that you find today. When I cast thousands of bullets for handguns about 40 years ago I used mostly wheel weights with good success. Now I find that wheel weights are vastly different. When I melt them down there is a huge amount of 'sludge' forming on the surface of the molten metal. Is this zinc? What to you guys do with it? It's a real pain and I have 7 five gallon buckets of wheel weights that I will eventually melt down if I live long enough.

It's going to be a real pain to have to sort through them but if that's what it takes to remove the weights that are not lead then I have no choice, I suppose.

I'm beginning to cast bullets for my 30-30 and .300 Savage and I am using a Lee Production pot with a setting of about 6-7. I find the driving bands on the bullets are not fully filled out and I suspect I need the lead to be hotter. Right?

I've read of so many that use Lee equipment but I just can't get the idea out of my head that lower priced equipment will not perform as well as Lyman, Redding-Saeco and RCBS. I am not trying to 'cheap out' and have no aversion to spending if it will give me better results.

Any advice you can give will be most appreciated. Many thanks, Mickey

Mickey,
I've seen your recent questions and thought you were a newbe like me and maybe we could learn casting together but now find out you are an "old hat" at it. I think I read somewhere that the melting point of lead and zinc are about 50 degrees different and that zinc is higher....so keeping temp just high enough to melt the lead you can skim the zinc off the top? I'm sure someone who knows much more than me will be along soon to answer for both of us. I hope to cast my first 30-30 bullets soon.

Good Luck to you,
Rick

Rick,
While I cast lots of bullets a long time ago I am, by no means, up to speed on things. I am going to try a higher temp and see how that works.

I've about grown tired of the constant flow of 'fertilizer' at the Hunter's Campfire and think I'll hang out here for a time. In the meantime if you can imagine any way I might be of help to you don't hesitate to let me know.

Many thanks,
Mickey

My understanding is that the zinc is corrosive in some manner and is undesirable in the the alloy. I have always heard that it makes for ugly bullets due to not filling the mold properly. I don't really know because I don't allow it to melt in the mix. I get just enough heat to melt the lead and everything else floats. When I do large quantities I just scoop everything off that doesn't melt right away.

Alan

The bullets are not filling out because of the zinc. Take what ever lead you have melted to the scrap yard and get rid of it.

Now you are going to have to sort all of the WW. I use a large pair of side cutters. The zinc will not cut. Find a radio station you like and sit down and try to cut each one. You don't have to cut them in half. Just see if the cutter will cut into them. The zinc will feel like trying to cut a 1/2" bolt. It will hardly even scratch it. There is also iron WW. The zinc ones will be marked Zn, the Iron ones will be marked Fe. But not always. There is no way around this. This is all from the tree huggers.

I guess I'll have to bite the bullet (as soon as I cast one ) and sort through them. Thanks, guys.

Alan, Can I not melt the lead/zinc mix and skim the zinc off if I keep the temperature below the melting point of zinc and eventually purify the lead? I won't hesitate to throw it out if there's no other way.
Thanks.

My very limited experience with casting wheel weights led me to watch the pot carefully when I put the weights in, and you could tell the slow melters and remove them. Once I had some melted lead in the pot I would add one weight at a time, lead would melt quick and the zinc not, and I would remove it. miles

I also noticed a rubbery like substance in the skim and thought that maybe some had a thin rubber coating, but it could have been road grime. miles

zinc is not corrosive, it just causes wrinkles in the cast bullets and voids. These voids are detrimental to any type of accurate shooting.

If you keep your melt below the melting point of zinc it will float on the top and can be skimmed off easy enough. Once it's melted in, well, time to get new lead. Just keep the melt below 700� F and the zinc won't melt in.

I've done this numerous times, a thermometer helps and heat slowly, you'll be fine.

Lee production bottom pour 20lb pots are a great deal! It works well even though it's cheap don't be thrown off. I have one and it's great!

Yes if the drive bands are not filled out, use more heat on the mould.

if you head over to castboolits you'll be able to find the answers to all of your questions and more. Newbies are welcome over there.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/

the WW's these days have a "coating" on them, it's a plastic of sorts, it forms sludge on the top, just skim it off.

sawdust is a good flux along with old candles, add, light, stir, skim.

once something is melted into the lead, there's no getting it out.

I upped the temperature this morning and the bullets were much better. My pot leaks as all Lee bottom pour pots do and I've twisted the rod that seats in the orifice and it still leaks. Not a big deal but still aggravating.

I've begun sorting my weights and have gotten almost to the point that I can spot a zinc weight but still use a pair of lineman's pliers to test them. That was a great suggestion that I didn't know about. Thanks for that tip.

Hi.Micky

Have been melting wheel weights for 40 yrs. I run my pot at about 650deg. and skim of the top. I make 45, 38 and 357 pistol bullets and 45-70 rifle.
I have no problem with wheel weights.

Mickey, I don't think there is any practical way to get the zinc out, or the lead for that matter. Pour what you got mixed and use it for plinking and then just be careful not to get any more in there. There's an awful lot about casting that I don't know. Certainly fluxing and skimming are recommended to a point but you can also skim the tin and antimony out too, and you may not want that.

The way I cast is very unscientific, but I do try not to melt any zinc in the pot. I use my production pot to melt everything down and test all WW with cutters as has been mentioned. I found the bulk melting in an old frying pan to be counterproductive in the amounts I deal with.

Alan

Alan, the question keeps coming up in my mind how can you get the tin and antimony out and not get the zinc out?

I had a "sludge" form on the top of my pot that I skimmed off and I assumed that was zinc. It was quite a bit but once I had that removed I could flux as always. I'm sorting through the WW now and picking out the zinc. Thanks for your help.

