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375RugerNo1
04-03-2009, 05:55 PM
Anyone have a suggestion for alloying pipe lead with wheel weights?? Or making other alloys?

50/50 etc?

Thanks
Pat

jnovotny
04-03-2009, 06:01 PM
I've been saveing all that pipe for makeing 20 to 1 . 1lb tin to 20 lbs lead. Works good so far in my 45/60.

Dale53
04-04-2009, 12:17 AM
You can pretty much call lead pipe, pure lead. You DO want to be careful when you first "smelt" it - lead pipe is often lined with crud that retains moisture. The cure is to cut in rather short pieces, stand them upright in a cold pot (I use a cast iron Dutch Oven). As they come up to temperature, the moisture is gradually driven off BEFORE the lead melts. That way you will not get a steam explosion.

You have to particularly take care in winter with pipe that might have ice inside. I could bore you with "not so funny" stories that resulted from ignoring that...:roll:

Dale53

d_striker
04-04-2009, 01:00 AM
Here's some interesting reading about different forms of lead and their composition.

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm

Taken from above link:

"Lead Pipe. Seamless pipe made from lead and lead alloys is readily fabricated by extrusion. Because of its corrosion resistance and flexibility, lead pipes finds many uses in the chemical industry and in plumbing and water distribution system. Pipe for these applications is made from either chemical lead or 6% antimonial lead."

and

" Lead/antimony alloy drosses considerably. As your melt reaches liquidus temperature that silvery, lumpy, oatmeal looking stuff floating on top is antimony. Skimming it off seriously depletes the alloy; it needs to be fluxed back into the melt."

I just smelted a bunch of lead pipe yesterday. As a newb to this hobby, I wish I had the above information before I smelted. I think I removed a good amount of antimony from my lead.

There is some more info in that website that mentions that the addition of tin considerably lessens the dross factor.

375RugerNo1
04-05-2009, 09:42 AM
hmmm thanks for the advice everyone!

Is it possible to use wheel weights because of their tin content...to increase the hardness of the lead pipe so that it can be driven a bit faster? Apparently tin is near impossible to get in this area....but we do have wheel weights.......I could order some tin but I'd want to do that last.

Thanks
Pat

the dude
04-05-2009, 06:11 PM
Solder has tin in it. There is 40%/60% (tin/lead) solder as well as 50/50. It is available in 1# bars, but I am too much of a noobie to know quantities and proportions, yet. Still reading, still learning!

Echo
04-06-2009, 02:11 AM
Another solder mix is 63/37 SN/Pb, usually called 60/40, and used by electronics folks because it is eutectic. Goes from solid directly to liquid without an intermediate plastic state. Cuts down on cold solder joints, where a joint looks like it has been joined, but really not - sorry solder (less than 60/40) will turn to a clay-like substance before it flows, and doesn't really work as intended. I remember an early day cruise missile test vehicle the didn't make it more than about 100 feet off the launcher, because of a cold solder joint.

On the other hand, some solder jobs rely on the plastic state given by 50/50 or 40/60 so the material can be worked, rather than running off the work.

And the lead-free solder you can but at the hardware store is about 95-98% tin...

SciFiJim
04-07-2009, 11:40 PM
Solder salvaged from a radiator shop might be a good source of tin.

The only trouble I can see is determining what alloy mix you wind up with when smelting together the droppings from a cooling tank. Asking to see the package that their solder comes in might help.