Lesson Learned

[LenH]

I made a big mistake when rendering some range scrap that I got from the gun club my brother belongs to. I brought home about 80 pounds and
decided to reclaim the lead.

First off I use a Freon tan that was cut right at the seam and I filled said tank to the rim with the range scrap and lit the burner. Mistake 1, filling it to
the rim. I lit the burner and stayed close by about an hour into this misadventure I noticed that the lead on top was still there so I covered the pot with
piece of sheet metal. I checked it again in about 30 minutes still lead on top of the pot. I then decided to do a bit of digging. I took off the top 4 inches
and put it back in the bucket from where I had it. I dug a bit deeper and noticed that the melt was coming along nicely. I scratched around and then noticed
the empty jackets and began to scoop those off. I filled a 3# coffee can with empty copper jackets and final was able to see a nice pot of lead. I fluxed it 3 times
with pine shavings and wound up with a nice pile of ingots. About 50 pounds.

So with all that waiting and burning way to much propane (mistake #2) I finally got what I was needing & with what should have been some basically free lead.
I'll not fill the pot to the rim, and keep with relatively smaller batches and take in consideration that a bunch of folks shoot J-words bullets than cast. Most of what I saw was
cast boolits and didn't notice all the copper in the pot but when the top 3 inches is jackets, well you get the picture. I still have that other bucket to melt but that
is a cool weather job.

[lightman]

Smelting lead has a learning curve. You will improve the process and probably your equipment many times. I know that I have.

[bumpo628]

You can sell those copper jackets at the scrapyard too. Use a magnet to make sure there are no steel jackets in there, btw.

[OS OK]

I thought that you were going to say that the weight of it all collapsed the flimsy burner stand...whew! Glad that was not the case...a little wasted propane...no biggie!

[RoadBike]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I made exactly the same mistake on my first smelt of range scrap.

[LenH]

I guess the weirdest thing I melted were a couple of isotope cores, the big ones. Those things take forever to get hot enough to melt.

But the range lead was free for the digging well it was all on top of the sandy berm so it was more like scraping. I could have gotten
tons but getting it back home would have been a problem lugging it 450 miles, in the family car.


I'll get a 5 gallon paint can and save the jackets. We will prolly go back out there this fall and I'll get more.

[Hardcast416taylor]

That reminds me that I have 12 of those big isotope cores to reduce to ingots.Robert

[merlin101]

I melt down quite a bit of range lead and have found that the jackets seem to create an 'insulated layer' between the melt and the unmelted top layer. I tried the small batches and that works but I'm the kinda guy that wants it done NOW! So after heating the pot for awhile I break out the weed burner and that makes quick work of that top layer. I hand pick all my range turds and don't worry about dud rounds. I don't know if I'd heat sifted ore the same way or not, ya never know if you sifted out a dud!

[richhodg66]

I have a big cast iron pot with a lid and have been using wood fire to melt it down, but I don't fill the pot up either. I have several acres of woods here so basically unlimited firewood. Been keeping the empty jackets, probably have about a five gallon bucket full now. Eventually, I want to try to trade for some lead with a scrap dealer in town.