How to start?

[bmblong]

I'm brand new at this casting business. I just picked up a load of wheel weights at the tire place. Can I throw these right in the melting pot? Will the steel pieces float to the top? There are some strips with sticky stuff on the back. Will that burn off with the melt? I know that is alot of questions all at once but I have about a million of them. Thanks

Bruce

[StarMetal]

Bruce it would be better if you could melt them down in something separate from your melting pot that you would cast from because there's alot of gunk on them. Also inspect them rather then just dump them into a melting pot because believe it or not some guns have even found loaded cartridges in the weights barrels...yeah. Boy you sure wouldn't want that going into the hot lead. The most common thing I find in scrap wheel wieghts are the rubber valve stems and cigarette butts. So now you see why I say melt them separate from what you cast out of . Make ingots if you can for easier use. That ways you have a good fresh clean supply of bullet casting alloy. I use a 50/50 mixture of wheel weights and lead and I put in just a tad of tin for better mould fill out.

Yes the steel clips float to the top as steel is much lighter then lead. I get mine out with a magnet. Other's use pliers, spoons, etc. I like the magnet because all it picks up is just the steel clip rather then like a spoon you get some good alloy in it.

Make sure that the ww's are not wet too. With all the gunk on them you will want to do this outside because there's alot of smoke that comes off them from the rubber and oil present on alot of them. Don't worry this is not lead vapors, but smoke from the gunk. You would have to get lead pretty hot to vaporize it.

Good luck and if you have further questions feel free to ask.

Joe

[sundog]

Bruse, if you can, keep the crud out of your casting pot. If you have another pot you render your WWs, do that and pour them off as ingots. Then put only clean material in your casting pot. Your choice to add everything or hold out the stick on WW for making softer stuff, say for muzzle stuffers. Now, if you don't have another pot, then be careful putting crud in the casting pot. Flux it good. keep it clean. Clips, valve stems, pebbles, razor blades, etc., will float to the surface. Skim it off. Even the dog pee will burn off. Make sure you have some fresh air - prolly not on the kitchen stove. Not a good place to do this.... As fas as any other querstions - ask away. And welcome, you find the right spot. sundog

[bmblong]

Thanks. I have a turkey cooker that I was thinking of using to melt the wheelweights. I saw a post somewhere that said you could find wheelweights that might have zinc in them. Is there a way to tell the difference? I realize that zinc is very bad I don't want to ruin my first batch by doing something stupid.

Bruce

[StarMetal]

The zinc ones will be lighter (in weight) then a lead one of comparable size. Also the zinc will float on the top of the mix being lighter, but it will eventually melt. Zinc is also a different color and much much more brittle and harder then a lead alloy wheel weight. Personally I haven't run into a zinc weigh...I live in the southeast part of the country.

Some ww's will be painted with a very hard grey finish too. These are ok, they are just painted to match the alloy wheels in my opinion, thus I concider them factory weights when the car is new.

Joe

[Goatlips]

bmblong,

Here's JUST what you were askin' about:

http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com/smelting.html

Hope this helps a bit.

Goatlips

[Rick N Bama]

I find that if I smelt the WWs at as low a temp as possible, then the Zinc weights will just float to the top and can be skimmed off with the clips. I've melted down enought this week to get 64lbs of ingots and I've found 3 or 4 weights that wouldn't melt. I've also set aside about 10lbs of the stick on weights to be smelted later.

Rick

[drinks]

The last 3 gals of ww I got contained the first non lead ww I have seen.
More nearly square in cross section, clip riveted on and the only markings showing are the weight in grams on the right hand end.
Ends are chopped off square , too.

[StarMetal]

So drinks, looks like they are around the southwest area of the country then, those non lead wheel weights that is. Interesting to see if we can develop an area or areas of the country that they are more prevailent.

Joe

[bmblong]

Thanks again. I cast the wheel weights in a bread pan. Something tells me that they are going to be too big. Two of them are 17 lbs and one is 20 lbs. I will probably have to cut them up. It went well all things considered. My pot and accessories will arrive on Tuesday. I will let you all know how it turns out. The tip to use two different pots to melt the weights and cast the bullets was a great one. I also appreciate the tips I got off Goatlips website. Especially about different fluxes. I didn't order any and don't want to wait another week to try this out.

