lots of Lead and don't know what to do?

[moose0011]

I chose the title hopefully to get some rather smart peoples attention. This is my first post and I do not know anyone on here. I work for a gun company
and I do not want to get bombarded with questions about our guns. Maybe if I get to know you I might let you in on my little secret . I am a gunsmith, and I have reloaded quite a bit, I do not feel I know everything I am learning everyday. I do not cast bullets YET! That is why I am here. When we bring guns in for warranty we test them in a snail system(basically a water trap) and we test everything. I have probably 100 lbs of lead a month easy but it is a mixture of copper, various sizes of shot(which I know are different blends) wads, rim fire lead you name it, and in water to add another obstical. Now can anyone give me any idea what I am going to run into as far as hardness when I go to melt all this and start turning this into ingots? And If your in the Kansas City(there is a hint to where I work) area I might share if your willing to teach and help. I know that there is far more than I will possibly ever be ever to shoot. I honestly have tons of questions and it is hard to decipher what is true and what isn't? I am seeing where people are covering bullets with enamel...? why? does that help with lube, or does it help with cutting? And the gun I am wanting to Cast for first is a 458 win mag, I have lots of others but that is the one I want to do first. It will be the biggest money saver and I would like to do 405 gr at 2200 fps and the same with a 300 or 350 HP. I realize this is probably one of the most scattered up posts ever. any help or advice would be wonderful,

[s mac]

Welcome moose0011, sounds like you have quite a predicament. I would say you need to smelt some, try to get a rough idea of the hardness and maybe adjust with some harder material to get a useable alloy. Start reading stickies and many of your questions will be answered. I'm a few hours from KC so not much help there.

[AlaskanGuy]

Welcome to the forum Moose... And here I was thinking that you might be an alaskan or something.... Lol

Well, it dont matter where ya work, but if you hang around here, you WILL learn all you ever wanted to know about casting your very own "boolits" that you can shoot all ya want into at big fish tank you got at work....

I am a big bore kinda guy myself, and cast for a lot of heavies, just not the 458. 375 h&h is my heavy of choice, but also cast for 45-70, a bunch of marlin heavies... We got big critters up here in the remote part of Alaska, so the heavies are required... You will find that the heavies are simply the easiest things to cast for.... And the most forgiving. A first start for you would to be to grab yourself a copy of the lyman cast bullet handbook... And start reading about smelting, in the lead alloy section of the forum... Also, there is a stickey in that thread about making yourself a large smelting pot out of an old propane tank for making ingots... From the sound of things, you will need a big pot for all them bullets we call range scrap... Lots of us folks mine them bullets for our primary source of lead, and you will prolly get a hardness of between 8 -12 bhn from them bullets... However you smelt them into ingot form, be sure you buy, make, or somehow cover the melting pot as them bullets could pop and throw lead around while they are heating up. Also, be 1000% sure that they are dry and never add boolits to be smelted into a molten lead pot.... Just drop the temp until your melting pot cools enough for any lead in it to solidify, then add your lead and reheat.... Any other way, and you could be visited by what we call the Tinsle Fairy.... And you will not like the visit...

Blessings to you, and welcome to the forum. If you have any questions about anything, just PM me...

AlaskanGuy

[pworley1]

Welcome, once you start casting, you are hooked for life.

[williamwaco]

I have bought several hundred pounds of range bullet scrap from several sources.



BNH is always in the range of 8 to 10.

[moose0011]

north or south of kansas city. I am originally from northern MO and I still own land up there..

[moose0011]

I am not sure of the stickies you are talking about. And as for my name moose I got it because of my size 6'7" 320lbs. I should be a football player lol. Thanks for the advise to on cooling the lead down and letting it solidify before putting new in.. I hadn't thought of that. I was going to wait for a hot day and stretch a tarp out and sprinkle it on it . I couldn't think of anything else.

[Bloodman14]

First, melt/alloy everything into 1 big batch, and then determine BHN. It will most likely be fine for general purpose/plinking/pistol stuff, to get started. Alloy for rifles will start the journey down the one-way road!

Welcome aboard!

[jimb16]

If we ask questions about your firearms it is so that we can answer your questions more appropriately. Different firearms and different intended uses will get you different answers. When you ask, please be as specific as possible about the firearm and the application. Alloys vary, velocities vary, etc.... There can be many correct answers to what seems like a simple question. I've been shooting cast boolits for almost 45 years and I'm still a bit of a beginner.

[s mac]

Most all of the subforums have stickies, at the top of the thread lists. As far as smelting your range scrap, if you fill your pot before you apply heat the water will evaporate before the lead melt, no problem. Just don't add water to a hot pot.

[moose0011]

what do you mean by alloy for rifles will start the journey down the one-way road? I basically only do rifle's I do shoot some 9mm. But I get more enjoyment out of the longer range stuff. So I guess the rifle comment has me interested

[moose0011]

you can ask all the questions you want about my firearm. It is just the company I work for I don't want to talk about. The firearm I am talking about right now is a Mauser 98 with a McGowen barrel that is half octagon and half round also it is a 1:12 twist and 26" long. the stock I made out of a busted up bell and carlson and a I re milled the aluminum bedding block to fit. I am still building it but it will be done shortly.

