Is anybody casting boolits from Zinc?

[Winger Ed.]

I recently picked up a handful of boolits on the surface of the range impact area.

I tossed them in the pot like usual, but 2 came up on top and wouldn't melt in.
I turned the pro-melt up as high as it would go and they still didn't melt.

They were obviously cast from a familiar looking .357 Keith SW mold.
They were WAY harder than normal cast boolits, and noticeably lighter.

I'm guessing they were Zinc.
If there is a practical way to cast it, it might be a useful process to know in the coming years.

[Misery-Whip]

I wont cast from zinc.

Elvis ammo on youtube, had a short video series on the subject. He is long winded but has knowlege and good ideas.

In his PID LEE 4-20 conversion video he makes a quick statement that he ruined a pot casting zinc in it.

[mebudman63]

I started saving all my Zinc about a year ago from my wheel weight clean-ups. About 4 months ago I started casting some with Zinc. You have to ladle cast cause the Zinc will eat thru a lining on a Production Pot after a while. You also have to use steel molds. The bullets come out 60% of the weight of lead. But they require no lube or powder coat. And since they are harder than lead you can push them closer to jacketed speeds.

[Winger Ed.]

[QUOTE=mebudman63;[/QUOTE]

That's interesting. Thanks.

At this point in history, I doubt I'll ever get into swaging out projectiles, and I can't bring myself to buying j-words.
Casting in Zinc for .30 cal. rifles might be a interesting project that I could get into with a ladle setup and a really good respirator.

[Rcmaveric]

I save my zinc wheel weights. I know how but I currently lack the equipment.

For alloy you want to recreate a Zamack alloy. Add some tin and aluminum to the zinc.

All your tools have to be iron. The zinc will dissolve anything made of steel or aluminum. So really all you need is an iron mold and cast iron pot and an iron ladle. The older bottom pour pots used to have cast iron inserts. That's what I am looking for.

I have enough zinc to try it. I just dont have a cast iron bottom pour pot and iron molds.

There are some videos on you tube of people casting and shooting zinc bullets.

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[Winger Ed.]

Thanks yawl.

I've never worked with Zinc or Zamack, but it looks doable if a regular sizer will handle them.

[Rcmaveric]

From what I read. You don't need lube them. But most powder coated them.

When sizing, air cool them and as soon as you can handle them start sizing them through a Lee die.

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[mebudman63]

@Winger Ed

That`s what I cast with Zinc is a .308 bullet. I use a 230g mold and it drops@ 142g Zinc bullet. I use this in my M1A. And speaking of zinc eating thru like a production Pot lining??? I wonder if you had a Liner made out of Stainless Steel if it would eat thru that?

[Winger Ed.]

@Winger Ed

That`s what I cast with Zinc is a .308 bullet. I use a 230g mold and it drops@ 142g Zinc bullet. I use this in my M1A. And speaking of zinc eating thru like a production Pot lining??? I wonder if you had a Liner made out of Stainless Steel if it would eat thru that?

I don't think my old pro melt gets hot enough. But a cast iron pot on a propane turkey cooker should.
I've got a old, Lyman .311-190 SP sil. mold that reminds ya of an old Coke bottle.
It might do a good job with Zinc to feed my M1A and .30-06.

Zinc in my 405 gr. mold for the .45-70 might do well, and take some of the agony out of shooting full house loads in it.

As Lead dries up, I can see Zinc easing its way into our sport, especially for things that we'd normally use a gas check.
Even with Lead still being available, these might do well as a poor man's substitute for Barnes solids.

[drac0nic]

Subbing to this as I'm interested. I think we'll see some of this in the future. The hot rodder in me is entertained by the idea of the lighter weights. Curious how the pressure/lubricity plays out too.

[mebudman63]

Zinc in my 405 gr. mold for the .45-70 might do well, and take some of the agony out of shooting full house loads in it.

.

Well in your 405g mold for your 45-70 a zinc bullet will drop about 245g but you are along the lines of why I started casting with it. i have a 450 Bushmaster.

[Thin Man]

I love experimenting with different lead alloys from pure Pb to linotype, plus or minus solder, on and on. Now I am going to consider zinc with others having their success with it. It pains me to think about all the zinc wheel weights I have scrapped in the past after being told they were just bad news for a caster. Also, thanks for the heads-up about using only iron for smelting and casting with zinc. I would hate to damage any of my casting tools from not having this knowledge.

[NyFirefighter357]

I save all my zinc for a project like this one day.

[Rcmaveric]

@Winger Ed

That`s what I cast with Zinc is a .308 bullet. I use a 230g mold and it drops@ 142g Zinc bullet. I use this in my M1A. And speaking of zinc eating thru like a production Pot lining??? I wonder if you had a Liner made out of Stainless Steel if it would eat thru that?Yes, the Zinc will eat right through the steel. Lee pots have steel liners.

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[skeeter2]

You can always use pennies if push comes to shove. Might cost you a nickel for a 9mm bullet, but it’s better than no ammo.

[turtlezx]

wouldnt it be better to melt into ingots and sell as pure zinc ??? whats the $$$ per pound?

[Winger Ed.]

wouldnt it be better to melt into ingots and sell as pure zinc ??? whats the $$$ per pound?

