Sifting for range lead question

[Xxrainmanx]

I've recently decided to try my hand at sifting for range scrap to cast plinking rounds and I'm running into issues separating the scrap from dirt.

I have a homemade sifter (basic 2x4 frame with wire mesh bottom). The issue is the dirt is clod filled and isn't loose enough for sifting. I'm trying to avoid picking scrap one by one. Any ideas for a simple system that can break down the clumps?

I haven't tested the dirt to see if it's has a heavy clay content. It could also be moist from the winter months and not dried out enough yet.

Any ideas you have would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Rcmaveric]

Sift the best you can and dump it in a tote with holes drilled in the bottom. Then when you get home wash it out with garden house. Or stop by a car wash and pressure wash.

I can't pick up the tote when it was full so I would just leave it the back of my truck. Lol ain't no one stealing it.

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[Conditor22]

Xxrainmanx welcome to the addiction.
Damp earth has always proven to be a problem for reclaiming range lead. Many ranges have sand instead of dirt to make reclamation easier.
the best way I know of is to wait until the dirt is drier. Clay type soil is a pain but the bullets stay closer to the surface.
most of the bullets will be near the surface. Make a stand for your screen use a garden rake and brake up what you can. Having a stand makes it easier to deal with the clumps.

[Xxrainmanx]

The rounds are definitely near the surface. I can see hundreds on top of the berm. Then agin it has snowed recently when I made my last trip. Would you use the stand just to hand sort clumps out vs bending over constantly?

[slide]

This is off subject a little, make sure and wear a dust mask. There is some stuff in the dust you shouldn't breathe.

[rancher1913]

got this from someone on here so I cant take credit, get a square bbq pan, they have holes all over and I think they are normally used to cook stuff in, they sell them with the outdoor grill stuff. when the soil is dry just scoop up and with a gloved hand work the soil through the holes then dump the lead into a bucket. I can get my buckets full in about a quarter of the time that it used to take with the sifter frame.

something like this
https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-27...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Tripplebeards]

Imo way to much work. I’d rather do hot laps to auto centers to find a bucket full of wheel weights. My back gets sore from picking up range brass the way it is. Their are still plenty of shops that give away lead.

[richhodg66]

I use a lot of range scrap, but I have a lot and likely won't be looking for more. Can't really get wheel weights anymore, but I have a scrap yard here who has done pretty well by me in the past.

I do most of my shooting, 95+% of which is cast, on my own range now. A lot of cast has gone into that berm and I will eventually mine it when I need to. When that time comes, I'm gonna build some kind of big, supported sifter right by the berm and set up a wood fire place to render it down into ingots on the spot. Might not need to do it before I'm no longer on this earth, but I figure when I retire for good, I'll be shooting a lot more. Who knows?

A 2x2 framed 1/4" hardware cloth sieve and an entrenching tool has netted me a lot of scraps on trips to the public pistol range I RSO at, I have asked and nobody seems to mind me taking a five gallon bucket of scrap every now and then. We have an indoor range in town that gets used a lot, I don't really shoot there, but the air rifle team I coach used to and now and then they'd clean out the back stops and have a 55 gallon drum of lead they bring to a scrapper. I really should go in there and try to make a deal with them to get a five gallon bucket or two when they do it, I'm sure I'd be willing to offer more than a scrapper, win-win for everybody.

[Markopolo]

i built a free standing rocker box that I use standing straight up.. it was waist high so I just shoveled a few shovels in, and rock away the debris... i could get 300lbs a day at that range in cordova.. kept my crab cooker near buy... when I had a good bucket full of bullets, I would walk it over to my crab cooker, dumpt it in, then turn on the fire put a lid on my dutch oven and go for the next bucket.... by the time I got the next bucket, it was time to skim and pour off the ingots.. once ingots were poured off... shut down the flame, let things cool off a bit, and dump in the next batch.. the heavy cast iron lid is important.. i once had a live 45 round in the mix I didn't catch... good thing the berm i was digging and my melting area were about 50 yards away... as it blew the lid off the pot lol... i hear stuff popping in there all the time... common sense boys...

marko

[Xxrainmanx]

The berm is my best option. Car care centers are few and far between out here and WW cost more in gas than I would save. I've heard dentist offices have lead from the x-ray teeth inserts, but haven't gotten a chance to see yet due to the pandemic.

[kevin c]

If the dentist uses new equipment, visits will likely be lead free, as the new technologies record X-ray images digitally, so no lead backing from single use film cartridges.

