Lead

[750k2]

Throw them it with the melt the jackets will float to the top

 

[Jblk]

Many times you can obtain very soft lead from roofer.The old timers used lead flashing in the valleys.They also find lead sheets in bathroom floors when remodeling.Any lead used for plumbing is also very good lead.

 

More often plumbers lead from old houses (I get it free from a friend that owns a recycyling center (aka: junk yard). Sadly that often has solder in with it.

Back when I started casting bullets, being new to it and all, I actually read the directions that came with the mold. First time, last time.
It was a round ball mold, but the directions were generic, and people casting bullets for center fires wanted the lead to be hard. As I recall, the alloy, tin, antinomy, whatever was supposed to float to the top and the directions were to flux it and stir to mix the two back together again.
So the question is, if solder or some other non-lead alloy is present, as long as it is lighter, shouldn’t it float to the top where it can be skimmed off?
You probably would still have some impurities, but it would be close to pure lead. Gotta admit it’s a problem I never had to deal with because I always made sure to keep the center fire lead and the muzzleloader lead separate.

 

[Comrade Coffin]

More often plumbers lead from old houses (I get it free from a friend that owns a recycyling center (aka: junk yard). Sadly that often has solder in with it.

Back when I started casting bullets, being new to it and all, I actually read the directions that came with the mold. First time, last time.
It was a round ball mold, but the directions were generic, and people casting bullets for center fires wanted the lead to be hard. As I recall, the alloy, tin, antinomy, whatever was supposed to float to the top and the directions were to flux it and stir to mix the two back together again.
So the question is, if solder or some other non-lead alloy is present, as long as it is lighter, shouldn’t it float to the top where it can be skimmed off?
You probably would still have some impurities, but it would be close to pure lead. Gotta admit it’s a problem I never had to deal with because I always made sure to keep the center fire lead and the muzzleloader lead separate.

Good day gents, I myself use lead from a variety of sources, but try to select soft stuff, and I have even used some horrible looking odds and sods and have had to resort to skimming the inpurities off the top with an old fine toothed fork. The resultant lead comes out pretty good, but it is a pain in the backside and only a last resort.

 

[Blackpowdersmoke]

Some years back, the Mrs. and I went with friends to an amusement park several hours from home. One friend and I were at the shooting gallery where you use an automtic "Tommy Gun" style air rifle and try to shoot the little red star out of a square of paper. I asked the man, "What do you do with the spent pellets"? He replied, "We pay to have them hauled away". He contiued on telling me that when all their buckets get full they call a local scrapper to come and get them, and pay him to take them away. I asked "Do you have a lot"? He said they usually have 15-20 five gallon pails full. I asked if I could take a look and he said help yourself, they're out back. Well lo and behold here sat a dozen or better bucketfulls of pure soft spent lead pellets! I asked about buying a few pails and he said, "Naahh... but if you'll take them off my hands for nothing you can have them all but you have to take them all. Man! What a predicament! Here sat all the lead I could use for years for free and no way to get it out of there. It was WAY too much weight to try to haul in the wife's jeep let alone no where to put it if I could. Too bad it's so far from home I would have made several or more trips if it had been much closer.

BPS

 

[hanshi]

Some years back, the Mrs. and I went with friends to an amusement park several hours from home. One friend and I were at the shooting gallery where you use an automtic "Tommy Gun" style air rifle and try to shoot the little red star out of a square of paper. I asked the man, "What do you do with the spent pellets"? He replied, "We pay to have them hauled away". He contiued on telling me that when all their buckets get full they call a local scrapper to come and get them, and pay him to take them away. I asked "Do you have a lot"? He said they usually have 15-20 five gallon pails full. I asked if I could take a look and he said help yourself, they're out back. Well lo and behold here sat a dozen or better bucketfulls of pure soft spent lead pellets! I asked about buying a few pails and he said, "Naahh... but if you'll take them off my hands for nothing you can have them all but you have to take them all. Man! What a predicament! Here sat all the lead I could use for years for free and no way to get it out of there. It was WAY too much weight to try to haul in the wife's jeep let alone no where to put it if I could. Too bad it's so far from home I would have made several or more trips if it had been much closer.

