dirty range lead

[unclebill]

i been buying bulk lead boolits for years
and only now am i in a position to cast some of my own.
i have about 200lbs of range lead
but it is all mixed up with sand and dirt.
i gotta figure out how to clean it up before i melt it.

[unclebill]

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l272/billhedges/unnamed_zpscd19b900.jpg (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/billhedges/media/unnamed_zpscd19b900.jpg.html)

[tomme boy]

Make sure that there are not any live 22's or other types. Pick out the big stuff. Then just melt it. All the junk will go to the top when it is melted. Then just flux a couple times and scoop it all off.

[DanOH]

Melt it, flux it, skim it and it will be clean.
Just don't do it in a bottom pour pot or the pot will get dirty.
You need a separate smelting pot

[dondiego]

Yep, if it won't float on molten lead it is probably gold or uranium!

[fastfire]

I first wet the range scrape so there in no dust.
Fill the larger 1/2 of a media seperator with water.
Using the seperator put about a quart of scrap, turn the seperator a few times, this gets rid of the dirt.
Pour in a shallow pan pick out the rocks and shotgun wads.
I'll fill a 5 gallon bucket let set in the sun for several weeks then smelt.

Or you can just do as DanOH does.

[mdi]

Make sure that there are not any live 22's or other types. Pick out the big stuff. Then just melt it. All the junk will go to the top when it is melted. Then just flux a couple times and scoop it all off.

There ya go! Done it that way fer years...

[skeettx]

AND if you wet it, do NOT pour any of it into already heated lead.
Put all you wish to melt into the pot and heat it and add NOTHING
That way no steam explosions
Mike

[Harter66]

This mess if why you make sure there aren't any 22s etc.or water trapped.
113218
113221
This will happen just a second later.
113219

Just 1 little oops an 80# of lead on the floor .......and the walls, roof,garage door,decoys,camp box, well you get the picture.
It was belived to be a very corroded 9mm that took the pot wall out, pieces of which were later found near the cooler at the other end of the garage.

[Nicholas]

Harter66 sure knows how to do a safety lecture!

[lightman]

Wow Harter, glad you are ok!

[Harter66]

No need for anybody else to do redneck beadazzling. For what its worth... that arm had a long jersy tee type but well worn long sleeve over it. I only had about 8-9 blisters so I was pretty lucky to have been working w/a short turkey burner and to have been backed away a couple of steps. The pot and jacket gob are resting quietly near the sorting buckets well away from any where I might drop or spill ammo.

[Fishman]

Harter66 sure knows how to do a safety lecture!

NO kidding. Harter66, glad you are ok and had the sense to have some protection on. Note to self: short sleeve shirt bad.

[Harter66]

That was about 2 yrs ago I did a post then as well it is a good reminder from time to time to see somebody else's oops,this is 1 I will gladly share 100 times if it spares 1 caster from the pain of pickin' all that spatter out of their beard.

[Shiloh]

I sieve the berm. The shotgun wads, wood chunks, rocks, and yes live rounds are pick out. Idiots will put live rounds on the berm and shoot them trying to make them go off.

Shiloh

[jimb16]

And remember, try to remove all stones too. Certain types of stone like flint and chert may explode in the hot lead almost like water. They can cause a nasty visit from the tinsel fairy too.

[Cadillo]

I smelt my range lead in a pot with a heavy cover. This even after having separated all but the bullets from the mix. On several occasions I've had a mini explosion that would lift the lid and then drop it again. I think that it's the jacketed bullets that blow, possibly due to moisture trapped deep between the jacket and core. That heavy lid gives a lot of peace of mind.

[Jal5]

+1 cadillo

[Yodogsandman]

I did up a couple of pots, yesterday for the first time. Lots of garbage on top. Rocks, sand, glass, empty jackets, etc. 2/3 **** and 1/3 free lead. Had to dig to get down to the molten lead! Yield smelting COWW per pot was 20 ingots. Range scrap yield was 8 ingots per pot.

[TES]

take a shop vac and suction the dirt and all the other unwanteds out. The lead even .22's will be too heavy for the vac to pick up. all you are left with is lead and live rounds. Take out the live rounds and you have very little to clean when smelting.

