I've been reading through this forum, and cast boolets, and one thing I see a lot when dealing with scrap lead is warning about the tinsel fairy visits. So, I thought I'd share a bit of knowledge from my days using lead for separation of metals to help make it a thing of the past for my readers.....
So, a tinsel fairy is caused by a steam bubble forming below the surface of, in this case, molten lead. As water and many other liquids going from liquid to gas phase expand around 1000 times (just an illustration number, science junkies) in volume, the rapid changing of the phase of the foreign liquid to gas causes an explosion of molten metal. How severe of an explosion depends on the amount of liquid, and the rate of phase change.
If you are like many folk who recycle wheel weights, you probably have experienced this phenomenon. It can scare you $hitless in no time flat. You might find lead all over your clothes, and a non lead brick in your pants, and a warm, wet feeling trickling down your leg... I personally believe that the size of the explosion multiplied by how easily you startle will determine the extent of the visceral reaction a tinsel fairy has on your bodily functions.
Can these brick forming, ill described fairy monsters be tamed?? The answer is yes. When metal refiners are melting scrap down, rarely do they just toss a bunch of scrap in a pail and turn the heat up to max. Generally they will run the scrap through an incineration process to burn away all the oil, water, paint, and other things that can cause a small explosion.
What does this involve??? you ask. Good question. Being more specific than general metals, lead melts at a lower temperature than many of the other recycled metals, but in wheel weight scrap, is generally mixed with oil. There are two ways to easily go about it. For both of these methods, the easiest way is to get a one piece body stainless steel pail from a place like Princess Auto. They have one that's about 2.5 gallons. Perfect for the job. One piece means that there is no soldered on bottom on the pail. It can have a handle, etc.
The first method is probably the cleanest. You add a layer of weights about 3-4 deep, and you have a weed burner torch attached to you propane bottle with which you lightly scorch the weights. This might cause the paint the fall off the weights quickly. It depends on the weight type. Add another layer that deep, and repeat until the pail is about 3/4 full. Then you can melt that.
One can also fill a pail 3/4 full and melt it with direct application of flame from the top. It greatly speeds up the beginning process of melting on a burner, etc.
The second method is the smellier one. Fill the stainless pail about half to 3/4 full of weights while you're melting your first lot. Add about a cup of gasoline to the weights, making sure that it's not just poured in but distributed around the surface. Then you light the gasoline from the surface. The gas should dissolve much of the oils, water, etc., and burn them off while on fire. The small amount should not have enough heat to melt the lead.
Once you've done one of these two steps to the lead, the weights should be a lot safer to add to your molten melt. If you're using gas, and you come across liquid after burning, if it's unburned gas, burn again.
I prefer the weed burner method as it's dry, and generally don't add solid lead to the molten. I will fill a stainless pail almost full of wheel weights, then I melt from both the top with a weed burner and bottom at the same time. Once an inch or so of molten lead is in the bottom, it really melts quick. The direct heat from the weed burner is much more effective than conductive heat in starting a pail to melt. Conductive heat is more effective after there is a layer of a certain thickness on the bottom to conduct the hear through the material being melted.
I don't really worry that much about zinc, as it really easy for me to deal with. But I do sort the weights, and keep the zinc and steel weights separate from each other. I have other uses for zinc. I pick out the clips and keep them with the steel weights to sell to the recycler. Zinc I have other uses for, so I do try to keep that separate.
I hope this helps increase safety.
Happy and safe casting.
So, a tinsel fairy is caused by a steam bubble forming below the surface of, in this case, molten lead. As water and many other liquids going from liquid to gas phase expand around 1000 times (just an illustration number, science junkies) in volume, the rapid changing of the phase of the foreign liquid to gas causes an explosion of molten metal. How severe of an explosion depends on the amount of liquid, and the rate of phase change.
If you are like many folk who recycle wheel weights, you probably have experienced this phenomenon. It can scare you $hitless in no time flat. You might find lead all over your clothes, and a non lead brick in your pants, and a warm, wet feeling trickling down your leg... I personally believe that the size of the explosion multiplied by how easily you startle will determine the extent of the visceral reaction a tinsel fairy has on your bodily functions.
Can these brick forming, ill described fairy monsters be tamed?? The answer is yes. When metal refiners are melting scrap down, rarely do they just toss a bunch of scrap in a pail and turn the heat up to max. Generally they will run the scrap through an incineration process to burn away all the oil, water, paint, and other things that can cause a small explosion.
What does this involve??? you ask. Good question. Being more specific than general metals, lead melts at a lower temperature than many of the other recycled metals, but in wheel weight scrap, is generally mixed with oil. There are two ways to easily go about it. For both of these methods, the easiest way is to get a one piece body stainless steel pail from a place like Princess Auto. They have one that's about 2.5 gallons. Perfect for the job. One piece means that there is no soldered on bottom on the pail. It can have a handle, etc.
The first method is probably the cleanest. You add a layer of weights about 3-4 deep, and you have a weed burner torch attached to you propane bottle with which you lightly scorch the weights. This might cause the paint the fall off the weights quickly. It depends on the weight type. Add another layer that deep, and repeat until the pail is about 3/4 full. Then you can melt that.
One can also fill a pail 3/4 full and melt it with direct application of flame from the top. It greatly speeds up the beginning process of melting on a burner, etc.
The second method is the smellier one. Fill the stainless pail about half to 3/4 full of weights while you're melting your first lot. Add about a cup of gasoline to the weights, making sure that it's not just poured in but distributed around the surface. Then you light the gasoline from the surface. The gas should dissolve much of the oils, water, etc., and burn them off while on fire. The small amount should not have enough heat to melt the lead.
Once you've done one of these two steps to the lead, the weights should be a lot safer to add to your molten melt. If you're using gas, and you come across liquid after burning, if it's unburned gas, burn again.
I prefer the weed burner method as it's dry, and generally don't add solid lead to the molten. I will fill a stainless pail almost full of wheel weights, then I melt from both the top with a weed burner and bottom at the same time. Once an inch or so of molten lead is in the bottom, it really melts quick. The direct heat from the weed burner is much more effective than conductive heat in starting a pail to melt. Conductive heat is more effective after there is a layer of a certain thickness on the bottom to conduct the hear through the material being melted.
I don't really worry that much about zinc, as it really easy for me to deal with. But I do sort the weights, and keep the zinc and steel weights separate from each other. I have other uses for zinc. I pick out the clips and keep them with the steel weights to sell to the recycler. Zinc I have other uses for, so I do try to keep that separate.
I hope this helps increase safety.
Happy and safe casting.
The zinc is easily castable into bullets on its own.
