Used shot for casting?

[papalobster]

I'm starting to gather lead for my first ever boolit casting and came across a different source. My employer used to use lead shot inside rubber bags for out of balance weights, now with lead being bad for you, they switched to sand. There is a 35 gallon barrel filled with lead shot, and i can have as much as I want.

How hard is this stuff? I have a 5 gallon pail of wheel weights I plan on smelting down when it warms up a bit more in the garage. Should I just mix the shot in?

[No_1]

It will be difficult to tell the hardness unless you cast a sample, introduce it to a hardness tester and compare it to a know alloy.

I would suggest you take it all while the offer is good. There are those that want shot who might trade you ww's for it and as a last resort you could render it into ingots for your own use.

Robert

[GOPHER SLAYER]

If you do melt the shot, do not add any other lead with it. Just try to melt it by itself. I say this because when I poured lead shot in a pot of molten lead it just floated on top. I think it was because it was covered in graphite. With the small amount of lead shot I had it was not worth the trouble ,so I pitched it. However that is a large cache of lead if you can salvage it. Good luck

[Leftoverdj]

Depends on the shot. If it's common birdshot, it's good stuff. If it's some oddball shot for a specific commercial use, I have no idea.

I've never had any problem alloying birdshot into WW. They are very similar in composition, but the shot has arsenic added which helps in heat treating when even a little is added to WW.

When someone offers you lead, take it. Worry about how to use it latter. In this case, you should be able to treat it pretty much as WW.

[JIMinPHX]

Get it all now or you will be sorry later. If you don't want it, I'm sure that someone else here on the board will swap you for it.