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chrismetallica1
04-26-2009, 09:58 AM
Hi guys,
Just a quick question. I have never casted bullets before. The only casting I have done is a few lead soldiers from fresh lead. I was going to have a go at casting some .45 bullets next week. Our local range has some booths that shoot into a steel backstop. I was thinking about collecting some of the lead up and melting it down. All the bigget calibres 9mm, .45, .357, 38 and .44 all use lead only non jacketed rounds in the booths. However some of the rimfire shooter use copper washed rounds. I was wondering will the copper float to the top of the melted lead or will I have to spend time sorting it all out before melting?

regards

Chris

Cowboy5780
04-26-2009, 10:12 AM
Chris the copper will float right to the top along with any other (impurities)

chrismetallica1
04-26-2009, 10:14 AM
Cheers for the info, I didnt know if it work. I will collect some next time Im at the range. I will probably smelt down a load and make some ingots for future casting.

snuffy
04-26-2009, 10:31 AM
This is all .22 lead;

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P4110005.JPG

The indoor range I shoot at is being rebuilt, the steel finally gave up being hit by boolits. I "rescued" the lead before it would have been dumped at the landfill. The shooters at my club are mostly shooting high end match .22 ammo. The smelted,(okay re-melted), 22 lead is really good for low velocity stuff like .45 auto.

In fact, I just cast some 45-70 boolits using the .22 lead, I did need to add a bit of tin to get complete mold fill-out. The rest of your lead could be anything from hard cast boolits, to almost pure swaged bullets.

chrismetallica1
04-26-2009, 10:35 AM
snuffy,
Cheers for the info. Our range only stocks CCI, Geco and Fedral in .22RF . As for the other ammo. Most the guys at our club reload and get there cast bullets from a local RFD. They are a medium alloy as I use them in my .44 Tarus. Looks like I will be giving casting a go then :-D

geargnasher
04-26-2009, 10:52 AM
Chris--You might consider smelting that range stuff down and fluxing and skimming off the jackets and copper paint and then pouring the purified stuff into ingots (use a $1 muffin tin from wally world) to keep junk out of your casting pot. If you don't have a good way to smelt it just yet, you can use your casting pot but empty it and thoroughly clean it before adding ingots for casting. The object of my suggestion is to keep the trash in your pot to a minimum if you're using range lead. You can also test the bhn of your batch so you know what the boolits are going to be before you cast them if you process the lead first (if you have a tester).

Good luck! Let us see some of your boolits after you cast them!

Gear

jcwit
04-26-2009, 11:07 AM
Just for the new guys. Please DO NOT use ALU. pot for melting/smelting you,re recovered lead or for molding boolits. Just a tip for those that don't know.

John Boy
04-26-2009, 11:29 AM
Chri - make sure you flux the melt good to raise all the dross to the surface .... before you pour your ingots

geargnasher
04-26-2009, 11:32 AM
Just for the new guys. Please DO NOT use ALU. pot for melting/smelting you,re recovered lead or for molding boolits. Just a tip for those that don't know.

Yes, thanks for adding that. Also on the safety note: Use some kind of lid and be super-careful when adding to the smelt that no moisture is present or you will get a nasty visit from the Tinsel Faery!

Gear

Daniel964
04-26-2009, 11:35 AM
Just for the new guys. Please DO NOT use ALU. pot for melting/smelting you,re recovered lead or for molding boolits. Just a tip for those that don't know.

Is it ok to use a 6 quart stainless steel pot I got at family dollar to smelt the WW and lead pipe etc to make ingots. I was also thinking about a 2 quart stainless steel saucepan to melt the ingots for hand poring when I cast untill I get a good bottom pour smelter from Lee.

chrismetallica1
04-26-2009, 12:36 PM
Can I not just melt it down in my Lee melting pot or should I get a cast Iorn pan and use a gas burner in the garden?

BoolitBill
04-26-2009, 01:24 PM
Chrismetallica1, yes you can use your Lee melting pot but it will get very dirty and impurities will accumulate. I use a cast iron pot for smelting with a gas turkey fryer and have been very happy with the results. Now only clean lead goes into my Lee melting pot, and I don't worry about impurities in my boolits

fredj338
04-26-2009, 01:34 PM
Can I not just melt it down in my Lee melting pot or should I get a cast Iorn pan and use a gas burner in the garden?

