How to add lead shot to lead?

[ghh3rd]

I have one or 2 pounds of lead shot that I salvaged from some old shotgun shells that were made of cardboard and have deteriorated. I’m going to be using a lead shower pan with some tin added to it to cast for my 45 acp and thought I might toss in the shot to get a little bit of extra hardness, however small an amount that would be.

Does that sound plausible, and will I have any difficulty adding the shot? Should I melt it separately and then poor it into the lead, or can I just dump them in whole?

Thanks

[avogunner]

Yes, use it. I came across a couple hundred pounds of very oxidized lead shot a few years ago and have smelted that down to some very fine alloy. I do add a bit of tin for "castability" and according to my Lee hardness tester, I get about a 13bhn mix. I like it especially for the .30 cal rifle and will cut it with COWW for pistol. To answer your question... I would recommend adding the shot to your melted lead during smelting. It can be difficult to melt on its own due to the graphite coating (or in my case the oxidization) and I've found added to melted lead is best.
Good Luck and Semper Fi!

[Tatume]

Be especially careful about breathing fumes while casting with shot. It often contains arsenic. That said, just put the shot in your lead pot and melt it with your alloy. It should melt easily.

[bangerjim]

I have used old shoot a lot. Hard stuff that adds some hardness to your mix. Just sift it in gently until you get the amount you calculated in the pot. And watch the fumes from old corroded shot. It can have some nasty's in it as said.
And make sure there is no moisture in those little teeny balls.

Melting on it's own can be sometimes difficult. It will melt easily when it hits your molten casting pot! That's why I leave it sealed in an airtight jar and add by weight the amount I calculated from the FREE alloy calc on here. And do NOT make ingots out of it. Just like Sn, you add only a little and a 1 or 2# ingot will be way too much for your casting pot.

[MT Gianni]

Much of the old shot was pure or nearly so. Some hard had a small amount of arsenic to harden when water dropped. There is no sure way to tell until you test it, but the shower pan should be nearly pure.

[Arkansas Paul]

Yeah, just put it in the pot when it is cold and let it all melt together.
Shouldn't have any problems.

[Dusty Bannister]

Be especially careful about breathing fumes while casting with shot. It often contains arsenic. That said, just put the shot in your lead pot and melt it with your alloy. It should melt easily.

You are already melting lead with arsenic when you melt down clip on Wheel Weights. Perhaps you mean continue to be cautious about fumes since when melting down scrap temps can become higher than normal? More dangerous at this point is handling oxidized shot and the lead oxide dust.

[quilbilly]

I use lead shot as a hardener for the pure lead. I mix it about 60% pure and 40% shot then add just a bit of extra tin to get my favorite rifle alloy.