Bullet casting question

[shepherddogs]

Today I was pouring ingots out of wheel weights. I noticed that some came out very shiny while others were sort of matte looking. I just started skimming the top of the pot to get the dirty crap off the top. Am I skimming off the tin or other antimonies? I have not been fluxing the metal. If I did, would some of the dirty looking stuff on top remelt back into the mix? I used to cast bullets years ago but never fluxed the wws. Why are some ingots shiny and others not? Thanks in advance

[TEDDY]

if you flux you should get sort of a dust on top.yes you are loosing the tin.
and by stiring you get the cr**p to come to the top

[shepherddogs]

I assumed the "dust" floating on top was just dirt from the wheel weights. Is this partly tin?

[LHB1]

Your alloy is not well mixed and the alloy is inconsistent. When melting wheel weights,
1. Melt
2. Flux
3. Skim dross and scrap
4. Flux again and stir well to remix alloy
5. Pour
6. Repeat steps 2-5 as needed.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

[crowbeaner]

+1 on LHB's post. The shiny ingots have some tin in them and the dull colored ones have less tin. By all means flux and skim to keep the tin you have in the alloy there. I use 50/50 tin plumbers wipe to add tin to the WW metal. It makes one tough alloy. You only need about 2% tin to keep the antimony in suspension in the alloy; add more to equate the Lyman #2 alloy requirements. WW metal makes a heavier but smaller diameter bullet than linotype; lino makes a bigger bullet but lighter in weight. I have shot thousands of WW bullets and the only problem I had was with a mould that threw an undersize bullet as cast. You can squeeze them smaller, but you can't squeeze them bigger! Hope this helps. Enjoy. CB

[Alaskee]

LHB1 gives good advice.
Also, did you notice if the "frosted" ingots came later in the pour when the melt may have been hotter?
Bullets will begin to frost when casted as the alloy/mold temperature increases also.

[shepherddogs]

As a matter of fact the frosty ones were in the later batch. I haven't done this in so long I forgot. Thanks for the info. I remember the bullets not forming out well when the mold was too cool but when it was too hot they got frosty looking. Its coming back to me now. Strange I never remember it happening with ingots.

[Edward429451]

Frosty ingots just means high heat and wont hurt a thing, even if the cast boolits are frosty. I think the most important key to casting good boolits (beyond good mould fill out) is consistent casting temperature of the entire pour. My boolit to boolit weight variation went down so much when I geared up to take lead temps...it was a real eye opener.

With a stainless steel probe K-type thermocouple and a digital meter I can see the smallest changes in temp when remelting sprue etc and start right back up again as she comes back to temp.

[GP100man]

i use the left over smelly candles from in the house, the parrifin will make a consistent mix & get all the lead off the clips

GP100man

[Jammer Six]

Could someone describe fluxing, please?

I know how to flux a copper tube when you solder it, but I don't see how to flux a pot of melted lead...

[rwilson452]

To flux a 10 pound pot of lead drop in a piece of parrifin about the size of a pea and stir it will clean the lead by combining and burning the contaminants it then come to the surface where you can remove it. it will apear as a powder. tin on the other had will look like a silver film. stir it back in tin will make the lead harder. . they make other fluxing compounds. I don't see as they work much better but they sure cost more. when you flux a pipe you just getting rid of contaminants.

[crowbeaner]

I use a pea sized dollop of pure beeswax and throw an unlit match in; the match lights the gas the wax produces and gives a better flux. Just stir while the flame is burning (be careful not to burn fingers) and skim when the flame goes out. The pure beeswax was a freebie but I don't think your local bee keeper would want a whole lot for 1/2 a lb. or so. Pick up some honey for your toast while you're there! CB

[Jammer Six]

There's a local hardware store that sells beeswax. I'm a carpenter, and I have half a dozen hammers adapted to accept it. I think I have a lifetime supply somewhere in the shop...

[gufer]

I believe the wax seals for toilets are made of beeswax.
They are very inexpensive.

[layusn1]

There's a local hardware store that sells beeswax. I'm a carpenter, and I have half a dozen hammers adapted to accept it. I think I have a lifetime supply somewhere in the shop...

Huh??? What does a hammer have to do with beeswax?

[Jammer Six]

Old finish carpenter's trick.

You drill a hole in the bottom of end of the handle of your hammer, (which is wood, because if it's anything else, your elbows hurt after a month, and besides, it will mark you as a greenhorn, which is anyone who started in the trade after 1980.) fill it with beeswax, and then coat small brads or the threads of screws with it. It will make said brads drive without splitting, and said screws go in much easier.

[layusn1]

Oh, ok.