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View Full Version : 15.75Million grains of lead Smelted into Ignorance


LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 10:37 AM
Last weekend when to a friend and shooting/hunting partners place and we did a little bit of Smelting.
The story starts with several years of WW gathering, begging and buying. A few scrap yards and a lot of tire shops.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/77040c9fb43c2def17969c9aaf60f033.jpg
First we would empty out the wheel weights on a steel trailer with a diamond tread pattern and clean out a bunch of the dirt and start sorting. We sorted off ZN and steel WW and separated all the Soft Lead stickons to be smelted at a later date.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/e3ca5ecd0220735b659c43fc554864c3.jpg
Firing up the 1200lb pot with a barrel for a heat jacket and LP torch as a heat source. The PID I believe was from Hatch, the lead(not lead) was inserted into a steel pipe so it could be allowed to set down into the melt
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/ae7015920b308021ded4ce916ba5b3d4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/526f5e5eed01e3f5e07b5ac7064dd1ef.jpg
Clips were separated between each loading by a Basket closely fitted to the pot. Making clip separation a 1 step 2 minute process.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/57d610e433bdf916ce1fed84af1870ae.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/7c72698046010b5b1b048debcf03e6c4.jpg
More weights simply added with a shovel. All was repeated until pot was a full 1200 LBS.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/15e98643e8d8c3deb523e35f6cc101a2.jpg
At this point we alloyed the WW with an additional 1% Tin
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/8d28442b61e92f152ac6ef3ef525a1c4.jpg
Pouring was into 5lb homemade IGNORANCE trays and passed along in assembly line type fashion. We were running 4 trays with 3-4 guys.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/5ada0e166edc1426da10237b16fc1738.jpg
The tray would leave the pot and be placed on a cooling tower built from a barrel and a simple pump. Water was cooled with snow. This is the single thing that makes this whole process fast and efficient.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/89219833f4891371f4e7f6b7cd14f7dc.jpg

The Ingots were cool and ready to be removed from the tray in about 8-10 seconds, than would be stamped with a crude tool(sorry MessyBear) to remind us that they were WW plus 1%tin.

We were able to produce about 1200 LBS on day one and another 1050 on day two, (if our bars averaged 5lbs, They might be slightly over but we only weighed a dozen or so). One big project in the books that will allow more time for Casting and shooting in the future!

Any questions would be happily answered by Messy Bear or Myself. Its a lot of work but a fun setup to be around!!
anothernewb
03-25-2019, 10:53 AM
looks like a serious production!
LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 11:03 AM
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/33c1d55b6480abb58955c430fc39418a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/71ace2b75949031b780a5cb7680be6fd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/970eb3891426604fec7c8f457056e5d2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/cd7c1940b08e31f4c1b2dd46cdf44a70.jpg


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LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 11:06 AM
If someone has the ability to post video PM me. I have one that shows the pouring process well.


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Skipper
03-25-2019, 11:46 AM
You guys sure don't fool around! :-P
Lefty SRH
03-25-2019, 01:37 PM
Awesome write up! I wish I could have been apart of that!
osteodoc08
03-25-2019, 01:51 PM
That’s impressive
Conditor22
03-25-2019, 02:08 PM
Looking at all the snow in the background I should hope the ingots would harden fast ---- wow

You sure aren't picking that box off the trailer without a forklift :)
LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 02:33 PM
Had fork tines for the loader tractor and a skid steer when I got it home.
skeettx
03-25-2019, 03:09 PM
Well done, good pictures
Thank you
Mike
bmortell
03-25-2019, 03:15 PM
and I was wondering why I cant find wheel weights for sale :kidding:
Snyd
03-25-2019, 04:25 PM
Nice Smeltdown! I thought I smelled something the other day!!
Gewehr-Guy
03-25-2019, 06:37 PM
Hey guys, looks like a bison was in your hay bales, behind the Magnum with the snowblower.
LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 06:41 PM
Hey guys, looks like a bison was in your hay bales, behind the Magnum with the snowblower.

Haha looks like one of the bulls photo bombed us. I think there is another photo with a bunch of calves in it. I’ll look


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LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 06:43 PM
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190325/40537a20fdb4aae1c74253c69c282967.jpg more bulls


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LazyTCross
03-25-2019, 09:21 PM
and I was wondering why I cant find wheel weights for sale :kidding:

I wish I could say it was all me!
skud007
03-25-2019, 10:57 PM
Wow! Quite the operation. Good Job!
JeffinTD
03-26-2019, 12:03 AM
That is awesome.
lightman
03-26-2019, 07:32 AM
Good Job! Love the pictures! It looks like it was cold. What was the temp? I like the basket idea for skimming the clips. I just bought a nice skimmer rather than make a basket. 1200+ pounds in a day is quite a day. I've done 1200# a few days and that don't allow much time for fooling around.
LazyTCross
03-26-2019, 09:31 AM
It was a nice day. Low 40s if I remember correctly. Our hang up was sorting WW. If we had that pre sorted a guy could get two pots done a day easy. That would have made it a 5000# weekend!! That would have sounded better haha.

