun .

Keith

[dubber123]

It was a good show, but I notice they didn't miss the opportunity to tell how little is needed to be fatal.....

[montana_charlie]

They also made no mention of all of the work(?) being done to remove ALL lead from daily life.
First it was paint, now it's wheelweights. You can bet that 'bullets' are on the list, but they have to get the others out of the way so there will be no argument about 'other products'.

I wouldn't be surprised if it could be proven that 'bullets' has been the goal all along...and they just started with stuff that the general public is 'more exposed to' in order to set it all in motion. And everytime a bullet maker caves by introducing a new lead-free projectile, it puts the program one more step ahead...because more and more shooters lose the 'need' to keep lead around.

One thing I did find interesting about the program...
The plates in a battery are a skeleton of lead, filled in with lead oxide. I have been wondering where to find some of that...

CM

[Bert2368]

There are five different lead oxides as far as I know. Which one do you need, and for what application, if I might ask?

[chromecrow]

Yeah I watched that show. The first thing I thought of when they said we were running out was all us booliteers got it hoarded up! I sure would like to have a few of those big 'ol ingots lying around.

[ept000]

I was surprised when they said that Sierra makes between 600,000 and ONE MILLION bullets PER DAY! They got me beat.

[Sparky141]

I was surprised when they said that until the ore was smelted it was not really that toxic to humans . I noticed in the mine that they weren't wearing respirators but at the smelter they were wearing them . Really neat program to watch .

[ept000]

The last blood test I had I requested a lead panel and my doctor said that it was very dificult to absorb lead the way we deal with it. I told him I smelted, cast, reloaded and shot lead, and he told me that the most basic of precautions would protect me. I had the blood test anyways because I have been doing this stuff for a few years. I don't remember the actual numbers, but I remember it was extremely low, so I guess he was right.

[rickomatic]

I was surprised when they said that Sierra makes between 600,000 and ONE MILLION bullets PER DAY! They got me beat.

I wonder if they do that with a 2 cavity or a 6 cavity?

[smilie=1:

[nicholst55]

Man, what I could do with a stack of them 2,000 pound ingots..... ;)

They would be kinda hard to get into the Lee bottom-drip, though! [smilie=b:

[rhead]

We are always running out of something, like oil.
Funny how when the price gets high enough, they suddenly find more than we can use.

Not all that funny when you really think about it. there are a lot of mines out there that are profitable to operate when lead is at $2 per pound but a losing propositition at $1. Same situation with oil wells or anything else. If your boss don't show a profit your paycheck will wind up bouncing.

[montana_charlie]

There are five different lead oxides as far as I know. Which one do you need, and for what application, if I might ask?
I started wondering about it when looking at homemede Foul Out devices.
The solution for removing copper is readily available, but it takes a lead oxide to get the lead out of a bore. After some hard and unsuccessful looking, I let the idea go dormant.

I would have to do some research to re-discover what the right stuff is, but it will form (very slowly) on lead that is soaking in vinegar if some air is present.

CM

[rhead]

That would get you lead acetate. Not one of the oxides.

[dakotashooter2]

If I recall it pointed out that lead in the "oxide" stage was the most dangerous. However that is a stage which the general public really has little or no contact. Even though they mentioned the hazards I thought they did it in a very responsible way. Not a "Chicken little" Warning.

I also noted that they said lead is the "perfect" bullet material.

[Jbar4Ranch]

Man, what I could do with a stack of them 2,000 pound ingots..... ;)

They would be kinda hard to get into the Lee bottom-drip, though! [smilie=b:
At the lead smelter I used to work at, we would ship out ~400,000 pounds of lead every 24 hours in hundred ton lots of ten pigs each... ten ton ingots! Toward the end, we had to make new moulds that cast four ton pigs cuz there were so few customers who could handle the ten ton ones.

[StarMetal]

I watched that show too and the part that amazed me, and which I didn't totally believe, is where the woman had some powdered lead dust in the palm of her hand (probably wasn't anything harmful just for the show) and she blew it out of her hand and said that little amount would poison I forget how many families.

When I lived out in Colorado there was talk about how when the Denver arsenal quit production they had a vast amount of lead. Story went that they buried it in an undisclosed area and that surely commercial building have built over top it now. I found it hard to believe, but they were talking about a substantial amount of lead.

Joe