Seperate SN & SB?

[Little Boats]

Is it possible to remove these to try to leave the softest lead possible? In another thread someone talked about casting at 900+ degrees and skimming the "grey stuff" from the pot prior to casting.

Does the SN and SB separate at certain temps so they can be skimmed?

[brassrat]

pure lead is easy to find, sort of

[Little Boats]

Any lead I buy will have to be mail order at this point. The local tire shops do not sell to the public and neither will the local salvage yard. Someone burned himself and sued everyone in sight so now no one gets to play.

I have 100 pounds of SOWW ingots inbound. If a single extra step would remove some of the undesirable metals it seems something worth trying.

[JSnover]

Does the SN and SB separate at certain temps so they can be skimmed?

Not that I ever cared to know. In any case they won't be released until the lead melts, at which time they should float. Whoever said you can skim off the grey stuff was close enough. You could flux (to pull impurities out) but don't reduce (don't add anything that with cause the other elements to go back into solution), you don't want your alloy to stay together, you want it to separate.
Personally, I would trade your unknown alloy for known pure lead, but if you have the time and energy, do whatever floats your tin boat.

[bangerjim]

Using either copper sulfate (sewer root killer @ Lowe's) or sulfur (plant stores) will strip out Sn and Sb. CuSO4 will possibly add a bit of Cu for "toughness". I have done it to remove Zn in tests.

I would suggest just buying/ordering pure lead......much easier, safer, and does not stink! It is lots of places on this site. I fortunately can get it by the ton at my local scrap yards.

Good luck in your quest for pure Pb.

banger

[RogerDat]

SOWW's are almost totally plain lead, not much in the way of alloy sn or sb to remove. Soft enough for muzzle loaders as they are. It is the COWW's that have the sb and a trace of tin. Members sell plain lead at pretty good prices in S&S section which can be a ready source of supply at better prices than commercial dealers.

[Little Boats]

Thank you for the replies. While I have done a fair bit of casting none of it has been with lead so when I read the material skimmed at 900+ degrees was primarily Sn and Sb it sounded like something to pursue further. I read in one thread where SOWW samples had tested over 99% pure so I do not anticipate any problems.

The SOWW I have coming are from a vendor here as we have no local supply. One guy had a lock on the market for fishing weights. After a bad visit from the Tinsel Fairy resulting in the loss of part of a hand the person sued every one who had sold him lead. He sued two tire shops, Wal-Mart, a materials salvage yard, and a local plumber. I went to the salvage yard to ask about Lead and was told no.

Talking with a friend from one of the tire shops I was told the insurance company told them how they were to be disposed of in the future and violations have been dealt with harshly. My friend is confident he would be fired if caught taking them out the back door. As the insurance company is the one setting the rules we are pretty much hosed. I as sure I will be happy with what I ordered through here. thanks again for the replies

[bangerjim]

What an idiot! Of course all it takes today is a hot cup of coffee or a bit of melted lead and the slimeball lawyers come out of their cess pools!

Too bad one moron spoiled it for all the rest of you. Just because he did not know how to melt lead....blaim the sources. What is our society coming to?

[triggerhappy243]

HA-HA, Banger, the bitch that spilled the coffee.... spilled it at the McDonalds in the city i live it. She has to be the local laughing stock.

[triggerhappy243]

littleboats, you did not mention what part of the country you are from.

[Little Boats]

I am in East Texas deep in the heart of the Piney Woods on the edge of the Angelina National Forrest. I am just south of Lufkin more or less. I am going to flesh out my profile this evening after the yard is done. I get dirty looks for going to the range when the yard looks like hell. Go figure

[triggerhappy243]

Dirty looks?????? What??????????? yard work more important than practicing marksmanship???????
OH.......Man. heh-heh... I used to pick up chicken there in lufkin for walmart.

how far away from lufkin have you ventured out to find lead?

[popper]

IIRC, solubility of Sn & Sb in Pb is ~2% @ freeze temp so no you can't get rid of all of it. I would try more like 800F, no Pb fumes. You will oxidize some of the Sb/Sn but not all. It should be quite soft AC. If you have good alloy, sell/trade/buy pure.

[dragon813gt]

So now insurance companies are involved w/ wheel weights? I'm not buying it for a minute. What's happened is the shops have made financial deals w/ the battery dealers. They buy their batteries and wheel weights from the dealer. In return they get all the old batteries and wheel weights back. Money exchanges hands both ways.

[triggerhappy243]

I gotta tell ya... Insurance companies have more control than you give them credit for. In the trucking industry, the insurance companies pretty much dictate what drivers can or can not be employed. it is called risk management. If a driver has a record of being a not so good driver, the insurance company says he is a high risk and charge a "MUCH HIGHER" premium rate for the driver. The employer than realizes they cannot afford to employ that driver.

[dragon813gt]

Completely different industry. Insurance for an auto shop is going to be for the structure and liability for damages to customers vehicles. The stories that come out of shops as to why they can't sell you their wheel weights is vast. Unless the info comes from the owner I would not believe it. The shops around here have deals w/ the battery suppliers, individuals or they take them to the yard themselves. Who's checking to make sure the shop is complying w/ proper disposal methods?

[Little Boats]

So now insurance companies are involved w/ wheel weights? I'm not buying it for a minute. What's happened is the shops have made financial deals w/ the battery dealers. They buy their batteries and wheel weights from the dealer. In return they get all the old batteries and wheel weights back. Money exchanges hands both ways.

Never underestimate the power of the company that underwrites the liability coverage of a commercial entity. When someone buys a wood boat from our shop the contract signed by all parties is written by my insurance company. If I deviate from their guidelines in any way my coverage is (by contract) null and void.

There is an up side to these agreements as well. As the insurance company covers the shops liability I do not have to employ any outside legal counsel. Any time I have a question regarding liability exposure all I do is call the company and they have a lawyer on staff ready to answer my questions.

[triggerhappy243]

dragon, it is true that it is 2 separate industries.... but my point is the insurance companies now dictate what businesses can and can not do when it comes to "LIABILITY" issues. When i had my construction company, they wanted to know what tasks the workers were doing. was it on the roof(fall hazard), digging a trench(trip hazard). there was separate premium rates for all of that. I said screw this and said : I'M OUT-A HERE.

[Little Boats]

Completely different industry. Insurance for an auto shop is going to be for the structure and liability for damages to customers vehicles. The stories that come out of shops as to why they can't sell you their wheel weights is vast. Unless the info comes from the owner I would not believe it. The shops around here have deals w/ the battery suppliers, individuals or they take them to the yard themselves. Who's checking to make sure the shop is complying w/ proper disposal methods?

You left out the DOT and Tex DOT. The coverage for we did accidental damage to your car is nothing compared to mommy had a blowout at 70 the day after having new tires put on her car. I think you are misunderstanding what is meant by liability coverage. My shop carries six million in coverage to protect us from customer stupidity. Damaging your boat while here for service of some sort is the least of my worries. (it has happened once in fifteen years)

[dragon813gt]

I was being simplistic in my liability statement. If you saw what I had to list for my coverage you'd be amazed. I'm in HVAC so my work encompasses all of the trades plus my own. We work w/ a lot of harsh chemicals. I just have a hard time thinking insurance companies are dictating what has to be done w/ wheel weights. What about all the waste oil? Are they requiring proof of proper disposal? Around here that would be hard because most shops have waste oil burners that they use in the winter for heat. I don't doubt how far insurance companies reach. But I'd think this type of thing would be mandated by a state agency more than anything else.