bwhite829 Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Hello! So apparently when I started talking to my grandfather about casting, he told me they used to cast all their weights and hand load and cast their shotgun loads. He has half a 5 gal bucket of wheel weights and about 30 lbs of old sinkers that people gave him for offshore, some as much as 10+ oz so I am off to a good start with lead sources. He has an old pot that has a hole and he said can be soldered shut with a patch but after reading posts about cracked pots splitting, I am thinking about getting a new pot. Found a cast iron pot about 4x8 for $15 and a single burning electric stove for $15 at the store today. I saw a video of stove top casting so am thinking the pot gets hot enough with a burner on high. Would this be a sufficient set up to start off with? $30 is a decent price to see if it is something I want to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Some may scoff at this, but ive melted all my lead on the kitchen stove.... Though its only verry small batches, maybe 4 or 5 ballast weights or maybe a dozen crappie sized jig heads at a time I got a little kit from Cabelas with a small steel pot and a laddle.... It works, just have to keep the laddle hot, or the lead will stick to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhite829 Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Thanks for the input. Everything will be outdoors in small quantities but its good to know an electronic burner is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Wheel weights in the house? My vote is no. I use them for sinkers, and they get melted down outside for sure. When cleaned/fluxed, then I make pour them into blocks, and they can be used in the garage later, but even then, window/doors open, and fan at the window to draw the stank out. Wheel weights have a lot of nasty stuff in them that can be inhaled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhite829 Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 I'll be doing it outside, on the carport, with a plug in single burner running from electric cord to outlet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 Wheel weights in the house? My vote is no. I use them for sinkers, and they get melted down outside for sure. When cleaned/fluxed, then I make pour them into blocks, and they can be used in the garage later, but even then, window/doors open, and fan at the window to draw the stank out. Wheel weights have a lot of nasty stuff in them that can be inhaled. Ive only used pure lead, dont know if that makes a difference with the fumes or not??.... But the kitchen was my only option, didnt have a stove outside........... Things are about to change though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 bwhite, I know you probably want to start this out on the less expensive side. So, if you are going to use a pot, I know that cast iron is ideal, however it is very heavy, also when you add in the lead it will be heavier. make sure your stove can handle the weight. Now as far as using lead weights and unknown lead, I am not a big fan of this. Reason being is this. First of all you don't know what is in the lead you got. Secondly if there is any water in the lead weights, and you put them in a pot of lead, the lead will explode all around you causing severe burns. I am dead serious about this. Water or any moisture, sweat, bugs or anything that has moisture that will fall in the pot is extremely dangerous. If I were you, I would learn how to pour and start you hobby on the safe side and buy clean lead. Once you master that then start with lead weights. It may cost you more in the long run, but it is well worth it. Also you will run into less problems with pouring if you do not use lead weights. Just my opinion and thought on this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhite829 Posted January 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 bwhite, I know you probably want to start this out on the less expensive side. So, if you are going to use a pot, I know that cast iron is ideal, however it is very heavy, also when you add in the lead it will be heavier. make sure your stove can handle the weight. Now as far as using lead weights and unknown lead, I am not a big fan of this. Reason being is this. First of all you don't know what is in the lead you got. Secondly if there is any water in the lead weights, and you put them in a pot of lead, the lead will explode all around you causing severe burns. I am dead serious about this. Water or any moisture, sweat, bugs or anything that has moisture that will fall in the pot is extremely dangerous. If I were you, I would learn how to pour and start you hobby on the safe side and buy clean lead. Once you master that then start with lead weights. It may cost you more in the long run, but it is well worth it. Also you will run into less problems with pouring if you do not use lead weights. Just my opinion and thought on this. Thank you for the input. I've read about the dangers of getting wet or dirty lead in a pot hence the full face mask, full clothing, welding gloves, etc. I am not willing to chance a trip to the ER for a hobby. I was watching fortunecookie45lc on youtube, he's got a channel devoted to pouring bullets and he says much of the same stuff that I've learned about here and he recommended a coleman camp stove. I saw some for about $20-$25 after shipping on ebay so I might spend the extra $10 or so and get one of those instead. Will be a little more expensive after the cost of fuel but won't need an extension cord to trip over so might be safer. I can see me tripping over an extension cord and a pot of lead spilling everywhere. As far as lead source, I am waiting to hear back about 2-3 rolls of 4'x25'x1/8" lead x ray lining that I might get for free. its like 99% lead so will be starting off w/ that probably. Also fortunecookie45lc mentioned the lead film for dental x rays so I'm going to call around on Monday to see if any local dentists are still using the non-digital x rays so I can get some of that, also like 99% lead. If not, I'll start off slow w/ the lead weights & wheel weights, starting w/ a couple at a time. I can mitigate a lot of the dangers I think by starting in small batches. I don't need a full pot of lead going at all times starting out I think. Thank you for the heads up again, it reassured me that I am going w/ the right choice of the face guard, welding gloves, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 If you end up using the weights and other scrap lead, you can put it in a cold pan before you start to heat. This will bring the temp up slowly and the moisture will evaporate before it becomes a problem. Just don't add them to molten lead as stated above. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted January 2, 2016 Report Share Posted January 2, 2016 If you end up using the weights and other scrap lead, you can put it in a cold pan before you start to heat. This will bring the temp up slowly and the moisture will evaporate before it becomes a problem. Just don't add them to molten lead as stated above. I don't do this with wheel weights, but I get lead pipe a lot and this is how I do it. I saw lead pipe blow crap out of the end one time from pressure build up from the pipe having a clog in it. BWHITE...I do have a friend that uses one of those colmen camping stoves. He has never had an issue yet, but he does like it better when I let him use my pot. He only does about 10#'S of lead at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
