rickomatic
05-10-2008, 10:08 PM
Well, guys...for the past couple months I've been soaking up all the knowledge I could here, and gathering together tools and supplies in order to dive into this sick addiction. Today I finally did my first smelt.
It wasn't big by any standard, but it was the coolest thing I've ever done with hot metal! :mrgreen:
Last week, after a short shooting session all by my lonesome, I decided to try and mine some range lead from the casual country range I shoot at near my vacation place. It's a sandy bank and lot's of people shoot there apparently, judging from the variety of spent shell casings.
Anyway, I spent half an hour with a hardware cloth screen sieve I had earlier made up for my wife's gardening, and came up with 6# of jacketed bullets. I just now got done smelting out 5# of purty Lee ingot mold beauties. I did the best I could for the first time, I think. Still a little sketchy with the fluxing part, but I think it went ok. I'm sure I'll get cleaner results the more I try. It was so much fun, that I had to go get about a pound and a half of fishing sinkers out of an old tackle box just to try some more....LOL :eek:
I think I'll be spending a little more time gathering used bullets next time I'm over at that range shooting again. I can't wait to turn those dirty old spent bullets into bright and shiny "boolits"!!
Yep.....I'm hooked....hehe:mrgreen:
It wasn't big by any standard, but it was the coolest thing I've ever done with hot metal! :mrgreen:
Last week, after a short shooting session all by my lonesome, I decided to try and mine some range lead from the casual country range I shoot at near my vacation place. It's a sandy bank and lot's of people shoot there apparently, judging from the variety of spent shell casings.
Anyway, I spent half an hour with a hardware cloth screen sieve I had earlier made up for my wife's gardening, and came up with 6# of jacketed bullets. I just now got done smelting out 5# of purty Lee ingot mold beauties. I did the best I could for the first time, I think. Still a little sketchy with the fluxing part, but I think it went ok. I'm sure I'll get cleaner results the more I try. It was so much fun, that I had to go get about a pound and a half of fishing sinkers out of an old tackle box just to try some more....LOL :eek:
I think I'll be spending a little more time gathering used bullets next time I'm over at that range shooting again. I can't wait to turn those dirty old spent bullets into bright and shiny "boolits"!!
Yep.....I'm hooked....hehe:mrgreen: