June 18, 2020, 12:32 PM | #1 |
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Do I have bad lead?
Somewhat new to casting, have about 6k bullet experience with 5 different molds, everything working great over several sessions in last year or so.
Using recovered INDOOR range lead that I melted & poured into ingots for later use, have used them with great success in bottom pour Lee pot. Using same source/batch of lead mentioned above, I poured off a few bars into the Lee ingot mold while casting bullets and found that some of them would break when I dumped out the mold. The lead would crumble like breaking a cookie exposing sugar looking crystals/granules of lead. When thin ingots are still warm, I can bend some of them while others break as described, all from same pot of lead. Have I overheated the lead or under / over fluxed it with sawdust? I'm removing the slag after fluxing but remelts are not producing any noticeable amount of slag. Thinking I have cast hundreds of bad bullets I remelted & cast again with same results. My next move is to abandon this lead & start fresh, but really want to understand what I'm doing wrong...ANY SUGGESTIONS???
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June 18, 2020, 04:40 PM | #2 |
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Don't know what you've got there Dead-Nuts-Zero, but that's not normal lead. I'd toss it and start over.
Don
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June 19, 2020, 04:06 AM | #3 |
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I've had that before and haven't a clue what caused it. I was told too much antimony, too hot, yada yada.
I added it to my pot one ingot at a time with some that was almost pure Pb, once stirred in with a chunk of paraffin I noticed nothing unusual with the bullets poured. I did however relegate those batches to target type bullets for the 38 and 45acp.
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June 19, 2020, 05:58 AM | #4 | |
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It is not a problem. For God's sake do not throw away usable Lead alloy...just add some pure/"plumber's lead to soften them up (or shoot them as they are). |
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June 19, 2020, 06:05 PM | #5 |
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My cast bullets all looked good, however I was unsure and remelted most of them. My plan is to work in the 25 pounds.of the suspected bad lead gradually with good lead over time to use it up.
I saved about 300 of the questionable bullets in 9 & 44, and powder coated them today, they look great. Will try to get some plinking fun out of them. Thanks to all for your comments.
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June 19, 2020, 10:28 PM | #6 | |
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June 20, 2020, 12:26 AM | #7 |
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mehavey - Can't tell you temp. but they were fairly hot, maybe 450 - 500 when I first discovered this problem.
In trouble shooting, I also tried allowing some thin pours to cool to maybe 200, some would break, some would bend (using pliers on each end of the thin bars). As I recall, the cooler the lead bars the more likely they were to bend. I worked them back & forth several times to get them to break/tear exposing various stages of granules with each bar. It was mostly the thick bars that were crumbling showing the most granules, and once they were cold I could wack them on table & they would continue to break/crumble.
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June 20, 2020, 07:44 AM | #8 |
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Lead not suppose to break?? Tried some known wheel weights, all of them broke, mind you they bent first but every one broke. This was at about 80* F.
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June 20, 2020, 09:57 AM | #9 | |
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Originally Posted by USSR View Post Don't know what you've got there Dead-Nuts-Zero, but that's not normal lead. I'd toss it and start over. Don Quote:
Don
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June 20, 2020, 11:50 AM | #10 |
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Have you tested the bullets/ingots for hardness?
What hot lead does is one thing, and besides your not shooting ingots are you. Make the bullets and shoot them just as dahermit has said. |
June 20, 2020, 10:14 PM | #11 |
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Do things look like this, perchance?
If so, that crystalline structure in the break is purely a function of the internal ingot temperature still being too hot when put in stress. Let things cool and you'll be fine: |
June 21, 2020, 10:54 AM | #12 | |
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As for lead being "cheap", here in Southern Michigan, sellers (Craig's List and Facebook Market Place) are typically demanding $2.00/lb. now...not exactly "cheap". The only lead alloy that I found to be virtually unusable was that which had been contaminated by Zinc (from Zinc wheel weights) or Calcium (from no-maintenance batteries). All other lead alloys that I have encountered since the middle sixties (yup, I am that old), when I began casting, were usable as bullet casting alloys. Original poster: If you live close by (Litchfield, MI), I will take that "bad" alloy off your hands and will pay you $1.00 a pound to do it...I ain't no fool. Last edited by dahermit; June 21, 2020 at 11:00 AM. |
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June 21, 2020, 12:49 PM | #13 |
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mehavey - My broken lead looks much like your photo but I'm seeing a bit larger grains & some cracking.
After looking over your post and the other comments, I'm thinking you may have solved my mystery. I think the problem is hot lead under stress. When I discovered the 1st break I was pushing my ingot production by dumping the mold as soon as it appeared solid enough to dump. When I melted my bulk range lead last fall, I cast it into about 60 2 lb. ingots. Have cast bullets 2 other times from that source without any problems, that's why I couldn't believe the lead was the problem. Being new to casting, I thought perhaps I was over fluxing or maybe overheated the lead or some other beginner mistakes...like prematurely dumping my hot ingots LOL. Next time I cast I will experiment more with hot & cold lead and see what happens. Thanks for all the comments!
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June 21, 2020, 12:59 PM | #14 | ||
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Quote:
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June 22, 2020, 04:11 PM | #15 | |
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June 22, 2020, 05:13 PM | #16 |
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Next time I see one, I'll send you the link in a PM.
Don
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