Smelting WW, clean or dirty?

[Bladeforger]

I finally got a melter--a little Lee 10 pound. And I picked up a small batch of WW last week (10 pounds on the bathroom scale). Yes, I know that's a small amount but it's what I have. That tire store has someone that gets all their lead weights, but they said I could have a few and it wouldn't be missed.

Now I'm looking at the whole pile of WW and seeing road grime, sticky tape, etc. and wondering:

Should I clean them up first? I thought about dumping some water and GoJo in a bucket and giving them a good stirring. But it seems like the impurities are going to float on the surface and be scooped off anyway. So I thought I'd ask what y'all do.

Thanks!

[BSkerj]

10lbs is 10lbs..you have your foot in the door now at the tirestore ! Just add doughnuts on a Monday morning and or Pizza and beer on a Friday night and you maybe pleasantly suprised.

More importantly DO NOT dump in water and proceed to smelt them after they are clean..water and molten lead, even the smallest amount of water do not mix.

I never clean them off..I take out everything that I see in the mix and then just smelt and flux and skim off the top. I like to use a cedar stick to flux with, smells great when burning, but candle wax, sawdust, also work good.
Once again...please don't wash off and throw into smelting pot without WW being COMPLETELY dry.
Have fun!! This is a great way to pass the time! Ask as many questions that you have..they will all be answered by a great bunch of experts !!

[jforwel]

Welcome to the forum, and as stated above your foot is in the door in more ways than one. I don't like to melt down my scrap in my casting pot as it could leave a lot of trashy residue where you will be casting from. A lot of us melt WWs in a cast iron pot over a propane burner and then put the clean ingots in the casting pot. I always flux and skim again before starting to cast because there will always be a little more stuff to skim off.

If you keep gathering scrap and WWs soon you have more than you can melt in a small pot so you may want to start looking for a "smelting" set up, turkey fryer style with about a six quart cast iron pot.

[fredj338]

I smelt them as is BUT, I would not use my bottom pour pot for smelting. The ww have a lot of crud & that eventually works it's way into th epour spout, especially if you drain the pot. Then yo uget the Lee drip going. I have a 10# & 20# & they rarely drip since I started leaving the pot full & only using clean alloy in them. An old cast iron skillet or dutch oven & gas burner work best for smelting. An elec hot palte will work for a small frying pan & 10# of ww. Again, leave a bit of alloy in the bottom of the pan after smelting. It speeds up the process next time.

[Bladeforger]

10lbs is 10lbs..you have your foot in the door now at the tirestore ! Just add doughnuts on a Monday morning and or Pizza and beer on a Friday night and you maybe pleasantly suprised.

More importantly DO NOT dump in water and proceed to smelt them after they are clean..water and molten lead, even the smallest amount of water do not mix.

I never clean them off..I take out everything that I see in the mix and then just smelt and flux and skim off the top. I like to use a cedar stick to flux with, smells great when burning, but candle wax, sawdust, also work good.
Once again...please don't wash off and throw into smelting pot without WW being COMPLETELY dry.
Have fun!! This is a great way to pass the time! Ask as many questions that you have..they will all be answered by a great bunch of experts !!

Got that part about the water, but I appreciate the repeating! I read the story of Ken Mollohan getting some sweat on an ingot and having the lead blow up in his face from the steam expanding violently inside the molten lead... scary stuff. Can't be overemphasized because I wouldn't have thought about sweat--and I can just see me bending over a pot and a drop of Florida-humidity-sweat plopping into the lead.

I got some cedar, thanks for the tip. And thanks for the don't-bother-to-wash info. It's not been said explicitly in anything I'd read yet, so I didn't know.

I know it'll be fun. I'm looking forward to it!

[Bladeforger]

I smelt them as is BUT, I would not use my bottom pour pot for smelting. The ww have a lot of crud & that eventually works it's way into th epour spout, especially if you drain the pot. Then yo uget the Lee drip going. I have a 10# & 20# & they rarely drip since I started leaving the pot full & only using clean alloy in them. An old cast iron skillet or dutch oven & gas burner work best for smelting. An elec hot palte will work for a small frying pan & 10# of ww. Again, leave a bit of alloy in the bottom of the pan after smelting. It speeds up the process next time.

