Making wire from ingots

[Jim_Fleming]

Has anyone ever tried making lead wire from ingots made from pure lead ?

I had some moderate success with a 30 ton press...

Comments please?

Jim

[ETG]

Guess that depends on what you call ingots. I cast lead into 7/8"x 3" ingots to fit inside the extruder I built. and they work fine.

[Paul]

No, But I went through the Sierra Bullet Factory at Sedalia, Missouri last year and they have this big press, put in cold (room temp lead) like 50# chunks and then press 40 to 60 tons??? I'm guessing they told me but I forgot.... press down on the lead and lead wire just comes out of the bottom of the die.... really neat trick.... different sizes for the different bullets they make..

My first post....

Paul

[sav300]

Paul,welcome

[Jim_Fleming]

I guess I forgot to mention that I too had some limited success with extruding lead into wire.

I cast my pure lead into a 1"x4" round 'ingot' or 'billet' if you will, then used a piece of 3" piece of stainless steel with a 1.000" hole reamed into it as the basis for my extrusion setup.

The major problem I had was removing the punch/plug from the die body.

ETG, let me ask a favor...?

Please elaborate on your extruder and the setup...? And if you'll allow me to press you further, can you explain in detail your set up...? Do you have photos?

Jim

[Jim_Fleming]

Welcome Paul!

I too am a newcomer to this excellent board, I don't think that I've gotten quite 10 posts in myself.

My first post....

Paul

[deltaenterprizes]

If you do a search you will find pics of the die I made that uses 1"x6" slugs from a 3'' piece of steel in a 20 ton press.
Look in the post "Homemade Lead Wire" on page 2 ,the post is by shooterg

[Jim_Fleming]

Delta! You're a genius!!!

Yes I've found your die photo where the .0003" clearance is discussed and that a film of oil on the punch and where the bleed hole is covered that the punch doesn't fall out due to the external air pressure...

In fact here's the link to that exact page:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=26730

But... the photos of the small H press set up 6-8 or posts above using a 20 ton bottle jack have impressed me! I never thought of using a small set up! I assumed I'd have to buy a whole press and I ain't gonna spend that kind of money for something that'd be that dedicated to only lead wire. Prolly just the bottle jack alone'll be painful!

However I can and will look into fabricating something like that wee H press...

The more I read this excellent board the more I'm impressed that I've found a nice new home!

Thanks Delta!

If you do a search you will find pics of the die I made that uses 1"x6" slugs from a 3'' piece of steel in a 20 ton press.
Look in the post "Homemade Lead Wire" on page 2 ,the post is by shooterg

[JohnM]

A friend and I made a press for extruding lead wire from pure lead scrap.

We used a big old style bottle jack (unknown rating), but had trouble pushing the lead though. We simply heated the die a little and this solved the problem. As we went on the die heated itself so didn’t need any outside heat.
As our die was only mild steel, it spilt after awhile, but at least we know it’s quite a simple process.

I’ve picked up a nozzle off a plastic injection machine which has a built in heater. Also found a large flywheel, used by a blacksmith. This’ll drive the piston into the nozzle instead of using a jack. When I find something to gear this down to a low speed we should be ready to put it all together.

John

[Jim_Fleming]

very interesting...

be sure and take photos of what you accomplish as you accomplish it, then post your results...

It really does interest me. Thanks, John.

Jim

A friend and I made a press for extruding lead wire from pure lead scrap.

We used a big old style bottle jack (unknown rating), but had trouble pushing the lead though. We simply heated the die a little and this solved the problem. As we went on the die heated itself so didn’t need any outside heat.
As our die was only mild steel, it spilt after awhile, but at least we know it’s quite a simple process.

I’ve picked up a nozzle off a plastic injection machine which has a built in heater. Also found a large flywheel, used by a blacksmith. This’ll drive the piston into the nozzle instead of using a jack. When I find something to gear this down to a low speed we should be ready to put it all together.

John

[ETG]

I guess I forgot to mention that I too had some limited success with extruding lead into wire.

I cast my pure lead into a 1"x4" round 'ingot' or 'billet' if you will, then used a piece of 3" piece of stainless steel with a 1.000" hole reamed into it as the basis for my extrusion setup.

The major problem I had was removing the punch/plug from the die body.

ETG, let me ask a favor...?

Please elaborate on your extruder and the setup...? And if you'll allow me to press you further, can you explain in detail your set up...? Do you have photos?

Jim

Jim,
My extruder is not nearly as exotic as Delta's or others that have posted on here. Hope I don't get laughed out of here. I made mine from a piece of 1/4" wall 1 1/2" DOM tubing. The only thing really machined was the piston to fit the tubing. The base was a piece of 1" thick steel I had laying around. I drilled and tapped the base for 3/4" (largest tap I had). Took a piece or 3/4" all thread drilled and reamed to 3/16" tapered on top and counter bored the bottom so only about 1/8" was actually 3/16" diameter. Welded the tube to the base. Turned a piece of 1 1/4" rod I had to just barley fit inside the tubing. I cut the threads off a 1" x 12" bolt to use as the ram (after a dozen presses the bolt bent - use a grade 8 bolt for this). Anyway, may not be the prettiest around but for less than $20 works for me (and using 3/4" all thread for the die easy to make whatever diameter you need. I use with a 20 ton HF press.

[Jim_Fleming]

Good Job, both on getting extrusion to work for you, and a Good Job on posting pix and etc so as to get the point across!!!

I like it!

I especially like the interchangeable orifice idea!

Jim