Pure, and in ingots it's 3-odd bucks.

Unrefined, they way we'd take it to the local scrap yard- about 25 cents per pound.

[Traffer]

Here is one of Elvis Ammo's zinc bullet videos. He had one where he blew out the bottom of his electric pot but I guess he deleted it. I would not use any kind of bottom pour pot with this stuff. There is lot's to go wrong.
https://youtu.be/pAeBpqHjxP8?list=PLOSHOPXfJ6KhOxcndySklW9MVZ6T_zs-D

[Rcmaveric]

Kind of long and drawn out but you can skip around. He talks about the ins and outs.he is using a bottom pour pot with a cast iron insert.

I need to restart my search for the pot he uses.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqXEou2_G-w&app=desktop&persist_app=1

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[RU shooter]

Used to work next door to a metal coating company there are several in the area that galvanized coils for our plant zinc ingots would come in by the truck load . If You had one of those ingots a guy would be set for quite a while , about 3' long 2' high and wide . You guys go right ahead I'll stick with lead I've sucked in enough zinc fumes welding that stuff most of my life .

[StuBach]

Kind of long and drawn out but you can skip around. He talks about the ins and outs.he is using a bottom pour pot with a cast iron insert.

I need to restart my search for the pot he uses.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqXEou2_G-w&app=desktop&persist_app=1

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That looks like my grandpas old Saeco 10lb bottom pour pot. Still have it and still runs like a champ. Glad I opted to hold onto it if zink ever becomes the route I have to go.

[Chill Wills]

This is very interesting reading.
Sorry I am being the devil's advocate on one small point.
Making a distinction between Steel and Iron with regards to liquid zinc is interesting to say the least.

Mild steel products like 1018, which is likely close to what the LEE pot is stamped out of, is chemically the same as low carbon iron. In fact the carbon content has no bearing on liquid zinc. In the case of mild steel, what makes iron into steel (no longer iron) is the milling process.
In my non-metallurgist view, with some reading on the subject I just did, surface saturation ratios would be the same for either. In other words, what would effect mild steel will effect iron to the same degree.

Sorry for being somewhat OT. Carry on with the zinc bullets. It is always good to expand knowledge on the craft. I may never run out of lead in this lifetime but you never know.

[Rcmaveric]

I am not a metallurgist, but I do have the books. It has to do with galvanizing aspects of zinc.

Zinc reacts different to the malachite iron of molds and cast iron than it does to steel. It galvanizes steel fast. The hotter the zinc.and fast.

Coolest thing I did was tossing aluminum cans into the zinc and watch them dissolve.

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[Chill Wills]

Zinc reacts different to the malachite iron of molds and cast iron than it does to steel. It galvanizes steel fast. The hotter the zinc.and fast.


"malachite"?
Cu2(CO3)(OH)2. It was one of the first ores used to produce copper metal. This malachite?

This statement does not make sense to me.
I'll quit here.

[Rcmaveric]

That's what I heard it called that iron molds where made of. After looking it up, Lyman says their blocks are made of leaded steel. Shows you how much I really know.

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[coloraydo]

That's what I heard it called that iron molds where made of. After looking it up, Lyman says their blocks are made of leaded steel. Shows you how much I really know.

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Is this what you were thinking about? meehanite?
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?57910-what-type-of-metal-are-molds-made-with

[smithnframe]

There used to be a bullet mould that was made to put a zinc washer in the base to clean lead out of the barrel. I can't recall the name of it but I think it was made in the late 50' or early 60's!

[Traffer]

I wish Elvis Ammo would have left the video up of him "blowing out" his electric melting pot. It was quite dramatic and scary. He didn't know what happened. After investigating found that the molten zinc ate through it like cellophane. After seeing that I decided that if I ever did attempt to do any zinc molding I would NOT use ANY kind of electric pot. Just a heavy Cast Iron pot on a Turkey fryer and a good stout ladle.
And a bottom pour? For me NO WAY. People are always talking about how their bottom pours leak and are difficult to clean yada yada. I figure just 10X that with zinc.
But if you want to shoot zinc bullets, I guess you will "get a zing out of zinc" (my attempt at humor...forgive me I think I am getting senile)

[Traffer]

"malachite"?
Cu2(CO3)(OH)2. It was one of the first ores used to produce copper metal. This malachite?

This statement does not make sense to me.
I'll quit here.

What? Do you mean you have never seen a mold made of this material?
253357 :kidding:

[Rizzo]

Grr-rr, just what us "range lead" casters need.........zinc bullets in the mix.
:mad:

[lightman]

I have to admit to not having any interest in casting with zinc. Sometime in the future that may be what we have to use but I'm probably past having a lifetime supply of lead and the interest in zinc is just not there for me.

As far as zinc wheel weights go, I'm seeing fewer zinc weights and more steel weights in my finds. It kind of makes sense I guess. Steel is cheaper than zinc and it is also denser than zinc, so a weight takes up less space, oz for oz. A weight needs to be at a fairly specific spot on the wheel to work best.

[smithnframe]

There used to be a bullet mould that was made to put a zinc washer in the base to clean lead out of the barrel. I can't recall the name of it but I think it was made in the late 50' or early 60's!
I think it was called the Harvey Protex bore!