Later Bruce

[drinks]

E gad!;
Bread pans!
The usual el cheapo ingot mold is Goodwill or garage sale one piece muffin tins, the 50c each type.
A standard size muffin will weigh between 1 1/2 and 2 lbs , of ww's , that is.
A pretty convenient way of estimating your stock on hand and when blending with soft lead.
As we hate to loose recent admittees to the asylum, please do not let your wife catch you rummaging in her muffin tins!

[Ken O]

I made the smelting pot in the thread in the Casting Equipment. here is a link
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=707

[Blacktail 8541]

If You Want To Use Bread Pans For Ingot Molds Use The Mini Loaf Pans, They Come In A Couple Of Different Sizes. Use The Littlest One You Can Find And They Will Make Between 8 And 10 Lbs Ingots, To Big For Casting Pots Generally , But Good Size For Makeing Alloys Later. They Are Also Easy To Stack.

[boogerred]

you didnt say what kind of pot your going to use to cast from- bottom pour or ladle cast? each method has its diehard fans.im a bottom pour man and i use a lee 10#.a few things ive learned:dont smelt raw WWs in it,the dirt and crud will cause the valve to leak,use only clean stuff. drain the pot completly when your finished and scrape and clean thoroughly before you start up again.save your sprues for a starter load.the sprues being smaller will cover the bottom of the pot and melt faster and when you have a melted puddle in the bottom your larger ingots will also melt faster. i use mini-muffin pans,they make an ingot about 1 1/2" dia x 3/4" tall,small enough to fit in the lee and also to add one without lowering the pot temp too much.o k i give floor to the ladle guys.

[Buckshot]

.............bmblong, everyone else has done a good job on the basics of rendering will wheel weights into domesticated ingots. All I'm going to add is a hearty welcome to the board.

Please keep us updated on the happenings, trumphs and tribulations.

.....................Buckshot

[bmblong]

I appreciate the welcome. I heard of this website on leverguns.com and thought I would try it out. I bought a Lee Pro4-20. Which is a bottom pour. I only bought one mould and that is a 2 cavity Lee to make 240gr 44's. I plan on trying that tumble lube that Lee makes. I didn't realize how big and how much lead a bread pan halfway full held. I looked at the dollar store for muffin pans and that was all they had. I did smelt my WW at a high temp so I hope that I didn't get any zinc. Unless it takes a while to melt. I just waited until it looked like everything was floating and scooped out the junk. Later.

Bruce

[keeper89]

Of course you don't realize it at this point but you are soon to become hopelessly addicted and no one on this board will do anything other than encourage you!! Remember this post when you find yourself in a back alley caressing an old H&G or ideal mold!! Seriously, welcome to the herd and have a ball but DO take safety precautions---molten metal WILL burn you well if you are not respectful!! :castmine:

[David R]

If you buy muffin pans, let them sit out in the rain till they rust. Lead sticks to new muffin pans and makes it almost impossible to get the ingots out with out ruining the muffin tin. Make sure they are dry before pouing molten lead in them. Add NO moisture to moletn lead. It goes kaboom.

This comes from expierence.

David

[jb12k]

Goatlips---

I really like your website ! Best clear tutorial and Pictures I have found so far. I am just gathering equipment, and waiting for some decent weather to get started casting. Got about 50# WW, propane burner and dutch oven, muffin tins, spoons, ladle, and stuff. Got a Production pot 4 and 4 Lee 1 and 2 cavity moulds. Still don't have any lube, and curious about how to lube or treat moulds before starting to cast. As you can tell, I been Lurking a while ! Plan to cast 44mag, 45acp, 9mm, and later some 303 british and 380acp. Any suggestions from you "Pro's" will be very welcome !-J.B.

[NVcurmudgeon]

bmblong, most of the weights that refuse to melt are iron or steel, not zinc. a magnet will quickly identify them. I have smelted +/- 1200 lbs. of WW in the last ten years and found ONE zinc weight, and I'm not even sure of that one.

