What a Fluxing nice day for Smelting!

[jameslovesjammie]

Spring is finally starting up here in the Northland!  I could finally see the driveway, so I moved the 5 foot snow drift from in front of my "Lead Shed" and got (3) 1.5 gallon pails of wheel weights for smelting.



I got everything set up, but needed to get my casting ladle.

That's not a lead ladle.



That's not a lead ladle.



THAT'S a Lead Ladle!  A Rowell #5.  It's a bottom pour ladle with a 5# bowl, 31" D handle, and sliding sleeve for optimum comfort and ergonomics.



I got my 4 new RCBS ingot moulds lined up and ready to go!



After filling the 8" Dutch Oven with wheel weights and skimming off the clips, it was time to flux.  Ontop of the melt, I put about 1/4" of hardwood sawdust. 



The reason for using sawdust is that after it burns, you are left with alot of carbon and carbohydrates.  By mixing it back into the melt, the impurities and "junk" are attracted to the carbon.  This brings all the stuff that I don't want in the melt to the top, where it can be easily skimmed off.



After about 15-20 minutes of stirring and scraping the sides of the pot, I checked the temperature and it was good to go for making ingots!  I skimmed off all the dross and it was time to make ingots!



So I poured a few ingots and the pot got low, so I had to add more raw wheel weights.  When they melted down, I would skim off the clips and add more wheel weights until the pot was full again.



I did this for a few hours, at MY pace.  I didn't want to make it work.    My beautiful wife was kind enough to watch the boys while I played outside, with only a few questions from my 7 year old about what I was doing.  What was my reward?  This little pyramid of ingots:



That filled about a third of a milk crate.



I ended up with 152 ingots.  Each ingot is just over a pound.  That's over a million grains of lead.  If I cast nothing but 125 grain round nose bullets for 9mm, this is over 8,500 bullets!

Not bad for finally getting a chance to spend some time out of the house!  Unless it snows tomorrow (which actually IS in the forecast) I am going to try and render some more, time and weather permitting.  I will most likely have to go back to work at the end of the week, so I need to get done what I can while I have time.

[Skookum]

I thought you were catching little fish.

[czkali]

That's awesome, you make it look and sound so simple. Thanks for the pics.

[Old Rocket]

That's awesome, you make it look and sound so simple. Thanks for the pics.

I agree and it will be a little while before I think about adding that step to my reloading program.

[jameslovesjammie]

I thought you were catching little fish.

Well, the smelt will start running here soon!   

[Riptide439]

That's awesome, you make it look and sound so simple. Thanks for the pics.

I agree and it will be a little while before I think about adding that step to my reloading program.

+1 !!

JLJ - What is the average time to pour about a 100?

[jameslovesjammie]

JLJ - What is the average time to pour about a 100?

Most of the time is spent waiting for the lead to melt.  I know that sounds obvious, but I probably spend 10 percent of the time actually doing anything.  With the 8 quart Dutch Oven, 100 pounds or so is about a full pot.  If you start with an empty pot, you have to fill it with wheel weights, then you have to wait until they are melted.  Then remove all the steel clips, add more wheel weights, and repeat until you have about 3/4" of room on top of the pot with just lead in the pot.  Then you will flux as many times as you need.  The purpose of rendering your wheel weight material in a separate pot than your bullet casting pot is so you keep the JUNK out!  Some guys flux their melt so much that they don't need to flux in their casting pot.  I remove 98 percent or so of the junk in this smelting/rendering process.  I still flux in my casting pot.  Cleaner lead makes better bullets. 

As to how much time it takes...the more time you take cleaning the lead, the better the end product will be.  I work at my own pace, as I don't consider this to be work.  It's a part of the hobby.  Also, there is the safety factor.  You are working around 650 degree lead.  If you were to dump over the dutch oven by accident, you're gonna have a bad day.  The danger of working with lead is NOT inhalation of lead fumes (you are working with temperatures where lead is liquified, not a gas); the danger of working with molten lead is the temperature.  Spilled lead will solidify quite quickly, but still has 550 degrees or so of temperature retained in it.  So wearing gloves, a long sleeved shirt, leather boots, and eye protection are paramount.  You can try to rush the process, but anytime you start rushing something, your chances for an accident are greatly increased.  PPE is a must!

[Bossgobbler]

In stead of the sawdust, you should try Beeswax.  Works real fast and it works the tin & Antimony back into the lead.  The more tin & Antimony in the lead the harder it is.  Wheel weights are high in Antimony about 9% only about 2% tin.  Hard cast bullets are about 87% lead, 6% tin & 7% Antimony.

