A couple of days smelting

[lightman]

Many of you may remember a few post I made a month or so back about cleaning up around my shop and the wheelweights that I found. Well I finally got around to smelting them. A couple of different buddies came over and we spent two different days around the smelting pot.

This is my burner and smelting pot.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1286.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1286.jpg.html)

This is the pot and burner sitting on a sheet of plywood. The two white barrels are the landing zone. The eight 5 gallon buckets in front are between 1/2 and 3/4 full. The pot is also about 1/2 full. All clip-on wheelweights.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1288.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1288.jpg.html)

This is a better picture of my landing zone. Seven Lyman style molds on a piece of 1/2 X 6in steel plate, sitting on a 2X8. I usually sit behind this to dump the molds.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1291.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1291.jpg.html)

This is the staging area where the finished ingot is stacked until it cools.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1293.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1293.jpg.html)


This is one of my buddies and a former co-worker that wants to get into casting. He just joined the forum under the name "Biggin". I hooked him up with the ladle!


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1294.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1294.jpg.html)

This was the first days yield. I started moving these to a milk crate before I remembered to take a picture but there was another partial layer. We melted 6 of the 8 buckets for a total of about 640#.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1297.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1297.jpg.html)


The second day a different buddy came by to help and he brought a stack of sheet lead to smelt. We melted my remaining 2 buckets for a total of 273# and his totaled about 128#. Roy is working the ladle while I dump the molds, move the ingots to the staging area and monitor the burner.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1304.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1304.jpg.html)

Finally, Miller Time! My total for both days was 923# of clip-on ingots. I had 1-1/2 five gallon buckets of clips. While sorting I missed about 12 weights that were either steel or zinc that came up with the clips. Roy had 128# of sheet lead ingots. All in all, I'm tired but happy!


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1309.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1309.jpg.html)

[308Jeff]

Awesome. I need to start getting some buddies involved in this mess I've fallen into. :-)

[lightman]

It really helps. Everything goes faster with another person or two.

[Bzcraig]

Wish I had a stash that size to smelt, that would pretty much give a a lifetime supply!

[Sasquatch-1]

That's too much lead. It cracked your floor in a couple of places. :groner:





http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1291.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1291.jpg.html)




http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1293.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1293.jpg.html)

[Dadswickedammo]

That's a lot of lead...
Casting bullets is like golf!!!
But for Men!!

[lightman]

Wish I had a stash that size to smelt, that would pretty much give a a lifetime supply!

I'm thinking that this session put me at that status, if I was not already there. Now to live long enough to shoot it all!

[lightman]

That's too much lead. It cracked your floor in a couple of places. :groner:

The floor is something of a disappointment. I was not there when it was poured and I'm not sure that I got what I wanted. I have really enjoyed having the shop, though!

[dondiego]

Cracks happen!

[308Jeff]

I gotta say this. I was wheel weighted out after that last 6 day sort, but this thread has got me Jonesin' to go find some more.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Good photo series! It reminded me that I have 3 1/2 over flowing pails of hand sorted weights and 1 full not sorted pail in my barn staring me in the face when I`m out there. I`ve just rehabed a fryer burner and just found a good iron stew pot so I really have no reason not to get going.Robert

[MaryB]

Nice lead stash! I need to smelt but I need another burner, swiped my smelting burner for the brew stand to make beer! And nice taste in beer! Love a good IPA after hot work, especially if it has a citrus background.


Many of you may remember a few post I made a month or so back about cleaning up around my shop and the wheelweights that I found. Well I finally got around to smelting them. A couple of different buddies came over and we spent two different days around the smelting pot.

This is my burner and smelting pot.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1286.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1286.jpg.html)

This is the pot and burner sitting on a sheet of plywood. The two white barrels are the landing zone. The eight 5 gallon buckets in front are between 1/2 and 3/4 full. The pot is also about 1/2 full. All clip-on wheelweights.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1288.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1288.jpg.html)

This is a better picture of my landing zone. Seven Lyman style molds on a piece of 1/2 X 6in steel plate, sitting on a 2X8. I usually sit behind this to dump the molds.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1291.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1291.jpg.html)

This is the staging area where the finished ingot is stacked until it cools.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1293.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1293.jpg.html)


This is one of my buddies and a former co-worker that wants to get into casting. He just joined the forum under the name "Biggin". I hooked him up with the ladle!


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1294.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1294.jpg.html)

This was the first days yield. I started moving these to a milk crate before I remembered to take a picture but there was another partial layer. We melted 6 of the 8 buckets for a total of about 640#.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1297.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1297.jpg.html)


The second day a different buddy came by to help and he brought a stack of sheet lead to smelt. We melted my remaining 2 buckets for a total of 273# and his totaled about 128#. Roy is working the ladle while I dump the molds, move the ingots to the staging area and monitor the burner.


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1304.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1304.jpg.html)

Finally, Miller Time! My total for both days was 923# of clip-on ingots. I had 1-1/2 five gallon buckets of clips. While sorting I missed about 12 weights that were either steel or zinc that came up with the clips. Roy had 128# of sheet lead ingots. All in all, I'm tired but happy!


http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy164/PTheodo/IMG_1309.jpg (http://s788.photobucket.com/user/PTheodo/media/IMG_1309.jpg.html)

[Bookworm]

Nice lead stash! I need to smelt but I need another burner, swiped my smelting burner for the brew stand to make beer! And nice taste in beer! Love a good IPA after hot work, especially if it has a citrus background.


A citrus background?

Is that when you go outside and drink under a lemon tree ?

'cause I've done that. Except is wasn't a lemon tree, it was elms and oaks and hackberries.

and it wasn't beer, it was vodka. Or maybe it wasn't, I forget.....

[308Jeff]

:lol:

[MaryB]

Just had a Citradelic(New Belgium Brewing) IPA. Made with orange and tangerine. Tasty stuff!

[lightman]

Thanks for the beer comment! I'm not a home brewer but I have been into "Craft" since before it was Craft. New Belgium is one of my favorite breweries. I have actually toured the one in Ft Collins. So many good beers and so little time! Hit a couple of breweries in Tulsa over the weekend, after the gun show.

[fredj338]

Reminds me to smelt a few 100# before summer kicks in.

[MaryB]

Yeah I need to get off my butt and sort wheel weights before garden season kicks in. Need to get the brew shed finished too. The beer fridge is almost finished(had a bad backache day and I could tinker on that while sitting), just need to mount the drip tray and CO2 distribution block and get the CO2 tank filled. Then clean everything and leak test for a week under pressure. Brewing beer next week so will have some to keg in 2 weeks!