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Offline 107ch

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Wheel weights ???
« on: February 05, 2003, 10:02:32 AM »
Hi,
I have a question. I am now the proud owner of about 150 lbs. of wheel weights. What the heck do I do with them ?? My only casting previous was pure lead for round balls and pre-mixed alloy of 20:1 or 30:1 for BPCR. How do I get the clips off? what should I use to clean them? I think you guys get the idea.....I'm lost!
        Thanks
 Dennis
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Offline Sixgun

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #1 on: February 05, 2003, 10:26:19 AM »
1.  Get a hotplate and a 6 or 8 inch cast iron frying pan.

2.  Load it up and turn up the heat.  Note: If you have a good relationship with your wife, and want to keep it, do these steps outside.

3.  When it is all melted, skim off the clips, dirt, and everything else that isn't molten lead and throw it away.  It is nasty stuff that you don't want your kids, wife or dog getting into it.

4.  If you have an ingot mold, very carefully pour the lead into the mold.  If you don' have a mold, an aluninum muffin tin will work or go and get a cast iron corn bread mold.  They all work fine.

5. Dump the lead out of the ingot mold and start over with step 2 until all of the tire weights are in the ingot form.

6.  Now go cast some bullets.

Sixgun
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Offline WildcatTC

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #2 on: February 05, 2003, 12:23:03 PM »
sounds like sound advice to me.I am in the middle of melting down a bunch of wheel weights myself.The garage seems to be ideal for me (with door open).Ihave got 104 1pound ingots stacked up in the floor.and have maybe 100 to 125 pounds to go.I am using my camp stove hooked up to the bbq grill propane tank seems to be working for me.


I have a question of my own.What is the process to harden wheel weight  bullets.I don't have that much Linotype and I am shooting bullets in 7TCU so they need to be hard.
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Offline 475/480

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ww
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2003, 12:57:28 PM »
you have the idea -if you have a turkey fryer and cast iron pot  thats even better,get a metal spatula with slits in it to scoop up metal clips,teflon biscut pan for ingot mould :)
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Offline 107ch

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2003, 02:02:16 PM »
Thanks!!
I'll try it tomorrow, do I need to do any "fluxing" ?(as if I new what that was!!).
Dennis
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Offline John Traveler

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fluxing
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2003, 02:16:46 PM »
It's ALWAYS a good idea to flux when you melt down and make homogenous any bullet metal alloy.  The fluxing will help assure that tin and antimony, two critical components of cast bullets will stay in the melt and not be lost as dross.

I use a jelly bean sized lump of candle wax, parafin, beeswax, whatever, to flux the melt.  I've even used rancid Crisco shortening, which made for some exciting moments when a coyote came into my driveway and peered at the smoke and smell from about 8 feet away!

You can reduce the smoke, smell and mess by having a match handy and igniting the flux.

Best to use a scoop and dip it repeatedly down and into the melt to mix the alloy.
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Offline 107ch

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2003, 02:22:23 PM »
I hate to keep asking stupid questions but I can't help it. A jelly bean size peice of beeswax will work for how much metal?? I have a propane burner and a 7 qt. cast iron dutch oven I will be using to melt in.
Thanks!
Dennis
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Offline Cheyenne Ranger

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2003, 02:24:05 PM »
One way to harden the WW is to quench them in water.  Just open the mold over a bucket of water and let the bullets fall in.  I use a 5 gallon bucket so the bullets have farther to fall through the water before hitting the bottom.  This will surface harden the bullets.  
Is a bit of a mess to get them out and dry but doesn't cost anything to do this way
CR
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Offline DennisB

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2003, 03:01:06 PM »
I water quench all mine too.  I came up with an aluminum collander that I push to the bottom of the bucket.  When finished, I just lift it out and dump the molded slugs onto an old towel for sorting.  Safety hint that can't be repeated too much:  KEEP THE WATER AWAY FROM THAT LEAD POT!
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Offline WildcatTC

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2003, 04:05:26 PM »
What hardness are bullet that are hardened in this manner? Lino is around 22 I think.are these close to that?
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Offline John Traveler

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fluxing lead melt
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2003, 06:31:29 PM »
107CH,

Nothing wrong at all with asking questions!

You flux as often as you want, or as often as you think as necessary.  There is no such thing as fluxing too much!

The rule is, when you let the melt sit for more than a couple minutes, or you see a visible film or skin on the melt, then you should think about re-fluxing.  The NRA Bullet Casting manuals recommend fluxing a minimum of every 15 or 20 minutes, I think.

Bullet alloy constituents (lead, tin, antimony) are different densities, and therefore, they tend to separate when in liquid form.  You want the alloy to stay uniform for weight/density/hardness consistency.
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John Traveler

Offline 445supermag

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Wheel weights ???
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2003, 12:12:45 AM »
You know them peenuts that you ^%$^%&%&#$@&*&^*& at when you order something that comes in the box and don,t know what to do with but just through them out!      Floot them over the water in your 5gal bucket it will keep the splash from getting near your hot lead pot. You know what happens ifin you don,t!!!!!!!
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