Newby on the block... well, to casting anyways.

[Back_Roads]

 My knocker is a 9" section of 2x4, with a 1 inch dowel for a handle gives me a large striking area so I do not miss it does chip off some wood, but I repurpose the sawdust

[avator]

Woke up this morning with my lower back all jacked up from bouncing around for 2 hours on the z turn yesterday but I still plan on working on an exhaust hood a fan. I'll keep my eyes open for a knocker in my travels.

[triggertreat]

Dab a Q-Tip with some 2-cycle oil and hit the pin tips with it to help the HPs drop off until you get the pins hot enough. Not too much oil to ruin your cast though.  The oil is good for the mold pins and sprue plate as well.

[Madd Hatter]

Woke up this morning with my lower back all jacked up from bouncing around for 2 hours on the z turn yesterday but I still plan on working on an exhaust hood a fan. I'll keep my eyes open for a knocker in my travels.

Remember, if your mold is set up correctly you shouldn't have to more than just tap the hinge on the mold handles to get the casting to drop from the mold.

Dab a Q-Tip with some 2-cycle oil and hit the pin tips with it to help the HPs drop off until you get the pins hot enough. Not too much oil to ruin your cast though.  The oil is good for the mold pins and sprue plate as well.

Full synthetic 2 smoke oil only. If it has any petroleum oil in it it will coke up and not let the mold close all of the way. Don't ask me how I know.😞

[avator]

Took a ride to Troy, Al this morning. At Walmart I picked up a nice heavy SS sauce pan and a single burner hot plate for melting down melting down the wheel weights. Also some beeswax.
Stopped at the thrift store and found a perfect non coated 6 muffin pan for making lead pucks... also a heavy (old school) SS table spoon for scooping off the dross.

[Hoosier Daddy]

OK... another Noob question.
I have been using wax for flux and it seems to draw out the impurities (draus) well and I can then skim it off.
Now I read wax is not a flux...and sawdust is... So why is candle wax (paraffin) even suggested?

[Insanity]

Wax is a reductant it puts tin back into solution.

[avator]

Nothin' says lovin' like 7 hot muffins.... 

[avator]

And this is the trash that's left over...

[Insanity]

Not bad

[avator]

Free is good..   

[avator]

Steel weights stuck to the magnet and were tossed aside.
Zinc had the ZN initials on it and if I missed one they melt much slower and the steel clips don't melt at all. So I can watch it and once the lead melts, I can scoop off all the zinc and steel along with the draus and pour the remaining lead into the muffin pan.
Once I get it to the LEE pot for pouring pellets, I'll add the beeswax which should bring any remaining impurities to the top. Bottom pouring pellets should be nice and clean providing I don't let the pot run low.

[avator]

All said and done, it took about an hour. Betty Lou was a big help... she sorted steel and zinc weights with the magnet and visual.
We really enjoyed it and look forward to making pellets.
That was about a half of a normal water bucket of the lead weights... next week I'll go see Pete and get a whole 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights.
Also... I have that 1 ingot of Lyman lead and the other 20# I bought just left Jersey.
I'll separate these pellets from the ones poured with the known lead ingots and see if there is any weight  or accuracy differences.

[brewbear]

Nothin' says lovin' like 7 hot muffins.... 

Now you're cookin'

[avator]

But wait.. there's more....

I gathered up a bunch of tins of pellets that I've collected over the years.... you know, the misfits that no gun will shoot. The ones some would use for breaking in a new springer.
Or... the ones worthy of smelting into ingots....   
I raided only one of my pellet stash locations... I have 2 more stash locations to go.
Betty Lou and I opened the tins and dumped them in. I was very surprised at the amount of draus that rose to the top. I mean, some straight up dirt looking junk
I'm not sure if it made a difference but I did add a small pea size scoop of Murray's beezwax.
We got 5 more muffins.
We got more flippin muffins around here than Drunkin Dognuts (spelling).

[avator]

Tune in next week for lead birthday cake decorating.... 

[EdinGa]

OK... another Noob question.
I have been using wax for flux and it seems to draw out the impurities (draus) well and I can then skim it off.
Now I read wax is not a flux...and sawdust is... So why is candle wax (paraffin) even suggested?

http://www.sixguns.com/crew/simplefluxing.htm

[Spacebus]

OK... another Noob question.
I have been using wax for flux and it seems to draw out the impurities (draus) well and I can then skim it off.
Now I read wax is not a flux...and sawdust is... So why is candle wax (paraffin) even suggested?

http://www.sixguns.com/crew/simplefluxing.htm

That was a nice read! Makes sense with everything I've learned about chemistry in college. I use borax myself along wtih sawdust that makes its way into my reclaimed lead. I make plenty milling lumber, cutting firewood, using my carpentry saws, etc. Just have to make sure its dry!

[avator]

I plan to try various methods to see what works best for me, if needed, not to be confused what works best for others...
Like I said early, I watched an hour long video this morning from a guy who has been casting for 40 years and I tend to respect that.
He showed the ways of old and the current processes, which he is now encorporating.... to a certain level.
To me that speaks volumes... it tells me that he is willing to apply new methods.... whatever produces the best results.
His recomendation was beeswax.... nothing more, nothing less. That is the method I will try first...if it works for me, I can't think of a resaon to do anythng differently.

[Spacebus]

I've met a few contractors that had been doing things wrong for 40 years and didn't see any reason to change. I've even done things one way for many years only to find a better way later, even though what I was doing did work.

I think beeswax or paraffin is good to use, especially if you have tin in the melt that you want to keep present. Otherwise, just use borax or sawdust to actually flux the lead. Using chemistry can be fun!