PROCESSING 25 POUNDS OF RANGE LEAD - ENDING UP WITH 20 POUNDS 

Guys, take a deep breathe, [bad pun]. I ran a lead type foundry for 15 years, in a small 1,000 foot warehouse. My casters ran 8 hours a day but not every day and I got my blood checked every year for lead levels. There was never any itty bit of lead in my system. My lead was kept at a constant 700 degrees when casting. Here is the thing: do not BOIL lead, that will certainly ruin your health. And be very careful with the oxides [the whitish powdery stuff] which can be left behind when smelting lead. For this you should wear gloves and a mask when cleaning up the slag and leftovers. Don't eat after you have handled lead: wash your hands well first. Use common sense.

This dude was on the cutting edge of resolution. Definitely NOT shot on a potato. This 8 year old video has significantly better resolution and audio than a ton of channels today. I’m impressed

Been seven years and the creator is still reading comments

I will never have to watch another range lead processing video ever again. I understand the entire process from start to finish. From the various hazards involved when handling molten lead, to the barriers used to prevent injury to one’s health. I don’t have a single question left in my head about the processing of range lead. Thank you sir, you’ve cracked the code. PS: I am awaiting my certificate of accomplishment “Expert in Range Lead Processing”. Thank you

Never thought I would watch an almost hour long video of someone making the forbidden soup

So those are free range bullets made from free range lead. 100% Organic.

RU-vid work in mysterious ways. From watching a random guy build a boat in Vietnam from scrap to a Turkish guy making a pizza over to a Turkish guy making a bath room tiled with marble I then ended up here. 53 minutes later I can confirm that I was entertained AND at the same time stunned over the fact that this video is 9 years old but still has a superb quality in resolution.

You're the neighbor to have in this world. Actual useful people who know how to do things! Thanks for another outstanding demonstration.

So glad RU-vid recommended this to me even though I've never showed any intrest in smelting

I've seen this video five times in the last five years, it's always recommended around this time of year. Congratulations, your video is now a holiday tradition.

this is the 5th year ive been recommended this before deer season starts. idk what prompts the algorithm, but i watch it on thanksgiving night every year lol

i don't know why i just spent an hour watching this, because i will never do this in my life, but i'm glad i did

I too wasn't looking for this and I watched it to the end, but I'm amazed at the number of people commenting on this video. I don't remember watching any other video with this many people, who weren't looking for this, but watched it to the end and thought it was good/interesting. I am a 78 year old widower with a physical disability and a permanent resident in a nursing facility I don't think I'll be doing this any time soon, but I enjoyed the video.

I lost my father in January. I can remember as a child watching him do this. Many many hours I sat on a tree stomp and watched him do this process and many more watching him cast slugs. This video was very nostalgic. I'm sure he explained all of the ins and outs of it to me but as an 6, 7, 8 year old child I didn't understand it nor do i remember much beyond "don't reuse the pots and ladle for anything but this." he had my great grandfather's cast iron ladle and pan. So, thank you on many levels for this video. I too was not looking for such a video but am very glad that I found it. :)

I remember watching my uncles do this when I was a kid. This is a blast of nostalgia, and is what made me interested in metallurgy and chemistry.

Back in the late 50s and early 60s, my dad and I did this process to make fishing sinkers with hand moldes. Thank you for bring back the memories.

Watched the entire video and I don't even cast or shoot. Gotta love when RU-vid's recommendations actually give you something unexpectedly interesting.

why am i here. i have never and will never salvage lead.

this is so relaxing, I used to work with lead and never got tired of the mirror-like surface. Also, i once droped humid lead into the foundry that already had some in it and it was like a mini volcano spewing lead everywhere for a few minutes.

I hope you are still around after ten or twelve years. I’ve watched about five of your reloading videos. You do the best most informative videos on RU-vid and I’ve seen a lot. Getting into M1 30 06 and 45 acp. You dot all the i’s and cross ALL the t’s. Thank you.