[mold maker]

If your worried about the dirt and rock, take a deep fat fryer basket with you to the range. Shake out the dirt, and pick out any large rock. A full bucket of water at home with the basket will finish the cleaning. Spread on pavement and rake through it while it dries in the sun for a couple days.
Look for live rounds and still only do a cold pot at a time. That %*!#(^$* fairy is hiding, and until you've experienced her, you have no idea of her wrath.

[Dusty Bannister]

I am not so sure I would be using that shop vac inside after you expose the filter to a lot of lead dust. I am not particularly nervous about lead dust exposure, but that seems a bit careless, even for me.

[2ridgebacks]

Either keep a heap filter in the vac or use a separate vac for the house. Our indoor range uses hepa filters so I have confidence in them for the vac. Truth be told though, you are probably better off with dedicated equipment.

[dondiego]

A HEPA filter won't last for long on a shop vac!

[Bad Andy]

As mentioned previous, pick big rocks out then just melt and skim. Foutunecookie45lc on YouTube has a start to finish smelting video for range scrap lead. He really does nothing to it before smelting.

[2ridgebacks]

A HEPA filter won't last for long on a shop vac!
I'm not arguing, but in my own experience I have collected roughly two tons of range lead with mine. That would mean about 180, 5 gallon buckets of crumb rubber and lead. The filter is still in good shape. I try to check for exhausted lead by wiping the outlet periodically.

[dondiego]

I doubt if it is a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air) They can filter out bacteria and will clog up with a little dust. I can't even vacuum my concrete barn floor with a regular shop vac due to the fine clay dust that clogs up the filter in less than 5 minutes of use.

[2ridgebacks]

http://www.shopvac.com/shopvac-accessories/Products/Shop-Vacandreg--with-CleanStreamandreg----Goreandreg--HEPA-Cartridge-Filter__903-40-00.aspx

This is my experience and mine only. I doubt that a filter can be advertised as HEPA without meeting some type of standard. Vacuuming the crumb rubber is not overly dusty and I am constantly emptying the tub which allows a quick hand brush of the filter.

[dondiego]

If it is working for you, great! Mine clogged up so quickly it went in the trash. I am use to working with Class II biological safety cabinet HEPA filters. I question this being a true HEPA.

[trixter]

Throw everything the pot, (except what you can easily pick out[the really big stuff]) and melt it all scoop/skip the top. everything but lead will float to the top. Try to keep everything at about 650º-675º. Have fun, and be safe.

[TES]

you can buy a separate tube for the exhaust vent and send it into a water tank / bubbler...or just vent it outside. No worries in the bubbler and really no worries about outside venting because most that wash their lead on their drive way still get contamination outside. The bubbler is the best way to do it though.

[colt 357]

I came accross this one on you tube. It works pretty good. It dont get out the heavier pieces of dirt and clay piegons. I wash them out on a wash table that I just made up about 97% clean. The rest comes out in the melt. would use the fan method outside and a mask.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm07NSxyMwQ

[QIDPlb]

Throw everything in the pot. All the impurities will rise. I use saw dust to flux.

[Rich/WIS]

I sieve mine through 1/4 in hardware cloth when I dig it up. Pick the obvious scrap out and then dump into 5 gallon pails (about 1/3 pail is max for my back). I start with a cold pot (bottom of propane cylinder), dump in enough to be 2/3 to 3/4 full, light burner and leave the area. I do this inside in my machine shed, with 15-20 feet clearance from anything. Have had one loud pop once in the last 3 years but no tinsel fairy. After 45 minutes I stir through the pot, skim the jackets and any junk I missed, flux and then pour ingots. I don't necessarily wait for the pot to cool before continuing but there is only a small puddle in the bottom, not enough to submerge any of the next batch in. Just add more, leave the area, and wait.

[hanover67]

I started using range lead a couple of years ago. At first I washed it, but hated waiting days for it to dry. I use a cast iron frying pan on a Coleman stove to smelt. I sift the lead through a big metal collander which eliminates most of the dust, then pour some in the frying pan and wait until the lead melts out of the pile and jackets, skim off the dross and pour into an ingot mold. So far so good. I only make about 10 pounds of lead at a time which keeps me ahead of my boolit casting needs.