Hello, all-
I'm planning on casting some revolver bullets for low-velocity target loads. I'm going to start accumulating lead on a more regular basis.
My only casting experience is making round balls of pure lead. I do have a local mentor, but I thought I'd also bounce this off the wider audience here.
Local scrapyard has "scrap" lead. Sheet lead, old lead pipes, possibly packing from plumbing joints, and who knows what else. It "feels" quite soft. This is what I used to cast round balls. Dirty, but I had no problem skimming/fluxing it in my cast iron pot, and getting rid of the vast majority of the crap, last time. After that, it goes in my Lee pot to be cast into projectiles.
They also have ingots, about six pounds. This "feels" harder, but obviously one reason is that it's a six-pound chunk of metal, vs. 1/4" thick sheeting, or an easy-to-bend pipe.
Scrap and ingots are priced the same.
In favor of ingots:
-easier to handle, right away
-appear cleaner, much of the dross and crap has been removed
In favor of scrap:
-smaller pieces, easier to get started melting, at first
-PERCEPTION that it's softer, and perhaps more "pure"
(Not difficult to make a harder alloy, if desired.)
Against ingots:
-MIGHT be harder than I want, for easy-obturating bullets in powder-puff loads
-unknown sources-is there crap in there from melting down batteries, etc.?
Against scrap:
-more difficult to handle/store, until I make it into ingots
-dirtier, both at first, and in the pot
-absolutely needs to be cleaned (skimmed, fluxed) prior to casting
-gives appearance of being soft (borne out by my past round ball casting)
My concerns:
-if ingots are too hard, might make bullets harder than I desire
(easier to alloy tin or antimony to harden, vs. trying to make it softer)
-are ingots more likely to be made of crap like old battery plates, etc.?
-if there ARE old car batteries, etc. melted into into the ingots... is all the extra-nasty crap (besides regular lead hazards) already burned off, or is it still there?
-assuming car batteries in the mix, is this lead likely to be any more hazardous to me (or my casting/loading equipment, or my revolver) than the scrap?
Any thoughts on which is the better bet?
Thanks for sharing!
-Howie
I'm planning on casting some revolver bullets for low-velocity target loads. I'm going to start accumulating lead on a more regular basis.
My only casting experience is making round balls of pure lead. I do have a local mentor, but I thought I'd also bounce this off the wider audience here.
Local scrapyard has "scrap" lead. Sheet lead, old lead pipes, possibly packing from plumbing joints, and who knows what else. It "feels" quite soft. This is what I used to cast round balls. Dirty, but I had no problem skimming/fluxing it in my cast iron pot, and getting rid of the vast majority of the crap, last time. After that, it goes in my Lee pot to be cast into projectiles.
They also have ingots, about six pounds. This "feels" harder, but obviously one reason is that it's a six-pound chunk of metal, vs. 1/4" thick sheeting, or an easy-to-bend pipe.
Scrap and ingots are priced the same.
In favor of ingots:
-easier to handle, right away
-appear cleaner, much of the dross and crap has been removed
In favor of scrap:
-smaller pieces, easier to get started melting, at first
-PERCEPTION that it's softer, and perhaps more "pure"
(Not difficult to make a harder alloy, if desired.)
Against ingots:
-MIGHT be harder than I want, for easy-obturating bullets in powder-puff loads
-unknown sources-is there crap in there from melting down batteries, etc.?
Against scrap:
-more difficult to handle/store, until I make it into ingots
-dirtier, both at first, and in the pot
-absolutely needs to be cleaned (skimmed, fluxed) prior to casting
-gives appearance of being soft (borne out by my past round ball casting)
My concerns:
-if ingots are too hard, might make bullets harder than I desire
(easier to alloy tin or antimony to harden, vs. trying to make it softer)
-are ingots more likely to be made of crap like old battery plates, etc.?
-if there ARE old car batteries, etc. melted into into the ingots... is all the extra-nasty crap (besides regular lead hazards) already burned off, or is it still there?
-assuming car batteries in the mix, is this lead likely to be any more hazardous to me (or my casting/loading equipment, or my revolver) than the scrap?
Any thoughts on which is the better bet?
Thanks for sharing!
-Howie