Results of my first lead melting session

I use a 20 lb propane tank with the top cut off and a tiger torch to suppliment the turkey cooker burner under the tank. I intend to thread 1/2 pipe into the bottom of the tank so that lead can run off into a 15 litre cast iron dutch oven for the second melt, fluxing and cleaning.

What do you intend to use as a shut-off valve in between pours?
 
I have read that cast lead doesn't do as well in supersonic autoloaders.

Sks and 858 are great to cast for as the gas system is readily accessible. You can cast for an AR, but cleaning the lead fouling would be difficult. I did cast for an AR 180 B but those little bitty boolits were pretty tedious to put gas checks on.
 
Sks and 858 are great to cast for as the gas system is readily accessible. You can cast for an AR, but cleaning the lead fouling would be difficult. I did cast for an AR 180 B but those little bitty boolits were pretty tedious to put gas checks on.

I've been looking at a corbins swaging press pretty seriously to do my own copper jacketed stuff, but I haven't decided what my first caliber to load should be...
 
What do you intend to use as a shut-off valve in between pours?

Two ways - a 90 degree elbow just inside the pot fitted to a 3/4" nipple through the pot wall A long 3/4" nipple virtical just next to the inner wall of the tank, a hole drilled just above the 90 elbow and a rod or a pipe that drops down the inside of the nipple that can be raised and lowed - making a gate valve over the drilled hole.
Either that or no hole in the vertical nipple and it gets unscrewed from the top resulting in a massive dump of lead into a second melting pot.

Or just a pipe out the side and the lead dribbles out as the wheel weights melt.
I haven't decided yet.
 
Back
Top Bottom