All good advice. I would NOT use my bottom pour pot to smelt, ask me how I know. There is jut too much crud that gets into the metal that you want to cast with. Much better to smelt in an old cast iron skillet or dutch oven or get a elec. pot w/ no bottom pour for smelting. Flux it well & pour it into ingots. Then add the ingots to your pot for casting. This also allows you to control your alloy more easily. You can smelt & blend metals in larger quanitities for more uniform alloy.

chrismetallica1
04-26-2009, 02:09 PM
Thank you all for the good advice. I have an old gas single ring burner in the shed. I will get a big cast iron pot and smelt it in that. My lee pot is new so I dont want to ruin it.

redriverhunter
04-26-2009, 07:20 PM
i have been wanting to know what about the dirt in the range lead i know it will floot to the top but i dont want dirt in my lead as it most likey will do the barrel no good. does any one wash it first or just dump it in dirt and all them skim it off the top thanks

jcwit
04-26-2009, 10:27 PM
As you mentioned the dirt will float to the top. I just skim off all that I can and then pour my ingots. If done carefully no dirt will enter your finished product to be used for casting.

zxcvbob
04-26-2009, 10:36 PM
Is it ok to use a 6 quart stainless steel pot I got at family dollar to smelt the WW and lead pipe etc to make ingots. I was also thinking about a 2 quart stainless steel saucepan to melt the ingots for hand poring when I cast untill I get a good bottom pour smelter from Lee. I use a 2 quart Revereware saucepan (maybe it's 1.5 quart) and an electric hotplate for rendering wheel weights and range lead. During the summer I can usually pick up about 15 pounds of lead in just a few minutes under the falling metal plates at the outdoor pistol range -- about twice a month. Range lead casts wonderful boolits. I usually don't even have to add any tin.

I wouldn't trust the handle on a Dollar Store saucepan, but it should work fine if you ladle the lead out.

captain-03
04-26-2009, 10:41 PM
Be careful if you wash it -- what you do NOT want is any water left in or on the range lead. Water and Lead DO NOT mix -- dangerous!! I use a lot of range lead. I spread it out on a concrete pad and wash it down first. I leave it there for several sunny days turning it a couple times to make sure ALL the water is gone!! I then store it inside my garage for a couple weeks until I smelt it. Even by doing this, there will still be a lot of dirt that will float to the top. Currently I have a couple buckets of range lead about ready to smelt ...

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj19/twwoodall/Range003.jpg
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj19/twwoodall/Range001.jpg

As mentioned above, DO NOT use your cast pot for the smelt. First off it will really dirty up your pot ... and secondly, you actually need a larger top opening because you will be removing many copper jackets along with the dirt and other unwanted matter.

geargnasher
04-26-2009, 10:50 PM
Thank you all for the good advice. I have an old gas single ring burner in the shed. I will get a big cast iron pot and smelt it in that. My lee pot is new so I dont want to ruin it.


Chris:

By all means, use the burner! As was mentioned, smelting in your casting pot is not generally a good idea, I just mentioned it because I don't know what other options you have, space, equipment, money, et cetera and it will work in a pinch. Not everyone has money or a place to set up a big gas burner and melt a huge bunch of stinky/smoky stuff without endangering the kids on the apartment balcony upstairs or the nosey neighbors next door calling the EPA :roll:.

Also +1 on stir and flux the crap out of your smelt before pouring ingots, you want to put CLEAN lead in your pot to cast boolits.

Also to Redriverhunter: I use lots of sawdust when smelting, stirring frequently and vigorously and letting it burn into ash. When I have about 1/2 charcoal and 1/2 fine dry grey ash on top I skim it leaving a nice and shiny clean surface, it seems the calcium, yellow clay, and general dirt from my range lead gets soaked up by sawdust and removed better than with any other flux I have tried (waxes, grease, soap, marvellux, motor oil, Borax). Plus it's free, ask for it in quantity at any cabinet shop or lumberyard that has a saw.

Happy casting!

Gear