Anyone ever do any lead casting? I'm thinking about using lead as a soft backing for chasing steel with my new fly press. The german pitch I use for Repousse work would be expensive and kind of a pain. I know lead is safe when its cold and can't be absorbed through the skin. I would need to melt it down in a mold (like a frying pan) when it gets all beat up.
Anyone have any tips or suggestions for this?
I have cast bullets for many years. I wouldn't say lead is safe when it's cold, you can ingest it when it rubs off on fingers. Always do your melts outside and in good ventilation. I use my coal forge or a propane turkey burner for heat. After the lead melts, flux with a pea-sized piece of beeswax or paraffin, then skim the top with a ladle. What is left will be fairly clean material. Let cool in the Dutch oven or frying pan and you'll have a nice block of lead.
Lead is now considered hazmat so most scrap yards do you a courtesy by taking it - subsequently, it's also usually very cheap to purchase as scrap. Pure lead is sometimes hard to get because of the numerous substitutes that are becoming available. Probably the best source would be used wheel weights from the local tire places. I can usually score a bucket or two on a Saturday drive - I also buy all my tires from one guy so he takes care of me. I doubt you'll need more than 50 lbs for what you are discussing - a single one gallon bucket filled to the top should be sufficient.
Thanks for the info. Can you please explain the flux process? Do you flux the ladle before skimming?
ya leads no problem to melt if ya are ever in apache junction ile give ya ahalf bucket of wheel weights... ive cast bullets and figures and dive weights .. make sure tou have lotsa venelation . be careful with it when its molten a drop of water will cause it to explode .. but it would be easy to make a plate for repousee.. you can even use a wood mould ...it will smoke a bit but it will work. have fun!
Matt,
Every time you melt lead, some dross forms on the surface. Most of it is oxides or whatever alloy metals might be present. Fluxing and stirring brings most of the junk to the surface where it can be skimmed and discarded. At this point, you will have nice clean 'silvery' lead. If you continue to heat for a period of time, the dross will form again. Bullet casters usually flux every hour or so while working.
Easiest thing is to drop a buckshot sized piece of wax in the lead after it melts then stir for 10-15 seconds. Skim all the junk from the top and turn off the heat. After cooling, you'll have a clean smooth block of lead.
You also can use boxax and a clean unpainted pine stick to stir and clean the dross off. If you need a larger melting pot weld a plate on a section of pipe and put it on fire bricks and heat away. the pine wood with start to burn just above the pouring temp of the lead. 450'to 475'F depending on alloy.
been there done that, and still having fun casting pewter!
I had problems finding tire places to get used weights from. All of them had their scrap guy take everything and they didn't want to tick him off. Then a friend of mine had a good idea. Call a large-ish indoor shooting range. They collect the shot lead. The one near me sold it for $5 for a 5-gallon bucket. It weighed in at 90-lbs. Lots of copper and plastic mixed in, but that was OK for my use.
I used plumbers solder when i accidentally went thro my copper bowl while trying "chasing", Just filled the recess with solder and uses normal flux... it might even have been lead free solder, it isn't labelled!
Innovational Iron Wrote:Anyone ever do any lead casting? I'm thinking about using lead as a soft backing for chasing steel with my new fly press. The german pitch I use for Repousse work would be expensive and kind of a pain. I know lead is safe when its cold and can't be absorbed through the skin. I would need to melt it down in a mold (like a frying pan) when it gets all beat up.
Anyone have any tips or suggestions for this?
Hi, This is not about the casting but I thought you might find this information about the lead interesting and usefull
http://www.artscrafts.org.uk/branches/ne...thods.html
The Newlyn school set a benchmark for copper work here in the uk
and is still very collectable work
Regards Stan
In reading you question again in Stan's reply. It hit me that if you are looking for a way of casting lead sheet for backing steel. You may want a large sheet of 1/4"to 1/2" thick. The easest way is to cut a sheet of plywood slightly larger than yo will need for the finished sheet. Trim it out with wood in the thickness of the sheet you want. On all four sides. wet so the surface is damp but no standing water.
Melt your lead, clean the dross off, keep your head back from the pour area and pour the lead into the mould till it is filled. It does help to have leveled the mould before hand, not after you pour
. Been there, did that, table wasn't level and it showed in the pour as the tidal wave rolled over the wood and across the metal bench as the class ran for the hills
it solidified in a couple of inches of travel.
You can pour sheets any size you need. I have to find the proceedure for pouring organ pipe sheet alloy tin/lead. And when I do I will add it to this thread.
The only difference in the casting procedure is the depositor and the fact that they place and strecth a fine cotton cloth over the suface and tack it to the edges. and it it for appearance of the cast sheet for the pipes finish along with the amount of tin in the mix to provide the mottled spotted surface look. The amount of tin the mix the size of the spots more tin smaller spots. As a side note when an old text is reffering to spotted metal that is the material they are reffering to.
