DHC
10-10-2013, 11:34 AM
Like the title says, I am a rank newbie to bullet casting. Been reloading for eons, but this is my first venture into casting. Been reading a TON along with watching a BUNCH of YouTube videos. I *thought* I had a handle on the process, so decided to make a first 'go' at it.
Managed to wrangle a couple Home Depot buckets full of used wheel weights from a few local shops. Sorted out the Zn and Fe (and plastic) weights to end up with one full bucket of (hopefully) lead WW and a 1/2 bucket of stick-ons. Found a propane burner with 6-quart cast iron 'skillet' from Cabela's for about $50 and picked up some decent gloves and utensils based on what I saw on YouTube.
Fired up the burner to melt down the COWW (I hope I'm getting the acronyms correct - seems y'all have your own shorthand. On that subject, I *wish* I could find the encryption code to unlock all the different mold/mould number designations. I guess that is a subject for a different thread) - anyway, got the burner fired up and put in a bunch of weights. Having read about the problems with Zinc weights, I tried to cull those out in the initial sort, but since my sons were doing much of the sorting work with me, I feel pretty sure a few found their way into the bucket. I figured it would be no problem, just needed to be sure to keep the temperatures down below 750 and I'd just skim off the Zn weights. Well, what I did not count on was a couple of things. Firstly, the amount of material (clips mostly) that needed to be skimmed off was greater than I expected. It made it difficult/impossible to really see if any of the Zn weights were among the mass being removed. I also did not anticipate the difficulty of keeping the thermometer properly positioned and the temperature controlled so as to not rise above 750. During the initial melting, when the weights at the bottom of the pot begin to melt, but it is not hot enough to reach those weights in the middle and top of the pot, the thermometer readings were inaccurate. Temperature control was a real bitch and I ended up running WAY over the 750 target - to as high as 850 at times. I am still not clear on the best way to manage the temperature to insure it does not rise above the desired target temp. The thermometer readings are not useful until there is sufficient melted lead to get a reliable reading and by then, the temps at the bottom of the pot have likely risen higher than desired. Finding a way to effectively mount/position the thermometer is something I need to work on. Further, the burner control is too coarse. I can now see why the electronic controlled pots are so desirable.
Soooo, once the melting began it was pretty straight-forward. I had both sawdust from Home Depot and also a couple of wax toilet seals to use for fluxing. I probably did a lot more fluxing than is necessary, but having read more about zinc removal now, the sawdust may have helped in that regard. Analysis of the ingots to determine Zn content and subsequent contaminant removal is my next step in this process.
A few more things I learned (I *think*):
* Need more ingot molds. I had one Lee mold and one Lyman mold. Things would have gone MUCH faster if I'd had more ingot molds. I'll probably pick up a muffin pan or two before the next batch. I'll also try to let the ingots cool a bit more. Several times I dropped the ingots before they were solid and the ingots now look a little 'strained' - with some 'stretch marks' from coming out of the mold too soon.
* I used a Rowell # 2 ladle to pour into the molds. Good tool, but a larger ladle for larger ingots (more like 2 - 3 pounds) would be useful.
* I used a large spoon with holes in it for stirring and fluxing. The spoon worked well for this purpose, but was useless for spooning up the lead. I'll add a regular spoon for spooning the lead out of the pot as this is important when getting down to the bottom of the pot and the ladle won't pick up any of the lead anymore.
Well, that is about it. I ended up with approximately 100 pounds of ingots from the COWW - though there may be some loss if I find it contaminated with Zinc and need to remove it. Any suggestions or critique on any of the above is welcome and appreciated.
- Dan
Managed to wrangle a couple Home Depot buckets full of used wheel weights from a few local shops. Sorted out the Zn and Fe (and plastic) weights to end up with one full bucket of (hopefully) lead WW and a 1/2 bucket of stick-ons. Found a propane burner with 6-quart cast iron 'skillet' from Cabela's for about $50 and picked up some decent gloves and utensils based on what I saw on YouTube.
Fired up the burner to melt down the COWW (I hope I'm getting the acronyms correct - seems y'all have your own shorthand. On that subject, I *wish* I could find the encryption code to unlock all the different mold/mould number designations. I guess that is a subject for a different thread) - anyway, got the burner fired up and put in a bunch of weights. Having read about the problems with Zinc weights, I tried to cull those out in the initial sort, but since my sons were doing much of the sorting work with me, I feel pretty sure a few found their way into the bucket. I figured it would be no problem, just needed to be sure to keep the temperatures down below 750 and I'd just skim off the Zn weights. Well, what I did not count on was a couple of things. Firstly, the amount of material (clips mostly) that needed to be skimmed off was greater than I expected. It made it difficult/impossible to really see if any of the Zn weights were among the mass being removed. I also did not anticipate the difficulty of keeping the thermometer properly positioned and the temperature controlled so as to not rise above 750. During the initial melting, when the weights at the bottom of the pot begin to melt, but it is not hot enough to reach those weights in the middle and top of the pot, the thermometer readings were inaccurate. Temperature control was a real bitch and I ended up running WAY over the 750 target - to as high as 850 at times. I am still not clear on the best way to manage the temperature to insure it does not rise above the desired target temp. The thermometer readings are not useful until there is sufficient melted lead to get a reliable reading and by then, the temps at the bottom of the pot have likely risen higher than desired. Finding a way to effectively mount/position the thermometer is something I need to work on. Further, the burner control is too coarse. I can now see why the electronic controlled pots are so desirable.
Soooo, once the melting began it was pretty straight-forward. I had both sawdust from Home Depot and also a couple of wax toilet seals to use for fluxing. I probably did a lot more fluxing than is necessary, but having read more about zinc removal now, the sawdust may have helped in that regard. Analysis of the ingots to determine Zn content and subsequent contaminant removal is my next step in this process.
A few more things I learned (I *think*):
* Need more ingot molds. I had one Lee mold and one Lyman mold. Things would have gone MUCH faster if I'd had more ingot molds. I'll probably pick up a muffin pan or two before the next batch. I'll also try to let the ingots cool a bit more. Several times I dropped the ingots before they were solid and the ingots now look a little 'strained' - with some 'stretch marks' from coming out of the mold too soon.
* I used a Rowell # 2 ladle to pour into the molds. Good tool, but a larger ladle for larger ingots (more like 2 - 3 pounds) would be useful.
* I used a large spoon with holes in it for stirring and fluxing. The spoon worked well for this purpose, but was useless for spooning up the lead. I'll add a regular spoon for spooning the lead out of the pot as this is important when getting down to the bottom of the pot and the ladle won't pick up any of the lead anymore.
Well, that is about it. I ended up with approximately 100 pounds of ingots from the COWW - though there may be some loss if I find it contaminated with Zinc and need to remove it. Any suggestions or critique on any of the above is welcome and appreciated.
- Dan