Smelting question

[epj]

I scored two buckets of WW's today. One typical bucket of regular WW's and one full bucket of stick on weights. Now, should I try to mix the two to come up with a sufficently hard mixture, or keep the stick on's separate and add tin/? to bring the hardness to the desired level? I'm leaning toward the latter, but don't know exactly what to add or how much. These weights appear to be nice and clean, ie no extraneous junk mixed in. Paid $25/bucket. They have to weigh at least 150 lb. ea., or real close to it. Took two pretty stout guys to lift each bucket into the bed of my truck. Gonna be fun getting them out. At least gravity is on my side:-P

[docone31]

Iffen it were me, I would melt them seperately.
That way, you have known commodities to blend with.
I tend to melt in my 20lb pot, four ingots of WW to one ingot of pure. Now that I am going with front stuffers, I go all pure. The switch over was simple.

[Ole]

Keep your alloys separate until you cast.

[epj]

I'm assuming the stick-ons are pure lead or very nearly so?

[Willbird]

I prefer to mix a batch of alloy that is all the same, rather than add this and that to my casting pot. I use WW/range lead mixed 50-50 for all pistol bullets, and I currently do not cast and shoot any rifle bullets, I have molds but the pistols just get shot a LOT more.

I think myself I would hoard the stick ons and try to trade them for ww at a ratio beneficial to you.

I like to toss 1% to 2% of tin in when I make a batch of alloy.

Bill

[standles]

I vote melt and ingot them seperately.

WW can be shot as is for alot of loadings. The lead will only soften the alloy.

I also shoot Muzzleloader so the stick ons are close enough to pure lead for me. If I need other I trade lead for lino or #2 alloy.


I feel the lead being sperate makes it a more useful qty than allooying it in.

Later, Steven

[Recluse]

Keep them separate.

In a hobby with so many unknowns and variables, it's always nice to have absolutes--such as "absolute WW ingots" and "absolute stick-on ingots," etc.

Get you a sharpie to mark/label the ingots accordingly.

:coffee:

[JIMinPHX]

You can always put them together later. Getting them back apart after they are mixed is a horse of a different color.

[Recluse]

Getting them back apart after they are mixed is a horse of a different color.

It'll have you speaking in tongues, too. [smilie=1:

:coffee:

[ghh3rd]

I'm concerned that a marker may rub off somehow, so I use my $5 electric engraving pencil to etch my description onto the ingots. It's about as fast as writing and will never rub off.

(not saying that a marker is a bad idea, I'm just a little paranoid about ink coming off somehow)

[osage]

I also kept them separated, then alloy as needed. That way I have something to feed the muzzleloaders.

[Tokarev]

Stick on WW are very soft. The long ones have to be shaped by hand prior to application, that's why they use very elastic alloy. I don't know exactly what goes in there, but the stickies leave blue film on the surface of molten alloy. I always thought it was Cadmium, but what do I know?

[Ancesthntr]

I'm concerned that a marker may rub off somehow, so I use my $5 electric engraving pencil to etch my description onto the ingots. It's about as fast as writing and will never rub off.

If you use different molds for the ingots, so that there's a different shape to each type, you'll never mix them up, and you also can't forget to engrave them. I got myself a steel muffin pan, and I'll probably pick up an ingot mold from Lee or Lyman.

[Ancesthntr]

I don't know exactly what goes in there, but the stickies leave blue film on the surface of molten alloy. I always thought it was Cadmium, but what do I know?

I imagine that the blue film might be the white sticky stuff on the back of them. I've always meant to ask: How do you get rid of the sticky stuff? Melt it and skim off, use paint thinner, what?

[Tokarev]

White foamy glue would burn out by the time blue film formed.
I remove glue with a regular fork, wipe it off the edge of the bucket where I drop WW clamps and ignore anything stuck in between the fork's teeth.

[snaggdit]

I'm assuming the stick-ons are pure lead or very nearly so?

To directly answer your question, yes, for all extensive purposes, stickons are close to pure. About 6.5-7bhn (5bhn for pure). WW tend to run 12-13bhn. Adding tin to WW will aid in fillout but won't really change the hardness any. As already said, WW work fine as is for most normal pistol loads. The muzzle loaders use the pure, so if you don't need it, trading is an option as long as you keep them separate.

[Kskybroom]

I use Number, Letter Stamps to mark my ingots?

[AaronE]

I use Number, Letter Stamps to mark my ingots?

That is my way of knowing....PB for pure for muzzleloaders and alloying, WM for straight wheelweights, 92 for 92/6/2 Sn for tin, ANT for antimonial lead (50-50) #2 for my approximation of Lyman's #2 alloy, lino for linotype and the bar solder i leave in bars for alloying.