What a great video. I got one of those lead melters and dig out lots of lead from the shooting range. It's so relaxing melting the stuff into ingots. Probably something that goes back hundreds of years in our genetics, working with metals. Thanks for the video.
me and my dad was melting and molding lead one day when I was 13 , well I was holding the mold squatted down and long story short ,my dad tripped and spilled the molten lead on me in the early 80:S . luckily it only landed on my right arm and right foot. it did some damage but it made my dad really upset to the point of tears . it's all good, just be careful folks
Thank you for your video. I just started casting my own slingshot ammunition, because steel is so expensive and takes almost a week and a half to get shipped to my house. More power and more lethal than anything else I have shot. So cheers and God bless you.
God bless the Plumbers!! we protect the health of the nation!! I come from a long line of Plumbers and I remember me and my dad melting lead and he would take his finger and dip it in the hot lead (very quickly of course) and we would all be amazed
Incredible how those fumes didn't get to your lungs yet. It took me only once, the wind turned against me, got my lungs hurting like hell. I learned my lesson.
Didn't bother me for some time as well, you've been lucky. And I was wearing a disposable mask for fumes, didn't help one bit. Air goes through the sides. Now I don't do anything without my 3M 7500 medium size with proper filters. Been too close to death for anything less.
Mark… I always enjoy seeing a fellow caster at work and his methodology. Having a pile of ingots is a beautiful sight. As a long time shooter and caster I have some input for you and a few questions. I am not interested in ruffling your feathers here, but what I am interested in is healthy discussion. Also.. I will be using the term smelting when referring to the rendering/melting/cleaning of scrap lead, as it is the accepted term in the casting world. Next time you smelt up a pot of lead, throw in a handful of pine sawdust. It is the best flux/cleaner that I know of. Let it burn, stir it all in, scrape the bottom and side of the pot, then scoop all the crud from the top. You will be amazed at how much cleaner the lead will be. As far as safety gear goes.. With your time spent as a plumber, if not using safety gear works for you then that’s ok, but for the new guy just getting into smelting/casting, I recommend that they safety up (Welders gloves, glasses, mask, all cotton clothes, etc..). One burn from a simple mistake is too many. Free lead.. Where do I find it? You are fortunate to collect it in your business. All lead sources here are a pay by the pound only. 800 degrees is a bit too hot for my smelting pot, too big of a chance of Zinc melting in the alloy. I deal with mostly range scrap and wheel weights. Soft, pure stuff is hard to come by as scrap. Lead melts at 621 degrees F, Tin melts at 450 degrees F, and Zinc melts at 789 degrees F. If your buddy bought mostly tin wheel weights, then he’s got a gold mine. However I suspect that what he got, was lead with Zinc in it. Zinc will cause the slush and oat meal look on top of the melt, makes terrible bullets, and is hard on barrels. Also, Tin in your melt won’t hurt your rifling. In fact it actually improves your alloy. Tin does only a very small amount in hardening lead, and makes the alloy flow in the mold better and acts as a binder. Antimony on the other hand will harden lead up in a hurry. Tin in the lead will also not hurt the rifling in your barrels. It has been added to lead for well over a hundred years from early muzzle loaders to today’s modern firearms. You can easily use lead up to wheel weight hardness (12 bhn) in a rifled muzzle loader and most anything in a smooth bore with no resulting damage. Casting is a passion of mine and If you have any questions, I’m more than happy to help. Thanks for the video.. Shad
I've melted a lot of lead pipe. Man it stinks. and don't chop pipe with a axe or something similar. it will explode when both ends are crimped. My friend hurt himself pretty bad doing that. Thanks for the video.
You can always make lead harder......putting it back to pure and soft again is nearly impossible unless you have foundry/lab equipment, special skills and knowledge.
This is how I do it , seems like I always still have scum or debris on the bottom , I’ll stir it up and scrape the bottom and more comes up , I’ve never done the flux or sawdust thing , my ingots look good but always seem to have crap get in my Lee pot when making sinkers
Overall, I thought it was a great and striaght-forward video. I was surprised you didn't flux the melted lead - maybe that's why you had the extra 'dross' when you put in your ladle. For pouring lead bullets, I found I got better bullets if I flux the lead each time I add new lead.