The lesson here is, with the help of RU-vid, literally millions of people with no real interest in your content will still watch your video in its entirety

I wish I'd seen this video a few years ago. I've been melting and reclaiming lead from wheel weights and a local range for years and I'd like to give this gentleman a bit of advise. 1) Skip the washing. Anything you can wash off is going to float on your lead as it melts and there is no danger of getting water in your molten lead when you add to your initial melt. Getting water in your molten lead will ruin your day. 2) Skip the cast iron frying pan and use a stainless steel 2 quart or larger sauce pan. Stainless steel doesn't give you all that crud that seems to form when you do your melt in cast iron. It's easier to remove your molten lead and you haven't ruined an otherwise good frying pan. I got mine for a couple bucks at a garage sale. 3) Turn your heat down once your lead melts. When the lead in your pot starts to change color and form a scum on top, you're way hotter that necessary and you can do it without fluxing and removing said scum. A thermometer would be a good idea to use. 4) Although I too have made an ingot mold from angle iron, I now use another garage sale find in the form of a muffin pan. They make nice sized ingots and release easily from the pan.

This is what brass vultures graduate into when they’ve collected all the brass at the local range

I enjoyed EVERY MINUTE of what you said. Thank you so much for taking the time to put all this on video. CHEERS !

A seven year old video has my attention so thoroughly that I never realized it was an hour long. Well done.

I've been muzzleloading for almost 10 years now. I recently got into casting my own shot and this is exactly what I needed to watch. I'm going to do this today, right now. I've got about 60lbs of lead scrap that I salvaged from a plumbing job that involved me ripping out a house full of old cast iron drain pipe. Gonna cast 60lbs worth of .50 and .72 cal round balls. Thank you

This man is a wealth of knowledge, thank you sir!

Estimated the weight of the starting and finished product EXACTLY. This is a guy that knows his stuff! Thanks for this video. I've never used range lead but I figured this would be the process.

This guy is like a life coach imparting wisdom: “the last thing you want is lead in your face.”

man i watched this and had a couple beers. legitimately more entertaining than most television! haha, thanks for the upload.

What girls do in the kitchen: *Cake Wars* What guys do in the kitchen: this

Turned out to be the most legendary lead video on RU-vid

Why is it so satisfying to watch other people work? I love this guy's energy, he is the definition of zen, chill, cool.

Her: Omg can you cook? Him: ... Yes

You won't believe this, I watch this video and the second part reloading video before I go to the bed. I don't have any guns, but I love anything related to guns, and bullets. Very good video and excellent demonstration, I have learned how to before and after reloading stages.

I love this video. It’s very relaxing to watch and it looks like a ton of fun.

“You wanna be careful putting your hands in here” *Plunges hand blindly into bowl*

I'm not going to watch this... (Fifty minutes later) How can I make my own foundry?

Lots of great info for another guy just getting into casting. Really appreciate the work, as well as sharing all the tips

I finished it til the end! Its very informative and I really enjoy how you deliver it. Keep it up!

the phrase you're looking for at 42:15 is "pride of workmanship." it's when you make something and feel like you did a good job. Not silly at all. pretty awesome, actually.

FIFTY MINUTES OF PURE ENTERTAINMENT, GOD BLESS YOU MAN.

Good job young man. Informative with no fluff or bullshit and no aggravating music. Thank you.

Great video! There is so much valuable information contained here! Can't wait to get started in doing this!

Came here from Imgur. Stayed for the whole 52 minutes mesmerised. Like... This is perfect watching thing for me. 5/5, would recommend to a friend.

This man is going to be a valuable asset and a very rich man in the apocalypse.

Wow this was a cool video to watch and the time flew me by.. Thanks for sharing now im dig out my lead from my sand piles. 👌

I don't shoot, never been to a range. This information serves no purpose to me AND YET I return to this video every 5 months or so because I love it oh so very much ♥ It's hypnotic. Thanks for the upload!

Just want to say thanks for taking the time to put this video together. It's helpful and what I like about it is it's a "blue collar" home grown way of doing things. I used to make lead sinkers for my off shore fishing quite a bit, not to mention crabpot weights, etc. I've been reloading for a long, long time and though I've reused recovered brass and bullets I'm always looking for different ways of recovering the lead from the range bullets. Thanks for your input... eight years earlier. It's still a viable alternative. Good job.

I have to say that while I enjoy firearms as a hobby, I personally don’t see myself repurposing lead, or even pressing my own ammo any time soon. However, you present your information in a very digestible and enjoyable way, and I couldn’t help but watch the whole thing. Excellent video!

