Good uses for zinc?

[lts70]

Besides hucking them.

Could one make zinc fishing sinkers to trade for lead ones, or would they not be heavy enough? Would there be any products they could be melted into that would be of value? Do they have scrape value? I guess if you kept a bunch and found a tire guy that had to turn weights back in for epa you could trade him for lead and as long as he as turning in the same amount of buckets who would know? Any ideas of how to utilize these annoying little pieces of cr4p?

[clodhopper]

When we run out of lead we can shoot zinc.
Higher velocity,
lower inerta,
more barrel wear.
Well it's still shooting!

[badbob454]

cannonballs? ingots for resale?

[randyrat]

Yes save them, Zinc is worth some scrap value. Melt them down into ingots to take up less space and you can sell them for cannon ball makers, they reuse them over and over. Zinc holds it's shape/tougher and doesn't distort like lead.

[justingrosche]

Daisy chain them together with string and nail it to the peak of your roof to keep moss from growing on the shingles. (can you tell I live in the Pacific Northwest?)

[darkroommike]

There are casters using zinc for other purposes. I'm sure there is a market for zinc wheelweights. I just would not use the same crucible and ingot pans to melt them into ingots.

Rotometal sells zinc cannonballs.

And, the Hotchkiss Mountain Gun uses zinc boolits. (See recent episode of Top Shots.)

[fishnbob]

Besides hucking them.

Could one make zinc fishing sinkers to trade for lead ones, or would they not be heavy enough? Would there be any products they could be melted into that would be of value? Do they have scrape value? I guess if you kept a bunch and found a tire guy that had to turn weights back in for epa you could trade him for lead and as long as he as turning in the same amount of buckets who would know? Any ideas of how to utilize these annoying little pieces of cr4p?

You can't use zinc in small cavity molds, it won't fill out. You may be able to cast it in the larger cavities like BIG river bank sinkers and cast net weights, etc. If you are trying to make small jig heads and small casting lures and get zinc in your alloy, you are better off to empty the pot into ingots and mark them as such and start over. Don't ask me how I know.:groner:

[zuke]

I used up a bunch of "mics" zinc for my jig's and sinker's.
Crank up the heat and keep the mold's hot and it'll work.
For split shot I had to use pure lead.
I cast 250 of each size in a Do-it mold and received 4 5gallon pail's in return!