Melting down badly corroded lead shot

[BCRider]

A while back I was given around 40 to 50 pounds of fairly badly corroded lead shot. It had been used in scuba back packs as part of the weight distribution efforts needed by those that use dry suits to avoid a sore back from an overly heavy weight belt around the waist. The corrosion on this fairly large shot is actually a sort of tan color and fairly well polished from shaking around in the back pack during use. The color and nature of the corrosion likely having something to do with the salty ocean water.

Along with this I've also got roughly another 40 lbs of old shot which just sat around too long in some old shot bags. This shot has a lot of the loose white lead oxide (I'm guessing that's what it is) on it. It too I'd like to melt down and ingot'ize.

I'd like to melt this down to ingots first then eventually cast up some boolits with it. But I'm wondering if there's any issues with the corrosion on the lead. Any additional steps or personal protection any of you have found are needed for something like this? The white lead corrosion dusts off and floats around a lot so the plan is to wear a good dust mask and do the handling with some gentleness to limit the "flight" of the dust and hold it down to a smaller area. But once into the melting pot do I need to take any special steps to get some good lead from this stuff?

[poppy42]

I’m no expert but I’d probably try washing it down with fresh water , maybe a little dish soap. LET DRY THOROUGHLY. The melt it down using usual Precautions

[BNE]

I would put the shot in a cold pot, then cover it with saw dust. The sawdust will ash over and help keep the oxides in the melt.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I wouldn't spend extra time washing the shot...

I would put the shot in a cold pot, then cover it with saw dust. The sawdust will ash over and help keep the oxides in the melt.

I would do as BNE suggests...put the uncleaned/corroded shot in a cold smelting pot (Not a bottom pour casting furnace).

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I'd be quite cautious with this. The salts of lead are far more dangerous than the metal, which old soldiers have been known to carry about inside them for many decades. The smaller an object is, the higher the ratio of the outside to the inside, so the higher the proportion of oxides to metal.

If I washed it (which isn't a bad idea inn itself) I would be careful about disposal of the residues. My ideal would be to find some sort of container, strong enough for the weight, to dispose of together with the dross afterwards, after pouring off the liquid lead.

[D Crockett]

I would ware a dust mask and melt it down in a cold pot if it would all fit in it skim off the dross make your ingots I would not put any water on it to wash it. to me that is a waist of time. others might say to do it differently but that is what I would do D Crockett

[RogerDat]

+1 for melt in large pot, starting cold, and covered with sawdust or pet store rodent bedding (wood shavings). You may find that you need to use a 1x1 wood masher to gently mash the shot once it is up to temperature. Might have a hard shell and like an M&M candy it can be melted on inside but the shell prevents the inside liquid from coming out.

I wouldn't wash due to the disposal of water issue. Inside plumbing means bringing the oxide into the house and washing in a sink where residue can remain. Outside means dumping lead oxide out where you probably don't really want lead contamination. I would handle and move the material around as little as possible until putting it in the pot to melt. And your idea of wearing a mask is good, do it outside, and be upwind. Even if you have to run a fan to be upwind.

[Dusty Bannister]

I have noticed that when melting down recovered shot the oxide coating tends for form a hard shell and makes smelting a bit more difficult. For that reason I would keep the batch smaller so it will heat through quicker and be easier to handle as you will have to mash the shot pellets to break the shell after the alloy inside is melted. I do agree with a dust mask, but you should be doing this smelting outside anyway, not in an enclosed space. Start with the cold pot and perhaps 25 pounds of shot, add the saw dust and cover with a decent lid. If you have trapped moisture, you want the surprise contained in the pot. Do not be surprised if you hear snaps and pops due to moisture in the pot. It would be a good idea to put a small lead ingot on top of the shot so that when the ingot has melted the rest of the pot should also be melted but just contained in the crusted shell of the shot. Use the ladle with a rolling motion to crush the shot pellets and stir in the saw dust as you dip and pour the lead through the layer of carbon floating on the surface. Once the pellets have been crushed, skim most of the saw dust off, flux and skim as you normally would. Then pour your ingots. Allow the pot bottom to cool and when solid, add more shot and repeat. It does make good alloy, but with the oxide on the pellets, it just takes more heat and time to recover the good alloy. Use the usual personal protection and dispose of the dross in a safe manner. Dusty

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I imagine outdoor berm sourced range lead has these oxides on it. Just camouflaged by all the dirt.

[BCRider]

I imagine outdoor berm sourced range lead has these oxides on it. Just camouflaged by all the dirt.

Yes it does. But oddly enough only the pieces of cast boolits I've found out on the surface. The stuff that got pushed into the dirt tended to stay clean. Seems it needs the exposure to the air to oxidize. Or perhaps in water.

Thanks all for the posts. I'm already on the hunt for a separate dedicated propane camp burner I can use strictly for smelting down scrap lead and a suitable pot for doing the melting. Likely an old enameled cast iron dutch oven sort of deal that will allow me to run a good 20lbs at a time. Here again I'm watching the local thrift shops where such things end up frequently.

Sawdust isn't an issue. I've got oodles of it thanks to my other hobby of wood working. I just need to keep some of it instead of throwing it away for a while. I'll want to use the dust from "real" wood rather than plywood or MDF so it doesn't have lots of the glue in it.

[RogerDat]

Yes it does. But oddly enough only the pieces of cast boolits I've found out on the surface. The stuff that got pushed into the dirt tended to stay clean. Seems it needs the exposure to the air to oxidize. Or perhaps in water.

