First effort. Reclaiming Wheel Weights.

[markinalpine]

I found a reference to this forum a while back, and have enjoyed reading and learning about casting "boolits". I know this was lurking, but it was done with a legitimate purpose. Anyway, I'm taking the plunge, and have ordered a limited amount or equipment and materials to get started.

While I'm waiting for the Big Brown Truck O' Happiness, I started yesterday by scrounging wheel weights from a service station (yes, we still have a couple in this little West Texas town), and from a garage. I scored two overflowing coffee cans (the "3 Lb" cans that now only hold 39 oz net!), and sorted through them, picking out the zinc and steel wheel weights, valve stems, washers, etc.). I soaked the tape-on lead weights in mineral spirits, and set them aside for later. Today, I rigged up an old propane camp stove with a stainless saucepan for a melter, along with a wooden paddle made from a piece of pallet slat (oak), pliers, gloves, vice-grips, etc., with two cast iron corn bread pans (thrift shop - $1.49 each) and a steel muffin pan for ingot moulds. I used a little parrafin for flux.
4 hours later. I now have about 34 Lbs of reclaimed wheel weight lead for casting boolits.
Pictures follow:
Mark :mrgreen:

[docone31]

Looks like a darn good start!
I bet it made for a good ole relaxin day.

[beanflip]

:bigsmyl2: .......watch out this becomes very addicting[smilie=l: and you may run out of storage space

Oh and BIG Welcome

[markinalpine]

Thanks for the welcome :coffeecom
I'm just taking a break now, and lurking around, reading all kinds of interesting things. Cant wait to get the moulds and other stuff I ordered. I'll also look for a bar of lead/tin solder to have if I need to alter the WW alloy.
Mark :lol:

[ghh3rd]

Mark - it's true what they say - it is addicting. I'm still new to this too. I have cleaned up about 200 lbs of WW, and casted a few hundred boolits. I finally loaded and fired my first cast boolit and it was a great feeling, especially since it was my first reload ever too.

Have fun, and watch out for the hot stuff.

Randy

[Typecaster]

Welcome to the asylum...you'll obviously fit right in if you're happy smelting WWs on a camp stove with the world's most expensive propane supply. (I use a Century/Primus 2-burner like yours with a cast iron plumber's pot for ladle casting, but I'd recommend getting the adapter so you can feed the camp stove from a 20# cylinder. It's a LOT cheaper and it's annoying to run out of gas in the throwaways.)

Richard

[FISH4BUGS]

:bigsmyl2: .......watch out this becomes very addicting[smilie=l: and you may run out of storage space

Oh and BIG Welcome

I started small and found a source of wheel weights. I finally stopped picking them up when I hit about 2000 lbs of wheel weights in 5 gal buckets. I now have 500 lbs smelted and 2000 lbs wheel weights. I can't stop! I still get a bucket now and again. I won't quit......I can't quit......help me....please......

[markinalpine]

...$40 from sportsman's Guide, complete with hose and regulator. Still waiting on lots o' stuff to be delivered by the Brown or White Trucks O' Happiness.:violin: but the wait is killing me. Meanwhile, using a couple of 1 lb. bottles WON'T kill me.[smilie=1:
Mark [smilie=p:
ps, I really like all the smilies available here.:cbpour:

[revolver junkie]

hey not a bad way to start but i have a feeling 30lbs wont last you to long
RJ

[Recluse]

DAMN! :groner::violin: :killingpc You're killing me!

You WOULD have to be from a town me and the missus really like. . . There's a ranch out your ways that we stayed at a while back. They have a private runway and we flew our plane in there. They picked us up, took us back to the "big house" and we stayed for a long weekend. Gave us a couple of horses for transportation. I grew up around horses (grandad was a reknown horse, mule and dog man) and my wife has loved horses ever since she could walk.

We loved it out your way and are looking to head back--probably late fall. If we do it, we'll look you up and maybe bring you a few casting gifts.

Anyhow, welcome!

:coffee:

[Dennis Eugene]

Man you are going to fit right in around here. Dennis