Lead Wire

[Bullet Head]

I saw a thread here a while back about a old linotype machine that could cast lead wire. It forced molten lead through a water cooled die of the proper diameter and BINGO lead wire. I could never find any of these machines for sale.

I'm am trying to copy the idea with a large cast iron dutch oven, valve and a homemade water cooled die. I think that once the pot is covered with a lid I can use compressed air to help push the lead but the idea of a pressurized pot of molten lead is frightening at best. Anyone remember that thread or know more details on how I can do this?

[ANeat]

The machine youre describing sounds like an extruder. And it was more than likely pure lead.

Basicly a billet of sold (not molten) lead is put under a lot of pressure and it extrudes out of the die (like playdough)

They probably had a water cooled die because the wire comes out pretty hot due to the friction.

There have been a few guys in the swaging forum that made their own wire extruders


A presurized pot of molten lead sounds like a squirt gun

[Bullet Head]

I am familiar with a extruder and pressing wire from a solid billet but there was a machine that was squirting out wire from a molten pot without any hydraulic pressure.

[ANeat]

I hope someone tracks it down I would like to see that.

[hammerhead357]

The machine was an Elrod or Ludlow I can't remember which. It pulled out lead strips and it did use a melting pot and a water cooled die. IIRC.
It pulled strips that were used with linotype to make pages of type. But I don't know about casting wire. I guess it could have been modified to do that. However my memory can be faulty at times so take this for what its worth...Wes

[Ervin]

Back around 1960 there was a machine that was marketed to reloaders by a company called Mort’s Multi Machine Co. It was described as a multi-core lead wire extruder. It used a 3 lb. lead billet. It sold for $59.95 to which you had to add a propane torch and a 5 to 10 ton hydraulic jack. This was at a time I was making $50.00 a week so I doubt if sales were brisk. Ervin