First ever smelt

[dieguy59]

Okay, been chomping at the bit to start melting some of the WW's, x-ray sheeting and other forms of pure lead, that I've been scrounging. So this morning, I finally bought the turkey fryer, split the old propane tank, welded a handle on a discer blade(to form a lid) and rounded up an assortment of skimmers, paint stir stick, gloves, welding coat, mini candles,face shield...etc.
A huge thanks to Blaser306 who stepped up with ingot molds and a ladle(mine are en route). He also stuck around to field some dumb questions and give some helpful pointers.
The goal was to melt a 3/4 of a pail of WW. I started with about 1/2 in the pot. As the mass started to melt down, it became apparent that I could safely add the rest. Scooped out all the clips and a couple of steelies that slipped in. Fluxed with beeswax and started making ingots. Fluxed a second time about 1/2 way through. The result was 102 (approx 1lb) ingots.
With more time on my hands than expected, I got ready to do the pure stuff. Stuffed in a big roll of sheeting, a 6"x6"x6" block and cut up a bunch of flat bar to fill the spaces. Fluxed twice, again. The result was a pile of 136 shiny ingots.
Some of the things I learned for next time: a) Get cinder blocks to raise(safely) the burner up to a more comfortable height. My back is less than impressed. b) Pay attention to the heat/thermometer as the volume in the pot goes down. Some of my latter WW ingots were a little dull in color. c) Have a stronger work table. It's easier to stack ingots that have been poured on a flat table
Thanks to everyone that posts tip here. Especially the one that mention their mistakes. I've learned a lot from reading your experiences. The fun has just begun.

[dieguy59]

Sorry,everyone. First time trying to post pics. I don't know why my thread is elongated.

[jmsj]

dieguy59,
Looks great.
I had a lot of problems posting pictures at first also. Still working at getting it down. Luckily the guys around here are pretty patient.
You better be careful, looks like your getting hooked! Run while you still can! just kidding. Welcome to the addiction, jmsj

[dieguy59]

Oh, I'm hooked alright. I still have another 100+/- lbs of the xray sheeting and 200-300 lbs of lyno I got from my brother. I think the key is to condense what we find to make room for more!

[bumpo628]

Be sure to mark the ingots while you can still remember which is which.
You can either stamp them or just write on them with a sharpie.

Good going on your first smelt!

[dieguy59]

Thanks, bumpo. Reading about it is a whole lot different than hands-on. I've had some good advice from the forums and locally. I can honestly say, I truly enjoyed finally getting around to it. The molds blaser306 lent me made it real easy to mark them. Any and all tips are appreciated.

[Matt_G]

Now that is what I call a great start.
Good job.

[MikeACP]

I got with a couple of guys who were smelting yesterday. It was my first time. I ended up with 70lbs of nice little lead muffins.

[SciFiJim]

Great Start. Nice lid by the way. That is a new idea for me. I live in a rural area. I will have to see if I can scrounge up an old disk.

[gray wolf]

Great start to your new found addiction, It's got it's hair pulling times but all in all it's a great way to save money ?? have fun ( yes, yes, yes ) and shoot a lot.
Keep it safe
very nice post and pics

[dieguy59]

Gray wolf, I think I'm discovering one of those hair pulling moments. In my original post I mentioned not watching the heat close enough. Some of my dull WW ingots have lines/wrinkles on the side. I remember seeing some 'slime' in the laddle as I was doing the last 1/3 of the ingots. Could it be I got a bit of zinc in my alloy? I'm going to go searching for andswers in previous posts.

[dieguy59]

Bought some muriatic acid today. Dull ingots tested negative for zinc content. Beginners luck! Am paying close attention to the temp from now on.

[Lizard333]

Your dull ingots are a harder lead and the shinny ones are closer to pure lead. Is there a reason your using bee wax to flux. When melting ww's most people don't waste bees wax on this as it has been said that it can flux out the tin in your lead. If I were you I would go to a yard sale and buy some old candles and toss some of that i to you melt. Saves you money. Use your bees wax for boolit lube.

[snowshooze]

Your dull ingots are a harder lead and the shinny ones are closer to pure lead. Is there a reason your using bee wax to flux. When melting ww's most people don't waste bees wax on this as it has been said that it can flux out the tin in your lead. If I were you I would go to a yard sale and buy some old candles and toss some of that i to you melt. Saves you money. Use your bees wax for boolit lube.

Well, my pure lead ingots go dull, but my tinny ones stay bright..
Did you get that backward?

[Lizard333]

I don't think so. I have two piles of ingots. My pile of clip on WW's is much larger and they are all dull were as the stick on's are much more shinny.

[dieguy59]

I did have some little tea candles, but a friend gave me a chunk of wax, so I used it. I'll try with saw dust and the little candles and see if that and a more even heat will get it right.

[Gtek]

Very close to my set up. May I make a suggestion please? I picked up a ten foot hose - Reasons-
#1-Moved that big jug about nine feet from that flame thrower in the bottom.
#2- I know it would only be a matter of time before my clumsy old self tripped on the hose and least of all made a real mess. You may want to pick up a three inch or so stainless spoon with holes in it, bend handle to about fifty to sixty degrees. Welcome to the fun, it is all uphill from here.
Gtek

[dieguy59]

All input is appreciated. I'm big on safety, at home and on the job. I will search for an extension this weekend, though. The tank is usually in the 10 o'clock position and the work table and general area of traffic is in the 4 to 6 o'clock position and about 3-4 ft away from the pot.

[Echo]

I set my turkey fryer up on one end of our old redwood picnic table, with the bottle on the bench next to it, and the ingot molds on the bench on the other side. Dutch oven is comfortable with `40 lbs of mix. And I use several different ingot molds, muffin pan for ww/range scrap feed stock, angle iron molds for WW+2%Sn, regular 4-banger ingot molds (flooded) for 5-lb ingots of 7-1+ alloys, and empty soda cans for pure Pb (holds about 9 lbs full). This way the shape of the ingot tells me what the ingot consists of. The 7-1 is 7 parts WW/Range scrap/Pb and one part monotype, plus an additional 1% Sn to bring it up to 2+% Sn. I mark w/Sharpie as to R or P, and leave the space blank for WW. I also put the date on the 5-pounder, and if I have done more than one batch, the batch number. This makes a pretty hard alloy that can be cut 50/50 w/Pb for low-intensity cartridges.
And I leave the mono- and lino-type as is until it is mixed with WW/R/Pb. I bought some lead-free solder from Grainger a couple of years ago, and I also have some solder ingots (I won on ebay) marked with the % of Sn. Easy to figure out 1%, or whatever.

[Longwood]

I did have some little tea candles, but a friend gave me a chunk of wax, so I used it. I'll try with saw dust and the little candles and see if that and a more even heat will get it right.

I like those little candles that come in the aluminum cups. Tea candles may be the name.
They are fairly cheap (dollar store) very easy to break up and work with and if I forget and leave them outside in the summer heat of the desert, I still have candles the next day instead of a slick coating on whatever I left them sitting on .
When I am casting, I use a small chunk and add about a tablespoon of sawdust, rub the back of my hot spoon on a big chunk of wax, then stir my pot with it to get the wax down into the melt. Surprisingly this does not make the melt boil and spit.
I never find crud in my bullets now.