Why double smelt?

[Limey]

I've been casting my own for over 25 years......

...and I've always just filled the melting pot with the scrap WW's I've managed to scrounge....melted 'em down, skimmed it, fluxed it, and casted good bullets from it.

So my question is......''why do people go to the trouble of melting their scrap metal down and then casting ingots........and then having to re-melt their ingots down to then cast bullets???''........

...that seems like double the work and twice as much heat to end up with the same result!

I look forward to being educated as to why a lot of people do this.....

Safe shooting

Limey

[fishhawk]

well some folks alloy it in large batches so it's more consistant and doing it twice makes for cleaner product also ingots are easer to store than buckets of WW. steve k

[KCSO]

I want some of my bullet alloys exact so I will smelt and cast ingots for a specific load in large batches. Eg. for cast bullets for Sharps rilfes I have 250 pounds of 1-40 and 250 of 1-20 cast into ingots ready to go. My w/w alloy is 1/2 and 1.\/2 w/w and linotype and I usually have about 1000 pounds on hand.

[BABore]

Cause cleanliness is next to godliness.:-D

[Typecaster]

I'd just rather not smell 'em every time I want to cast.

Richard

[StrawHat]

I worry about missing some sand or other grit and casting it into a bullet. Sending a bullet down the bore of a rifle with a bit of grit in it would reek havoc with the bore.

More work but still enjoyable.

[Sprue]

I'd just rather not smell 'em every time I want to cast.
Richard



what Typecaster says
Its much simpler to get the dirty work over with all at one time
Its convenient to have an ingot ready when the pot gets low
Casting one or two hundred is not proficient nor adequate
Wheel Weights don't stack well

[docone31]

I smelt for simple reasons.
I love watching metal melt. I really do.
I cast my ingots into small bars. Easy to pack in case I go somewhere.
I use the ingots to guage my alloy. I count ingots then add tin when neccessary.
It helps make them clean. Two melts before casting. Most of the crud is gone with the first one, the second, in the pot gets most of the rest.
I use Lee Pots. I have only had one drip.
Essentially, ingots give me the simple ability to guage my alloy. X ingots per 1000 castings. X tin for X ingots. Depends on the melt.
I also find melting metal relaxing.

[HamGunner]

I have used straight WW metal for pistol bullets in the past, I had good luck with them, but I usually smelt in a large cast iron pot so that I know that my metal is consistently the same composition and therefore going to throw the same weight bullets with the same hardness. Each bucket of wheel weights will probably vary greatly in their metal compostition.

And like others have stated, once the initial smelting is over, most of the stinking smoke is over with also. I usually cast with a bottom pour pot and it is less likely to get a clogged up nipple when using once smelted metal ingots.

[Doc Highwall]

I melt mine three times. I get my lead from a indoor range that only allows 22rf. I melt this in a 300lb pot and pour it into 20lb ingots, my last batch was approximately 1700lbs. On the second melt I remove the crud that was missed on the first melt and alloy it with tin to make 300lbs into ingots and stack them for making boolits to get as large of a batch as possible. Now I have a nice clean alloy that will not clog a bottom pour or a ladle for my third melt.

[JDFuchs]

get a big pot all messy from dirt and crud of smelting. Then be all oh ya im going shooting in x days and need to get casting. So its quick and clean when you melt it though a bottom pour.

[DLCTEX]

I will not smelt in my bottom pours, I smelt outside and cast inside(with ventilation),then all the other reasons listed. DALE

[monadnock#5]

No matter how often I flux my cast iron pot when rendering WW or scrap, I still end up with a layer of crud soldered to the bottom of the pot. If there's crud on the bottom, there's crud in the ingots.

When I alloy my ingots in my stainless pot, I know I'm getting the lead cleaner, because there's no crud build up in the bottom of the pot. My boolits are a lot purtier too.

[686]

me to , all the above.

[jonk]

I hate trying to fish the little clips out of a fairly small pot. So I melt in a fairly large pot for the initial smelt, and ladle them out with a slotted spoon. I also flux once at this step. Any benefits of alloy uniformity for that batch are gravy- I don't personally notice the difference.

Also means less smoke in the basement as all the road grease and grime and dirt gets burnt off outside, while I cast in the basement. Added benefit: my electric pot doesn't get as dirty as quickly.

[selmerfan]

I will cite "all of the above" plus who doesn't like sitting outside on a beautiful day with a turkey fryer going under wheelweights and a smoker barbeque going with ribs, and a few beers to accompany it when finished smelting? It has the makings of a block party around here!
Selmerfan

[Bass Ackward]

Set every other argument already made aside for me.

It sure is easier and faster for me to drop a bar(s) in as it gets low instead of having to stop and go through all that hastle. Allows me to keep a rhythm going.

But if you only do one pot at a time, to each his own.

[Typecaster]

a turkey fryer going under wheelweights and a smoker barbeque going with ribs
Selmerfan

Wow! That's an olafactory picture. After a session of smelting, arc welding, or using coal in the forge, it's usually hard for me to smell anything until the next day.
OTOH, maybe the malodorous perfume of smelting would keep the bears away from the smoker. Yum.

Richard

[dwtim]

I do it for these reasons:

*) I don't know ahead of time how range scrap alloy will turn out; I have to ingot-ize it and let it sit for a few days to check the hardness, or examine for defects. One batch was 12 BHN, the last averaged 8.5 BHN.

*) I have only one 20 pound pot, and the typical coffee can of range scrap yields about six pounds of usable lead. I don't like to melt less than 10 pounds if I'm going to cast.

*) Range scrap is messy, even when I pre-wash it. I'd rather have my bullet casting equipment somewhere else, so it doesn't get grass and dirt on it.

[Limey]

....thanks to everybody for their feedback of the benefits and reasons for multi melting and melt cleaning before casting........

Looks like I am going to be at least twice as busy this winter out in the barn!!!

Safe shooting

Limey

[runfiverun]

i have two 1,100.00 mastercasters and i like them.

[centershot]

I'm with Selmerfan!!!



centershot


PS : Why don't my smilies work?