Some WW ingots (second batch)

[jeeedbb]

Hello,

Smelted about 17 pounds of WW tonight. Hand sorted with a cutter and removed FE and ZN. Used a turkey fryer and melted clip on Pb down. Set the stick on aside. Temperature read about 550 F once all melted.. Fluxed twice with cedar shavings. Attached are some photos. Any reason for concern based on the pictures?

How long should it take to flux (adding shavings to skimming out)?

Does any one add all ww and skim out the FE and ZN, assuming temp is kept below 700 F?

Thanks,

[badbob454]

these look great , kinda reminds me of tin hat money from sunken ships .. looks like you are doing great i just stir the pot for a few minutes then skim off the top , should be enough shouldnt have too much metal suspended in the dross, (skimmings) some pour all kinds of ww'ts in keep the melt down low , i seperate to make sure only lead , then double redundency , i heat at a lower heat so zinc will float not melt if i miss one or two , and i do sometimes , off to a great start .... new currency lead hats ....

[jeeedbb]

Thanks badboberman, wanted someone who knows what they should look like take a look. Do not want to have "bad" lead / other in my guns.

I bought the "hat" molds from RayinNH, he has a number of smelting type items for sale.

[canyon-ghost]

Looks like cleaned up wheelweight alright. When you melt them down and flux & skim once more, they'll be perfect to pour right on through the bullet molds. Look pretty good.

[Defcon-One]

You might want your lead to be a bit hotter when pouring it. Maybe around 600-650 deg F.

Also, pour them slow and steady, then don't move them until they are completely set up. That will make for a better fillout, less wrinkles and surface flaws (if you care about that stuff). The Lead looks great and it is a fun hobby. Enjoy and use proper precautions.

[clintsfolly]

Send me your wrinkled,rounded,flowed and cracked ingots for disposal!!!! I reflux and cast into small ingots and shoot them Clint

[Defcon-One]

Send me your wrinkled,rounded,flowed and cracked ingots for disposal!!!! I reflux and cast into small ingots and shoot them Clint

Hey Clint, I said "if you care about that stuff"!

I assume that your little ingots are 125 to 200+ grain round nosed and fit the bore of your gun?

I know that Lead is Lead but, I like pretty ingots!

[Ole]

If you have one, take a propane torch and hit the corners and edges of your mold with the flame after pouring. The edges of your ingots will clean up quite a bit.

Those look fine, but if they are sharper/cleaner on the edges, they will probably stack better.

[letsmeltlead2693]

I'm sorry, but those are some UGLY ingots. I bet your going to remelt them so it does not matter.

[shadowcaster]

Defcon-One

You might want your lead to be a bit hotter when pouring it. Maybe around 600-650 deg F.

Also, pour them slow and steady, then don't move them until they are completely set up. That will make for a better fillout, less wrinkles and surface flaws (if you care about that stuff). The Lead looks great and it is a fun hobby. Enjoy and use proper precautions.

I totally agree with this... I tend to run mine just a hair hotter, about 675 deg F. The other thing I do is heat up my ingot molds, it just makes the whole operation smoother. Also you might try using pine shavings instead of cedar. The oils in cedar can make you light headed or sick to your stomach if you get a big whiff.

Shad

[jeeedbb]

Thanks for the info. I would like them to turn out better looks / stacking. Sorry Clintsfolly, can't send the rejects. (Yellow smile face) Besides I have not casted up (into boolist) the stuff you sent me already. By the way the the arrived in great shape. Thanks.

[a.squibload]

Those look fine.
I sort out ALL the zinc and steel WWs before smelting... or so I thought.
Did a batch a few days ago, when it was melted I stirred it a little and
3 zinc WWs popped up to the top! One was 6 oz, glad it didn't melt.
Temp was less than 600º so no big deal but they surprised me.

[jsizemore]

How'd you miss a 6 oz. zinc WW? That rascal took up half the pot!

[a.squibload]

My guess is it looked so good I thought it was lead, let it slip by...