Thinning down Zinc contaminated Pb...?...

[OS OK]

It never occurred to me that someone would quench the ingots to increase production..."duuuh!"

Each time I pour my muffin molds they empty my little 50 lb. pot...it sorta goes in a complete cycle and I'm loading the pot again.

That's funny...of all the scenarios I've run through my mind about these danged ingots...that was never a consideration. You know, if we didn't have this forum to share ideas and concepts and all that...'We'd sure go down a lot of individual rabbit holes!'

[BK7saum]

I haven't checked BHN on my ingots, but I quench my ingot molds on a wet towel like JonB. I pour 8 lb ingots in 3" C channel molds and if I didn't quench, it would take a long time for them to harden. I bottom pour directly from the pot into the C channel mold on a wet towel. The mold solidifies within 20-30 seconds, then I slide the mold and wet towel to the side and place the next mold on the wet towel below the spout. While the current pour is solidifying, I can dump the first or set it aside for a few pours to further harden and cool. I have 8 C-channel molds and only use 5-6 at time. The pouring rate went up a lot and I started using less molds in my pour routine when I started quenching the molds on the wet towel.

I have had no issues from the tinsel fairy except pouring into a cool mold (rusty but relatively dry). If I forget to heat the ingot molds before the first pour, I sometimes have gotten a little pop as moisture in the rust flashes to steam beneath the lead. No issues with molds after the first pour. The C channel holds heat and any water vaporizes quickly from the molds. No water reaches the inside of the mold because the towel is wet. No free liquid to bubble or splash into the mold.

[44man]

I trust you will not get bad stuff from anyone here and you might get better.

[fecmech]

When casting ingots with my Lyman ingot mold I hold the mold with channel locks and dump it in a 5 gal. bucket for about 2 seconds to harden the ingots. I then dump them and refill the mold and repeat. You can see the water disappear from the mold immediately. I have done hundreds of ingots this way with no tinsel fairy visits. I would guess my ingots test harder than WW's.

[OS OK]

I haven't checked BHN on my ingots, but I quench my ingot molds on a wet towel like JonB. I pour 8 lb ingots in 3" C channel molds and if I didn't quench, it would take a long time for them to harden. I bottom pour directly from the pot into the C channel mold on a wet towel. The mold solidifies within 20-30 seconds, then I slide the mold and wet towel to the side and place the next mold on the wet towel below the spout. While the current pour is solidifying, I can dump the first or set it aside for a few pours to further harden and cool. I have 8 C-channel molds and only use 5-6 at time. The pouring rate went up a lot and I started using less molds in my pour routine when I started quenching the molds on the wet towel.

I have had no issues from the tinsel fairy except pouring into a cool mold (rusty but relatively dry). If I forget to heat the ingot molds before the first pour, I sometimes have gotten a little pop as moisture in the rust flashes to steam beneath the lead. No issues with molds after the first pour. The C channel holds heat and any water vaporizes quickly from the molds. No water reaches the inside of the mold because the towel is wet. No free liquid to bubble or splash into the mold.

Here you see my ingots cooling as I prepare another batch for the pot. This muffin tin uses all but 1/2' deep pool of Pb in the pot when I blend in 30 lb. batches. I am a small volume smelter and never considered heavier batches because I don't think that turkey fryer will stand more weight. That wimpy looking pot there will hold 50 lbs. of Pb but I've backed off considerably after reading about a fryer collapsing on a fella.
This is where I got to thinking that everyone must do this in a similar fashion...just never have thought about going high volume, never have been confronted with dealing with the cooling time. As my pot works on the next batch, I'll dump these ingots on the wood over behind the pot there.

[OS OK]

OS OK: Not being TOO down on you OS OK but a lot of scenarios ran through your mind well before these ingots were even cast into bullets. In common courtesy to the seller one should in my opinion ferret out any problems with the alloy before assuming that there is in fact some sort of contamination. This batch of WW alloy is in my opinion the cleanest best casting WW alloy I've purchased. It needed no tin or even so much as a flux to pour beautiful bullets. For a no worry, sure thing purchase you might consider Rotometals as a source of casting alloys. Gp

Common courtesy? I thought I was ferreting out the problem when I started this thread. My secondary problem to the hard ingots was assuming that someone selling wheel weights would naturally have a problem with Zn getting overlooked and slipping into the smelt...or worse yet, If they just thought they would control the pot temp and dip out the Zn's before they melted.
As far as courtesy goes...I made every attempt to keep the seller's name out of this thread as I had no malicious intent towards him...as I said earlier in this thread, "I'll use this as a learning experience and fix the problem...the seller has said he would do anything to make it right, even send pure Pb to blend it down."

