Newbie question on first smelt

[Pablo 5959]

I know, darn newbie.
Getting ready to take the plunge. Hoping for your opinion.
I have about 50# of soft roofing sheets, 10# soft plumber's lead, 25# indoor range lead and 5# of wheel weights.
I also have 10# of Linotype to alloy.
Would you suggest I ingot all separated and then try to alloy in the pot?
Or smelt it all together and see what comes out then work from there?
Thanks
Pablo

[tking308]

Newbie myself but I'd say definately ingot seperately then work on an alloy.

[sqlbullet]

Alloy in the pot when casting boolits. Allows you to adjust.

[AlaskanGuy]

Always do stuff separate till you get the hang of things..... So smelt the wheel weights with the wheel weights, and so on....

[AKbushman49]

Pablo- I assume you've been reading these posts so you've got an idea of how to do it.
#1- Smelt separately, into ingots & mark them (range lead, Lino, ect.) Ideally, use a separate pot for this. Reduces the possibility of contamination, clean/flux often. (especially with wheel weights, and range lead) An old cast iron pot works for me. Do your best to sort the WW they can be messy as far as cleaning, (Lots of dross). And watch out for the zinc ones.
#2- once cleaned now you can alloy to whatever you want.
#3- Safety First, protective clothing, gloves, and eye protection.Helps when the tinsel fairy decides to call. I realize that this has been said over and over. But ya can't be TOO CAREFUL. One mistake can be really ruin you whole day. And welcome to the addiction. bushman

[Teddy (punchie)]

Hi Pablo

Welcome to site !!

Pure lead soft lead can be hard to come by. Once a mix always a mix never going to be as soft again. I use a screw driver to mark them. WW, RL, L, MIX

[dikman]

The roofing sheet and plumber's lead should be pretty much the same, i.e. pure lead, and could be combined. (Quick and dirty test, try and scratch it with your thumbnail, then try a wheel weight, you should notice the difference (softer) if it's pure). Keep the other stuff separate, because once you combine it you can't undo it!

Also, if you're not sure what you'll be mixing cast them into smallish ingots as that will let you make up small batches until you work out what you want.

[bangerjim]

Get a set of artist pencils and follow the directions on a thread on here for hardness testing. Use search engine at top.

It is a SWAG but better than nothing!

Keep the alloys separate. Roof & plumbers are the same as said above.

Get clean ingots, mark them for weight and alloy (Sharpee) and them mix in your casting pot as you need.


Welcome to the group!

banger

[Pablo 5959]

Thank you all for the help. And making the newbie feel welcome.
Been trolling for a while and finally signed up. So much info here it's hard to get it all to sink in to this hard head.
Pablo

[montana_charlie]

Been trolling for a while and finally signed up.
You were 'lurking', not 'trolling' ... and lurking is a commendable way to spend time here as long as your goal is 'lurk and learn'.
'Trolling' is posting remarks intended to insult or start arguments, and that generally only happens in
The Pit.

CM

[dikman]

What he said. If you were trolling the welcome mat would have been rolled up! As for the info. here, yep, there's a lot of it (slight understatement here). I lurked for weeks (months? can't remember) reading and reading and reading before I figured I should join up - although with the depth of knowledge here the chances of me being able to contribute much (let alone anything new!) is pretty slim. This is arguably THE site for anyone who is casting/lubing boolits.

And don't forget, everyone was a newbie at some point, so don't be afraid to ask if you're not sure about anything - but try the search function first (always a good idea) and/or check the stickies.

[country gent]

Also keep detailed notes on what your mixing so if it works good you can duplicate it and if it dosnt you dont duplicate it.