Boolit lead

[canebreaker]

When I open my computer I have a page of news articles. I can click on and read about it. If I copy and paste the story somewhere I have it saved. If I close the computer the story is gone next time I open it.
A story last week came from MN I think. State officials want to ban lead from fishing, shooting and hunting. High school trap teams aren't happy. Replacing lead shot with an approved shot would drive lots of schools from offering this class. Wow, some of the schools have trap teams. Wish our schools had something like that. Our high school ROTC units have pellet shooting rifle teams. 4H clubs have 22 rifle teams.
Checking at my local big gun store that has lead loads, approved duck and turkey loads I see the price can triple easily.
In '95 at the hospital waiting for my granddaughter to get here I found a New Science magazine. Stories in it kinda attacked the EPA and some of their rulings. One story was about saltwater fishermen of an east coast state had to change the size sinker they used. 2 sizes were approved as smallest to be used by the state. 1/2X8" and 3/4X6" outside dimensions. A center hole could be as large as you wanted.

 

[JTKelly]

I had to give $60 for a full bucket of wheel weights this afternoon. I don't think I've EVER paid that much for WW. Better be a lot of lead in that for it to be worth it.

 

[gassprint1]

I had to give $60 for a full bucket of wheel weights this afternoon. I don't think I've EVER paid that much for WW. Better be a lot of lead in that for it to be worth it.

You should just about be able to tell the zinc from lead looking at them. Zinc will have that somewhat painted silver look and not be as old looking like lead does.

 

[Michigan Slim]

You should just about be able to tell the zinc from lead looking at them. Zinc will have that somewhat painted silver look and not be as old looking like lead does.

Tap them on concrete also. Lead gives a dull thud. Zinc a more metallic ring.

 

[Michigan Slim]

Lead also melt before zinc. Stir your weights as they melt and dip out the ones not melting.

 

[gassprint1]

Tap them on concrete also. Lead gives a dull thud. Zinc a more metallic ring.

I didnt know that, thanks for the great tip.. might be a faster way to sort.

 

[JTKelly]

I keep a bucket just for zinc handy and sort them while they melt at the same time. I'm sure not going to take every weight one by once tapping it on cement.

If they look like zinc, they never make it in the melting pot. Tip the bucket out on the tail gate, sort and fill the melting pot right out of the truck to minimize handling.

If they hit the pot and float like a bobber they come straight back out and in the zinc bucket.

 

[Creedmoor]

I use a pair of sharp dykes and crimp each weight. It sucks to get a zinc or two in a lead pot. It turns lead into chunky slush.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I didnt know that, thanks for the great tip.. might be a faster way to sort.

I wouldn't sort like that. Just get the ones you missed.

 

[gassprint1]

I keep a bucket just for zinc handy and sort them while they melt at the same time. I'm sure not going to take every weight one by once tapping it on cement.

If they look like zinc, they never make it in the melting pot. Tip the bucket out on the tail gate, sort and fill the melting pot right out of the truck to minimize handling.

If they hit the pot and float like a bobber they come straight back out and in the zinc bucket.

What are the zincs used for, just scrap? I know the last batch of ww i got have some zinc in it. I use a propane chicken cooker thing with a 12" cast iron skillet to do my lead melting and use several of those small white candle to flux once i get all the nasty off the top and copper jackets. I have tried saw dust but i didn't like how it worked. I then use a case iron corncob mold to make my ingots.

Fyi, i don't or have a reload setup or anything.

 

[canebreaker]

I have no use for zinc so it goes in the bucket of small mixed pieces of scrap. Mixed metals gives you $7 per 100 lbs.
I knew a guy with a 30mm cannon that shot zinc balls. If you were close (off the main route) with a half bucket or less he'd swing by and pick it up out of the way as long as it was free.
Working a gun show I was asked to come in early Saturday so he could pick up some powder. I brought zinc weights and got $40 for the bucket. If I had scrapped them I might have got $3.

 

[JTKelly]

What are the zincs used for, just scrap? I know the last batch of ww i got have some zinc in it. I use a propane chicken cooker thing with a 12" cast iron skillet to do my lead melting and use several of those small white candle to flux once i get all the nasty off the top and copper jackets. I have tried saw dust but i didn't like how it worked. I then use a case iron corncob mold to make my ingots.

Fyi, i don't or have a reload setup or anything.

I've not used them for anything. I throw them and the steel and the dross all in a bucket and sell it BACK to the recycler for "dirty lead" price. They sure don't mind selling me all that crap when I bought lead from them and now the hoarders won't even sell lead any more.

I'm making the change over from campfire to lead smelting today.

I'm thinking about trying to pour fishing sinkers out of that zinc.

 

[gassprint1]

I've not used them for anything. I throw them and the steel and the dross all in a bucket and sell it BACK to the recycler for "dirty lead" price. They sure don't mind selling me all that crap when I bought lead from them and now the hoarders won't even sell lead any more.

I'm making the change over from campfire to lead smelting today.

I'm thinking about trying to pour fishing sinkers out of that zinc.

Let us know how that works. Only thing i know is zinc needs a couple hundred more degrees to melt or some.

 

[JTKelly]

Out of a FULL bucket of WW, this is the "trash" you don't want.


Yielded about 80# of ingots from the first bucket.

 

[JTKelly]

These wheel weights are pretty consistent 80# of lead per bucket. 162 / 2 buckets so far.

Cleaning up all the sticks and trash around the campfire area at the same time, winning!

 

[canebreaker]

Please don't use zinc for sinkers. It's worse than lead on the fish.

 

[Creedmoor]

Please don't use zinc for sinkers. It's worse than lead on the fish.

I've never met a fish that had lead poisoning.

 

[gassprint1]

I've never met a fish that had lead poisoning.

I do remember years ago the dnr telling people not to eat fish from different lakes because of a high lead content, but they have never said anything about zinc levels..

 

[canebreaker]

I worked on locomotives. We would do a lead reading on EMD units, measure the distance between head and piston. Some shops used 1/4" pure lead, we use 1/8" 50/50 solder. I'd collect all I could and do a melt for sinkers. It was fine for solid sinkers, removable split shot would break when trying to remove. Making them one time use only.

 

[canebreaker]

My granddaughter when small watched a program called Captain Planet. I would sit with her a lot and have to watch it too. I would call it an EPA friendly cartoon. Showed a lot of things we were doing was wrong.
Boss Hog was building a dam in a zinc ore rich valley and wouldn't be removing any of the trees that didn't need be. Green trees dying in water produces mercury. Zinc ore contains more mercury than some other metals.
Crustations live and feed off of areas that's loaded with mercury. Catfish and Bass feed on crustations more than any other fish. We get mercury warnings on some lakes. Limit the amount of these fish you eat. Some lakes are closed due to the mercury level.
At a family reunion an uncle went to the restroom a lot, like 8 times. His wife said he had been sick for almost was week. We talked more. They had been to 3 to 4 fish fries per week for the past 3 weeks. I told her to have his blood tested for mercury. Results showed high levels of mercury and lead. (He would cast sinkers in his unvented garage.)