Melting Wheel Weights

[roadwarrior307]

I am getting ready to melt wheel weights, and I was wondering what the best way to do that was. My plan is to use a cast iron pot and put it on a fish fryer. Does anyone have a better suggestion?

[Matt_G]

That is as good a way as any and is exactly how I do it.
Just watch your temperature. Wheel weights will be totally molten by 560F, maybe less.
Steel and zinc weights will float with the clips allowing them to removed.
Zinc melts at 780F roughly. You don't want that in your alloy hence the "watch your temp" warning.

[JSnover]

If you can throw enough heat you're good to go.

[randyrat]

Safety first...Always use safety glasses.. Your "Turkey burner" should be fine
Another thing, use a big peice of cardboard slat or a couple big boxes under your work area to get anything that is spilt, you will spill some.

[Echo]

Also, use the least flame you can - no need to rush. If it takes 30 minutes to melt a batch of WW's, so be it. You won't over-temp the alloy this way.

And it helps to build up a windbreak around the turkey fryer. Holds the heat in and keeps the wind from blowing it away.

[Gunslinger]

+1 on what Randy said.... no matter how carefull you think you are, there's gonna be lead drips all around... and they are a pain to remove from the pavement. And get yourself a pair of welder's gloves... you will quickly get tired of stirring a hot pot of lead without gloves!

[fredj338]

Heat regulation is the toughest part. A lead therm is a good investment. Youy don't want to go much over 625deg to make sure zinc stays solid. Pure lead needs a bit more heat than 600deg to melt completely, so if melting stick-ons, you want to keep your heat up. Use a woodedn stick & some wax or sawdust or both to flux. Then ingot molds, alum or iron & ss/alum ladle of some kind for pourng into ingots.

[Frank]

And get a good, powerful fan downstream to suck the fumes away from you, or do it where there is at least a constant wind. Make sure you are outdoors of course. And like they said, cover the pavement! Otherwise, you'll have souveneers! [smilie=l:

Oh, and P.S. Keep an eye out for the block captain! :p

[Cloudpeak]

I always leave a few inches of "known metal", i.e. wheel weight lead in the pot. Next rendering session, I heat it up with the turkey cooker until just melted and then drop the new wheel weights in the melt. Zinc and steel weights will float and be easy to remove. No worry about melting zinc into the mix that way.

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Safety Glasses = Good

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh119/kage1339/smelting013.jpg

[Matt_G]

Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words. :shock:

[jforwel]

+1 on the wind break. My burner is about 6" below the pot and I was going through a ton of propane on windy days. I got a peice of sheet metal, rolled it and put it around the burner, much cheaper now.

[nonferrous]

I have an RCBS iron ingot mold for WW's. Would regular aluminum muffin pans be sturdy enough to pour stick on lead into for a separate ID? Any other ideas?

[Frank]

I tried aluminum pans I got from Wallmart. They stuck! [smilie=p: Pounded them out. I'll melt the "cup cake" when I cast. Glad I only tried the aluminum with one pan.

One thing. Goatlips suggested using a weed burner. That's fine and dandy, speeds up the process, but doesn't that melt weights if they are zink? :confused:

A lid on the turkey fryer is good too for the block captain when they're pulling up. When they're gone, the lid can come off. :redneck:

[primerless]

roadwarrior307, I Just got started using the same stuff, It was my first time so I was being as safe as I could. If the pot has a swing handle on top you need to hold the back of the pot while you are moving it. If the lead shift to one side , it can be hard to keep from spilling. I had a few close calls but had a good hold on the pot .

[Dale53]

I do NOT try to move my lead pot when it is full of molten bullet metal. I use a dipper to dip from the mould to fill my ingot moulds. I only pour from the cast iron Dutch Oven after it is nearly empty.

Regardless of how hot it is, I wear total coverage clothing. Mostly two layers. It is also important to use 100% cotton clothing. Synthetic cloth will melt if you splash molten metal on it (and you WILL do this). I wear cotton clothing (Bib overalls plus a long sleeved shirt buttoned to the top with a work apron over). Lead splashes (even tho' I take great pains to see that they don't happen) are not apt to burn through two or more layers. Make sure your pants are long enough to cover the tops of your boots. I also use welders gloves that cover my wrists as well as my hands).

Dale53

[geargnasher]

Safety Glasses = Good

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh119/kage1339/smelting013.jpg

Ahh, a kiss from the Tinsel Faery! I use a full face shield after I had a close call years ago while smelting. Fortunately my acne scars cover those left from lead spatters and none got in my eyes.

Roadwarrior, the dutch oven (with lid) and turkey burner work great, just be patient and has been said use a windscreen (a "U" made out of two courses of stacked cinderblocks works for me).

Gear

[leadman]

Harbor freight has welders glove for about $5.00 IIRC. They also sell the cast iron dutch oven that hold about 100# of lead. Think I paid $27.00 for it a couple months ago.
They also sell an assortment of other safety equipment, glasses, face shield, respirators, etc.

[Goatlips]

Frank,

"One thing. Goatlips suggested using a weed burner. That's fine and dandy, speeds up the process, but doesn't that melt weights if they are zink? "

Yeah, the weedburner could do that I guess. I gotta update my site one of these days. Not much zinc was around at that time. I love the use you propose for the lid! :Fire:

Roadwarrior, a look at my site can't hurt ...

http://goatlipstips.cas-town.com/smelting.html

Goatlips

[kidmma]

Goatlips does have a dandy site! :-D

Scott

[Frank]

Goatlips says
I love the use you propose for the lid!

Smoke gets attention and that's one way to control it. Plus it heats faster.

[Springfield]

Buy an auto drip pan to put under the burner and molds. The splattered lead will slide right off it, instead of being stuck to the plywood or cloth you put underneath.

[jforwel]

In order to get all of the metal out when it is too shallow for a ladle I clip on a pair of vise grips to the lid tab on the pot and this gives me two handles to pour out the last few pounds into ingot molds.