I'm in the process of designing my own hobby furnace for aluminum and everything with a lower melting point. Ive been trying to figure out some sort of arm mechanism like your furnace has and I am lacking experience for my design. If you don't mind...How does your valve work? Why don't more people use the arm idea? Do impurities always flow to the top? Does the liquid metal stick to your furnaces arm? How easy is it to change the type of metal you are melting?
To put it into perspective, 500 pounds of lead can make approximately 8,330 12 gauge slugs, 23,330 .308 150gr rounds, or 15,217 .45 ACP bullets. Quite impressive! For how much did you pick up the smelter?
And about $100 making the electric thermocouple and gas valve as the seller had snipped the mechanical thermocouple to move the smelter and the replacement was to be $600.
It sure does not feel that way to me. With California banning lead hunting bullets and the EPA pressing to end all lead wheel-weights and developing countries buying raw materials, I worry that my hobby of cast bullets will outlast my supply of raw material. A year ago, wheel-weights were free. They now cost 35¢ a pound. The waste dross and clips are bought back at less than .01¢. I'd like to know my great grandchildren could share my hobby. At the current rate, my children won't.
OK Doctor! seriously read up about how toxic lead vapours are, clothing contamination, ingestion, breathing etc. Anyway dont reply to me the message was for the dummy in the video
I think that if you read the EPA and OSHA data, you'll find I am not polluting my body nor your fish. The sources of the reclaimed lead are not mostly lead-acid batteries which should NEVER be used at home. The dross cannot be made safe. The danger lies in either stibine gas or arsine gas. As little as 50 parts per million of arsine can impair the function of the blood or cause pulmonary edema. A few breaths of it can be fatal.
I pray I am less dumb than you believe. Thank you for caring.
dude, you should get a blood test for lead levels, and also sample the inside of your house for contamination. Research what your doing from an environment and personal health stand point...
With any luck he's providing the means to dispose of tree huggers with just a mere 230 grains or less of that lead, which are proving to be much more hazardous to our enviornment and way of life than lead itself.
Thanks for your concern. I have done both. My blood has more murcury in it than anything. Probably from the broken Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs I've been exposed to. The low temperature I use is not even close to vaporizing any of the alloy, I use a proper NIOSH approved respirator when stirring and removing the dross and clips ( the smell of the burning saliva and tobacco juice is the main reason). I wash fastidiously. Spills are comletely contained. I recycle everything and waste nothing.
If you need more molds, I have a coupla suggestions - one is to use cake pans, that's what I use, although you wind up with large(in my case, 8lb) ingots. Another option is to weld up Angle iron, so you get triangular crosssections. This makes it easy to get the cast ingots out.
If your ingots are from wheel weights I am interested in buying some from you.
cyclops5276 6 months ago
@cyclops5276 Mine are not for sale, but on eBay you can get WW alloy for about a buck a pound.
tycer7 6 months ago
you must do alote of shooting because you have alote of lead. nice set up!!!!
cory8791 1 year ago
Please, could you tell me what you use to flux (purify) the lead with?
do you, or can you use lead acid batteries?
one last question please, what do you use as your sources of lead? wheel weights, or something else.
Thank you
penguinistas 2 years ago
NEVER use batteries. The dross cannot be made nontoxic.
Candles for flux.
Wheel weights mostly. Metal recyclers are a good source as are tire stores.
tycer7 2 years ago
I'm in the process of designing my own hobby furnace for aluminum and everything with a lower melting point. Ive been trying to figure out some sort of arm mechanism like your furnace has and I am lacking experience for my design. If you don't mind...How does your valve work? Why don't more people use the arm idea? Do impurities always flow to the top? Does the liquid metal stick to your furnaces arm? How easy is it to change the type of metal you are melting?
Thank You
Triorieel 2 years ago
The valve is an enclosed gear or cam that I cannot see. It is a commercial linotype smelter not of my design.
If I were to design one myself, I would use a weighted needle and seat valve like on the bottom pour casting pots.
