Lead Bonanza

[ColColt]

I think I may have hit the mother lode. I decided to stop by a tire company on the way home and see what they had. The guy gave me a five gallon bucket about 3/4th full of WW's and stick ons and charged me nothing. Unfortunately, there's also some steel ones and probably plastic weights as well and I'll have to sift through and decipher which is which. I ran across some of the stick on type but, I'm not sure what I have or even if they're lead. Some are for sure as you can easily scratch them with a thumbnail and are marked as 1/2, oz and 14gm below that. Others look like they're painted a light shade of grey and look like some type of paint or plastic over them with some marked 1.4 oz and others 7g. Those are somewhat smaller than the others being about 1/2"x about 3/4" and you can't scratch them with a thumbnail...perhaps in part due to the paint or plastic over them. They're attached by some sort of adhesive backing and there may be 6-8 together.

At any rate, I couldn't get the bucket in the trunk of the car. It weighed a ton so, the fellow that gave me the weights picked it up like it weighed 25 pounds and I couldn't hardly get it off the ground. I guess I'm getting weak and nurturing that hernia too much. Still I'm happy about getting all that for absolutely nothing-not even gas to get there as it's on the way home.

[clodhopper]

Next time you stop bring a bag of cookies.

[ColColt]

Next time you stop bring a bag of cookies.

Good idea...or, at a minimum six bags of Doritos.

[bslim]

just remember, when you are smelting this down, keep the temp. low enouch to melt the lead but not the zinc. You should do OK with the batch. Enjoy!

[ColColt]

Sifting through the weights tonight I found a lot of steel ones. I wasn't sure with the grey paint on them but got a magnet and found out. So far in just grabbing several hands full, it seems about 60/40 lead and steel weights. That could change as I get further down in the bucket...hopefully. The bucket weighed 68 pounds so if I could get 35-40 pounds of lead weights from it, I'd be happy. For nothing, you can't be too choosy.

[*Paladin*]

Free lead is good lead! Congrats!!!

[Three44s]

My WW guys succumb to PIZZA!!!!


Three 44s

[leadman]

When you melt these down stay upwind. That grey coating is either epoxy or a type of plastic coating.

A sidecutter will let you know real fast what is lead. The zinc (ZN) will be barely scratched, along with the iron (FE). There are a type of plastic with a heavy compound in them. These are best in the trash can.

Zinc and iron can be recycled to your scrap yard, along with your lead dross and WW clips. Keep them seperated.

[ColColt]

When you melt these down stay upwind. That grey coating is either epoxy or a type of plastic coating.

A sidecutter will let you know real fast what is lead. The zinc (ZN) will be barely scratched, along with the iron (FE). There are a type of plastic with a heavy compound in them. These are best in the trash can.

Zinc and iron can be recycled to your scrap yard, along with your lead dross and WW clips. Keep them seperated.

This is good to know. I thought they were just painted. I put several I was unsure of in the vice and tried to bend them...wouldn't budge. They went into a separate pile. Of course, those marked as Fe I figured were iron so they went into the same pile. Most I found that weren't exactly obvious as to being lead were marked MC or had a "T" stamped on t hem and had that same grey pinit look. Turns out they were lead as by the sound and putting them in the vice, they bent readily.

I've never smelted before. Years ago I had probably close to 100 pounds of Linotype I got from the print shop I worked at and had access to nearly that much lead. I do remember melting those down in the old Lyman Mold Master and making ingots from them for future use. I used a cold chisel to break the five pound lead bars apart so they would fit the Lyman. Having melted all that down at least 25 years ago, I forgot whether the ingots I have from that time were 50/50 lead-Linotype or if I had just melted the Linotype into ingots. I found out yesterday they were 50/50 with the Lee Hardness Tester.

I need to get some setup for melting these WW's down. I saw where Dale had a thread on a fish fryer from Bass Pro Shop and that looks like maybe what I need except with a cast iron pot instead of the aluminum one. The price is right and seems simple enough for the purpose intended. OK, question about getting the clips out of the mix. Not being a metallurgist I assume they'll either float or go to the bottom and also assume it's not good to try and get them out with an aluminum spoon. What's good to use to retrieve them for the trash?

[Jal5]

Check craigslist for a smelting setup- I bought one for $20 that hardly had any use on it as a turkey fryer/fish fryer and it came with 3 different aluminum pots that we will use for the kitchen. The pots alone were worth $20!
A good utensil to get the clips would be a spoon with slots or holes in it. I am using a kitchen utensil for that purpose.

Joe

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Be very careful with that molten lead. You can burn yourself so fast and so bad it is unreal! I am very respectful of that stuff.

[ColColt]

Be very careful with that molten lead. You can burn yourself so fast and so bad it is unreal! I am very respectful of that stuff.

How well I know. I have scars on my right hand and foot as a result of about 700degree lead. As a young novice back around 1973 I decided I didn't like gloves...at least for my right hand and summer time I wore sandals-open invitation to burns and of course, it happened. I can tell you up front hot lead burns worse than anything I've experienced and today gloves are worn, leather shoes are on my feet, I wear leather gloves and safety glasses. Hot lead will set you free!! Is there another witness in the house tonight?:(

[okshooter]

You are getting good advice here. As a noob myself, I invested in a used cast iron pot and a new long handled spoon (holes) from a resturant supply for use with the fish fryer. Watch the temp, flux and the clips float to the surface. Using the spoon allows the clips to "drain" free of alloy unlike trying to fish them out with a ladle.

[Doby45]

How well I know. I have scars on my right hand and foot as a result of about 700degree lead. As a young novice back around 1973 I decided I didn't like gloves...at least for my right hand and summer time I wore sandals-open invitation to burns and of course, it happened. I can tell you up front hot lead burns worse than anything I've experienced and today gloves are worn, leather shoes are on my feet, I wear leather gloves and safety glasses. Hot lead will set you free!! Is there another witness in the house tonight?:(

Dang I was born in 73.. ;) The fish fryer deal at BassPro is a GREAT deal. I picked mine up this weekend. I had borrowed a neighbors turkey fryer before and decided I could not simply keep borrowing his, so I got my own.. Best $29 I have spent so far on melting lead..

[WILCO]

Free lead is good lead!

+1! :guntootsmiley:

[Roundnoser]

For what its worth, you can get a used turkey frier pretty cheap on Flea-bay...especially in the fall / winter when turkey Fryers sell cheap. I was able to get mine (like-new condition) for 20 bucks! Then a 5 qt. cast iron pot for $15 and a cast iron ladel for $10. Really, the most expensive part was the LP tank (and thats only because I couldn't find a used one with the newer connector).

[ColColt]

Dang I was born in 73.. ;) The fish fryer deal at BassPro is a GREAT deal. I picked mine up this weekend.

Still in diapers when I was slaving over a hot oven!:D Now, you've learned and experienced more than me...where does time go? That is a super deal. I'm still not convinced I want to fool with smelting. Sounds laborious and time consuming. I'd almost be willing to bite the bullet and buy *stuff and then do my casting.

*stuff-lead, Linotype, 50/50 mixes, small amounts of tin, etc.