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Curious to see what other fellow casters are using for equipment to smelt/melt their raw lead into ingots for casting. Last year I got into casting and managed to procure over 500lbs of lead, mostly COWW (clip-on wheel weights). For separating the lead from the steel clip-ons and removing the general debris, I use a 12" cast iron dutch-oven that I purchased from Harbor Freight for around $30, and a Camp Chef propane burner that I purchased on sale from Cabelas for around $60. I use a 4" ladle I purchased from a gentleman in NH, and pour my ingots into several Lyman ingot molds, and an old cast-iron pan. I flux my lead 3 times using dry pine sawdust, before pouring into molds. The Camp-Chef has proved to be pretty rugged, and has supported a dutch oven full of wheel-weights. Guessing around 100lbs total weight. The extended legs really save on the back. Some of my ingot molds. First melt (approx. 100 lbs. wheel weights) Second melt. (approx. 200 lbs. wheel weights) Getting about 20% loss in weight from the melt.
Last edited by novalty; 01/16/14.
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no pics, but I use a brick chimney in our fire pit, and a small cast iron "witch's cauldron" (about 1.5 gallon). Took a cast cleanout plug, and threaded a rod into it, and cut a small notch to control pouring. It hold's about a pound and a half of lead. I use that for pouring into the mould.
Have an old small wire strainer I use to skim the top.
I built a ingot mould out of angle iron, with the edges cut at a slight taper so the ingots drop out, and welded to side plates. Using the density of lead, I cut them at length to drop a 1 pound ingot, and it can do three at a time.
Works good to sit around with folks, and share a couple hopps flavored kool-aids while making ingots.
Total cost - $0 pretty much, except for replacing the wife's strainer.
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You better be afraid of a ghost!!
"Woody you were baptized in prop wash"..crossfireoops
Woody
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Nice "stash" pictures there guys. I've got about 200 lbs that I need to get poured up as soon as it warms up a bit.
If we live long enough, we all have regrets. But the ones that nag at us the most are the ones in which we know we had a choice.
Doug
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In the same boat lastround. I have another 200lbs. of wheel weights, and about 200lbs. more on the way that will need to be melted down--if only the weather would cooperate. Don't need to fight with low temps and keeping my melt up to temp.
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Flyboy, What did you cut your lead with thats in the picture? I'll post up a few pics of my last smelt in a minute. Lightman
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Last edited by lightman; 02/02/14.
lightman
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Wow, This pic thing kicked my butt! I still don't know how to put comments between the pics. The burner is a homemade job, and can put some serious frost on the bottle! The pot was a valve cover from a high pressure railroad tank car, the ladle was from a print shop (where I also scored a lot of type), and the ingot molds were a gun show score from a few years ago. A couple of dollars each. One of the Lyman molds has a backwards letter.
I still have about 500# of phone company lead and probably 700# of wheel weights to smelt, when the weather and my call-out schedule will allow. Will post some more pics then. Lightman
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Flyboy, What did you cut your lead with thats in the picture? I'll post up a few pics of my last smelt in a minute. Lightman LM,just this jig saw with a medium coarse metal blade.This was some really good soft lead came out of a hospital X-ray room I was told.
You better be afraid of a ghost!!
"Woody you were baptized in prop wash"..crossfireoops
Woody
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Will your bullets glow in the dark?
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Thanks, Flyboy. I hope they don't glow in the dark. Now I'll have to wait until after The Game tonight and go out and check my stash! I have some x-ray shielding and also some isotope containers. If the ingots are glowing, I'll take a few pics! Lightman
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Will your bullets glow in the dark? Ha! sorta wish they would for early morning and late evening hunts Most of that lead will be 30:1 alloy weigh in at 500 grs each and launched from my Shiloh 45/110.
You better be afraid of a ghost!!
"Woody you were baptized in prop wash"..crossfireoops
Woody
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Only problem with using a big burner is that you can pass the lead melting point and start melting other materials as well.
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Nice setup, and nice pile of ingots you got there lightman! Love the pics.
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Never had that problem since day one and hardly ever use WW as the composition can be a ? since they seem to have a much higher zinc content today...30:1 is primarily my hunting alloy as I like softer bullets which is a no brainer to concoct.I use a temp thermo for reference,don't over cook,weigh the bullets and get vary little deviation between batches.
You better be afraid of a ghost!!
"Woody you were baptized in prop wash"..crossfireoops
Woody
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Thanks, Novalty. My back complained about that afternoon! You have a nice pile too, and I like your set-up.
Spot, the heat can be a problem. The beam clamp and conduit strap on the side of the pot hold my thermometer. The only time I really crank it up is to start large odd size pieces of sheet lead to melting, then it gets cut back down.
Flyboy, I still like and use wheel weights. What I don't like is the increased amount of Zinc and Iron that I'm finding. Sorting them is a slow process. I also hear that the composition is changing, but I am not seeing this, yet! Thats one reason that I smelt in batches of 250-300 pounds.
I have a plan to build a bottom pour pot for smelting. Not sure if I will or not. I don't know if I have that lifetime supply or how much longer that I'll need to do this. Lightman
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This works for me. The ladle holds just enough to pour 4 ingots & I put enough in the pot to acquire 3 ladles. By the time the 12 ingots cool the next pot is liquid, up to temp & ready to pour.
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I haven't found a problem with the zinc melting, as it takes awhile for the melt to come up to temperature. I keep my Lyman thermometer in the pot, and as it gets up to temp I make sure I stir the melt believe around 650�, where zinc melts at 787�, I am able to skim whole weights off the top. I do presort my wheel weights which is a tedious job, but helps insure I don't melt any undesirable metals.
Creeker, I love your ingot molds, but my back aches looking at them on the ground.
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I was tasked with burning old receipts, bank statements, etc this weekend, and figured as long as the barrel was going, I'd add some wood scraps and such.
Suspended the cauldron down in the barrel using a couple pipes through the handle and ended up doing about 50lb of lead while I was taking care of business.
the heat is borderline sometimes to melt lead (have to keep some good embers right below the pot), but I don't have to worry about excess heat melting stuff I don't want.
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Creeker, I love your ingot molds, but my back aches looking at them on the ground. I feel your pain & really mean that. HEE HEE
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