[Rabbit212]

Finally got all my equipment together to start melting down some scrap lead and after much reading and youtube I did my first very small batch. Here are the results not pretty but managed to not set the house on fire or burn myself. Experienced casters your opinions, observations and advice is very welcomed.

 

[Shootnlead]

Good job!

I hope that you fluxed it well to get as much crud out of it, as possible.

Not trying to tell you what to do...but I will give you a very worthwhile link...it will be worth your time to read it and refer to it, until you get up to speed.

Now, it is time to make some boolits...:danceban:

You are embarking on an addictive endeavor.

The Simple Act Of Fluxing, A Bullet Casting Feature Article

 

[Rabbit212]

Second batch came out a bit neater.

 

[Shootnlead]

Yeah, practice makes pretty...I mean perfect.:smile:

 

[StormRhydr]

Based on lead I have picked up from a shooting range, Im guessing most all of it was copper clad spent bullets. So did you just toss them in the melting pot, and skim off the copper cladding?

 

[Shootnlead]

Based on lead I have picked up from a shooting range, Im guessing most all of it was copper clad spent bullets. So did you just toss them in the melting pot, and skim off the copper cladding?

Not answering for the OP...but that is about the only way to do it...and it works pretty well.

 

[StormRhydr]

Not answering for the OP...but that is about the only way to do it...and it works pretty well.

Yeah. Thats what I thought. I have yet to get around to melting mine down, so figured Id ask, lol.

 

[msgt/ret]

Looks nice and clean I’m guessing a muffin tin was used for a mold, myself I used an ingot mold from Lyman to make ingots. Another source for lead I have used is old wheel weights.

Lyman 4-Cavity Ingot Mold Handle

 

[Shootnlead]

Looks nice and clean I’m guessing a muffin tin was used for a mold, myself I used an ingot mold from Lyman to make ingots. Another source for lead I have used is old wheel weights.

Lyman 4-Cavity Ingot Mold Handle

I have some of those, too. They work great...

I, also, use some muffin tins.

 

[Rabbit212]

Stormrhydr that's exactly how I did it jackets and dirt just float on top of the melted lead.
Msgt you are correct it was a cheap Wally World muffin pan castin 3 to 4 pound ingots depending on how much I filled each cavity. I would like to get some nice molds eventually but wanted to not invest too much money into it until I decide if this is something I will enjoy. So far I'm liking it.

 

[Shootnlead]

Stormrhydr that's exactly how I did it jackets and dirt just float on top of the melted lead.
Msgt you are correct it was a cheap Wally World muffin pan castin 3 to 4 pound ingots depending on how much I filled each cavity. I would like to get some nice molds eventually but wanted to not invest too much money into it until I decide if this is something I will enjoy. So far I'm liking it.

You will be hooked...might as well go ahead and accept it.:smile:

 

[Rabbit212]

Third batch much better then the two previous, took my time fluxing and it showed in the much cleaner results. 25lbs of scrap resulted in 20lbs of muffin ingots 4lbs of trash and 1lbs loss in the pot that I cant pour out. The 1lbs loss is ok with me because that melted lead was holding any dirt that I didnt flux out and will go in the trash. Overall very much getting into this new phase of reloading.

 

[Rabbit212]

Lol yeah they so clean they float.

 

[trevorus]

Man, can you imagine if those were a bullet mold? The recoil would be "stout."

 

[Cippee]

What are you planning on doing with the lead? I was a science major so I collected every element that is legal to own. I have prob 40lb of lead ingots. Bullet lead isn't pure lead it's called hardened lead it has Antimony in it.

 

[Shootnlead]

cippee...the OP will probably mix that with wheelweight alloy or linotype to harden and then cast in bullet molds...works great.

He can, also, add 5% tin and 5% antimony to that near pure lead and make Lyman #2...a fantastic bullet casting alloy. He can accomplish this by using 9lbs of the pure lead and 1lb of bar solder...it won't be exact...but it will be very close.

 

[Cippee]

Lead wheel weights are illegal in NY, lol. It's a joke the state sent us a packet in the mail letting shops know that it was now illegal to use lead weights. They sent a pair of plastic gloves to get rid of out old weights. I thought this is where the tax money goes. When I ran out of new lead weights I started reusing old ones I took off cars just as a screw you to the state. All the lead weights I touched and when I had blood work done they couldn't find any lead in my system. Lead weights are very hard compared to other normal lead. Bullets are usually in the middle of the hardness. How do pure lead bullets work? Does it foul the barrel more? Also does the mold leave casting lines or marks? I could see this affecting performance.

 

[Shootnlead]

Lead wheel weights are illegal in NY, lol. It's a joke the state sent us a packet in the mail letting shops know that it was now illegal to use lead weights. They sent a pair of plastic gloves to get rid of out old weights. I thought this is where the tax money goes. When I ran out of new lead weights I started reusing old ones I took off cars just as a screw you to the state. All the lead weights I touched and when I had blood work done they couldn't find any lead in my system. Lead weights are very hard compared to other normal lead. Bullets are usually in the middle of the hardness. How do pure lead bullets work? Does it foul the barrel more? Also does the mold leave casting lines or marks? I could see this affecting performance.

Lead wheel weights yield an alloy hardness of about 8bhn when rendered and it will be about 12bhn within a couple of weeks...great bullet alloy and about the only thing that I use as it works great for everything that I want my bullets to do...from hunting to plinking. This is less than half the hardness of some cast bullets as hardness on some rifle bullets goes up quite a bit. For these, special measures have to be employed to get that extra hardness.

The only lines on the bullet will be those of the mold design...consisting of lube grooves and nose profile.

 

[Cippee]

Speaking of lead hardness I found this. Evaluations & Recommendations for Lead-Alloy Hardness Testers

 

[Shootnlead]

Speaking of lead hardness I found this. Evaluations & Recommendations for Lead-Alloy Hardness testers

Bullet casters have a choice of several testers available to them for a reasonable price.