Is the dirt fine like silt, or a gravely mix? Fine dirt could be washed off through the screen you have, or a larger perforated container like Rcmaxeric suggests. Either way, if there is a lot of material, it'd help to elevate the screen or container so they don't get plugged up.

The larger gravely stuff is lighter than lead and will tend to migrate to the top, over the lead, if you can shake the bed, but that's not an efficient technique unless mechanized (the company that recovers lead from our berms uses a dry shaker set up as big as a dump truck).

Gold miners use inclined washboard bottomed boxes to catch gold as the lighter dirt and gravel wash over the ridges. I've read here that, similarly, folks sometimes clean reclaimed berm lead in their driveways and a garden hose.

Regardless, to avoid a visit from TTF, any wet technique requires thorough and complete drying or starting from an empty pot with each load.

[Martin Luber]

Do it when the dirt is baked dry? I don't like digging myself; l get clean metal from an indoor range with pipe casing centrifugal traps

[Outer Rondacker]

I had this same issue. I started going to my spot last in the day after a few days of sun. Once it drying up a bit it got a lot better.

But since I had nothing but time I still played in the wet dirt. Used a glove and worked everything around. Also add one shovel to the screen don’t overload it.

Who cares if you take home small rocks and some dirt. Set the buckets in a dry place for a week then re sift over a wheelbarrow. I did a little over two tons this way. Like I said I had time.

Good luck.

[Conditor22]

rake the bullets into a pile and scoop them into the sifter/shaker using you 1/4 " wire screen box. the shaking action should break up most of it (if it's not too damp) and you can Finnish it off by hand

[skeettx]

Hello XX
Welcome to the site on your first postings!
YES, if the dirt drys, that will be a big help
Use a bigger mesh screen and see if that helps

Where are you? Mike in Amarillo, Tx


Mike

[Pee Wee]

I’ve been reclaiming range lead for about 6 years with a couple of buddies. We reclaim about 3 to 4 thousand pounds each time. We have an automated sifter but still have the same problem as you with excess dirt. We run 3 rendering pots that hold approximately 150 pounds each. We tried all kinds of things to clean the lead but when dealing with that much lead it was more work than it was worth. So we just started rendering it as it was. fact is it was very easy as it all floats to the top and as you are cleaning out the copper hulls, rocks and rest of the junk the dirt has turned to sand and cleans out easily. We lost around 20% after rendering which is normal. Just have some metal buckets to put the hulls and junk in. You’re going to be surprised how much comes out. Just my 2 cents.

[Tazlaw]

I have an old concrete mixer I put the mined scrap into and wash it. Comes out very clean. Drier the better to start with, it it can be washed off.

[Xxrainmanx]

Outer rondacker and conditor22, I'm inclined to give these ideas the most thought since it was my original line I was progressing down. Overall rocks and dirt don't bother me, and I should have elaborated a bit more about clod size. Some of these are baseball sized clumps of dirt. Ideally I would have gone to the range after the dirt has had more time to dry but was only in the area for 3weeks and snowstorms limited my availability to mine. Working the ground with a wet system is practically impossible due to location and I don't want to damage the berm or cause issues since it is a public range (it's one thing doing a little skimming off the top when I'm the only one and I have a screen, shovel and couple buckets vs a large sifting setup). Honestly I wish I was back in the area already so I could clean the range up. It hasn't been treated well in years and this pandemic hasn't helped. Kevin c, good point about dentist offices, I forgot that digital is the norm for a lot of places now.

Skeettx, currently I'm in Dallas, but just had a kiddo and working in moving back around family along the Rockies (that is where my public range is, I just can't justify paying to shoot).

[RoGrrr]

Check out this link and get some ideas.
I built the sifter box shown in the thread. My dialogue starts at post #19. Hope this helps you.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...ghlight=186lbs

[RedHawk357Mag]

I built a box with security screen, 2x6s and bolts to screen out range scrap. It sits on a wheel Barrow to get it to a comfortable height. I screen mostly looking for unfired rounds. Sudden unexpected loud noise while goofing around with liquid metal isn't a good time. When rendering, I have found it much more effective for me to do smaller amounts of scrap, I %get all the grit I can stir out. Scraping the bottom of the pot like it owes me money scoop grit once again. Turn fire off and let it crust over and add more scrap and heat again. Then I get after the grit again. I definitely feel the alloy cleans quicker this way. I would be scared to shoot scrap that was rendered in one big old pot check full of alloy. You definitely need to get the trapped stuff on the walls and bottom of pot.

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