Range scrap recovery

[kmw1954]

Today after I finished shooting at a local indoor range I was talking with the owner and was able to obtain a small amount of range scrap from him. It was about 15lbs as that was all I could get into the container I had.

I already rendered this down and I have to say this stuff was very dirty. And I have to say very dirty, I haven't weighted the ingots yet but I'm guessing it to be about 40% scrap. While working the stuff into the alloy and while scraping out the jacket material I found a lot of powdery material. Even after fluxing a few times and while I was pouring this out into ingots there was a lot of this powder. Enough that I left about an ingots worth in the pan I was using so I didn't contaminate the ingot.. This powder was almost black and was about the consistency of talcum powder.

Is this normal? I will try to get actual weights after the ingots cool.

[Winger Ed.]

Of the range scrap I've gotten-- and its called scrap for a reason, I have all manner of stuff float up.

I run the pot on the hot side, then just flux and stir it a lot.
All of the evil spirits are lighter than lead, and wants to float up with a little 'encouragement'.

Once that's done, its usually some pretty good, and soft alloy to recycle with a little tin or wheel weights into new boolits.

Yeah, its kind of a hassle, but ya can't beat the price.

[Phlier]

Of the range scrap I've gotten-- and its called scrap for a reason, I have all manner of stuff float up.

I run the pot on the hot side, then just flux and stir it a lot.
All of the evil spirits are lighter than lead, and wants to float up with a little 'encouragement'.

Once that's done, its usually some pretty good, and soft alloy to recycle with a little tin or wheel weights into new boolits.

Yeah, its kind of a hassle, but ya can't beat the price.

Yup, the encouragement is pretty important. Be safe about it, of course, but get as jiggy as you can with providing enough movement in the alloy to allow stuff to get to the surface. Even though everything is lighter than lead, it's thick enough when molten that stuff needs help to make it to the surface where it can float. As long as you provide it with that help with a lot of really thorough stirring and down-to-up motions, you should be able to get it 100% clean.

[dpoe001]

i have 2- twenty gallon drums of range lead to melt down.I am way behind schedule!!!

[Pablo 5959]

The range I go to, they spray the indoor back stop with some type of oil. When rendering, its smokes a lot.
The recycle company gets that stuff.
The outdoor pistol range however has a metal back stop. The scrap lays thick back there.
I’ll shoot 50 yds and bring a canvas bag and gloves with me during cease fires on a slow day.
I just tell the RO I’m doing my part and recycling.
I have at least a ton rendered this way and I can’t seem to stop.

[GregLaROCHE]

I often collect lead from my indoor range. It’s a cement floor so I can sweep it into piles with a stiff push broom and then shovel it into buckets. I get all the fine lead that way, but have realized that it’s worth the propane to melt it. For some reason it takes a lot more heat and time to separate the lead from the other fine crap. I now screen out all the fine stuff and don’t bother trying to use it. I think next time I’ll do it at the range and leave all the fine stuff there.

[Rcmaveric]

Range scraps is my base alloy. Just needs a couple healthy doses of a flux that breaks the surface tension to get any trapped debris followed with some witchy brew stirring. If it is berm mining then a cook with some carbon to remove any elements possible picked up by the soil picked up by the soil like calcium and silica or clays.

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