Use a tip of the nippers and bite the lead if it does not bite into the metal then it is zinc or iron and throw it in the garbage.
|
   
   
|
|
Use a tip of the nippers and bite the lead if it does not bite into the metal then it is zinc or iron and throw it in the garbage.
YEP! Except I will not bite it.
Yep........ That's how ya do it.
Heating up the pot slowly will let any stow-a-ways float up too.
In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.
OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
EVERYONE!
Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.
I nip check every wheel weight even when I'm sure it's lead.
I have found that the anvil type hand pruning nips to be superior to side cutter type nips. Sharper cutting edge and spring loaded return similar to these: https://www.acehardware.com/departme...c=ds&gclsrc=ds
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan
Nice nippers oley55!
Hi wingered I crank the stove up to max gas and it melted it real quick!
I screenshotted the lead alloy calculator output and have included it with this post.
I cast up some MP358-429 HP. I'm going to go select 10 of them and see how much they weigh on my harbor freight digital scale.
The bullets have a geometric Crystal pattern I will try to get a picture.
I nip most weights. The exception is weights that are easily identified visually. I don't always nip those, but if there is any doubt at all, its quicker to verify physically than mentally.
Save yourself some time run a magnet over everything first and take all the steel out then you have to nip way less and the magnet is much quicker.
I nip the ww's also. Only way I can be sure. Last bucket I did a year or so ago was only 50% lead. Sigh.
I use a large dutch oven over a fish fryer to melt scap in. It is possible to "trap" a zinc weight against the bottom and have it melt before enough lead has melted for the zinc to float up off the bottom so I continue to nip 100%
Believe it or not my wife used to let me sit in the living room watching tv and sort wheel weights. Had a canvas tarp down for the buckets and used a plastic tray with sides in my lap to have them convenient to pick up nip and toss. Alas daughter bought a nice area rug for us and now I and my wheel weights are banished to the garage.
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat
I only nip the questionable looking ones. But I have sorted enough weights that I am comfortable doing it this way. This seems like it works well for me as I am not finding any floaters in my melts. I use a pair of electrical cutters known as Dykes. But do whatever works for you.
WAIT!
Don't throw the zinc WW's in the garbage - if you don't have to.
Keep them segregated and give them to another caster - if you don't want them, or consciously cast them into ingots or boolits - segregated of course. These zinc elements ARE useful, can be bartered or sold, and should not be considered "trash" as they have value. I hope others will weigh in on this too...
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
Originally Posted by Froogal
WWJMBD?
In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.
As long as you have gone this far, separate the Zn from Fe.
Micah 6:8
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
"I don't have hobbies - I'm developing a robust post-apocalyptic skill set"
I may be discharged and retired but I'm sure I did not renounce the oath that I solemnly swore!
Do you cast zinc bullets?
I have been considering purchasing an iron mold to give it a try.
No, I do not. I have cast zinc fishing weights. Zinc can be cast as boat motor anodes too.
There are others on this site that cast zinc boolits. They will not be in the reloading book. You will be a Wildcatter and on your own in that.
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
What equiptment and processes did you use when making zinc fishing weights?
Same steel melting pot (20-gal propane tank cut in two), loaded to about 10-pounds of zinc, ladle, and pyramid fishing weight mold. Same basic setup as if I had poured straight lead, except it was zinc- (rich). The propane burner produces a ton of heat, turned the sides of the pot red hot very quickly, and melted the contents equally quickly (> 790*F).
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
worth noting that one will want to clean the zinc out very thoroughly before using with lead again. It takes very little zinc contamination to make lead/tin alloy start to pour like oatmeal.
Although members have reported with a hot enough melt one can get zinc contaminated lead to flow well enough cast up to a couple percent or more. Still easier to avoid zinc contamination than it is to deal with it.
Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.
Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.
Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat
I've been reading that zinc is reactive with stainless steel is that correct?
One of my favorite characters!
Thanks Bigslug!
"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face!" - Mike Tyson
"Don't let my fears become yours." - Me, talking to my children
That look on your face, when you shift into 6th gear, but it's not there.
Oh hello WILCO!
Posting Permissions
| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
| LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
| GC | Gas Check |
Reply With Quote