Welcome to the forum, and as stated above your foot is in the door in more ways than one. I don't like to melt down my scrap in my casting pot as it could leave a lot of trashy residue where you will be casting from. A lot of us melt WWs in a cast iron pot over a propane burner and then put the clean ingots in the casting pot. I always flux and skim again before starting to cast because there will always be a little more stuff to skim off.

If you keep gathering scrap and WWs soon you have more than you can melt in a small pot so you may want to start looking for a "smelting" set up, turkey fryer style with about a six quart cast iron pot.

I hadn't thought of the residue that much because of thinking it would float to the top and get skimmed off... will it stick to the sides of the melter? The directions have several tips for fixing the leaks including sticking a paperclip up through the spout with a pair of pliers and twisting.

A turkey fryer isn't in the cards because my storage space is at a premium, but I have a Coleman stove I could set up outside and I know there's an extra lower-quality iron skillet or two hiding somewhere. Only concern there is that the Coleman's primary purpose is for food.

I could probably swing another Lee melter and use one for smelting and one for casting if it's going to make a difference. Or an electric hot plate. Guess it depends on how much the wheel weight residue is going to clog up the works and/or stick to the sides of the melter.

Is it just a clean-up hassle, or would it really screw up the melter for casting???

Thanks!

Keith

[DLCTEX]

I used my Lee pot for smelting when I was getting started casting. It requires a good cleaning of the pot before casting. Scrape down the sides and bottom and with heavy gloves invert the pot over a metal bucket and bump it on the rim of the bucket to dislodge the debris. Heat the spout with a torch or at least a butane lighter and punch out the crud with a straightened paper clip. Get a smelting rig when you can, but don't let a little crud stand in the way of casting. Damp WW can be added to an EMPTY hot pot, the water will evaporate long before the lead reaches melting temp.

[runfiverun]

what dale said i bought my first lee pot to smelt ww's in for makin shot.
wasn't gonna use the 40lb pot i cast from.

[Bladeforger]

I used my Lee pot for smelting when I was getting started casting. It requires a good cleaning of the pot before casting. Scrape down the sides and bottom and with heavy gloves invert the pot over a metal bucket and bump it on the rim of the bucket to dislodge the debris. Heat the spout with a torch or at least a butane lighter and punch out the crud with a straightened paper clip. Get a smelting rig when you can, but don't let a little crud stand in the way of casting. Damp WW can be added to an EMPTY hot pot, the water will evaporate long before the lead reaches melting temp.

what dale said i bought my first lee pot to smelt ww's in for makin shot.
wasn't gonna use the 40lb pot i cast from.

Thanks!!!!

[44fanatic]

As long as you arent dripping or spattering lead on your coleman stove, I dont think it will be an issue. I would be concerned about the smoke residue build up on your wind screens (if your stove has them)...easy fix to that one though.

I prefer to keep my smelting pots clean as I already have one that is crudded up.

[Jaybird62]

I remember using my RCBS bottom pour for smelting the first two buckets of WW I collected several years ago. I use a 6-qt. Dutch oven and a turkey fryer these days. I think that I've smelted a bit over 2 1/2 tons of WW over the past 12 months, and I can't imagine ever doing it any other way.

Your Lee pot won't be damaged by smelting in it. You can take it outside and burn small chunks of hardwood until it burns to charcoal. Keep adding the wood until the pot is full of charcoal and let it burn to ash. That's the best way to clean a dirty pot. Don't forget to sort your WW between the "stick-on" and "clip-on" types when smelting.

[chris in va]

For that small amount just get a $10 hotplate and small skillet. Not the quickest method but it works and you won't have to clean your pot.

You should have seen the WW I 'refined' today. They were covered in old motor oil and dirt! Lots of smoke, but everything floated to the top and all was well.