[NVcurmudgeon]

J.B. I couldn't tell from your post whether you needed to learn how to lube moulds or boolits. If it is moulds, lube Lee moulds in accordance with Lee's instructions. Most of my non-Lee moulds are steel or iron. I don't lube them, other than spraying a graphite spray available from NAPA parts stores, or scribbling with a No. 2 pencil, all over the bottom of the sprue plate and top of the mould blocks. Non-Lee aluminum moulds are also treated this way.

Lubing boolits is most conveniently done with a luber-sizer machine. Lyman and RCBS make similar luber-sizers. I have been happy for many years with Lyman. Consensus opinion on this board has been that RCBS makes a better quality machine. RCBS and Lyman dies and top punches are most popular and interchangeable. Others have posted that Lyman dies are smoother than RCBS. Saeco also makes a luber-sizer that seems to be even better-regarded than the RCBS and Lyman. Top of the line is the Star machine. Both Saeco and Star dies and top punches are usable only with each brand of tool. With any of these tools you can lube, size, and seat gas checks in one shot. Another way to go is Lee's tumble lube, needing only a rag, and Lee's push-through sizer that fits on your loading press.

[jb12k]

NVcurmudgeon--

Thanks for the reply ! I probably will go the LEE sizing die route to start, but thinking of trying to pan lube. The liquid Alox looks plumb wasteful, and there is something comforting about those lube grooves being full ! Of course, bucks are tight right now (When are they not ?), so looking for least expensive way to break in to all this. Been reading the posts and watching Ebay for deals on RCBS Lubesizer, but all seem a little pricey, and not knowledgible enough to deal with the various dies for them yet, anyway. I know the bug will bite harder as I go along, but need experience first ! Thanks Again-J,B.

[snowwolfe]

Very good info on your web site Goatlips. Thanks for sharing.

[jar-wv]

A cheap and readily available ingot mold can be make by cutting off the top of a pop can. rinse in out good and make sure its dry before pouring lead in it. I'm a newbie at this game and have about 40 ingots made like this, between 7-7.5 lbs each. They fit well into a Lee 20 lb pot.

jar

[fourarmed]

Actually, you can use the bread pans, too. Just tilt them up against something, and fill only the corner between the bottom and the long side. Makes a big ingot that will still go in the pot.

I use a commercial bakery gang pan - 4 pans joined together - and lean it on a cinder block or the like. Come to think of it, a single pan might be a little too tippy to fill that way, but you could join them together with a couple of pieces of strap metal and rivets.

[nighthunter]

Did you ever get that package I sent to you?
Nighthunter

[NVcurmudgeon]

I use a product that can be used to make convenient one lb. ingots that fit easily into my 12 lb. Potter lead pot. There is a handy tab on one side for safe handling with pliers. The resulting ingots are small enough to melt readily and just the right size to add the needed amount of alloy when fluxing is due. One is marked "Lyman" and the other "RCBS." With these small ingots I can keep temperature up without losing any casting time. I also have another tool marked "Potter" that is equally suitable, though it makes 9 oz. ingots. The Lyman tool is even a collector's item. The letter N is backwards, so I call it my "Lymaz" ingot mould. Carpetman also has one of the rare Lymaz variations.

[bmblong]

I'd like to give you guys an update. I got a muffin pan and resmelted my 17 pound (yes I said 17 pounds!) breadpan ingots. It seems silly now but I didn't realize how small a 20 pound melting pot was.

I mixed 7 pounds of ww and 7 pounds of 30-1 alloy. I cast about forty 240 gr .44's from a Lee 2 cavity SWC tumble lube mold. I put twenty over 10gr of HS6 and the other twenty over 5.0gr of Titegroup. They worked great! I was consistantly hitting clays at 50yds from a Ruger Super Redhawk w/ scope. I can't wait to put some shots on paper.

I am pretty sure that I'm addicted to casting boolits. I already bought a Lee 6 cavity for .45 and a 2 cavity for .357.

Thanks again for all your help. I think I'll hang around. I don't post alot but I read almost every day. There are some classy people on this forum. I've only found one other forum that has as much class and that is a leverguns forum. (thats how I found this one, it came highly recommended) I'm glad you respect everyones opinion without putting them down. I'll quit being long winded---

On that note, I can't tell you how excited I am!!! :lovebooli



Bruce