Thanks all for the posts. I'm already on the hunt for a separate dedicated propane camp burner I can use strictly for smelting down scrap lead and a suitable pot for doing the melting. Likely an old enameled cast iron dutch oven sort of deal that will allow me to run a good 20lbs at a time. Here again I'm watching the local thrift shops where such things end up frequently.

Sawdust isn't an issue. I've got oodles of it thanks to my other hobby of wood working. I just need to keep some of it instead of throwing it away for a while. I'll want to use the dust from "real" wood rather than plywood or MDF so it doesn't have lots of the glue in it.

Sounds like you got a handle on the whole deal. Might want to keep an eye out for used turkey fryer or fish fryer at garage and yard sales. Those burners work really well. Some are sturdy enough to handle over 100# of lead or can with a bit of extra bracing do that much weight or more. I bought one new at Wal-Mart for $40 and then saw 2 for around $10 used at yard sales AND a $200 one for $40 at an estate sale. About the fastest way to melt a batch and most will work fine with smaller pots.

For a really small pot I have some small angle iron I drop across existing supports.



This Dutch oven will do 125# of lead in one shot on the same burner.
Got the cast iron pot from Harbor Freight for about $25 new, the small pot with all metal construction in photo above was probably about $2 from a thrift store.

[skeettx]

I would put it all in my outside smelting pot, (1/2 propane tank)
and put on a lid to contain any oh-ohs, fire up the pot,
and then go away for 45 minutes and let it cook.
Then standing up wind, with mask, mix up the slurry, skim off the crud, then cast into ingots.
Done

Mike

[Eddie17]

I’ve melted down reclaimed shot a number of times, around 500 lbs worth.
I put the shot in a cold Lee 20 lb pot, with a 1/4 layer of saw dust on the top. Check back after smoking and then light the smoke on fire with a grill starter. The carbon left from the burn cleans the lead, after mixing the carbon in the melt. After this I flux with a portion of wax, mixing also, than good to go. Skimming all the dross along the way.
I feel no need to cover pot as you are heating from a cold state, on heat up water will evaporate.
My 2 cents.

[Dusty Bannister]

If you cover the pot, in addition to avoiding the fairy, it keeps the heat in the pot for a fuel savings.

[jdfoxinc]

Obtain some stephonic acid to convert the salts to lead staphinate. Use to reload primers.

[MaryB]

I leave 2-3 pounds of lead in the smelting pt for the next batch. Once it liquefies anything on top seems to smelt down faster.

[GARD72977]

I would put it all in my outside smelting pot, (1/2 propane tank)
and put on a lid to contain any oh-ohs, fire up the pot,
and then go away for 45 minutes and let it cook.
Then standing up wind, with mask, mix up the slurry, skim off the crud, then cast into ingots.
Done

Mike

I like this guy! Exactly what I would do.

[Walter Laich]

I leave 2-3 pounds of lead in the smelting pt for the next batch. Once it liquefies anything on top seems to smelt down faster.

agreed. I always refill my pot at end of casting session so don't have to go through the adding and skimming steps next time. Know it uses a bit more electricity/gas but I'm in this for fun and this way I enjoy it more

[RogerDat]

I bet that upside down wash tub wind screen over the burner really helps. A thin layer of lead left in the pot makes 100% contact with the bottom, which pieces of lead do not. Much better heat transfer with more contact, and once the slab melts it in turn increases contact with pieces of lead to be melted that sink into it. Soldering metal you often put a dab of solder on the iron as that will aid in the heat transfer.

I have 1/4 inch slabs I have dumped from pot after they cooled for about everything I get for scrap. Label the disks/slabs with marker and dig the one out of the stack that matches what I'm about to melt. With COWW's it really does help speed things up. There is always some left in the bottom of the pot that would be hard to scoop out so leaving saves time at the end and next time.

[BCRider]

Obtain some stephonic acid to convert the salts to lead staphinate. Use to reload primers.

Which would make it REALLY fun for the melt

Rogerdat (love the username!) I'm on it for the turkey fryer burner. One of those is exactly what I've got my eyes peeled for.

And yeah, covering the pot is something I'd do anyway to aid with keeping the heat in. Even if we aren't worried about fuel cost (a difference of a few pennies I suspect) it would speed up the melt time by a lot. Even with my present little Lyman pot when smelting down range junk in small amounts for testing I've used a bit of scrap steel as a lid. Just with a 1/2" hole in it to let any steam escape easily.

And ditto on leaving a bit of lead in the bottom so it speeds things up for next time. My little Lyman tends to rust so what I do is let the left over cool down than it falls out and I can wax (a little beeswax) and heat the pot then put the slug back in. The wax aids with preventing rust and next time it's just a little more flux.

I'm learning, I'm learning... .

Really looking forward to a good size pot for smelting the shot and other range scrap down. I've got around 200 lbs of range scrap and corroded shot currently. Plus I bought another 100 lbs of old typeset lead and at a club meet someone was selling off some estate lead. It was not the right alloy for the black powder crowd so I got about another 80 or 100 lbs for about 50 cents a pound. I figure all told I'm set for life other than soft pure lead for the round ball casting for the black powder stuff. I might even have to start casting something more than the .38-55 rifle boolits and branch into some .44-40 black powder casting to use it up before I'm too old to shoot.