Lead Melting

[541Wiant]

3 mins ago, Dan Tinman said:

OK,  You have the general idea.  Hand and face protection is always a good idea.  Sometimes the first pour into a cold mold will blow back at you.  You never know when it'll happen.

I was worried about that so I used a blow torch to pre warm them a bit, that caused the lead to pop upon pouring. found out that for some reason it caused the mold to sweat? haven't tried it since. Its been trial and error for me, haven't had anyone to teach me other than a lure making book from the 70s. It'd be nice to have a mentor 

[Dan Tinman]

10 mins ago, 541Wiant said:

I was worried about that so I used a blow torch to pre warm them a bit, that caused the lead to pop upon pouring. found out that for some reason it caused the mold to sweat? haven't tried it since. Its been trial and error for me, haven't had anyone to teach me other than a lure making book from the 70s. It'd be nice to have a mentor 

You're right.  It's "sweat".  Another thing that could do it is if you smoke your molds some of the paraffin will deposit as a liquid on the mold.  That will blowback too.

Youtube has plenty of mis-information about pouring lead.  If it doesn't seem right it probably isn't.

Edited January 14, 2022 by Dan Tinman

[Fergal]

Ultimately, lead is lead. You take what you get and deal with it. 

[Wire For Fire]

Yea for jig heads , bucktails and sinkers. I’d say anything free is for me .. 

 

only thing I pass on is big lead bend chit pipes . I’m not cooking doo doo 

 

and be cautious of lead water pipes although getting harder to find these days .. I’ve had some with water trapped in seems inside the pipe even after being cut up and  left in boiler rooms for months 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Wire For Fire

[Shake-n-Bake]

I offer up free lead to guys who are just looking for 10-15 pounds for personal use and I barter with guys who are looking for more than that.

I own a chimney company and typically have several hundred pounds of old lead flashing laying around my shop which is located in Peabody MA.  

If any of you are interested hit me up. 

[Wire For Fire]

Gentlemanly offer there . Good stuff 

[gellfex]

50 mins ago, Nekowa said:

Tire weights are very hard in comparison to lead. As said sheet lead is soft and much heavier than the current alloys. Old printers lead was lead, tin and antimony. I have some Charlie Graves repops made from silicone molds. The pure tin models weigh in at about an ounce. At 30 years old they have not lost their shine. The jig that is was copied from weighs about 2.5 ounces. Crosman and Benjamin pellets are 92% lead, the European pellet makers use pure lead.

Wow, sounds cool, I'd like to get ahold of some tin and try some shiny jigs! Lighter would also be cool, since my smallest bucktail mold is 3/4 oz and I like to use 1/2 oz sometimes. Where does one get tin cheap? Seems to be going for $30/lb online.

Edited January 14, 2022 by gellfex

[Mike Mendez]

A large, rectangular rock cod sinker blew up in my Do-It lead melter (photo below) one time.  I believe it had an internal air pocket that expanded below the molten lead surface.  Yes, eye protection is a must.

 

While the lead is initially melting, I place the metal mold underneath the melter it to get it hot too.

 

[ReeferRob]

Lead and water are a VERY dangerous mix at best if it explodes you'll get burnt, at worst blinded. Eye protection in the form a face shield is preferable as well as a canvas hat or welding cap for when it happens and it will happen.

  I make ingots for safety and for getting my hardness correct as well as making damn sure its dry. I wold stay away from lead pipes unless you can hit them with a torch to dry them before smelting. If you can get sheet lead, that's what I use as my base and I add tin to it if I'm making Sting Silver style lures.

  Melt on breezy days, wind at your back blowing any lead fumes away from you. If you're going to smelt inside, make damn sure you have an exhaust fan or negative pressure hood.

  Leave your mold sitting on top of your pot if that's what you're using to keep it warm, it keeps water from forming when it cools, again, safety first. Here in the mid Atlantic, it's humid in the warmer months and condensation will form when a mold cools. Aluminum cools fast and condensation will form in those small cavities.

  We wear nitrile gloves under leather gloves for an added layer of safety. Again, leather for when it pops and sends lead spheres in all directions.

 Keep pets and children away from your work area, lead is especially dangerous to children and will cause all sorts of developmental issues immediately and later in life. If it pops and your pets are around the table they could be burned or blinded.

 When you're done with your lead, put it away after it has cooled and take a shower. If you don't think it gets on you, buy a lead paint test and touch your clothes when you're done and you'll see why cleanliness is important. Wash those clothes by themselves as well.

[PSeggs]

6 hours ago, gellfex said:

Wow, sounds cool, I'd like to get ahold of some tin and try some shiny jigs! Lighter would also be cool, since my smallest bucktail mold is 3/4 oz and I like to use 1/2 oz sometimes. Where does one get tin cheap? Seems to be going for $30/lb online.

Tin is alot of fun for me. 

I have not so good ventilation and only work lead if I can do it outside or in the garage doorway.   But tin is alot easier.   Very clean and not nearly the health risks.  

It's expensive. But what isn't these days.  

I usually get mine from ebay or rotometals. 

 

It also melts at a lower temp than lead.  In my Lee pot, I use setting 4 or 5 for tin.  6 to 7 for lead and crank it for stuff with zinc.  

 

[cheech]

Ask any plumber redoing an old tile shower for the lead pan, you’ll have lead for life.

edit- I have a full plumbers B- tank, torch and regulator, extra tips, and a ladle for melting lead in the BST. 

Edited January 14, 2022 by cheech

[gellfex]

10 hours ago, ReeferRob said:

I wold stay away from lead pipes unless you can hit them with a torch to dry them before smelting.

I melt my pipe with a torch letting it drip into a ladle, then pour into a mold with 3 4oz ball sinkers for 'ingots'. Never had anything scary, the pipe had been out of service for generations. I don't have a pot, my only mold holds only 5.25 oz, so torch and ladle work fine for me. But I do have a vent hood built for spraying paint and casting resins, so ventilation is no issue.

[Hammerheadman]

7 hours ago, gellfex said:

I melt my pipe with a torch letting it drip into a ladle, then pour into a mold with 3 4oz ball sinkers for 'ingots'. Never had anything scary, the pipe had been out of service for generations. I don't have a pot, my only mold holds only 5.25 oz, so torch and ladle work fine for me. But I do have a vent hood built for spraying paint and casting resins, so ventilation is no issue.

Old garage sale small cup cake pans work for ingots. I altered a do-it ultra minnow 8 oz, by adding a #2 brass eyelet to the nose today I poured 4 and want to test them for use as a mojo .I would post pics but dont know how to get them from my phone to the site. I wonder if they will track ok ? what do you think Dan ?

[Haycreekrambler]

I have melted most types you can come across. Being a contractor I probably have a lifetime supply at this point. But, I continue to Squirrel it away. Safety is a must as well as ventilation. I clean and ingot it in a crucible. Then use that to cast. 

As far as hard or soft I have never really cared. It all gets powder coated and fished. 

[R.R. Bridge Fisher]

Done outside safely it is a lot of fun.