Smelting, what a rush.

[gtivan]

Tried my hand at smelting wheel weights today. Only did the stick-ons to get a feel of how things would go.

Smelting equipment.
2 burner coleman stove. the kind you stick on picknic table. (The wife bought it for me for camping. I already had one for backpacking which is the only camping i do. so it hasn't been used in 6 years.)

2 quart cast iron pot.

1 cast iron mould. shape like egg, about same size as cupkae mould.

1 old rusty cupcake tin.

1 pair leather welding gloves.

1 old thick motorcycle jacket.

Wear prescriptions so just had on my prescription sun glasses.

cast iron dipper

ss slotted spoon.

casting thermometer.


Overall went great. have about a couple dozen ingots now. Thermometer was a great idea. tested with some known zinc and at the temp i was melting it just floated on top.

The first time i flauxed with wax, it flamed up and scared the **** out of me. had a nice stream of lead from the pot out to about 10ft from my reaction. Yes had the slotted spoon in the pot at the time.

Probably going to switch to sawdust next time. didn't care too much for the flare up. will sawdust flare up also?

also will be switching out of the leather jacket. too dang hot.

also the wife yelled about the smell and danger of toxic fumes in neighborhood. so will be doing it when she is away or at friends.

caught myself a couple times almost putting lead in the pot without gloves on. stopped in time. don't want to find what that stuff feels like on my hand.

very surprised though at the resistance of the lead when melted and running a ss spoon through it. very sluggish. but when i ran a wood stick around the sides it was much easier. and ideas why?

anyway, it was a fun start.

now to get out the stamping kit and mark the ingots and clean up.

thnaks much for the forum and advice.

Greg

[Typecaster]

Greg—

Glad you're OK. No, you don't want to find out what it feels like on you're hand…I tried that a few weeks before #1 son's wedding. Sorta had that Michael Jackson silver-glove look on my left hand after I was surprised by the flare-up and jerked, and I've been doing this for about 45 years. Several wedding photos had to be Photoshopped. Now I get an interesting pattern that doesn't tan on the back of my hand and thumb when I'm out in the sun.

I usually use a shovel to add WWs to the pot, not so much for safety as it's an easy way to pick them up.

Re the stick vs spoon—probably different because the spoon is concave, even a slotted spoon?

Stamping ingots is good. I have Sharpie-marked ingots from 30 years ago (stored in my shop) that are now so dark that they're almost illegible.

Richard

[jmsj]

gtivan,
I too find smelting really enjoyable too. I find myself looking for small batches to smelt. I welded up a small pot that holds 6-7 pounds. I don't get to many stick ons when I get my wheel weights, if I get about 5 or 6 pounds I melt them. When I pick up range scrap(usually 2-3 pounds a trip) they get melted down in the small pot. My wife thinks I might be crazy. I wait till I get enough of one type of lead and then do a big smelt, That one goes pretty fast, it is more blending than smelting. jmsj

[45nut]

also the wife yelled about the smell and danger of toxic fumes in neighborhood. so will be doing it when she is away or at friends.

LOL.. Love it!

[sagacious]

Glad it went well. Keep up the good work.

You're supposed to light the flux by tossing a match into the pot. The flames help the process. Just be aware of it, and don't hover over the pot while fluxing. Sawdust can flame up unexpectedly as well-- anything that makes smoke can produce flames. If you light the smoke intentionally, it won't catch you by surprise. Much safer that way.

A full-length canvas chef's apron works well as safety-wear while melting/fluxing scrap lead.

If you pull the handle off your slotted spoon and use a ss hose-clamp to attach it to a 12" length of broom handle or similar dowel, it gives you a bit more comfort/safety-zone while stirring the melt. Wood handle stays cooler too. Good luck.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

I did 4 6qt pots of WW lead today, heat index was 98. Got about 100 2" angle iron ingots, between 2.25 and 4.5# each. Got about 3 more pots to run tomorrow.

