Stick on WW's - not as soft as pure

[Ohio Rusty]

I had a coffee can of stick on's and melted them into ingots last weekend. After they cooled, they felt soft and scratched fairly easily with a fingernail. After a week, they have hardened quite a bit more and hard to scratch. Next to a pure lead ingot, they definitely feel harder. I've kind of always assumed they were more like pure lead, but who knows what alloys the makers might mix in with them.
Just an observation ....
Ohio Rusty ><>

[felix]

The volume of cancer drug shipments is very high. Perhaps the stick on wheel weights are the same lead nowadays. That would be close to 1 percent tin and 3 percent antimony. ... felix

[high standard 40]

Check this thread which addresses this issue, at least as it applies to some SOWW.


http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?192101-SOWW-not-all-pure-lead

[stiffdogg06]

I had a coffee can of stick on's and melted them into ingots last weekend. After they cooled, they felt soft and scratched fairly easily with a fingernail. After a week, they have hardened quite a bit more and hard to scratch. Next to a pure lead ingot, they definitely feel harder. I've kind of always assumed they were more like pure lead, but who knows what alloys the makers might mix in with them.
Just an observation ....
Ohio Rusty ><>

I am new to casting and I've came across a lot of lead stick-on WW's. Is there a different process to smelting these down to ingots over clip-on since these have the sticky backing?

[machanic]

I am new to casting and I've came across a lot of lead stick-on WW's. Is there a different process to smelting these down to ingots over clip-on since these have the sticky backing?

Some people just smelt them and stand upwind of the smoke, I prefer to soak them in gasoline for an hour or so, takes the sticky stuff off!

[Ohio Rusty]

No different process. All the sticky backing comes off the lead after it melts and is on top of the melted lead like melted plastic. Just skim it off and discard. I think they are as hard now (air cooled) as regular wheel weight lead after made into ingots. Ther emust be a mizture of different hardness's of lead in the stick ons.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[220swiftfn]

The "Tape a Weight" stick on is pretty close to pure, everything else gets tossed in with the clip-ons.....


Dan

[wrench man]

The tape weights that we use at work are SOFT!, they snap off into the sections with about three twists back and fourth, and if I need to remove a 1/2 ounce once on the wheel I have a knife that's dedicated to that purpose and it cuts them easily, how close they are to "pure" they are I can't say?
I have come across some that are HARD like the COWW, but I think there are more than one formula of those too?, and from the same manufacture??

[40Super]

You can roughly tell which ones are the softer ones by bending them, the soft will bend quite a bit before breaking, the harder ones will break quickly. Then throw them into the corresponding pile. I do this , to a point, with clip-ons also, certain brands or marking tell me which ones are close to pure(they don't melt till 620F).