Looking for some sources for lead to pour some jigs.....
Just curious if any one has used lead shot found a few bags that are 92% lead vs 99% on the ingots....
Any one tried this? Any info is appreciated as I am new to pouring.
THanks
Printable View
Looking for some sources for lead to pour some jigs.....
Just curious if any one has used lead shot found a few bags that are 92% lead vs 99% on the ingots....
Any one tried this? Any info is appreciated as I am new to pouring.
THanks
I don't pour, but think shot is probably good, but you still need some other things to mix in. Here is some ideas of where to get lead...tire weights ....miners lead from coal miners...... bullets..plumbers lead from guys redoing old houses..xray lead from hospitals X-ray room. The X-Ray Rooms have to be re-done every so often so is a good source if you know who they contract the work with. Also know wheel weights .........strain wheel weights several time to get the junk out.
The to help hardness and keeping them nice an shinny use some babbitt.
Again I know nothing my self about this, but some of what I have learned from others that pour lead. I think every good jig head maker has his own recipe they use to mix their lead.
Hope it helps!
Skip
I'd do a search on the shot on the internet and check what the other stuff is in the shot.
Some folks have bought from ROTO metals - check with local plumbers sometimes they tear old lead pipe out of houses and it's good stuff once it's all cleaned. Check salvage yards but you'll have to clean it up.
We like Decoy weights!! After duck season the stores don't like keeping the lead around!!!! Get some good deals!!
We like Decoy weights!! After duck season the stores don't like keeping the lead around!!!! Sometimes dentist will give or sell it to you!! They use lead in Xrays and don't want to pay to get rid of it!!
Unless I'm mistaken the other metal is antimony and tin. What you have is magnum shot, which is harder than chilled. You should be OK with the shot once it has the oxidation skimmed off when it's melted. It works similar to wheel weights and will do best in 1/16 and over. With a hot mold and the temp of the pot around 9 it would most likely do 1/32 also. 5 or 6 rounds of pours without hooks will let you know when the mold is up to heat, too cold wont fill in right.
Shot is selling for around $50/25 LB and is quite hard. I believe it does not pour well in small molds. You could sell the shot to a reloader and purchase a larger quantity soft lead from a scrap dealer.
Dentists are sometimes glad to get rid of lead strips they use for x rays. Several small packages will only give you a couple pounds but it is about as good as you can get. I sometimes add shot or a slug to make it a little harder.
Big sheets of lead are used by hospitals for x rays if you can find it. One good sheet should last a very, very long time and make a ton of jigs. I buy 5 lb. ingots from plumbing supply stores.
Avoid tire weights or anything else with a lot of junk added unless you don't mind fluxing it a lot to get rid of impurities.
Be very careful of using scrap lead that might have pockets of moisture. It's my understanding if you drop in a pot of hot melted lead it could result in an explosion possibly causing severe burns.
Magnum shot is hard, but chilled shot is pure lead. I reloaded for years and can say there is a big difference between the two. The biggest consideration would be that it is a bit dirty. It's dusted with graphite to keep it from bridging in the reloader and to aid it settling on setback when being fired. Other than that I see no difference in the magnum shot that I used to but and the wheel weight shot that came from a friends shotmaker. But whatever you're comfortable with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob/MN
I found a local re cycling yard, gave them my phone number when X-ray room lead comes in call me! A little glue on the back, I get it for.74 a pound! I bought 52 lbs last time will last me 2 years. If I was pouring just lead I could have hit the jack pot the had two 55 gal. Drums full!
Check with your tire store for a bucket of wheel weights. Separate the trash, stick ons, clip ons, scrap metal and zinc. Zinc wheel weights will have ZN on them, most of the time. Lead stick ons will be a medium to dark gray color. Melt the stick ons separate from the clip ons into ingots and labeled. Hold the heat between 650 and 700, if zinc gets in the melt it will float, it melts at 728. I pour the melt onto an aluminum baker's sheet as silver dollar size and cornbread sticks of 1 lb each. Easier to mix for the hardness I want. A thermometer is your best friend. Lyman or RCBS 1,000 degree will cost $40 to $45. A King Kooker 750 degree will cost $10. Collect the scrap, drool and zinc, sell it as scrap to get some of your money back.
I personally wouldn't use shot to pour jigs unless it was an emergency, it's way to expensive. Several years ago I bought some roof flashings that were used on plumbing vents. It has to be cleaned up but works great.
Go to a facebook reloading group that lets you sell, not The Reloading Room. Lee Reloading & Casting Equipment Group is good.
Recycled shot goes for $40 and new goes for $50. Offer the shot for a trade for more lead weight than shot weight. Try to get half pure lead and half wheel weights. You will want to melt it at about a 50/50 mix for full cav. fill.
I guess I'm the oddball here. I use an old cast iron dutch oven and melt my lead in that with it sitting on a fish cooker burner. Bought a ladle off eBay and skim impurities with it and use it to fill my molds.
I use wheel weights for pouring jigs. I pour 1/32 and 1/16 oz jigs primarily and bell sinkers with swivels in them. I do pour some ingots and decoy weights as well. Getting the mold up to temp is a big deal for pouring any of my stuff. I always pour blanks until the molds fill out.
There are some places you can get some good scrap lead, such as flashings or plumbers lead. Usually scrap lead is in a bigger piece and has to be cut down (hence the using of a dutch oven style cast iron pot). I can get a big piece of lead in that. I use the plumbers lead and flashing for my wrap around decoy weights as it is softer lead. The wheel weights are a hard lead but they will pour a jig head for me just fine.