lead from a roofer

[Adam Isrow]

I just got a couple of lead boots from a roofer. I got most of the tar and shingle matter off, but there is still some residue. How do i go about melting it for rb?
p.s. this will be my first time making my own.

 

[BrownBear]

I got a bunch and just built a campfire in the yard and burned off the residue. Then I used a big pair of shears to hack it into hunks small enough for my furnace. Seems to be dandy stuff, and I'd take more any time I could get it.

 

[rabbit03]

Depends on the pot you have for melting if you can just throw it in and skim off the stuff that aint lead.

But none the less you still will have to melt it outside no matter how you get it done because the smoke and fumes from the tar will be unpleasant for sure.

I just knock off as much as I can, dirt, tar, etc. and then get in my pot and melt it all down and just skim off the rest. But I have a large open pot that I dip out of and not have to worry about a bottom pour set up where you need to put in relatively clean lead.

rabbit03

 

[50cal.cliff]

Well you got two suggestions on how to cook it! So I'll leave you with this, that's some of the purest softest lead you'll get. I wish I had all I threw away years ago when I could still roof1

 

[Many Klatch]

I am a roofer and that is how I get most of my lead, free is good. Melt it down in a big pot and scrape off everything that floats to the top. Pour the lead into a mold, I use one of those cast iron corn meal muffin molds that look like an ear of corn. After you have done that the lead is clean and ready to use. I used to melt the dirty lead in my bottom pouring electric furnace but I only got about 100 ball before the thing clogged up with crud. I don't bother with cleaning the lead much, just put it in the pot and let all the crud come to the top. The crud can be unhealthy so, put it on some newspaper and put it in the trash. I now have one pot for melting lead and the bottom pouring furnace for making lead ball.

Many Klatch

 

[Blizzard of '93]

roof sheet lead is good but dirty stuff. shower stall lead is good too. it's soft lead, good for balls/slugs.

 

[arquebus]

Yes, should be good lead. Usually, with roofing lead, the only thing that's not 99% pure is the joints which have some alloy but you can always cut those out before you melt it if that's a concern.

 

[mike alexandre]

The jointing lead has a high tin content which will cause your lead to be harder - this should not be a problem if you are only making ball.

 

[brubincam]

-----what is shower stall lead?-----

 

[tg]

I think that shower stall lead is what they used to make the "pan" for the floor of the shower before they lay the tile? most use a thin membrane material around here now.

 

[rabbit03]

Pure lead

rabbit03

 

[Stumpkiller]

I get really nasty lead - the seals from black pipe sewer lines with okum and . . . Really nasty lead. I pre-melt it on a Coleman stove in a cast iron plumber's pot and flux it well and several times, stirring, skimming and scraping the pot edges with a stainless steel tablespoon that has a dozen 1/8" holes drilled in the bowl.

From this I cast 1/2 & 1 lb ingots. Then, when I'm ready to run ball, I load up my Lee electric furnace with ingots pulled from different batches. I still flux out a lot of crud, but it goes much faster with the pre-cast ingots.

 

[pcrum]

I just melted a bunch of it last night. It was pretty dirty stuff, so I melted it down in my cast iron pot over a propane burner rather than my bottom pour electric pot.It worked out well after I skimmed all the junk out.
Cheers,
Pat