[moose0011]

I just realized it posted you are in southwest MO I feel like an idiot now asking where you were earlier. and as far as the subforum stickies.. I am still trying to figure this site out. I have figured out how to get to this forum and that is it.

[AlaskanGuy]

Here is a thread on how to smelt range scrap safely for noobs.... Take a peek.... Just click the link below...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...highlight=Noob

I also PMed you the link for reference...

When you figure out how to post pictures in these threads, would love to see a pic of that mauser... I have a thing about mausers, and yours sounds very interesting...

AG

[Bzcraig]

Welcome aboard future booliteer! The 'stickies' you will find if you go to the front page of the site and begin to look through the posts. The were turned from a 'post' to 'sticky' because the information they contained was good enough to save in perpetuity. Another thing you will find is that guys like myself will always holler for pictures and get real cranky when we don't get them. I WANT TO SEE YOUR RIFLE NOW AND WHEN IT IS DONE. If you ever see purple fonts, that indicates sarcasm. If I wasn't on the left coast you can bet I would help all I was able AND exploit your lead supply. BTW, this site and these guys/gals are the best!

What the heck are you shooting on this continent with the 458mag?

[jonp]

My suggestion would be to smelt it all, use what you need ans sell the rest. Use the money to throw your co wirkers a bbq in the summer. You will gain experiance melting, casting and reliading and your co workers will have a great time

[OBIII]

Moose,
_____Welcome to the forum. Each forum has stickies, and subforums. Subforums may also have stickies. Stickies are all questions that have been asked and answered many times. To endear yourself to the Curmudgeons here, please read the stickies before posting a question. Not a requirement, just makes it easier for you to formulate a specific question.
_____As far as lead processing, it depends on what you have, what your end plan is. For example, most shot has antimony in it, and as such is used to increase the hardness of a batch of alloy. If you have the time and space, separate it by type for a while. I. e. fired cast boolits in one bucket, fired jacketed in another, lead shot in one, etc. etc. As you learn about the types of alloys required to get a specific hardness, this type of sorting will come into play. You will need a heat source, (propane), smelting pot (lead is heavy), sawdust/candlewax/rosin flux (for fluxing), ingot molds (pre-made, muffin tins (no teflon), cast iron cornbread molds, etc), tools to scoop the dross from the top of the lead and something to stir the lead. The important thing for determining hardness, is to keep all ingots from one batch marked and separate from subsequent batches. Just because you used basically the same stuff for ten 50 pound batches, does not mean that all will be the same hardness. With a hardness tester, you can measure your own samples and label your ingots accordingly. Keep your smelting temp around 650 or so, to preclude incorporating any zinc.
_____As far as who you work for, it will come out eventually. The important thing is safety. As a previous poster said, just smelting it all together will probably give you a bhn of 9-12, which is good for most boolits. Type of gun, speed, range, boolit size, etc. all factor in to determining the hardness that you want to use.
_____I realize that this is a bit lengthy, but it barely scratches the surface. (maybe .001%). Come into Chat sometime, lots of knowledgeable people there and you do not have to wait for an answer. For now, just continue to accumulate lead, something that you can never have too much of.

OB

[moose0011]

I don't have any pics of it and it is far from done right now but I would be more than happy to take some pics for you. somebody else turned it into a 30-06 along time ago and I didn't want a 30-06. I had a friend I went to Colorado School of Trades with that was a big fan of the big bores and always gave me tons of **** because I loved quarter calibers and 6.5 calibers. One of my favorite calibers is the Swede and I have actually designed my own cartridge off of the swede case. it is like crossing a Swede and a BR case. Anyways back to the story on this 30-06.. I bought 3 of these rifles from a guy that had just found out he had cancer and was scraping up any means of money for treatment. I offered him more even though I felt like I was ripping the guy off. He wouldn't take more. I turned one into a 6.5x55 with a laminate stock and gave it to my step dad. I did some trading with one of the others and ended up with a 1909 Argentine that had the bolt face already opened up and I decided on a 257 weatherby so I am in the middle of building the weatherby and this 458 Win mag. I lived in an apartment the last 2 years and there is a little bit of rust on them because the metal is still in the white but nothing major. I really don't want to take pictures of that. But I guess I can tomorrow.

[moose0011]

Thanks BZ.. I will try to put a pic up tomorrow of it. but it is nothing special at the moment. and to answer what do I plan on shooting with a 458 Win mag. I guess whatever I want lol.. honestly I am a big recycler and I can't let a milk jug or pop can set in a recyling bin with no holes in them . I find if you fill them with water and shot them you can fit more of them in the bin

[moose0011]

I really don't want to sell it since it is free to me. I don't want them to notice they could make a profit off of it. but I have no problem sharing if someone around shares in the work. I would honestly have to ask our lawyer and HR if they would find it a bad thing. I guess If I Feed them with it it wouldn't be to big of a deal right