Because of your very well explaining the procces I have been buying Wheel Weights from a small tire shop and gathing things to start processing lead so I can cast some bullets and balls for my black Powders rifle thankyou for sharing your knowledge and experience.

So interesting. Brought back memories……. My dad was a melter in a steel mill so he knew the process/dangers etc. He was also an avid fisherman with a great sense of humor. He would melt lead in the basement from the flame of the hot water heater. Then he would pour fishing sinkers in the shape of a hamburger in the bun and give them to his fishing buddies. Wish I had a few of those sinkers.

6 year later, some 1.2 million + views later, your educational video is still doing its job. If youtube doesn't get stupid, people will still be learning from you, long after your gone. Hope that 1.5 & 2 million views comes quickly. the video is well worth it. The difference in metal & smelting handling has changed so much for safety by general layman in just 6 years is smazing

30:20 "The last thing you want is lead in your face." Words to live by.

Great video. Clear. To the point. Very informative. Just cast my first sinkers two days ago. Lotta fun. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing this information with all of us you gave me the confidence in smelting lead and I bought 1325 pounds of wheel weights and separate them and cleaned them up poured bar's and now alloying them for pistol and rifle thank you again for your helpful video.👍

this is a weird cooking show

Wife: “honey what are we having for diner?” Husband: “LEAD”

It's Sunday night, and I just spent an hour watching this totaly awesome melting lead video. Love it! Thank you! More contents please

Making ingots today and watched your video again as a refresher, all yours videos over the years have helped me a lot , especially reloading, thanks

Very cool how the brass melts away at a higher temp than the led. This video was what kept me up past a normal hour of going to bed.

copper melts at just under 2000 degrees F when the world ends this dude is on my team...👍👍

Love the video, thanks for making it. It's very relaxing to watch.

It's 2021 now, and this video is a really good one, I want to see the casting part now. Thank you for making it!

this is super relaxing, i don't even shoot and watched the whole video!

You’re definitely not silly, it’s far more satisfying to use tools that came from your own hands. Thanks for the video very cool

It was very refreshing to watch a video that was very informative and relaxing to watch. But the best part was that he was not trying to get attention, not once did we see this gentleman's face.

2023 great video got some good info , I’ve reloaded but never cast and always wanted to . This will be my year to start, got my equipment

Probably the best video I've seen on RU-vid, doesn't matter the cost, the whole process was very interesting to watch,

So this is how you make freedom soup

I can’t believe I watched the complete video. I found it very interesting. Like you I enjoy using tools and jigs I make. Thanks for sharing.

This man got cut by a copper jacket once, and he’s never gonna let someone pass by without warning them about it

This is the third time ive been brought here by the algorithm, and the third time ive watched it all the way trough, quite the soothing experience every time.

Today on the Food Network: Cooking with Chuck Norris and his Bullet Soup.

This is the most thorough instructional video demo I have come across...the wax trick is awesome....👍

I must have seen this video like 20+ times. Cool learning video.

I googled the. melting point of copper, nearly 1800F I could see saving them if you had a furnace that could achieve that temp consistently. I was impressed with your strong adherence to safety. I am a believer in safety as well. I am a retired driver with 4 million miles accident free. The balance between being productive and being safe become second nature, if you survive the lessons, lol

Very pretty when melted.... Love the way liquid metals look.....

This is a good how to if you want to do smelting. Thank you for your tips and tricks and for stressing safety. Hot metal is no joke.

Great directions. Really like the sieve for taking out the jacket's! Have to get that. Like that big scoup for pouring ingot's too! What I do to remove dross is I have a big serving spoon with a lot of hole drilled in the spoon, drains hot lead. I use old candels to flux with but never thought of those little one's you use. Gonna get them! I might suggest for dumping water making a sieve with metal window screen. I din in dirt for range bullet's and dump shovel fulls of dirt in a screen to get the bullet's out. Super caution on water around melted lead water get's into melted lead and it will explode, don't ask how I know! Super video!

🤔 *Started off watching a 'baking cornbread' video. Two clicks later; 😒 "Casting lead?! This will do..."* 😌

Just like grand mama used to make

Finally! I have collected several pounds of old battery cable terminals in hopes of taking up black powder ball round shooting. Thanks for this video man.

From the UK thanks for taking the time to show me how that is done.

When will I ever do this? Never. Was it enjoyable and interesting? Yes! Thank you!

