Busy day melting lead.

First, I melted about 420 pounds ingots from of outdoor dirt berm range scrap. (I still have about 200 lbs to go. Then, I finished up all the wheelweights I had accumulated and sorted, about 490 pounds of WW ingots.

All ingots were poured into redneck gold and cast boolits ingots, marked with letter stamp for lot and stacked into 30 cal ammo cans. Runs about 70 lbs per ammo can. Still moveable.

I had filled 40mm and 20mm ammo cans but I will have to unload those if I ever want to move them. 30 cal cans are the way to go.

The range scrap was a little wet, so I had to put it in a large skillet over a turkey fryer, then when dry, poured it into the melter/smelter. i ended up with 3, 5-gallon buckets of jackets.

Next project finish up the dirt berm scrap and then melt down about 750 lbs of indoor range scrap, which is mostly pulverized. It is clean but I hope the oxidation isn't too bad and it melts easy.

A nice day’s work. Congratulations.

Thanks. The outdoor range scrap has been sitting for about 3 years. I just needed to get it done and clear up some floor space.

I've been there. Sure feels good when it’s done doesn’t it? Trash to treasure!

That is a lot of work. Congrats

I got a drum of ingots from an indoor range. That stuff was pulverized from hitting the backstop. There's pulverized jacket material in there too. Makes a very interesting alloy close to babbitt.

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Originally Posted by jsizemore

I got a drum of ingots from an indoor range. That stuff was pulverized from hitting the backstop. There's pulverized jacket material in there too. Makes a very interesting alloy close to babbitt.

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The vast majority of my stash is indoor range scrap from steel backstops. While the conventional wisdom is range scrap from jacketed bullets is soft, my experience doesn’t agree. Your suggestion of some gilding metal in the alloy could just be the reason.

Thanks. A lot of work, for sure.

12 to 15 buckets coverted to 13, 30 caliber ammo cans. Quite the space savings, too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jsizemore

I got a drum of ingots from an indoor range. That stuff was pulverized from hitting the backstop. There's pulverized jacket material in there too. Makes a very interesting alloy close to babbitt.

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I am interested in getting it ingotted. There is lead compressed or layered together that is definitely not soft. so, whatever the cores of the jacketed pistol bullets were, it has to have antimony in it. Maybe only 1%, maybe up to 2%, but there should be antimony in it to account for the hardness. And there should be copper in there once the scrap is melted.

I’ve read that antimony in lead up to ~1% improves its swaging characteristics, so maybe those cores for jacketed bullets really are harder than pure.

You got a lot done!! Not easy work either.

That kind of work is brutal, physically demanding,but, man, is it satisfying! And, the clear shop space is worth a lot! Good work. I just cleared the last 60 pounds of wheel weights up couple days ago! Now, I’m going to start melting and pouring zinc wheel weights into ingots.

I have about 200 lbs of zinc wheel weights sitting back. Last time I had a bunch I traded zinc for lead to a guy making cannon balls. I doubt I will ingotize the zinc ones any time soon, but do have a few iron molds for that purpose.

That was a good days work! Yeah, its very satisfying to see that pile of nice clean ingots once you're through! Its a lot of work but I rather enjoy it.

The commercial outfits that swage and machine lead do add a little antimony so it will slide when the heat builds from whatever the manufacturing process. A little antimony keeps the pure lead from acting like peanut butter and sticking to everything when it heats up.