View Full Version : zinc ww's
quiknot
02-11-2007, 04:16 PM
i read here that we should look out for ww's that are made of zinc...
my question is: how does one know they are made of zinc?...are they marked or can be identified?
thanks
The ones I've seen have the clips riveted on, not molded into the alloy like a regular wheelweight. I pick them out if I see them while melting a batch to pour into ingots, but if some slip through it's no beg deal as they melt at a higher temp than lead and will be floating on top with the other trash.
imashooter2
02-11-2007, 04:49 PM
A good thread on the subject from a few months back...
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=2268
Rottweiler
02-11-2007, 06:06 PM
try cutting the questionable ones with a pair of side cutters. aka dikes. If they cut pertty easy, they're lead, if not, they're not lead
NVcurmudgeon
02-11-2007, 08:40 PM
Try a magnet on the weights with riveted clips. ALL that I have found so far are steel/iron. When smelting, keep your temperature fown to 600-650 F. The melting point of zinc is 787 F or so. So far I have found four zinc weights out of 1000 lbs. smelted, and they were all marked "ZN." The tape-on weights are made in connected flat segments. So far, most have been lead, with each segment marked "1/4 oz." There is also a tape-on weight that is unmarked and has smaller segments than the lead tape-ons. All of these that I have found are steel/iron, according to my magnet. In summary, if it doesn't melt at 650, try a magnet. If it floats and isn't magnetic, it may be zinc, throw it away radioactivity handling gloves are not needed.
mike in co
02-11-2007, 08:40 PM
for the most part......
lead goes 'THUD' when dropped on a cement floor.....
zinc goes 'RING"........
zinc can ruin an entire batch of ww......
ww are still sorta cheap
so
when in doubt....
throw it out......
dmftoy1
02-12-2007, 09:30 PM
I've only worked through 100 lbs of wheel weights, but I found about 8-10 in that batch. They were easy to find because the floated . .you could keep dunking them with your spoon and they'd come up looking like new. (was keeping my temp about 650-675. )
Rick N Bama
02-13-2007, 05:31 AM
Keep your smelting temps low & the Zinc weights will float to the surface where you can skim them off with the rest of the trash.
Rick
handyrandyrc
02-13-2007, 04:56 PM
They definitely do have a "bright ring" when dropped on the concrete. Also scratch one on the concrete for a quick check. The "feel" is much like a rock scraping. Lead has a "dull" scraping feel when scraped on the concrete.
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