Lead from cables

[yomomma]

anybody know if lead sheaths from telephone cables is any good for casting?

I also have a friend who works for the utilities who said he can get me some lead cable...I assume lead sheathed.

 

[bssaguy]

anybody know if lead sheaths from telephone cables is any good for casting?

I also have a friend who works for the utilities who said he can get me some lead cable...I assume lead sheathed.

usually pure lead.. may have some lubrication and waterproofing contamination...
First melt should be outdoors or very well ventilated.

Probably too soft for direct casting other than slugs or round balls for muzzle loading. alloy with wheel weights to increase hardness.

Other wise... go for it.. like everything else lead is hard to find now

 

[yodave]

process it and trade it for harder lead, the black powder guys will all want to add you as a friend on facebook.........

 

[yomomma]

process it and trade it for harder lead, the black powder guys will all want to add you as a friend on facebook.........

This is good to know

 

[yodave]

This is good to know

aren't you glad you asked??

 

[Lead Loader]

im in ontario, ill take it, ive got lots of hard lead

 

[yomomma]

Right now I got my friend working on getting maybe 100 lbs........he says he can, but we will see

 

[ted_dent]

Cable sheathing is an excellent source of pure lead but as bssaguy said it's too soft as is for anything except black powder projectiles.

 

[wheelgun]

Just thought I would mention this since you will be melting the lead. I know it will start a lot of comments but here goes.

You may want to consider doing a google search "is there PCBs in lead cable".
I worked in the High Voltage electrical trade for 37 years and this was always a consideration when disposing of lead cables.

See:
http://www.im-mining.com/wp-content/themes/immining/pdfs/PCBidmgmtfinal.pdf

Electrical cable
Electrical cable (Fig. 5) can contain PCBs. In some cases, the cable is enclosed in a lead
jacket which makes it difficult to handle. If electrical cable contains liquids or damp insulation,
PCBs should be suspected.

 

[yomomma]

This will be thru a utility company...I'm sure they will weed out anything suspect due to liability issues

 

[wheelgun]

I worked for the "utility company" and lots of it gets away.
Just please be careful, I gain nothing at all by sharing this information.

 

[yomomma]

Thanks, at least it won't be depleted uranium

 

[762nato]

Joints where it was soldered together will not be pure lead but conation quite a bit of tin. Stay away fron that for muzzle loader stuff.

 

[yomomma]

Let's see if he comes through...then I'll see what type it is...then we will see how go process.

I can always remove the solder point and keep that part for myself.