Casting lead take 3

[cynthialee]

I nailed it!

(I didn't think I would have time today but Sevan went into town to get new tires on the car so I had some time to myself.)

25 keepers .490 round balls and 8 cast offs
13 Keepers maxi balls and 20 cast offs
The issue with the maxi balls was my lead is getting low in the pot and getting my pour ladle full enough to do the job was getting harder as the lead level was droping. I should have gotten a more narrow pot. Now I need more lead!

I poured as fast as I could and had my lead hotter than I have before.
At first I was ussing a wet cotton towel to drop my rounds on but the hissing was driving me to distraction so I set up my quenching can with watter and a facecloth in the bottom and set it closer to my work station. I was supper careful about not splashing it too much.

Thank you all for the tips, advice and instruction.

hugz,
Cyndi

 

[necchi]

:applause:
I'd kinda like to see ya get away from the wet stuff though,
but at the same time you're doing exceedingly well

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Good for you, Cyndi. The more you do it the better you get at it. I think the hotter lead temp and pouring method is what nailed it for ya.

And like Necchi said, forget the water and just use an old towel.

Have fun! GW

 

[cynthialee]

:grin:

Thanks guys.

I had a bit of a head start with my learning curve from watching dad do it all those years ago.
The entire process brings me back to those times my dad would include me in his shooting hobby. I think the nostalgia of it all is a big draw for me.
Casting lead in some way reconects me to my dad. He passed on about a decade ago so those moments of reconection are kinda sweet. (damn it I went and made myself cry)

As for ditching the quench can, I like it. I feel I can safely use it. The wet towel hisses, the dry towel gets scorched and smells. Maybe I might try the tinfoil over a towel next time. But I need more lead first. The pot is too low to completely fill my ladle.

Which brings me to a question:

Can I pirate old car batterys for the lead?

I know I would have to drain it completely and do it carefully. No need to warn me about battery acid. I already learned that lesson via the school of hard knocks.

 

[freekforge]

car batteries are not worth the trouble i cut up 5 and only got 20 REALs out of them then you also have a bucket of acid to neutralize and a bunch of trash

 

[Rev_William]

I would say you'd be better off skipping batteries as a source. but a side note if you need to get rid of battery acid in a home tanning book I got yrs ago there's a soaking solution you make from the acid. Tried it once worked ok. tans the hide after a cpl days of soaking

 

[silly goose]

Might be time to start hitting up a couple of the tires shops for their wheel weights unless someone has been in front of you. I know its a bit harder alloy than lead, but it beats nothing, and still works pretty well. Sometimes all it takes is a few bucks or a box of donuts. Lead is getting harder to find, including wheel weights.

 

[Rev_William]

Before I was really old enough to know better, my dad would let my brother sister and me kids out in a parking lot to scrounge ww from the cars. he'd pay a bounty to use when we were done I think it was .10 a ww that was alot to us at the time lol. we made 20 bucks 1 day at the then new mall. we had a pair of plyers and a screw driver to help pry them loose

 

[Rifleman1776]

Can I pirate old car batterys for the lead?

No.
Dangerous for several reasons.
Look for another source.

 

[BrownBear]

At first I was ussing a wet cotton towel to drop my rounds on but the hissing was driving me to distraction so I set up my quenching can with watter and a facecloth in the bottom and set it closer to my work station. I was supper careful about not splashing it too much.

You have me wondering why you quench. No real reason for it with pure lead, and there's bonus points for doing away with the water altogether. I just fold an old towel or rags and spread them on the bench next to my casting setup. Dump the balls/bullets/whatever on the cloth and let them cool in their own sweet time. Been doing it that way for over 50 years and never had a complaint I felt would have been solved by a trip to the watering trough.

 

[buttonbuck]

cash in the batteries and trade them for roof jacks, lead flashing or cable sheathing. In washington state Keels from boats divers belts? The stick on wheel weights are supposed to be softer lead. If a hospital is remodeling its X ray room the wall partitions are full of lead flashing from when they convert an xray room to an MRI room. counter balances from the large xray cameras. are like 100 lb of lead. My brother used to do installs in MRI rooms and got me about 400 lb of lead in one job.

 

[plinker]

The only part of a car battery that you should use are the posts on the top of the battery. The plates are a lead-calcium alloy. This alloy has a higher melting temperature than pure lead or the lead-tin and lead-antimony alloys that we use. Calcium is used to harden the plates, which is what we don't want for muzzleloaders. Additionally, the calcium decreases the castabliliy of the alloy which, again, is something we want to keep.

Also remember that the battery plates have been soaking in sulphuric acid for years and you don't know what fumes and other chemicals will be given off when you melt the lead. Stay away from batteries.

 

[Oldnamvet]

I don't mess with water around at all. I just put down an old folded towel and lay a piece of aluminum foil on top. No hissing or chance of water getting near the molten lead.

 

[William O.]

Can I pirate old car batterys for the lead?

NO! A very bad idea that would expose you to bad stuff indeed, there are plenty of other sources for clean, pure lead.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I give a 21 count with my .54 balls between pour and dump out for best results. You get into a rhythym and they run pretty smooth.

 

[Idaho Ron]

I don't think your melting enough lead to get up to a good production run. When I make conicals I make about 300 or more. By the time I weigh them and grade +- 1 grain I get about 150 or so "perfect" bullets. I would not even heat up a pot to make less than 100 after the culling was over.

I got some lead from ebay once that was melted battery's. It was amazingly hard. It was the hardest lead I have ever played with. I would not recommend it for muzzleloaders.

Lastly as I said in your last post. I would quit water quenching. But some people need to learn things for them self's. Make sure you wear some kind of protection for your eyes. Ron

 

[cynthialee]

Thank you all for the responses and advice.

 

[jamesthomas]

Try to find a roofer an see if he-they have some old roof jacks they are pure lead. I get mine from a local recycler, see if you have one near you that will sell it.( sometimes they can't).

 

[mooman76]

I tore apart on old battery years ago before I knew better. Got a surprisingly small amount of lead out of it. I washed it good first. By the way that's how I found out the hard way that water and lead don't mix. Had lead all over the kitchen that we kept finding even a year later. It was a miracle I didn't get badly burned and I did get lead stuck to me.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Old car batteries are NOT recomended do to the acid and high fume content when melting. Leave the recycling car batteries to professionals . :idunno: