Printable View
I have read and understand the problems of smelting dirty lead in your casting pot, but wonder if I would be sorry if I mixed up some 50/50 from already cleaned/smelted COWW and soft mostly pure lead with a bit of pewter tin added.
I'm thinking if the inputs are clean, mixing them should be ok, but I've read enough on here to realize most anything is possible.
While some may suggest it is not the best practice, I do blend cleaned ingots in the casting furnace. Usually in the 20 pound pot, then cast down to a comfortable level and tag the cord so I remember what I have in the pot. Plastic bread wrapper tags mark easy with marker or grease pencil.
I do flux and reduce before casting since there is usually some dross generated.
That will be fine. I always reduce before I start casting. I'm a ladle caster. The only disadvantage in doing it that way is that you can't duplicate the alloy exactly. Thus the benefit of mixing the casting alloy in larger batches for more consistency.
Rick
Digital postage scale to repeat mixing alloys consistently in the casting pot.
^^^, not only for future repeatability but for current consistency.
Weigh everything that goes in so you know the ratios that give the composition of the alloy in the pot. If you want to add more as the pot empties, you need to add the same ingredients in the same ratios so what is put in doesn't change the composition of what is already there.
Add and flux. Good to go.
Many boo koo thanks guys.
Mixing small batches of clean alloy in your casting pot won't hurt anything. The only problem is batch to batch consistency.
It is how I do all my alloying, in my casting pot. That gives me more options. I keep diff alloys in diff ingot shapes & blend them in the casting pot as needed. As to consistency, for most handgun applications, close is good enough.
I may regret it sooner than later, but I decided to mix a large batch (60#) of 50/50 since I had a bunch of trashy (PC’d, pulled n other) stuff I wouldn’t want in my casting pot. Quite a hodge podge actually. I’ll need to let them age a couple weeks to see what BHN I ended up with though. but at least I’m saving some of my COWW.
Regardless, glad it’s OK to mix clean alloys in the casting pot.