BPS

Yeah, I know it's a chore but somebody has to do it. :rotf:

 

[Linc]

:shocked2: :shake:

 

[Lonegun1894]

That is a great source that I'd never thought about. Guess who I'm gonna go talk to next time the fair is in town? Thank you.

 

[Idaho Ron]

The ones I saw used BB's not pellets. Ron

 

[Idaho Ron]

More often plumbers lead from old houses (I get it free from a friend that owns a recycyling center (aka: junk yard). Sadly that often has solder in with it.

Back when I started casting bullets, being new to it and all, I actually read the directions that came with the mold. First time, last time.
It was a round ball mold, but the directions were generic, and people casting bullets for center fires wanted the lead to be hard. As I recall, the alloy, tin, antinomy, whatever was supposed to float to the top and the directions were to flux it and stir to mix the two back together again.
So the question is, if solder or some other non-lead alloy is present, as long as it is lighter, shouldn’t it float to the top where it can be skimmed off?
You probably would still have some impurities, but it would be close to pure lead. Gotta admit it’s a problem I never had to deal with because I always made sure to keep the center fire lead and the muzzleloader lead separate.

Once an alloy is melted into lead it is there. You can't skim it off. The stuff you will skim off will be lead oxides. The tin and anything else won't come out.
Ron

 

Question answered.

It's been over forty years since I read those directions. My memory could have been a little skewed.

 

[mooman76]

I did it allot of years ago because I needed the lead and that was all that was available at the time. It will take some work and no matter which way you do it, it will still be allot of work but it is worth it. Mine had allot of rocks and garbage mixed in. Washing isn't the best way because you don't want to mix even damp lead with melted lead. I got tired of trying to pick out the trash so I just resorted to picking out the obvious and easy trash.
A big pot(4 qt) is a must. It helps to start out with some lead in the mix already. It helps the new stuff come in direct contact and will melt faster. Just scoop in your bullets and keep stirring and scooping until you have a satisfactory amount of lead melt to make into ingots. Always leave some lead melt in the pot, it helps to restart it. I used a big slotted spoon from a $ store. I wish I could go back and get the lead they offered me back then. 3 55 gal drums. They were cleaning out a indoor range.

 

[Stumpkiller]

What Ron said. Once it's alloyed the temperatures a home electric furnace hits won't seperate the tin and antimony. For smoothbores it's not much of an issue, and with rifles it can be compendated for with patch selection.

 

[nkbj]

When you melt down scrap lead for muzzleloading and let it sit a little, there can be boo-coos of stuff that separates out and floats to the top. You can flux it back in or skim it off and use it to harden alloys for center fires.

 

[Blackpowdersmoke]

The ones I saw used BB's not pellets. Ron

I have seen those too Ron, but these were lead pellets...SOFT lead pellets. I picked some out of the pails and could easily score them with a fingernail. Cripes... there was so much there I wanted to pee myself!

BPS

 

[Rifleman1776]

What Ron said. Once it's alloyed the temperatures a home electric furnace hits won't seperate the tin and antimony. For smoothbores it's not much of an issue, and with rifles it can be compendated for with patch selection.

Never heerd that before. I always thought the gold, blue, etc. colors that came to the top were alloys. How hot is needed to separate those alloys?

 

[jamesthomas]

You can't separate the alloys in lead by just getting it hot. I believe some type of electrolis(sp)? or some other complicated chemical process can separate the alloys, probably beyond us mere amateurs.

 

[ohio ramrod]

To seperate the alloys you need to get it near or past the temp where lead vaporises. NOT GOOD. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[Idaho Ron]

What Ron said. Once it's alloyed the temperatures a home electric furnace hits won't seperate the tin and antimony. For smoothbores it's not much of an issue, and with rifles it can be compendated for with patch selection.

Never heerd that before. I always thought the gold, blue, etc. colors that came to the top were alloys. How hot is needed to separate those alloys?

The Blue's gold's and green colors are good clues that your lead is VERY, VERY pure. The colors are lead oxides. The bad thing is if you continue to skim the color you can empty your pot into a dross can. What you can do to homogenize the melt is add 1000 grains of lead shot or add a small amount of tin. As soon as the shot or tin hits the lead the tin will homogenize the lead and the blue and gold will be gone. Your lead will not harden at all from this amount of alloy. The amount of dross will reduce and your mould will fill out better. Ron

 

[54ball]

Old car batteries,Nasty work but its lead.