Melting Season!

[1911KY]

I am beginning to prepare for the up and coming cool weather, as I have a serious back log of WWs and Pure Lead to melt down! I have managed to dwindle my casting stash down to about 50 lbs!!
This month marks the one year anniversary of casting and melting for me.

I have learned a tremendous amount over the past year and managed to accumulate a respectable 1,600 lbs of Lead in that time. The one thing I learned the hard way is, casting and melting in the summer months is no fun! Therefore, I plan to cast a year's worth of bullets over the winter, so I don't have to sweat over the pot during the summer.

So it's about time to go get the propane tank topped off, dust off the ingot molds and fluff up the saw dust!

[rancher1913]

can't wait for the new noe ingot molds to get here, thats going to speed up my casting a lot.

[MrWolf]

Just got my shipping notification from Al on the moulds, now to find more lead to smelt.

[RogerDat]

We just got a break in the hot weather, down in the 60's at night. Been trying to get some stash out of buckets into ingots. Still sweat and man I really do NOT want to pour molten lead into an ingot mold I have dripped sweat into. Can do without ever meeting the tinsel fairy.

Had a handle break on a small pot when I tipped it up to ladle out the bottom of the pot. That was just a couple of pounds going splat when it spilled and it was a royal pain to clean up. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to try and pick lead out of a ribbed shop vacuum hose? So sweating and smelting are for me a real sketchy proposition.

I'm with 1911KY on the make a years worth once it gets cool - but not over the winter, this here is Michigan and having the garage door open when the Montreal express is blowing in the winter is less than ideal. But still beats trying to do it in Minn.

[Jal5]

It will be october here in ohio before i do any melting ww and i have a lot to do!

[Pee Wee]

We are in Florida, and waiting for it to cool off so we can do the same. We do a group smelt. It took us 4 days last year for 3 of us to smelt the 3000 lbs we had. this year we plan on getting 5 to 6 thousand lbs. we have three pots going each holding 150lbs.

[RogerDat]

We are in Florida, and waiting for it to cool off so we can do the same. We do a group smelt. It took us 4 days last year for 3 of us to smelt the 3000 lbs we had. this year we plan on getting 5 to 6 thousand lbs. we have three pots going each holding 150lbs.

Three people? Six thousand pounds? So exactly when does this stop becoming a hobby and become work? I'm getting a stiff back thinking about it!

[bangerjim]

Waaaaaaaaaaay too much work for my hobby!