Question About Using WW's to Cast Boolits

[40sandwfan]

Okay, here's the deal: A mechanic friend of mine gave me a 6 or 7 gallon bucket full of WW's which made me happier than heck! My question is this, How do you guys deal with the tape-weights? I have more than I can count and whenever I use the tape-weights they smoke like crazy and sometimes they wanna catch on fire. Does anyone else have this problem or do you even use the tape-weights??

[btroj]

This is why you smelt them outdoors. The clip on weights will stink too die to grease and oil on them. Smelting is a dirty, smelly job bit is beats dealing with the mess and all when casting.

[BoolitBill]

This is what I do. I separate the clip on WW from the stick on WWs as the stick on ones are a softer lead (close to pure). I then smelt each type using a turkey fryer and a cast iron pot to clean and flux the lead then pour into ingots and label the ingots so I know what type of lead I have. The clean ingots go into the casting pot. I may also alloy the ingots (such as a 50/50 mix of clip on with pure lead etc.) Most of the smoking and mess are during the smelting process and not the casting process. If you don't want to mess with smelting the stick on types you may be able to trade them for clip ons with someone here on the cast boolits site as muzzle loaders like the softer lead.

[prs]

Don't put either kind of weight directly into your casting pot. Render them out of doors and most folks seperate the Lead-tin-antimony clip ons weight from the more pure tape on type; but you can blend them and add a pinch of tin. Make ingots of the clean alloy and then cast boolits.

prs

[40sandwfan]

Don't put either kind of weight directly into your casting pot.

prs

I guess it's a little late for this. I have been putting them directly into the pot this whole time and I've been doing it for years. I haven't had any mishaps yet.
Does anyone know how to get the tape off the back of the tape-on weights? I'd like to find some way that'll work or another.

[btroj]

I think you have found the best way to remove the tape. Sadly, it is a stinking mess to do.
A solvent might work but it would be slow and probably a bit hazardous. I would get a smelting setup.

[mooman76]

I do separate them. I just put them in the pot but scrape the stick stuff that melts off right away to avoid what I can. Still a mess but it's about the easiest thing you can do.

[BoolitBill]

Next time you empty your casting pot try to clean it and get off the crude that accumulates. The tape is tenacious and the best way to remove it it to melt the lead and burn off the tape. Unfortunately this will smoke and stink. I usually wear a mask when I smelt to try not to inhale too much of the fumes but you won't avoid it completely. I try to smelt as much as I can at one session so I do not do it often.

[HeavyMetal]

No real easy way to remove the sticky from stick on weights. Let us remember these are designed to stay on a tire spinning at 70 MPH!

So something that you can spray on and have the tape just fall off isn't going to happen, at least not in a back yard recycling senario.

Best and easiest way to deal with these, besides just sending them to me, is "smelt" as a seperate operation outside and keep stick on and clip on's seperate.

Dirt, oil, tape and trash pretty much go up in smoke flux well and make ingots mark them permanently with a stamping tool and you'll have a clean neatly stacked supply of metal for your electric lead pot and it won't suffer from "clogging" because of the debris left in it from melting dirty WW in it.

[woodyubet]

Don't use them......send all tape on weights to me.

[40sandwfan]

HeavyMetal,
You make a lot of sense in what you said. I remember when I first started casting bullets I would have to stick something in the spout of my bottom-pour melting pot to keep it from clogging. As you mentioned, WW can be dirty, but if they're cleaned and smelted separately most of the dirt and clogging debris can be avoided!

[40sandwfan]

What are you going to give me in return woodyubet?

[woodyubet]

50% of what I cast. We's po folk down here in Mississippi.

[JJC]

Put the stickys in a coffee can with naptha. Soak for atleast 12 hours 24 is better pull them out and wipe off the glue. Come out nice and clean.

[40sandwfan]

What the hell is Naptha? I've never heard of that before? If it works, where can I get it at?

[40sandwfan]

woodyubet, what if what you cast is in a caliber that I can't use? Do I still get 50% of what you cast?

[chris in va]

Naptha, otherwise known as petroleum ether...probably available at Lowes, etc. Look in the paint section.

[Swindler1]

Naptha = lighter fluid

[40sandwfan]

Got'cha!!

[geargnasher]

When I "smelt" raw WW to make ingots, I separate the stickies from the clip-ons since they are usually two different alloys. For both, I use an iron pot and a turkey fryer burner and do it outside. I pour a cup of dirty/old diesel fuel (that is a by-product of my job) and light the diesel when I light the burner, that way I get a nice smokey flame going thoughout the mound of weights in the pot. This smoke contains lots of carbon soot and carbon monoxide which aids in reducing the surface oxides to pure metal and burns off all the flammable junk like sticky tape and paint, and adds a lot of heat to the pile of weights which speeds the melting process greatly. When it burns out I skim the clips/dirt/whatever off the top and pour my clean ingots.

If you live where you can't make a little black smoke outside without attracting the wrong kind of attention, then you'll have to use solvent to clean the sticky stuff off.

Gear