Newbie questions re: Smelting pot and flux

[Ancesthntr]

I'm just getting started. An old brass rat, adding the skill of lead-ratting to my resume.

OK, I have some WW lead, more to be acquired in the near future, but no pot for smelting or casting yet. No molds or anything else. I figure that the first thing I'll do is accumulate a couple hundred pounds of lead or lead alloys, then smelt them down to ingots, and thereafter begin casting for .38 Special, 9mm and .45 ACP. Rifles I'll do later, once I get good at it and can justify the extra investment (I've got a house, a wife and 2 kids to support, plus got my ass kicked in the markets, so I'm on a budget).

I'm going to get a steel spoon/ladle plus a similar one for straining out wheelweights from either a local grocery or Maomart, and either buy some welders gloves or use some potholders for them and the pot.

I'll likely get a bottom pour caster along with the molds in a couple weeks, and put only the cleaner & fluxed lead/alloys into it. I will likely start with a Lee, but may graduate to something better in time.

Here are my questions:


1) On the smelting pot, it seems that the consensus is cast iron, preferably of higher quality. There's a Harbor Freight not far away, and they have a D.O. for about $20. However, would there be anything wrong with a simple stainless steel pot of 3-6 quarts (far cheaper at Maomart), so long as I have something to protect my hand when moving it?

2) Regarding flux, has anyone tried dryer lint? I have a bunch of it in a bag (easy to start campfires with it, it is about as dry as anything can be and has a huge surface area). Most of the lint is either cotton or wool, though probably some is synthetic.

[standles]

Sounds like you got the right path laid out.

As for the smelting pot I prefer DO to the thin walled vessels. the weight and heting cycles on the thin stuff bother me. AL stuff is a big no-no but STLS may be better. I just stay with steel of Cast Iron. A 12qt DO will hold just about a 5 gal bucket of WW melted.

AS for flux and lint I am not sure. Try it and see. Flux out with lint then reflux with boolit lube or beeswax after and see how much more (if any) crud comes up.

Later, Steven

[Ancesthntr]

I decided to play it safe. Went to lunch, passed by the local Harbor Freight, and got myself a 6 qt. D.O. Also got welder's gloves, safety glasses, a couple of breathing masks and a little doo-hickey with both a magnet and a claw at the end of a 24-inch cable (for $1). I figure that I will be able to much more easily get the steel out with the magnet.

Lucky enough to pass by a little mom & pop tire place and pick up 3/4 of a 5-gal bucket of mostly WW, but clearly also some rubber, nails, assorted screws, grease, etc. I am going to have to sort it and degrease it a bit before putting it in my new DO, but that'll just make the fluxing easier.

[Cheshire Dave]

Have you got any welding skills or better yet get some one else to do it. I had a guy at work make up a nice little smelting pot form a length of 6" steel pipe. Weld a plate on for a bottom and form a spout with a torch to heat it red and a big hammer. Mine has handles at the top that are nearly 2" wide with a coil of rod welded on like you see on woodstove handles. You can grab them barehanded( I wouldn't but they stay cool).I have a pic on the tail end of the 2nd stickie in this forum. " One home production Smelting setup" these guys had such nice set-ups that I couldn't resist showing my Micky Mouse set up. But hey it works and wood is cheap.

[mikenbarb]

Just be sure to sort your lead and remove all the zinc ww's. Also the stick on types are mostly lead but some are zinc also so be sure to check those also. You can stir with a dry stick or paint stirrer to flux but a 50/50 makes a good flux to use. Welcome to boolit casting!