Anybody ever use a magnet for sorting?


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1Hawkeye
03-26-2019, 11:17 AM
Awesome,talk about go big or go home.I don't think I could get that much ww if I'd hit every tire place in northern Virginia let alone the foundry set up. Not too mention the pet buffs to supervise.
kevin c
03-26-2019, 02:07 PM
That's a great set up for volume production. Is that a foot pedal actuated valve on the pot?
Rizzo
03-26-2019, 02:15 PM
OP, great post.
Thanks for taking the time to document (with pics) your smelting sessions.

I like the idea of the "cage" you used inside the smelter such that when you lift it up it caught the clips and other stuff.
I'm thinking of making a similar "cage" for removing the copper jackets and other stuff when I smelt down range lead.
LazyTCross
03-26-2019, 04:32 PM
OP, great post.
Thanks for taking the time to document (with pics) your smelting sessions.

I like the idea of the "cage" you used inside the smelter such that when you lift it up it caught the clips and other stuff.
I'm thinking of making a similar "cage" for removing the copper jackets and other stuff when I smelt down range lead.

It has to be a very well fitting basket. If it’s too loose the clips or jackets will hang up on the outside edge. It is a great tool and sure beats digging them out!


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LazyTCross
03-26-2019, 04:34 PM
That's a great set up for volume production. Is that a foot pedal actuated valve on the pot?

Yup. Foot activation. Only thing slowing you down at first is how much head pressure there is. When the pot gets down by about 1/3 you can just step on it and fill fast.


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Mark Daiute
03-28-2019, 06:53 AM
guess I'm the only one that needs to know. Why IGNORANCE TRAY? Why ignorance?
1Hawkeye
03-28-2019, 08:37 AM
Cause when ignorance is bliss tiz folly to be wise.:-P
40-82 hiker
03-28-2019, 09:59 AM
Uh oh... I've got lead envy

Need to smelt 131 lbs... Why bother...
LazyTCross
03-28-2019, 04:50 PM
Cause when ignorance is bliss tiz folly to be wise.:-P

That about sums it up of why we deal in ignorance!! If you knew the crew we have assembled it would make more sense!



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LazyTCross
03-28-2019, 04:51 PM
guess I'm the only one that needs to know. Why IGNORANCE TRAY? Why ignorance?

Long hand for ingot


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44magLeo
03-28-2019, 05:11 PM
You have a PID. Is it just for temp checking or does it control the burner?
If it controls the burner, what controller are you using?
Leo
LazyTCross
03-29-2019, 10:40 AM
We are watching the temp. The PID controls his hand casting pot and is a second thermometer for his ballisticast machine. The burner is controlled the old fashion way for this setup.


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Maine1
03-29-2019, 11:10 AM
THIS is how its done!
Rizzo
03-29-2019, 01:02 PM
Yikes!
15.75 million grains of lead = 15,750,000 grains
1 pound = 7000 grains
15,750,000/7000 = 2,250 lbs.
Did I say YIKES?!!
Echo
03-31-2019, 12:35 AM
I'm Impressed - my little turkey-fryer pales in comparison...
Taterhead
04-02-2019, 10:06 PM
Excellent write up. That was a fun read. Makes my humble setup feel a little unworthy.

https://i.postimg.cc/7YTjDLMV/20180413_165302.jpg
Traffer
04-03-2019, 12:56 AM
To the op...that's more lead than I use in a "WEEK"
LazyTCross
04-03-2019, 10:33 AM
To the op...that's more lead than I use in a "WEEK"

Been trying to “redistribute” all the lead I can back into the earth! You get Green credits for that you know!
Haven’t put to much of a dent in it, yet...


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LAH
04-09-2019, 11:52 PM
Might be able to help with the video.
725
04-10-2019, 07:00 AM
I love it. Well done, boys.
bullet maker 57
04-11-2019, 01:43 PM
Need a set up like that. I've got over 2 tons to smelt.
LazyTCross
04-11-2019, 10:41 PM
Need a set up like that. I've got over 2 tons to smelt.

Bring it by! We have a 50% smelting fee but we won’t charge for propane!


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bullet maker 57
04-12-2019, 05:32 AM
Now that's a deal. Propane is expensive.

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Wis Tom
04-12-2019, 01:08 PM
Very well done. Nice setup, and makes my turkey fryer look small potatoes. The basket is a great idea, thanks for sharing.