Hoping to get into casting and just bought some lead

[Miller]

Recently got into reloading and have been thinking about getting into casting.

Found an ad for lead forsale 0.35/lb. Picked up 1,478lbs from a guy just 10 miles from me. I should have asked him if he knew the mix of his lead, guess I dropped the ball there.

All the lead had already been smelted and poured into ingots that I am guessing are 1-1.5lbs each as the guy used to cast bullets years ago.

My wife loves to shoot and will try her best to help out. She came with me and a friend to get the lead. She went for the first bucket not thinking of the weight. Grabbed it and it wouldn't budge because it was 150lbs.

[seaboltm]

I thought I had a lot of lead! Cast it and shoot it. If it needs to be harder, buy some linotype and alloy it.

[Spawn-Inc]

Dam, even if it's pure you still got a wicked deal considering it's been melted into ingots already! The only concern I would have would be zinc in the mix.

But if you say he used to cast, then it's likely good lead already alloyed.

[forfun]

good deal wish it was me [smilie=l:

[220swiftfn]

Over 1400 pounds and he calls it "some" lead..........


Yep, you'll fit right in here!!!! :)

Welcome aboard Miller!!


Dan

[Miller]

Dam, even if it's pure you still got a wicked deal considering it's been melted into ingots already! The only concern I would have would be zinc in the mix.

But if you say he used to cast, then it's likely good lead already alloyed.
They do not appear to look like the ingots I saw on the Internet that where mixed with zinc. They looked pretty legit with my limited knowledge.


Over 1400 pounds and he calls it "some" lead..........


Yep, you'll fit right in here!!!! :)

Welcome aboard Miller!!


Dan
Thanks Dan! I think I'll need "some" more:)

[merlin101]

.35 a lb. you didn't buy it you stole it! What a deal! Just remember tho, it's fun to shoot but it can hurt ya too! Be very careful melting/casting and use your PPE.

[runfiverun]

best way to find out if it's any good is to make some boolits and shoot them, then do it again just to make sure.
aaaand maybe one more time just to tweak the load a little bit.

[hawaii five-0]

Sounds like you're past the "Hoping" phase.

[captaint]

Miller - Welcome. I'll bet you already have a mold on order, don't you ?? No ?? Oh, you have 3 ordered up. Now you're a club member. Mike

[Wayne Smith]

Yah, and your wife helped you to boot. You've got it made in the shade. Just be sure to involve her in the casting and loading as well so you don't get it all dumped on you!

[Sgtonory]

Wow good find. That is a lot of casting.

[sundog]

That's only 50K boolits @ 200 gr per. You better be on the lookout for more if you find that casting is good for you and wifey. The more you cast, the more you shoot. That stash you just glommed onto will not last as long as you think.

[Miller]

Miller - Welcome. I'll bet you already have a mold on order, don't you ?? No ?? Oh, you have 3 ordered up. Now you're a club member. Mike
Lol, no mold ordered yet. I can't decide what mold to get for 9mm. That is what we should the most of. For sure need a 4-6 cavity mold:)


Yah, and your wife helped you to boot. You've got it made in the shade. Just be sure to involve her in the casting and loading as well so you don't get it all dumped on you!
She enjoys picking up primers in the pickup tube which is awesome since it drives me insane.


That's only 50K boolits @ 200 gr per. You better be on the lookout for more if you find that casting is good for you and wifey. The more you cast, the more you shoot. That stash you just glommed onto will not last as long as you think.
True words! Spring, summer and fall we sometimes shoot twice a week. Winter maybe twice a month. It won't last long at all for us.

[cbrick]

The only concern I would have would be zinc in the mix.

Even if it's WW alloy since the OP said the guy used to cast years ago zinc would be less of a concern, it wasn't used nearly to the extent it is today.

Since this guy used to cast and is selling his lead, I think I would be back on the phone with him to find out what else he is selling, molds, dies who knows. Could be a garage full of valuable finds. :mrgreen:

Welcome to the forum Miller. Don't be shy about asking questions, we were all new at this at one time.

