| Posted: Tue Apr 21st, 2009 04:53 PM |
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RemMan700
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Well my buddy works for a Ford dealership in the service dept and he scored me a giant box of old wheel weights. He said the box prob has 300-400 lbs of weights in it. I guess it is time to buy a pot and casting supplies.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21st, 2009 05:09 PM |
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2nd Post |
NoQuarter
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Thats how I started. I now still keep a box by the balance machine of 2 big shops, I go by and check on them and when at least half full I give the guys a 20.00 and thank em and they keep on filling them up. I'm no expert on hardness and such, I just melt it down, skim off the top and throw in a hunk of beeswax and start filling my molds. I purchase hunting bullets, I make stuff for shooting.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21st, 2009 05:29 PM |
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RemMan700
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Yeah I have been watching a bunch of casting videos on youtube and casting looks like alot of fun. I guess I just need to find a good source of cheep tin so I can play around with making different alloys. I really only plan on casting for .38/357 mag and .45 ACP. Maybe someday I will try some casting for my .30 cal rifles.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 21st, 2009 08:09 PM |
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RemMan700
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How do you tell zinc wheel weights from the lead ones?
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| Posted: Wed Apr 22nd, 2009 12:35 AM |
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72coupe
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They float to the top and don't melt.
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| Posted: Fri Apr 24th, 2009 06:25 PM |
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fryboy
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they are also usually attached by riveting ( not always) where they leave a couple zinc "tits" and then place the steel clip on and smash the tit .quite often ( not always ) they are painted silver, btw ? the lead tape on weights ? are usually pure lead ( and the adhesive stinks bad when smelting )
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30th, 2009 08:29 PM |
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Old Fart
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If memory serves me correctly??????
Lead melts around 550f
Zinc melts around 700f
If you are not using a casting thermomter you can mix zinc in the mix. Easiest way to watch out for it is to keep an eye on the pot when you add new ww's. The lead ones will melt quicker leaving the zinc and steel ones floating on top for a short period of time.
I would suggest turning up the temp on your pot slowly. Once they start melting level it off. Hopefully the first ones to melt will be lead. Although I had a guy sell me, seldom do I buy any, a bucket ww's that turned out to be almost all zinc. If that is the case you may not be able to tell the difference without a casting thermometer.
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| Posted: Thu Apr 30th, 2009 09:06 PM |
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runfiverun
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lead melts at 630* with tin etc added it is in the same area. tin alone melts at 450* and high tin alloys will melt in between the two numbers, zinc melts at 770*.
the best place to learn how to cast is the castboolits website.
they can tell/show/help you get started or become better.
i shoot lead in everything. rifles, revolvers, pistols, levers. and i use them for hunting everything too, rock chucks, coyotes, deer, elk. whatever.
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