Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: Thesquirrelslinger on August 09, 2013, 07:44:43 pm
-
hey, i need some help with lead. i got 25# of it... its soft lead.
i intend to use either empty veggie/bean/fruit cans(the steel cans those come in) or a stainless steel insert for a mug that broke. the stainless is very thin- about 26 ga or so.
what i want to know- will the lead pour cleanly? will it stick to the insides of them? which should i use? do i need to coat my ceramic mold in some sort of release agent?
I will be doing this outside... propane torch to melt... approx 2 pounds melt at a time... into a slinging glande mold... ceramic... and yes, I am going to wear safetey goggles(i have a super awesome pair that can easily stop a BB gun...)
-
do ya know anyone that is into black powder, they should be all set up with ball moulds and everything
-
I've melted it into Tuna cans with a torch and then dumped it out. We tuck them in our wet suit tops to keep our upper body pointed down when we are fanning the bottom of the river for fossils and artifacts. It won't stick to the can.
-
A metal muffin pan works well too. After the lead cools, the ingots drop right out.
-
You wil probably have to skim off the top impurities will float up. Go easy on the cans with the heat some are not as sturdy as others. VENALATION!!!!! and be careful.
-
yea.. i intend to do it outside on a somewhat breezy day. Thanks for the advice!
-
No problem with sticking in any of the a fore mentioned materials. My Grand Father used to make lead pyramid sinkers, in a mold he made from a steel container, and he just used the store bought sinkers, of various weights, and put a frame above the container, and poured lime in it, and stuck the sinkers which had a little light oil on them, as a release agent for the lime, on a rod on the frame, and let the lime harden around the sinkers, and then he had a mould for sinkers. He would take the steel rod, and make little twisted copper eyelets, and run the rod through them, and put the rod in notches in the frame, and then pour the melted lead into the mould. We used to do it as kids. For the slag, when you pour the lead, put a couple of pieces of bees wax, or parafin, in it before it cools, and the slag will clump together, and you can skim it off. ;) Yeah, make sure the cans are steel, and not aluminum, and don't use too high a heat. ;)
Wayne.
-
Do you really want to go there. Lead is highly Toxic crap.....! :o
-
No problem with sticking in any of the a fore mentioned materials. My Grand Father used to make lead pyramid sinkers, in a mold he made from a steel container, and he just used the store bought sinkers, of various weights, and put a frame above the container, and poured lime in it, and stuck the sinkers which had a little light oil on them, as a release agent for the lime, on a rod on the frame, and let the lime harden around the sinkers, and then he had a mould for sinkers. He would take the steel rod, and make little twisted copper eyelets, and run the rod through them, and put the rod in notches in the frame, and then pour the melted lead into the mould. We used to do it as kids. For the slag, when you pour the lead, put a couple of pieces of bees wax, or parafin, in it before it cools, and the slag will clump together, and you can skim it off. ;) Yeah, make sure the cans are steel, and not aluminum, and don't use too high a heat. ;)
Wayne.
Making them as a kid?? that explains a lot. ;)
Do you really want to go there. Lead is highly Toxic crap.....! :o
If you take the proper precautions everything that is Toxic is safe. Bet you never crossed a street when the light said not too, ::) ::) ::) ;)
-
No problem with sticking in any of the a fore mentioned materials. My Grand Father used to make lead pyramid sinkers, in a mold he made from a steel container, and he just used the store bought sinkers, of various weights, and put a frame above the container, and poured lime in it, and stuck the sinkers which had a little light oil on them, as a release agent for the lime, on a rod on the frame, and let the lime harden around the sinkers, and then he had a mould for sinkers. He would take the steel rod, and make little twisted copper eyelets, and run the rod through them, and put the rod in notches in the frame, and then pour the melted lead into the mould. We used to do it as kids. For the slag, when you pour the lead, put a couple of pieces of bees wax, or parafin, in it before it cools, and the slag will clump together, and you can skim it off. ;) Yeah, make sure the cans are steel, and not aluminum, and don't use too high a heat. ;)
Wayne.
Making them as a kid?? that explains a lot. ;)
Do you really want to go there. Lead is highly Toxic crap.....! :o
If you take the proper precautions everything that is Toxic is safe. Bet you never crossed a street when the light said not too, ::) ::) ::) ;)
Well I still have some hair, left, and I....... crap what was I going to say ;D......oh fumes, yeah, fumes, oh yeah ;D...... we melted it out in the open...... most of the time..... ::) I've eaten more bird shot from the birds I eaten,than, any amount of lead fumes I have inhaled. :P Of course we used to play with mercury, when I was a kid, no one thought anything of it...... Then when I was in college, I used to take a pound of mercury home to practice making amalgams. Now ...... :o
They closed down a wing in the college, when someone spilled a little bit of mercury! Yes by all means be sure to have plenty of ventilation, when melting lead. ;)
Wayne
-
I am around a lot of plumbers lead pots at work everyday. and just a word to the wise water and molten lead do not mix. it is an explosion and the shrapnel is molten lead. real nasty
-
I am around a lot of plumbers lead pots at work everyday. and just a word to the wise water and molten lead do not mix. it is an explosion and the shrapnel is molten lead. real nasty
Oh indeed! Make sure when adding more lead to any molten lead, be SURE it is dry! :o ;)
Like Paulsemp said! ;)
Wayne