Lead "rods"?

[taylorh]

Hello,
I have noticed in several resources that lead was bought and carried as sticks or rods about a foot long and a half an inch across. I assume because it would be easy to bend/break into pieces for melting into ball. Well I have several pounds of lead that I would like to melt into sticks. What do you guys suggest that I use as a mold? What did the pioneers use, and does anyone know the near exact dimensions?
Taylor in Texas

 

[Grenadier1758]

The easiest mold can be made from a length of pine board such as a 2x4. Route a couple of 1/2" wide grooves in the board about a foot long. Pour the molten lead into the mold. You will be able to pour quite a few lengths of lead before the wood burns to the point that the mold can't be used.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I think what you are seeing is the lead sold for swaging bullets. Forster products sells such equipment and lead supplies. These are made commercially, and I don't know how they are made. I don't think there are any molds available to make the sticks.

Pioneers made molds out of clay, which were formed then dried, and often baked in an crude oven before use. Of course, for ball molds, they had the gun makers, or black smiths make a " cherry " for the ball, and then cut the mold out of soft iron. When a gun was made for a customer, the smith almost always included a ball mold with the gun, since each barrel might have slightly different dimensions for the bore. It was common to find dozens of cherries in the estate inventories of gun makers and smiths, all hand made. LIke file making, making a cherry involve much care and handwork.

If you are trying to reduce the size of your lead stock from some other source, so that it can be added in small amounts to the melting pot, you can make molds in sand, junk cans, or other containers, and even in the dirt, provided you can dry the dirt after forming the mold form. You don't want to pour lead onto anything that is holding water, or the lead will cause the water to become steam, and explode molten lead back at you. All that has to happen just once is to be hit by a drop of molten lead, and you will do back flips to avoid this happening to you again.

 

[Bob Riegl]

:hmm: I would suggest that a 5/4" chunk of pine could be scooped to produce the lead bar---but before I would go pouring molten lead (~650F)on to that piece of wood I would cook that piece of wood in a microwave for a couple of minutes to get rid of moisture---ya wouldn't wanna be apourin' whilst some of the moisture starts to boil out :youcrazy: :thumbsup:

 

[jaguarxk120]

Why not use some clay, make the cuts for the sticks or rods insoft clay and let DRY. Then pour the molten lead into each cut or mould. Small make sticks large make ingots. If they are not right its easyer to start over. Won't have to worry about starting any fires in dry pine.
Tom F

 

[Bountyhunter]

I used to get those lead sticks at the plumbing shop. You can make simple moulds out of plaster. Just let them cure out and then warm them for a couple hours in the oven to make sure they are dry. The navajos over here use plaster moulds to mould up scrap silver for bracelets and use them over and over.

 

[boar]

They had a post for this, I think the guy used oiled or greased copper water pipe, not real sure. Dilly

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

If you can find a piece of angle iron, you're in business.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Done some 'back flips' in yer time have ye? :rotf:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Oh, yeah! Been there; done that. Don't want to do it again. Don't want anyone else to do it, either. Still have small scars to remind me. I was lucky.

 

[Norskie]

I use a piece of an old school desk with a pencil groove routed in it. The wood appears to be maple and it's stood up to a couple dozen molding sessions.