That was some nasty lead

[buickmarti]

Guy I know in town just ripped out all his cast iron sewer pipe. Of course I volunteered to haul away the pipe for him. Got about 10lbs of lead out of the joints and just spent 2 hours melting it and pouring pucks (muffin tin). Was amazed how much sand and rusty powder was in the pot with the lead. Believe I will melt it and pour pucks one more time to just make sure it is as clean as possible.
House was over hundred years old and am guessing the pipe was original.
Is there anything I need to mix with the lead for round balls or can I use it the way it is?

 

[Woody Morgan]

As is.

wm

 

[Celticstoneman]

There is a possible source that no one has mentioned. The Telephone Company. I'm a 30 year veteran of Illinois Bell. Our trucks usually carried over 200 lbs. Of pure lead at a time. It was either in knots or in our lead pot or in "sleeving" which for a better term was 6 foot long lead pipe in diameters from 1\2 inch to 10 inches. So ,know any old telephone men?????

 

[Zonie]

buickmarti:

Glad to hear your having fun.
One of the neat things about melted lead is, almost everything you can think of is lighter so if it doesn't vaporize and blow away, it will float to the top where it can be skimmed off. Sometimes, adding a flux like paraffine will help to get the crud to stick together so it's easier to skim.

The lead you got is probably almost pure lead and even if it does have some tin in it, making it closer to solder, there is nothing you can add to it to make it better for cast roundballs.

 

[leadhoarder]

You can keep telling yourself that was sand and rusty powder.

 

[Woody Morgan]

I melted down some scrap lead I was given recently.
Imagine my surprise when three steel balls floated to the surface!

wm

 

[mooman76]

The joints of pipes re harder than the pipes themselves but your lead will still work. I have used wheel weights and they shoot fine. Just use a slightly thinner patch.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I collect range lead, I used to wash it, now throw it in the pot as is, melt it down, skim a lot and flux it several times.

 

[mooman76]

That looks like my pot except I still have the wood handle attached, barely.

 

[hanshi]

If I can melt it in a pot then I'll use it.