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There has to be an easier and faster way to clean up this lead than in this 10-pound pot. Add a pound or so and it cools down a bit. Clean the gritty sand like substance off the top with a tea spoon. Them repeat the process. Any help on a better mouse trap?? THANKS IN ADVANCE! Hey also, next time what is the best lead to buy to avoid this chore again???
I clean mine in a cast iron pot on top of a fish cooker. I'll usually clean enough to make a 100 lbs of ingots. Best to keep dirty lead out of your pot. It will make pouring a whole lot easier! Oh and the purer (softer) the lead the better!
Nightprowler,how many jigs do you want to make?lol.1 pound of lead will make 4116,1/16 oz. jigs.lol.I bought 15 pounds of soft lead about 5 years ago from a guy on Ebay for like $18 including shipping.I was like you when I first started and cleaned and melted about 500 pounds of wheel weights.Poured them into ingots and still have about 485 pounds left.I make a lot of saltwater stuff including a lot of 5 oz. flutter jigs.You don't need much.If you could find like 5 pounds of good soft lead,you would'nt have to worry about anything for a really long time.
AZ, it takes (256) 1/16th oz jigs to make a lb.
Your right Ronny,lol.I added and extra 16 in my multaplication.Too many 16's there.That's why I like the 1/8 better,lol.5 pounds will still get ya a bunch of jigs Prowler.Ha
I never really thought about it in terms of usage...lol. I just wanted to clean all this lead up. Is there a good way to store the lead once it is clean so it is pour ready, let say in 5-10 years?
In 5 years (really less) you will again have oxidation and will need to be fluxed ... fluxing has saved me more trouble than any other thing working with lead.
Make it part of your routine.
Hope that helps a little.
JSC
I keep my lead in Rubbermaid totes with lids and it still gets a bit of oxidation, but not much. I've even gone to putting some of the moisture packs in with it. IF you have a vacumme packer like a food saver you could keep the lead from oxidizing if you pour your ingots let them TOTALLY cool off and vacume pack them!!!! but I think that's going a bit far LOL
Fatman