Lead for RBs

[clint campbell]

I cast alot of bullets from tire weights,I was wondering if that would not be to hard for round balls and if so where do you get the lead to cast your own. thanks c

 

[silverfox]

wheel weight lead is a little hard for round ball but it can be used. It would be hard starting and won't grip the patch like softer lead would. the bottom line you will get larger groups but good enough for plinking.
I just left the local scrap yard this afternoon and they had pure sheet lead at .90 cents a pound. That is about as good as you can get now.
Now if you have a smoothbore your wheel weights should be alright as you don't have to worry about the rifling.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[mudd turtle]

If you are useing wheel weights then the round ball you cast has to be to hard. The wheel weights are best used for casting center fire pistol and rifle ball. black powder demands soft lead. you can find soft lead on the net but be prepaired to pay a lot for shipping. Check plumers to see if they have pure lead. plumers lead is no longer used by plumers any more -it causes cancer and if you are exsposed to lead to much you can get lead posining.divers weights are often pure soft lead. It s around you just have to look for it. Maybe this will help you some-at least you can count it as a start. mudd turtle.

 

[Coot]

A search of past topics will give you a bunch of info on this subject. To best engage the patch & rifling, soft lead is best. You can see the weave of the fabric pressed into a pure lead roundball.
As another forum member suggested, I looked up the local stained glass artist & now get lead scrap for free! Good shooting

 

[cowpoke1955]

I found sheet lead to be the soft and pure. I get it at a local recycler for 80 cents per pound.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I have used ww lead. If you can get it down the barrel it will shoot fine. Because it does not deform it may mean you need a thinner patch, and that can hurt accuracy.

 

[LFC]

I've heard that the balls cast with wheel weight lead also cool to a slightly thicker diameter than pure lead--has to do with the alloy metals, they say. So your .490 roundball mold may actually be producing .495 balls out of wheel weight material.

 

[mmahlock]

Try scratching a ball with your thumb nail. If it can be scratched it will shoot just fine. :surrender:

 

[bart_anastasi]

Thre is a trick I learned from a fella

Take the wheel weights melt them down and take out the slag and metal stuff.

If you reduce the temprature of the lead so that the lead is liquid but the tin is not it will float to the surface. then you can skim that.

Never had the need to do this myself but sometimes I keep remembering stuff like this.

Let me know if it works for you

 

[kevthebassman]

On a whim today I googled stained glass shops in my area, and found at least 3 within 25 miles. I wouldn't have thought we'd have one. Sent emails to all three and one of them has already invited me to come by and pick some up free of charge.