Melting wheel weights for bullet casting - all you need to know

Very nice guide but much better in-person :) Also all your stuff in the pictures looks much better than it does now :) But dang that was a good amount of lead bricks that you got out of that pile.
 
I was glad to show you how it's done Jon. Knowledge is something that needs to be passed down. Like I told you Saturday night....someday after I'm in the grave, and you're my age....well...maybe a little older LOL...then you can tell some young fellow how you spent an entire Saturday night with some nut, melting down lead for bullets. All I'll ever ask is that sooner or later, you have to pass the knowledge of how to do it on to at least 2 other people. Keep the ball rolling buddy. Old skills like making your own bullets from scrap should NOT go gently into the night ! LOL !
 
blacksmithden said:
I was glad to show you how it's done Jon. Knowledge is something that needs to be passed down. Like I told you Saturday night....someday after I'm in the grave, and you're my age....well...maybe a little older LOL...then you can tell some young fellow how you spent an entire Saturday night with some nut, melting down lead for bullets. All I'll ever ask is that sooner or later, you have to pass the knowledge of how to do it on to at least 2 other people. Keep the ball rolling buddy. Old skills like making your own bullets from scrap should NOT go gently into the night ! LOL !
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I will try! Who knows by then if you use anything lead you will be fined or jailed. Now we have to make the bullets/slugs :)
 
Thanks Blacksmithden and Andy for posting this topic. Today I sorted a bucket of WW which had the following composition: 54 pounds of lead weights (both clip and tape type), 2 pounds of iron weights and 1 pound of zinc weights.
 
I am presently reducing the wheel weights I got three weeks ago.
I finished seperating the good ones from the junk/Zinc. Dirt, valve stems,candy/chip wrappers etc.
Took me three lllong evenings.
I was fortunate to get just over 600 pounds of wheel weights and 50ish pounds of pure lead stick on weights! Can believe I got it all for free!

Just one good day of smelting, and I should be able to reduce it all to clean ingots.
Then its experiment time again!

I will get some Linotype lead soon, and should be able to adjust my hardness to allow my bullets to reach the 2000-2200 fps. Range.
I dont think I will be able to get any more vel without severe leading. But, I "will" find out!

MERRY CHRISTMAS you Gunnutz!
 
Water quenching your WW alloy either by direct dropping them into water or later using an oven will bring the hardness up to about 22 on the Brintnell scale. The use of gas checks along with the boolit hardness should allow you to exceed 2000fps without leading. Accuracy with lead boolits does not always follow velocity which is something to think about. I have had my best results around 1800 fps in 303, 30-06 and .308.

Take Care

Bob
 
Saw this thread and had to go out today to the local garage and get some weights. Got around 150 lbs for 20$ seems like an ok price and it was just lead weights with a minimum of litter mixed in so thats a plus. Wonder what the final weight will be when I melt them down.Thanks blacksmithden for the inspirational post!
 
jongun said:
Saw this thread and had to go out today to the local garage and get some weights. Got around 150 lbs for 20$ seems like an ok price and it was just lead weights with a minimum of litter mixed in so thats a plus. Wonder what the final weight will be when I melt them down.Thanks blacksmithden for the inspirational post!
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Make sure you don't have any Zinc or Steel WW in the mix. Both will float to the top of your melt and you will soon be able to recognize them before tehy go into the pot. If you get your melt to hot the zinc ones will melt into the mix. That you don't want.

Take Care

Bob
 
Hi Bob, I already picked through the whole mess of weights and nothing but lead in the bunch so I'm pretty happy with that. Won't be melting these down for a while yet(waiting for warm weather)and won't be casting for a good while after that either. I've got plans for the future and I figure I might as well stock up now while a fairly cheap source of lead is still readily available.Truth be told I don't even own a gun yet but my PAL should be here any day now so just being prepared. Talk about putting the cart before the horse eh LOL
 
ok - safety - safety - safety. Had about 60lb of lead - stick ons seperated to do another day as the backings are still wet - and decided today to melt down the regular lead. Found everything i needed but my faceguard - went to crappy tire and and thought maybe just goggles then thought again and said nope - faceguard. Got home and started the heating - lead has been drying for 3 days with a fan so i"m good to go. Gloves - faceguard, old leather jacket = all was going great and about half way throught the lead - added more and i guess one of the stick on lead got in the mix with a damp backing and boom - lead up the wall - multiple spots on my jacket - burned through the knuckle of the glove and a hit couple spots on the face shield. Not a ton of lead but burned the knuckle if i had any other exposed skin it would have been worse.
Its just a simple reminder to be safe - dont cheap out on safety gear = i am sure if i didnt use dollar store leather gloves i wouldn;t have had a burnt knuckle either. Finished off adding the rest of the lead and checked every handful and Other than that the lead poured great - thanks guys for your original post - made me aware
 
When you cast bullets do you do that outside as well or do you not have the same safety issues once you have the lead already formed into loafs?
 
Fine lead and lead oxide dust, combined with smoking grease and rubber are the main health problem cleaning WW, stay upwind, outdoors. Clean dry ingots normally have no dust, and electric melting pots don't get hot enough to vaporize lead, but use a good exhaust fan indoors. Crack open a window to provide makeup air to fan.
 
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