Author Topic: Bad Lead photos (Read 1343 times)

Mason Stillwell · « **on:** March 12, 2003, 02:07:53 AM »

Here is a link that will work for the bad lead photos.
Thanks Ranger for the help .

Pete
http://users2.ev1.net/~dwel/gun%20cart%20photos/badlead4.jpg

http://users2.ev1.net/~dwel/gun%20cart%20photos/badlead30002.jpg

http://users2.ev1.net/~dwel/gun%20cart%20photos/badlead30003.jpg

Smokin Joe · « **Reply #1 on:** March 12, 2003, 05:33:08 AM »

Where did you get the lead? You don't have Cadmium contamination do you?

HBL · « **Reply #2 on:** March 12, 2003, 07:36:25 AM »

Without being there, the second and third photo still look like you're running the temperature too high. Just my guess.

John Traveler · « **Reply #3 on:** March 12, 2003, 07:46:40 AM »

Bad news, Mason!

Those pictures of the bluish-purple film could certainly be from over-heating your lead melt, but that first picture of the lumpy mess indicates zinc contamination.

Try cranking up the temperature to melt it all, and skim off the lumpy stuff. If that helps, you can salvage the lead.

The NRA Technical Advisor column warned about zinc contamination... you will never be able to get decent mold fill-out if your melt is zinc contaminated. If repeated re-melts and skimming does not improve the mold fillout, it's a loss.

Omaha Poke · « **Reply #4 on:** March 12, 2003, 08:30:24 AM »

High temp could be the cause as well as contamination. I have seen similar looking pots from 2 friends who thought they could melt down and use old car batteries cooked at high temp. Both of these great guys are now dead of cancer!! Car batteries contain strontium as well as other noxious and toxic materials. I hope you are melting either outdoors or in a very well ventilated area.

I do all my melting outdoors in the nice weather, or under cover with good cross ventilation during inclement weather. I would get rid of the stuff and use metals of known composition. Omaha. PS I am not trying to scare you, just warn everyone not to use batteries as a source of metal.

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #5 on:** March 12, 2003, 09:23:07 AM »

youll get those colars when your lead gets to hot especially purt lead which takes more heat to melt. I would guess the lumpy stuff is just crud. Youd be surprised a the ammount of junk you get even from lead thats been melted down once before into ingots. If it were me I scape it off and try to cast some bullets and if the bullets come out ok i wouldnt worry about it.

Mason Stillwell · « **Reply #6 on:** March 12, 2003, 02:42:13 PM »

Well I had thought of too much heat. But when you let it cool you can still see it in the mix. It forms just after the lead starts to melt. This mixture takes way longer to set up (form into ingots)than regular lead. It is fomy stringy stickey bunch of crap.

I think I got some other metal in the bucket of wheel weights did I did not catch and it melted and runed the whole thing. remember this was in the bucket that had a small ammount of 80/90 gear oil in it. I thought this would just burn off. And I still think it did . I am convenced there is another type of materal in there besides lead.

Anyway I wanted to share this with all you casters.

Thanks for all the help.
Pete

Paul H · « **Reply #7 on:** March 12, 2003, 03:24:45 PM »

I do find an occasional wheelweight of suspicious alloy, not sure what they are, they look like they came off of a japanese car or motorcycle. They also don't have the same sound when dropped. I don't know that what they're made out of will foul a melt, but have heard of some bad ww's out there. I simply toss such weights in the trash, better to loose an ounce or two then foul up several pounds of alloy :cry:

Almost forgot to mention, I've melted down my share of oil wheelweights, and the oil has never caused a problem the alloy, just smokes and then catches fire. I had one 5 gallon bucket where it seemed the guy must have dumped a whole quart of ATF, and then individually coated the bullets. Some folks just must not like us :?

Black Jaque Janaviac · « **Reply #8 on:** March 13, 2003, 04:51:22 AM »

I've seen recommendations to discard adhesive backed WWs. Apparently they can contain Cadmium.

I get the peacock colors like that on my plumber's lead for muzzle loaders, but it forms more of a foil if anything. It's definitely not foamy, sticky etc. And I don't remember the colors remaining after cooling.

Waste oils can contain metals, PCBs, and other wierd stuff that's not surprising at all.

Cheyenne Ranger · « **Reply #9 on:** March 13, 2003, 06:36:54 AM »

When I'm melting down the raw WW into ingots I sometimes have some that are square with adhesive backs. They come in strips. They are very shinny. And they don't melt. I just pull them out and toss them in the dross can also with the WW clips. Never have tried to get them to melt--figure if they don't melt at my "normal" casting temp they aren't worth dealing with. I cast from 650-725*
They don't seem to leave any reside in the pot other than the adhesive backing that melts off.

Hud · « **Reply #10 on:** March 13, 2003, 05:24:29 PM »

Well I thought they were pretty good photos, myself. I mean, yea, the lead was poor, but the photos were good!

:-D

Hud