Rotometals...I have considered and 'do' buy from them...notice the Lyman No.2 in this 30 lb. batch there?

[308Jeff]

This is one helluva awesome smelting pot. Where did you get something like that?

[RogerDat]

I see no harm no foul and a new situation one might run into when buying ingots is now known to many. You could get hard water quenched ingots, which come to think of it was brought up as why one might want to avoid buying Lino on ebay if it was in ingots. They might ring like a bell and be nothing but COWW's water quenched.

It is not unheard of for zinc WW's to get trapped against pot bottom under a pile of WW's in the pot and get hot enough to melt before enough lead melts to float them to the surface for skimming.

Why am I not surprised to hear that a seller here would offer to do whatever it takes to make it right. Seems to be sort of a common thread.

[OS OK]

I found that pot over at the Salvation Army along with my muffin moulds. Great place to shop for kitchen type stuff for casting.

I realize Zn's can be trapped and smelt in, but my first take was that the seller was cutting corners trying to rush his production or he was a newbie. When I checked his date on the avatar I saw that he has been here since 2009...In my mind and at that point I was sure there were no 'shenanigans' being pulled.

We see forum members constantly choosing the 'fast' methods of handloading/casting over proven but slower methods that produce 'best quality' in ammo accuracy and fit and finish of say...PC coatings. 'Quantity or Quality' seems to be the 'Y' in the road for us all.

[Grmps]

Harbor freight has a 12" Cast iron dutch oven for $29.99 https://www.harborfreight.com/catalo...=3&q=cast+iron
Like OSOK and many others on this forum I frequent thrift stores for pewter and other materials and supplies mainly for casting and coating.

[popper]

IIRC, Lee says ingots don't measure the same BHN as boolits. When I want the 'best' boolits I use foundry alloy (pure,#2 & Superhard) to mix what I want. Isocore, good COWW, range scrap, Roto Sb/Pb are good for less 'perfect' boolits.

[DerekP Houston]

the seller probably got his pans hot and put them down on some wet rags.

I only have a single muffin mold to make my pucks with, I use the wet towel trick a lot.

[308Jeff]

I found that pot over at the Salvation Army along with my muffin moulds. Great place to shop for kitchen type stuff for casting.

Thank you, Sir.

[OS OK]

I only have a single muffin mold to make my pucks with, I use the wet towel trick a lot.

Well Derek...You know, you are a younger man than I...prolly a lot better looking too...don't have a tool shed to deal with...you can prolly run 2 or 3 apps. on the Puter at the same time, scratch somewhere and think about the upcoming weekend, all at the same time...well, that's admirable...it makes me wish I had not destroyed so many brain cells......"What were we talking about...Oh yeah..." It just took me a little longer, say 4 decades and a lustrum to catch on!

But...I'm with ya now! . . .

[OS OK]

[QUOTE=308Jeff;4036534]Thank you, Sir.[/QUOT

You're welcome...ya know I've been looking everywhere for a lid for that pot...no success. Then last month I went up country to smelt for my mentor 'Ole Bob', 84 y.o., sharp old fart! He came out of the garage with this pot in his hand...said use this for a lid, It'll let you stack higher and still trap the heat.
"Duuhh!...I never thought of that Bob!'

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[BNE]

That is a good looking dog!

[OS OK]

My Co-Pilot...he sits up in the front seat of the truck like he was a little human.

[runfiverun]

till he see's a squirrel.
not Charlie.. okay maybe Charlie too.

[RogerDat]

Around here muffin tins are about $1 at thrift store, less than that at garage or estate sales. I will say test a single puck in any new pan. Every single new pan. Sometimes the material of the pan is something the lead will bond to like epoxy. Having filled 12 before finding out they won't come out is sort of a bummer, yes I speak from experience.

If you buy the dutch oven at harbor freight don't forget the 20% off coupon. Bring that price down by another $6

[OS OK]

till he see's a squirrel.
not Charlie.. okay maybe Charlie too.

Deer and Turkeys...Bub's trigger! Nobody is allowed to share his pasture, it's all his...no sharing BS. When he goes out at night to take a pee he makes a full circle of his entire domain making sure there aren't any deer trying to get a good nights sleep or God forbid they try to get near his plum tree during summer!
When the plums drop every year he thinks its his job to clean them up. The first year we got him the wife had to take him to the vet for constant diharea...wouldn't quit...eventually they figured out he was eating plums. He'll stand on his hind legs to reach the lower hanging fruit!