Sam

[Edubya]

Gloves and leather are a good safety practice and if you don't need the leather jacket for anything else , how about cutting the back out of it and just leaving a strap to hold it together across the back( kinda like cowboy chaps). Use the sleeves and the front for protection and the open back will reduce the temps that build up inside.

I use the parafin wax and ignite the melted wax so that I know wehen the flash is going to happen. i'll admit that I still flich, but it saves me from jumping when I'm working with the spoon or ladle. That happened once or twice and caused splashes of lead (not funny).

EW

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Gloves and leather are a good safety practice and if you don't need the leather jacket for anything else , how about cutting the back out of it and just leaving a strap to hold it together across the back( kinda like cowboy chaps). Use the sleeves and the front for protection and the open back will reduce the temps that build up inside.

I use the parafin wax and ignite the melted wax so that I know wehen the flash is going to happen. i'll admit that I still flich, but it saves me from jumping when I'm working with the spoon or ladle. That happened once or twice and caused splashes of lead (not funny).

EW

EW,

I find it works just as well to throw it in and let it flash then go back and start stirring. Haven't flinched since I started doing it that way.

Sam

[462]

gtivan,
Good start.

1. Replace the leather jacket with a heavy denin shop apron.
2. Gloves, gloves, gloves! Lead burns go deep and take a long time to heal.
3. Melt the stick-ons when not only the wife is gone, but the neighbors, too...if you have any.

[Elkins45]

The wax flare up is my main signal that the melt is up to temp.

[Bkid]

Well congratulations ,now some pics would be nice. LOL

[jawjaboy]

Well congratulations ,now some pics would be nice. LOL

[4719dave]

nice lookin deal you got there , I"m going to have to weld up some of those ingots ,all i have are the one pounders .

[bruce381]

""My wife thinks I might be crazy""

Don't they all think that? mine does

[sargenv]

When I did a 5 qt Dutch oven full of stickies, it started smoking really bad so the lid went on until they were pretty much all melted.. I've experienced flash over before with the smoke so with leather gloved hands, I grabbed the pot lid and made sure to use it as a shield.. as soon as that hot smoke hit air, it ignited in a big "WHOOSH!" and the flame went about a foot high.

I let it burn and tossed some of the California flake flux in, and stirred it up really good. I noticed that the fire wasn't going out any time soon so I skimmed it all off and put it in a pan I had specifically for it. I figured if I removed the heat it would eventually just go out and that's just what it did.. It smelled nasty and by that point I had put on a respirator. I finally skimmed the rest of it off, refluxed the pot with CFF and parrafin, and lit it off and stirred, and stirred.. and skimmed.. and it finally got to the point of ingoting.

I got a nice stack of 1.5 pound ingots from that. I tend to water quench all of my ingots whether they need to be or not, just so I can get them cool for storage. It also gives me an idea of what BHN it will be later on when I go to melt them for boolits. Now I have a good amt of 5-8 bhn nearly pure stuff for blending or making into BP ball for a friend.

When I do the regular wheel weights, I do it similarly. It seems that putting the lid on speeds up the melt but you need be careful when removing the lid since the smoke is usually flammable.. Like above, I always lift it at an angle using it as a shield. I ususally wear leather gloves, coveralls, leather shoes, and a face shield.. I sort my WW so that I know I got every piece of zinc out of them.. they are pretty obvious..

[GLL]

Those five-pound ingot moulds Jawjaboy makes are the very best available ! Period !

I use six myself !

Jerry

[JIMinPHX]

If the wax flair up scares you, then you might try using less of it next time. You don't need much. A piece about the size of a pea is plenty for a 10 or 20 pound pot. You can scale up from there for larger batches.

How much did you use?

[WHITETAIL]

gtivn, Welcome to the forum!

[WHITETAIL]

jawjaboy, Nice set up.
And that Miller Light helps
replenish the fluids.

[gtivan]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Did over 100lbs of clipons the next week. Went easier, I just stepped back after throwing in the wax. Sounds like maybe i was using too much. Probably about 5-6 peas worth in 20lbs.

Still have another 100lbs to go.