Isn't Reed G. your uncle? How are y'all doing up there?

Hi Micky.

Reed is my younger brother. I don,t know how fast you plan on shootin your cast bullet, but I skim of what ever comes to the top and throw it. You can flux it first and then skim it, I use parfin wax to do mine, if you light it when it melts it won,t smoke. Have fun.

Dwayne

I'm having a problem deciding if I want to use tumble lube or a sizer. When I cast many years ago I had a Lyman sizer and there's just something in the back of my mind that makes me want to stay in that mode. I do like Lee sizing dies but there's no way to fill the grooves with lube unless I use a kake kutter and that's too tedious.

I did some work for Reed a few years back. Please give him my regards the next time you speak with him.
Thanks,
Mickey

To Micky

try this sight it is very good.

The Los Angles Silhoutte Club

I would recommend the lyman sizer, you'll not regret it.

It's what I used before so I'm comfortable with that. Thanks.

head over to cast boolits they have a swap and sell and you'll likely find a good deal on a used one.

Mickey, I am sorely lacking in knowledge of metallurgy. Like karate, I know just about enough to get my azz kicked. I just try not to get the stuff hot enough to melt the zinc. That way I have one less thing that I don't understand to worry about. Plus I sort ahead of time. The zinc weights are easy to spot. Actually these days the lead weights are the easiest to spot because there are so few of them.

Alan

I ordered a RCBS yesterday. I had a good reason at the time but I can't remember what it was. I could have told you at the time I opted for the RCBS but it was something that I read in a couple of customer's reviews of the Lyman.

RCBS is a good sizer too.

Mickey, there is a guy on castboolits that will trade lb for lb zinc contaminated lead for straight lead. He makes cannonballs or some such. I always sort through my wheel weights first separating steel and zinc from lead. Also if you keep the heat down the zinc's will float.

After I get through sorting the zinc out of seven five gallon buckets I'll give him the zinc if he wants it or anybody else that can use it. I may see what a scrap dealer will give me if nobody wants it.

The zinc weights have more of a silver color and sand texture than the lead WW. Lead will be a grayish color and the weights will likely show some sort of damage from use. Zinc will be less damaged. Zinc also gives off a distinct sweet sickening odor that smells like hot galvanizing on an overheated stovepipe when melting. I've found them floating in the lead melt. Get them out. The less dense metals such as bullet jackets when melting range recovered lead and zinc weights will float to the top. The steel clips also float.

The other junk gets skimmed off the top until you have a mirror, silvery melt. Just have an old coffee can or other junk metal contain to dump your slag in. And old spoon works fine for skimming.

If your bullets aren't filling out, your molds may be too cool or you may need to add some tin solder to your melt. If your bullets are coming out frosty looking, your molds are too hot. It doesn't hurt them. But if they are frosty and aren't filled out completely, add some tin.

Also wrinkly bullets indicate the mould temp is too low.

You also might want to consider getting a cast iron melt pot just to melt your sorted WWs or recycle recovered range lead and pour them into ingots such as an old muffin pan and use your production pot strictly for melting your ingots and casting.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Mickey, if you are convinced that your melt temps and alloy are correct and you are still getting less than perfect fill-out it might be due to a contaminated mold. The folks over at Cast Boolits told me about this and recommended a thorough degreasing of mold mating surfaces and cavities.

I'll degrease mine. I'm sure I hosed it down with brake cleaner but I'll do it again. Thanks.

not all brake clean solvents work equally well,some leave a slight residue,dipping the mold in really hot soapy dish water with dawn soap and a good brushing with a soft tooth brush followed by some alcohol seems to clean fairly well then immediately heat the molds to remove moisture and coat the surface with mold release spray.
the guys are correct that the mold won,t cast well until its fairly hot , I generally want my bullets to look a bit frosted, and adding 5% tin to the mix of wheel weights helps both bullet strength and the mold fill out more uniformly.


http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/76...mold-release-agent-and-lube-6-oz-aerosol
a build up of smoke soot from a wax candle on the surface until the molds surface is coated in fine black soot, will work but its not going to last nearly as long or work as well.

"..and adding 5% tin to the mix of wheel weights helps both bullet strength and the mold fill out more uniformly."

Yep. The antimony in WW solidifies before the lead, a bit of tin keeps the antimony in solution until it all solidifies.

I just ordered tin from Roto-Metal in cut pieces of wire. Now my question is how can I tell how much to add? I ordered 3 pounds but using a 20 pound pot will this supply last a good while? I know that it depends on how much I cast but I've never added tin before. In my past casting I just used pure wheel weights.

I fear that I'm making this too complicated. In my younger, and simpler days I just went at it. Now that I'm hanging around you guys I'm trying too hard.

That's the same conclusion I came to several years ago......., so, I just became young again. Life is some much easier that way, sometimes.

Alan

just fill the 20 lb pot with 19 lbs or nearly full,


of ingots and the first time its melted add 1 lb of pure tin, flux and stir it in, cast till its 1/2 used then add wheel weight metal ingots and about 1/4 -1/3rd lb of tin and let the pot re heat each succeeding melt time, really its not going to matter if you get it absolutely exactly correct, just try hard to keep it in the 3.5%-5% tin range and youll be fine, obviously you try to be as consistent as you can.
I generally melt wheel weight metal, flux it, and cast ingots in a muffin pan using a large iron pot on a turkey deep fry heater




http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-cast-iron-dutch-oven-44705.html

you only need about 2 oz of tin per 10lbs of alloy to get close to 2% tin alloy mix. 2% tin in an alloy is a LOT of tin, and that much is not really needed.

for 20lbs of alloy I'd add 2oz to start see how that works and at MOST add another 1 oz.