Lead alloys do not stick. The only metal change is between lead alloys in large batches, so contamination from the previous batch is no problem.
The bottom burner area is lined with a 2" cast-in-place firebrick and the burner is a double ring like in an old gas furnace.
tycer7 2 years ago
you are hard core my friend.
sharpie443 2 years ago
Nice set up! No worries of the ammo coding for this guy!!!
Do not allow one to infringe our Second Amendment Right!!!
joshforman83 3 years ago 2
To put it into perspective, 500 pounds of lead can make approximately 8,330 12 gauge slugs, 23,330 .308 150gr rounds, or 15,217 .45 ACP bullets. Quite impressive! For how much did you pick up the smelter?
IPSC2ndHorseman 3 years ago
$27 including 300# of Linotype. ;^)
tycer7 3 years ago
And about $100 making the electric thermocouple and gas valve as the seller had snipped the mechanical thermocouple to move the smelter and the replacement was to be $600.
Adds about $10 on my gas bill per 500#s of ingot.
tycer7 3 years ago
You sure have a lot of lead.
vmelkon 3 years ago
It sure does not feel that way to me. With California banning lead hunting bullets and the EPA pressing to end all lead wheel-weights and developing countries buying raw materials, I worry that my hobby of cast bullets will outlast my supply of raw material. A year ago, wheel-weights were free. They now cost 35¢ a pound. The waste dross and clips are bought back at less than .01¢. I'd like to know my great grandchildren could share my hobby. At the current rate, my children won't.
tycer7 3 years ago
I think I might start stockpiling lead ingots...
gandb21 3 years ago
i cant believe you do that-so dangerous to your health!!
petfishabc 3 years ago
Maybe if he was in an enclosed area. Nothing's wrong with his setup; ventilation is fine.
prebans 3 years ago
OK Doctor! seriously read up about how toxic lead vapours are, clothing contamination, ingestion, breathing etc. Anyway dont reply to me the message was for the dummy in the video
petfishabc 3 years ago
I think that if you read the EPA and OSHA data, you'll find I am not polluting my body nor your fish. The sources of the reclaimed lead are not mostly lead-acid batteries which should NEVER be used at home. The dross cannot be made safe. The danger lies in either stibine gas or arsine gas. As little as 50 parts per million of arsine can impair the function of the blood or cause pulmonary edema. A few breaths of it can be fatal.
I pray I am less dumb than you believe. Thank you for caring.
tycer7 3 years ago
lol
why don't you put on some glasses and take in the surrounding of the location.
Zicro12 3 years ago
dude, you should get a blood test for lead levels, and also sample the inside of your house for contamination. Research what your doing from an environment and personal health stand point...
petfishabc 3 years ago
With any luck he's providing the means to dispose of tree huggers with just a mere 230 grains or less of that lead, which are proving to be much more hazardous to our enviornment and way of life than lead itself.
Cool smelter, but it does need a close up.
bluezuke7 3 years ago 2
Thanks for your concern. I have done both. My blood has more murcury in it than anything. Probably from the broken Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs I've been exposed to. The low temperature I use is not even close to vaporizing any of the alloy, I use a proper NIOSH approved respirator when stirring and removing the dross and clips ( the smell of the burning saliva and tobacco juice is the main reason). I wash fastidiously. Spills are comletely contained. I recycle everything and waste nothing.
tycer7 3 years ago
If you need more molds, I have a coupla suggestions - one is to use cake pans, that's what I use, although you wind up with large(in my case, 8lb) ingots. Another option is to weld up Angle iron, so you get triangular crosssections. This makes it easy to get the cast ingots out.
HTRN 4 years ago
Thanks! The angle iron idea works great.
tycer7 4 years ago
I am impressed, Did you make that machine yourself? I love casting bullets and would love to do what you are doing!!!!
TXWARDEN 4 years ago
maybe u could shoot this again from a closer angle?
zandercruise 4 years ago