Found Equipment

[John E.B. Rawton]

My brother is cleaning out an old shop and in this eclectic garage he has come across some casting and reloading equipment. I have been trying to determine what he has and identified a lead process pot along with piles of old time WWs and lead bars. We are scrounging for moulds as I suspect there maybe one for .38s.
Now that I am entering the Black Powder arena for my cowboy guns, I can see me casting someday.
Question; when melting large quanities of WWs and lead bars for ingots, how does one “clean” the lead? Is a flux added or something to separate impurities or grime?
Should I be too worried about adding things like tin at the ingot stage? I will mostly shoot 10-20 yards offhand at menacing steel targets so I am nowhere near bench shootin’ and suspect the boolits will be on the softer side.

[OS OK]

You've got some reading to do first... http://www.lasc.us/LASC_Article_Index.pdf

This article would be a good start... http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[John E.B. Rawton]

Thanks for the links. The casting info looks good. I’ve been reloading my cartriges with smokeless trailboss for quite a while now and have the BP itch.

[Wayne Smith]

Post your location - fair chance someone is close enough to mentor you in the process. Download the book and read it through - it has all the information you really need and more.

[John E.B. Rawton]

I am in Western Pa.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I have 2 answers for you. The first is what has already been suggested by other `posters` here to read up on casting first then and only then actually start melting. My second answer is yes a flux is added to the molten lead and mixed in to remove the dirt and other crud, it can be sawdust or candle wax or probably any of many others. This crud will float to the top of your smelting pot and can be skimmed off with an old spoon leaving only the clean lead alloy. Me personally I flux a total of 3 times from smelting raw weights, etc. to final making boolets.Robert

[wv109323]

Yes, It is very common to flux while smelting the lead. Many people flux multiple times. For cowboy loads( low velocities) lead alloy is not that critical,certainly wheel weights are acceptable.
First time smelting tips:
Make sure your smelting pot is cast or stainless. Do not use aluminum.
Make sure the support for your pot is strong enough to hold the weight of the lead pot. Remember that red hot metal gets weak. The last thing you want is a pot of molten lead to spill over.
Use welding gloves.
A long handle spoon is desirable.
A good ingot mold is a muffin pan. Leave it outside to rust. The lead will not stick to a rusty pan.
Ingots should be 1 or 2 pounds.

[quack1]

Western Pa. is pretty big, are you anywhere near Butler?

[jimb16]

I'm in N.E. Ohio. Anywhere near Erie?

[Andy]

that lasc link is what I read to learn casting and worth reading twice I think

The lyman book is also a good place to start, you can get it on amazon/midway etc for $20-25 and it has a lot of load data in addition to basics

[jednorris]

I am finicky about ratios. If I am going to cast bullets, I want to know what concentration of lead, tin antimony etc. If you start shooting hard bullets then soft bullets there will be a difference in point of impact. Beware of W.W. and odd lead sources as the fumes can be dangerous.

[Yogi]

I'm in S. western P.A. Would be happy to assist you if I'm close enough.

[Bazoo]

By all means, read the links suggested.

I would not mix any of the lead now until you know what you're doing. You dont want to inadvertently melt down some tin, or mix in pure lead, or mix up lyman #2. I'd convert the ww's into ingots for future use, or store them as wheel weights. Wheel weights makes good bullets by themselves, at least for plinking with smokeless powder. I dont know bout blackpowder use, except that you use pure lead for balls for muzzleloaders, and pure or nearly pure lead for minie balls. Minie balls have a small amount of tin added to get better fillout with the mould.

For me, when converting wheel weights to ingots, I flux with sawdust and wax. Sawdust during the initial stage when im trying to remove the clips and dirt from the melt. It helps grab some of the impurities.

First, melt the WWs, then throw in a big handful of sawdust, and when it chars, mix it in real good. Scrape the sides and bottom of the pot, and then skim off the sawdust and debris. If you feel the need, repeat. Then throw in a chunk of wax, and stir it in. Then ladle out ingots. If it starts getting a film (dross) on the top dont remove it. Ignore it and dip from the clean spot until you get too much dross. Flux to get the dross back into the melt. You may still get impurities out when you do this. Not a problem.

[Wayne Smith]

One small correction, Bazoo. You need pure lead for muzzleloader revolver balls, but this is so you don't break your loading lever. You can use harder balls for patched ball shooting.

[John E.B. Rawton]

I am real close to Butler. Just south in New Kensington.

[Bazoo]

One small correction, Bazoo. You need pure lead for muzzleloader revolver balls, but this is so you don't break your loading lever. You can use harder balls for patched ball shooting.

I didnt know that. Thanks.

[quack1]

John E.B Rawton- you have a PM.