First kick at the can

L

Lexthedestroyer

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Abbotsford, BC
Well, I did my first lead melt this evening. Certainly not a large melt, but I ended up with 3 pounds of wheel weights, and 18 pounds of plumber's lead. I've got a mold coming next week, and my wife got me a casting furnace for Christmas. I'm guessing the plumbers lead is too soft for 9mm, and as I don't have any black powder guns, I'll have to alloy it. Any tips on that? Lead free solder, is what I'm reading...
 
Plumber's lead = pipes? Did you have solder at the ends?

My major problems with pure lead was that bullets would oxidize very quickly and cast at a higher temperature than Range lead.

I would try to mix it 50/50 with Range lead and see how it does in 9mm ( I load them below max).

Or trade.
 
Range lead is not going to get you much in the way of hardness, it is mostly lead cores that are also too soft.

I think lead-free solder is mostly tin, so it will help your mould fill out, but not hardness and it's and expensive addition. As yomomma said, you need wheel weights, or babbitt, or type metal, or some other form of hard alloyed lead. Antimony is your friend.
 
legi0n said:
You could drive to Metalex in Richmond and buy a pig or two of 4.5% Antimonial Lead which is hard enough especially if dropped in water from the mold.

https://metalexleadrecycling.com/services/

note: one pig is about 50-60lbs of lead. Two is a good start but not enough :)
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Hmm, seems like an interesting "lead" (bad pun, sorry), but from what I can see, they dont sell quantities under 1000 lbs. I'm just starting out here, that sounds like full r*tard amounts. I mean, maybe I'll get there, but I don't think I can justify that much...
 
Lexthedestroyer said:
Hmm, seems like an interesting "lead" (bad pun, sorry), but from what I can see, they dont sell quantities under 1000 lbs. I'm just starting out here, that sounds like full r*tard amounts. I mean, maybe I'll get there, but I don't think I can justify that much...
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Phone them. Similar place here in ON will sell smaller amounts if you go and pick it up. Phone them...calls are free
 
Lexthedestroyer said:
Hmm, seems like an interesting "lead" (bad pun, sorry), but from what I can see, they dont sell quantities under 1000 lbs. I'm just starting out here, that sounds like full r*tard amounts. I mean, maybe I'll get there, but I don't think I can justify that much...
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I purchased 200lbs at a time from Metalex a couple of years ago
soon I'll need to buy some more
 
as mentioned before - tire balance weights have a high antimony content - this makes them quite hard and can be used as is for pistol bullets, or alloyed with pure lead to work up an alloy that works for your purposes. I found that straight weights cast up a bit brittle for use in magnum velocity loads and are probably too much for rifle bullets. Between 1 part weights/1part lead to 1 to 2 mixes worked well for me. I cast .357, .429, 452 and 50cal (muzzle loader) for the muzzle loader I prefer straight lead.. but all the rest worked well with wheel weights. Had to use copper gas checks with the 44 mag to reduce leading in the bore, I went back to jacketed bullets for heavier loads.
 
If you get 60# pigs from Metalex (good stuff by the way), have a plan in place to reduce them to pot size chunks. Cutting those things down to a manageable size isn't as easy as one would think. Talking from experience here, I got two.

M
 
gnmontey said:
If you get 60# pigs from Metalex (good stuff by the way), have a plan in place to reduce them to pot size chunks. Cutting those things down to a manageable size isn't as easy as one would think. Talking from experience here.

M
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Haha, that was one of the first things I thought... sawzall? Maybe an air chisel? I'm headed to Vancouver next weekend, maybe I'll give them a call and see what's what.
 
Lexthedestroyer said:
Haha, that was one of the first things I thought... sawzall? I'm headed to Vancouver next weekend, maybe I'll give them a call and see what's what.
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Forget the Sawzall, Band Saw, Hacksaw, Axe..... Don't bother, I tried them all. Ended up a local CGN member offered to melt them down to small ingots by suspending them from an engine hoist into a large casting pot.

M
 
Lexthedestroyer said:
Not lead pipes, roof flashing. How/where does one get range lead?
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What kind of setup do you have at Abby? Indoor, open sky shooting at berms? Get your lead from where your bullets end up, IF the range allows it as they usually get monies from recyclers.

Range lead works fine in all my semi-autos in 9, 40 and 45 as well as subsonic revolvers loads.
 
Update: Cast my first few yesterday (well, first few was a couple of days ago, but they came out wrinkled, so back into the pot). I think they look pretty good. Gonna go buy myself some liquid Alox, and see how they go pew...
KYJvPRv.jpg
 
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gnmontey said:
That's pretty darn good for the first go.

Had a chance to shoot them?

M
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Not yet, managed to get them lubed, sized, lubed, loaded 'em up yesterday after work. Hoping to get out this weekend to the range. Yes, Alox IS a mess, and I'll likely powder coat in the future, but I figured for 10 bucks, I'd give it a shot. From what I've seen online, I put on too much lube, but i guess you live and learn...
 
They look good, except it appears as if the sprue mark is tearing instead of cutting. This can leave the bullets slightly out of balance. Let the alloy cool a little bit longer before opening the mold.

Auggie D.
 
Auggie Doggie said:
They look good, except it appears as if the sprue mark is tearing instead of cutting. This can leave the bullets slightly out of balance. Let the alloy cool a little bit longer before opening the mold.

Auggie D.
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This is why I come here, lol. I'm guessing it's more of a "feel" thing, but how long do you typically wait? I was just waiting until the sprue looked dull, and then cutting it.
 
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