Hey, Just wanted to say that I did a similar vid but vhs back in 1987 for my boyscout group. Back then we used bees wax to remove what we called skim. and went bass fishing with the lead we then poured into molds for jig heads. We did the same except we collected tire weights back then. It was nice to see a similar method and a bit weird at the same time hearing a voice that sounds like mine. I know I didn't do this video but that was good and strange at the same time. Hey no biggie just glad to see some old school recycle done right :)Just so everyone knows that is not me. Have a great day :) PS: My name is Jamie an i'm from Virginia :)

RU-vid always recommending old videos, it's random but welcomed.

A friend and I were shooting at an established club that had a sand bank as the bullet stop. We noticed that the sand was displaced in those positions where targets had been placed. In the 30 years of it's existence no one had ever bothered to recover the lead. We dug for a couple of hours, sieved with a garden sieve and recovered many kilos of projectiles. My friend was an engineer and also enjoyed raku firing clay pots. He had already constructed a rockwool lined kiln in a 12 gallon drum, put a 2 inch air pipe energised by a throttled down vacuum cleaner output air blast.. and a 1/4 inch copper pipe near the middle of the air pipe fed by a 20lb LP cylinder with no regulator. In the hole in the top of the drum he welded up and placed a section of 2x4 steel RHS with the bottom welded shut... with two large steel pipes as handles also welded onto the RHS at the "top" end that stuck out above the drum about a foot. He made ingot molds out of the same right angle steel as this vid shows...just 24 inches long x 4 moulds... also with handles welded on both ends. Those ingot molds fit a a steel tubbed wheelbarrow filled with 30 litres of water.... The great advantage was 5 minutes in this kiln with the jet aircaft cound of the intense flame had the lead melting and the dross and projectile jackets floating to the top. We did no real purification as we intended to sell the lead......there was just so much of it and scrap lead prices were good. So after scraping off most of the rubbish we lifted the whole RHS out between us, rested the end on the concrete exterior pad where we were doing this and tipped the lead into the moulds... Then after a few minutes picked up then lowered the ingot molds into the wheelbarrow of water..... where it rapidly cooled enough to allow us to pick up the ingot moulds and flip them allowing the ingots to fall out and continue cooling in the water. After the second go around we had to immerse the bottom half of the LP bottle in a basin containing some of the heated water from the wheelbarrow as the rapid use of the LP pouring out caused ice to form on the outside of the bottle degrading the volume of expanding LP vapour and affecting the flame in the kiln. When we took the proceeds in to the scrap merchant he gave us top price for the cleaned lead which funded other shooting activities. We stopped doing this when his wife said it might not be too healthy if we continued....she might have been right... but we had also taken all the easily recovered projectiles and now it would be hard work recovering shotgun pellets. Speaking of which when a shotgun (clay shooting) range closed down they imported a machine to sieve the soil on the range... and recovered 190 tonnes of lead pellets.. just about broke even with the cost of importing the machine but it was part of the deal with the local council to allow the land to be sold.

How can anyone dislike this, this man is so informative and interesting

I watched your videos while back when I got into reloading. Now for the first time I’m thinking about casting. Great videos man

Awesome video. Thanks for all the great tips. You obviously have a ton of real experience.

I went to an old shooting range collected 9. 5 gallon buckets of range scrap cleaned up and well over 350 lbs of lead. I also get old lead pipes and sheet lead from old Dr and dental offices that contractor buddies pull out and bring to me. in all on hand now got 500 lbs cleaned up that I cast flint lock round ball and Minnie balls with. this video I watch many times. best video for the process out there.

So this video was awesome, learned something new today. Excellent video and thanks for putting your time into this. Also the comment section is so good it had me in tears haha. Keep up the good work!

Had no idea you could do this at home. Fascinating. Also very thorough ad detailed ~ a great teaching video.

This is the magic of youtube that i miss. This video was awesome. I hope the uploader is doing well these days

I'm glad there are people like you who recycle stuff like this.

i wish my college teachers were as informative as you..... really nice work....

The type of video this is, it's so interesting and calming and just... down to earth. It's a form of ASMR. Most people don't even know about it lol

simply outstanding!👍👍👍👍👍

Its 2020, the weirdest year of my life, i still don't know why youtube showed me this at 2 am.