wheel weight question

[mccleese]

Hello all, I am about to start into the world of casting. Last week I picked up 3 five gallon buckets of wheel weights(helps when you are in the truck tire business) and now they are all sorted. Got the equiptment in the mail today. My question is, I know not to let moisture into the mix, but some of these weights are very greasy. Do I need to clean and dry them first? Does the grease act like water?  Thanks

[Dee]

I have occasionally run into this over the past 35 years of casting wheel weights. I simply melt them down to get the clips of them OUTSIDE, and the oil and grease will simply smoke off them. No big deal, and you have just entered the world of a near endless supply of near free bullets.
All you need to learn now is how to make your own lube. 1 pound vaseline, 1 pound of Gulf canners wax, 1 small table spoon of something like STP oil treatment, and a few old crayons of your choice to add color to the mix. Heat to a thin liquid (outdoors) in a coffee can and let cool. I use a knife to cut out what I want and stuff it into my re sizer-lubricator. Pretty cheap shootin, and accurate as well.

[copdills]

the oil acts as FREE FLUX

[Dee]

It can if the mixture is stirred. When fluxing I usually light it so it won't smoke.

[skarke]

How's the lube recipe hold up to Texas heat (particularly in the trunk on the way to the range)?

[Dee]

I've lived in Texas for 59 years. I'd say ok. As far as trunk heat, even powder will break down with "long periods" of exposure.

[skarke]

I work as a salesman, then go to the range in the afternoon to shoot.  I wouldn't expose anything to more than a day, but the stuff might get hot for a while.

Thanks, I'll try the recipe.  I'll make some pink stuff up for my wife, she's getting into shooting, and she'd like that.

[Graybeard]

Put your ammo in a cooler with some blue ice. It should remain fairly cool thru out the day that way.

[Dee]

I keep all my powder and primers in a cooler in my shop to prevent extreme temp change. That is a good idea in the hot trunk. Never thought of it. I doubt you'd even need the blue ice for just a day.

[skarke]

Thanks GB, and ditto to Dee.  You guys are pretty smart for old f**ts   Seriously though, I greatly appreciate your help, and the cooler is a great idea.

[Darrell Davis]

Hey there casters,

One thing I am not seeing as per the water issue is ----------------------------

If your metal - ww, lead, linotype etc. - is cold when you start heating it, there is no problem with water on the metal.

As the metal heats, the mosture will just go away.

HOWEVER,  the problem or danger comes when wet metal or water is added to a pot of melted metal.


If that happens, the real bad things happen extreemly fast, and it is something which you do not want to be any where close to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, if you have wet or damp metal, ONLY add it to a melting put at startup!  To do so at any other time is not nice and in fact VERY dangerious!

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[jhalcott]

  NEVER smelt the WW's in the same pot you cast from! When you add ingots to the casting pot ,warm them on the edge of the pot so there is NO chance a sudden temperature change will cause condensation. This will help keep the tinsel fairy away!

[Old Fart]

I was melting down some linotype last fall. Somehow some of it was wet and I didn't notice until it was to late. Now I've been casting for something like 40 years now and that was the first time I let that happen. You would be surprised how fast an old fart can move when he has to...... That stuff went everywhere. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon reclaiming my linotype of the brick wall by where I was. Fortunately no one was hurt and mama never knew what I did to her wall outside.

OF