@@guzmanpatriot you sure can. I personally use canning wax but often use candles too. Just be careful because it will flame up for a second when you add it. After the burn is over you will get tones of impurities to scoop out.
Please please answer some questions No one ever explained me 1. Of what material the utensil/pan you used was made? 2. Can high temperatures melt the pan? 3.what is melting point of brass and lead? 4. If I use mold of any shape and pour melted liquid lead in it and if the lead sticks to mold as happens in welding, how to separate them without damaging shape of any of them? Your video was amazing, please answer as soon as possible I am waiting for your explanation
the pan? the mold? is cast iron..the pot is cast iron.. youll never get it hot enough to melt cast.. Melting point of lead is 621.5F 327.5C Brass is 1675 F 920C and cast iron pot is 2300F 1260C so you see you wont ever get it that hot. honestly I have never seen lead stick to the mold or the pot or the ladle even.. so no worries there.. anything else?
I have melted lead in a tuna fish can with a spout pinched into the side, pouring directly into the mold. I have also used an aluminum cooking pot. I have used a plain gas kitchen stove, and a Coleman liquid fuel camp stove.
Ive been looking for a stove with a countertop-type set up, that will hook up to a 15lb propane tank, so that I don't have to keep buying those small canisters. My battery-makers book says that I have to heat to 620f degrees to melt lead, but i havent been able to find any stove with temp-control like that in any sporting/outdoor stores... Is exact temp that important?
stove top set up? how large a lead supply do you want to melt? www.cabelas.com/product/Lyman-Big-Dipper-Electric-Casting-Furnace/706428.uts?productVariantId=1382584&WT.tsrc=PPC&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=02950667&rid=20&gclid=CjwKCAjw8IXMBRB8EiwAg9fgMGCQ6cONL8G8npdUirOxNPjbpYYncprYM_DIpYRVaKGTTK3l2nKoyBoC294QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.dsor this one: www.buffaloarms.com/bullet-casting-supplies/casting-furnaces/15000-btu-single-burner-propane-lead-furnace-63-5111 both work well controlling the temp is pretty easy.. once its liquid just adjust flame or in electric models just dial back a bit621.5F is the desired temp
Isn't led toxic to breath I was told that a couple years ago and remembered I used to melt led all the time as a kid and never wore protection ? Was I stupid?
That safety talk tho, we need more of that. Today people are safety Nazis, in my country people like my dad used to cast lead soldier figurines as kids. Lead won't kill you if you keep your gear dry and are outside in a well ventilated area and you don't spill the lead over yourself. Heating up molds is done more for perfect casts than water evaporation IMO, if a mold isn't wet it's dry. When I lived in a village I used to cast lead with some fishermen friends and we never once had wet mold issues, and we used to cast a lot since they loved fishing
I was melting sum lead today to make sinkers out of an old lead drain pipe. I thought the amount of scum was excessive till I seen this video. Wow. Whats a good way to make those long pipes smaller and more manageable? Hacksaw?
@HUCK stir Great idea. Using a hatchet versus a sawzall or hacksaw would also create much, much less lead dust/particles some of which you could end up inhaling into your lungs if not wearing a proper face mask/filtration system.
Hi good job! I just wanted to ask... in your opinion which is the safest and Also the best temperature to melt lead without letting it make fumes ? Thank you
not for black powder it isnt.. and I'm making .270 now ; so wheelweights wont cut it..thats only 4% tin..you need to add linotype for hardness ( in the 20-22 bh) by adding 12% antimony to the mix
+Mark Novy i was always a fan of lead casting,i casted a 3,52 kg lead ingot, its 5x50 lead bar, and its about 1,5 cm high, i made the mould out of square iron pipe, i cutted out one side of the pipe, then i bent 2 sides 125 degree, the side that i cutted out, i cutted it in half and welded them on the ends of the mould, then i welded on some handle so i can carry that mould, pretty good mould tho.
Why led-free stuff is becoming the norm? Whats wrong with led? they say is TOXIC but aren't all other metals just as bad ?!! tin, copper, silver, bismuth, indium, zinc, antimony, and traces of other metals. maybe some gold too! is this just a trade manipulation to condemn metals favoring most easy to get ones???
No. Lead is much more toxic than other metals. Bismuth, gold, silver, indium, etc. are non-toxic/close to it. Lead will accumulate in your brain and cause serious damage.