Rick

[felix]

That's only 50K boolits @ 200 gr per. You better be on the lookout for more if you find that casting is good for you and wifey. The more you cast, the more you shoot. That stash you just glommed onto will not last as long as you think.

The ONLY time you have too much lead on-hand is when you pass to better "grounds" and the remaining is processed by the nearest junk yard dealer. Just make sure your "will" is well known should that happen. So...get all you can get while the getting is good. ... felix

[bangerjim]

CAst some and see if it "melts" right. And fills out the mold cavities well. Depending on what the alloy (if any) is, you may need to acquire a bunchof tin to dope that much.

1-2% Tin makes fill-out go real nice!


I would ask the guy what the alloy was! He WILL know.

banger

[Miller]

CAst some and see if it "melts" right. And fills out the mold cavities well. Depending on what the alloy (if any) is, you may need to acquire a bunchof tin to dope that much.

1-2% Tin makes fill-out go real nice!


I would ask the guy what the alloy was! He WILL know.

banger

1-2% tin, you are referring to weight wise right? Worse case then I would need 30 pounds of tin. Pewter shopping maybe in order then.

I don't think its pure lead as it does not seem to be as soft as I would imagine pure to be. Though I don't have any pure on hand to compare with.

I'll try giving him a call this weekend.

[customcutter]

I've heard you can scratch or dent pure lead with your thumbnail, IIRC. I'm just getting started myself and smelted 50# today.

good luck

[dikman]

Yep, a thumbnail will indent pure lead pretty easily, and "slide" off harder stuff. Try dropping the ingots onto a hard surface, pure lead will go "thud", while hard stuff will ring. Of course, this works for the extremes, if it's slightly alloyed then it might not help much.

[bangerjim]

Sounds like you do not have a tester, so buy a set of artist pencils and search for the thread on here about using them to test for hardness. $10-12 is not too bad!

It is a SWAG method, but I have checked against my Cabine & it is perrrrty close for gumbment werk!

banger

[Wag]

You just made a lot of people really jealous. $0.35/lb is one thing but a wife that helps you with your projects? Awesome!

--Wag--

[cbrick]

1-2% tin, you are referring to weight wise right? Worse case then I would need 30 pounds of tin. Pewter shopping maybe in order then.

Yes, if you add Sn it is by weight. You don't need 30 pounds right off the git go, I never alloy my lead (add the Sn) until it's in the pot for casting. If you add 10 pounds of lead ingots to the pot then add 2% Sn by weight at that time.

You'll find in time that needs change so down the road you may want a different alloy for a specific purpose. If you alloy everything into one alloy all at once that's what you'll have.

Rick

[Miller]

You just made a lot of people really jealous. $0.35/lb is one thing but a wife that helps you with your projects? Awesome!

--Wag--

She cleans her own weapons. Shoots better then most of my male shooting buddies. For sure a keeper!


Yes, if you add Sn it is by weight. You don't need 30 pounds right off the git go, I never alloy my lead (add the Sn) until it's in the pot for casting. If you add 10 pounds of lead ingots to the pot then add 2% Sn by weight at that time.
Thanks
You'll find in time that needs change so down the road you may want a different alloy for a specific purpose. If you alloy everything into one alloy all at once that's what you'll have.

Rick

Yeah I wouldn't go ahead and alloy it all at once.

[Miller]

I read about the pencils actually probably have some laying around. I'll have to give that a go.

[Miller]

I was over looking at the lead. Some of it looked less shiny, those ingots thud when dropped on the concrete floor. The skinny ingots have a ring to them. I didn't drop test them all but it appears to be three different types. Pure going thud and two different pitches of ring. The pure is probably less the 5o-70lbs.

[Iowa Fox]

Thats a good buy considering the the propane and amount of work to smelt. 1400 pounds is kind of a false economy, if you and your wife lay into it with two 1911s it will be gone before you know it. Darn good start at a good price.

[Wag]

She cleans her own weapons. Shoots better then most of my male shooting buddies. For sure a keeper!

I wonder if she's the long-lost sister of my wife! :D

If I don't stay practiced up, the wiff outshoots me, hands down. Especially with the loads I make for her!

--Wag--