[jameslovesjammie]

In stead of the sawdust, you should try Beeswax. 

Nope.  Sawdust is the best absolute best flux.  I used to flux with beeswax for years.  The first time I fluxed with sawdust, I was blown away at how much of a better job it did.  I had a bunch of gray white junk come up (I am assuming calcium) from the melt that NEVER came up with beeswax.

I heard about it at castboolits.gunloads.com from several members.  It is also listed to be the best chemically in Ph.D. Chemist Glenn Fryxell's book: From Ingot to Target, Chapter 4: Fluxing.

http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_4_Fluxing.htm

Try it!  You won't go back to beeswax!

[TN.Frank]

Nice set up. I gave up on casting about 6 months ago when I actually had to buy wheel weights to cast into bullets for a 45acp that I had. At $25/50lbs and adding in all the time and trouble of smelting, then casting and lubing and sizing, ect. it's just about as cheap for me to buy plated bullets from Berry's or X-Treme(when they get the dang things back in stock,LOL). I'm sure someday I'll get back into it if/when I can find a good deal on lead to cast with but dang, having to actually buy wheel weights took all the fun out of it for me.

[jameslovesjammie]

I will have to get the designation when I get home, but it is a 4 cavity Ballisti-Cast.

UPDATE:

It's a Ballisti-Cast 931 (Hensley and Gibbs 331).  This is new manufacture by new owner Mike Sand.

[jameslovesjammie]

They look just like my Lyman 147gr, mould #356637.  Similar.  The Lyman is a flat point and seems to have a little more bearing surface.  It is a proven performer!
What is the BC?  Don't have a clue!  It would be neat to know.
Have you chrono'd the muzzle velocity? 

I haven't chrono'd them.  I load these pretty light for my wife (that's her 75B in the picture above).  I used 2.9 grains of 700-X loaded to 1.129".  I would guess was somewhere around 900 fps or so, maybe less.  The only time I have had this load to the range, it was -6F and my Chronograph's battery kicked the bucket on me.  I have used LLA, JPW, and Caranuba Red for lube with this bullet and not seen any leading so far with any of them.

[LTRace]

JLJ, Thank you very much for taking the time and effort going through this first step of the process. With all the reading and research for someone cosidering doing this it is exremely helpful to see it being done. Thanks again.

[armoredman]

Nice, great post! Love the pics. On the side, my wife and I both said you look like you could be my brother...ain't that a trip?
Hmm, when I run low I know who to ask to buy some ingots from... I don't smelt. Love the mold, great looking boolit I'm bettering on - how much was the mold? I use Lee due to cost.

[jameslovesjammie]

Nice, great post! Love the pics. On the side, my wife and I both said you look like you could be my brother...ain't that a trip?  Your brother must be one HANDSOME devil!
Hmm, when I run low I know who to ask to buy some ingots from... I don't smelt. I've got your address.  I just got back to work, but you'll have a package inbound in a few weeks!  This is 100% clip on wheel weights, so you may want to cut it with something softer if you can (Or shoot it in your 7.62x39)Love the mold, great looking boolit I'm bettering on - how much was the mold? I use Lee due to cost.  $130.  Which is less than the price of a SAECO, and a semi-custom design.

I got it when Mike Sand purchased Ballisti-Cast from Gaylen Ness and moved the company.  (Still in ND, just not in Minot anymore)  He did a group buy on castboolits.  The mould was not cheap, but it is as custom of a mould as you can get from a major manufacturer.  He will custom cut the cavity depending on what alloy you are using.  I specified that I wanted to have the mould cut to drop a .358" bullet with wheel weight alloy, and he did so. I paid $130 plus shipping, but this was on a special group buy.  They are so backlogged right now with commercial casting machines that they aren't accepting orders for hand cast moulds. 

I have several Lee and Lee Custom moulds.  I use them all the time.  As long as you aren't rough with them (which you shouldn't be with ANY mould, anyway) they will last a lifetime.  For me, it comes down to bullet design.  If I like the design, I buy the mould.  I have 36 moulds from Lee, Lee Custom, Ideal, Lyman, Cramer, Modern Bond, Ohaus, Saeco, RCBS, NOE, MP, and Ballisti-Cast.  The Lee produce bullets as good as any of them.  If it wasn't for Lee, there is absolutely no way I could have afforded getting into casting when I did.  Even now, when I start shooting a new caliber the first thing I do is see if there is a Lee mould available to fit my needs.  The value of Lee moulds cannot be beaten!  Inexpensive does not mean cheap.