# Pouring lead??



## chilehead2 (Jun 20, 2006)

I used to pour scrap lead with and old friend who died befor he told me what the powder he stired into the hot pot to clean and clear the slag from the melted lead was?
Ayone have any idea what it might be and where I can get some?

Just wondering.

Curtis


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

Not sure about a powder but a piece of a plain white cigar shaped candle wax will do it. It'll light on fire so don't be surprised if it happens. It'll burn out and all the impurities will come to the top, then scoop them out with an old spoon. I use a piece of wax about the size of a 1/4 oz jighead for a pot, and it's a good habit to do it every time you add lead to the pot to melt.


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## LarryB (Apr 29, 2002)

Chilehead2, I believe that it's called fluxing powder. Barlow's tackle has it in their cataloge.

LarryB


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

I guess there was 2 threads anyway.

here is a good read on fluxing lead for casting. http://www.lasc.us/FryxellFluxing.htm
I am planing on picking up some plain borax to try this week to see how it does and if that doesnt get it done then I will probably try marvelux although I am guessing that it is just Borax anyway.


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## eric (Oct 24, 2007)

no more. just cut a chunk of candle wax , itll smoke a bit so stir it quick.
works good. and cheap.

borax is a good, but the powder will fly out as you pour it in.. i use it for precious metals melting and casting

so unless you got a nice exhaust tube over the pot. do it all outside.


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## chilehead2 (Jun 20, 2006)

*lead*

dont know how i dblled dipped. but thank you all for your replies. narfpoit, let me know how it works for you and where you get the commercial flux.
I think now that youmentioned rosin, that's what Ken used, where do you get that?

Thank you again for all your posts,

Curtis


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

I got some borax from walmart last night I will try it out tonight and let you know how it goes. For comercial flux I have used rosin that you use with a soldering gun and it worked ok lead was clean but the marvelux (can get here or here) is supposed to help control oxidation in the pot and laddles as well That is why I think it is just plain borax since borax is a reducer. There is also this from Barlows tackle looks like same stuff just another maker, I guess the good thing about getting it from barlows is that you can get it when you by your hooks and eyes and stuff. Anyway for your other question on egg sinkers 2 things I did to help with pull wires is first to sand the wire with a fine sand paper 600 or finer and make sure it is straight. Then you can just put a very light coat of oil on it, wipe a little on with a paper towel and then try and wipe all of it off. Then the most important thing is to pull the wires while the lead is still hot. If you can pull the wires while it is still in the mold this is best as the mold will hold the weights for you if not then get them out fast and pull them off one by one with a little twisting motion to get them started, a nice fat sprue is helpful here to get a little extra leverage especially on the tiny egg weights.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

So the borax seemed to work pretty good no smoke no smell. I just sprinkled a little on top and then started stirring. It seemed to expand as it heated and mixed with the contaminants and then it floated up all the slag. It floats high in the lead so it is much easier to skim it all out. Anyway I was using 20 mule team borax from walmart it was less than $3. The only caution I have when using it is to not take a big scoop and try and stir it striaght into the pot since it expands when its heated it makes a bit of a pop and can splash a little molten lead around stick with sprinkling just a little on the top and you should be good.


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## chilehead2 (Jun 20, 2006)

*lead*

Ok on the boax and conditioning the wires. thanks again for your time to reply. This should make things a little more enjoyable.

Cuttis


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

*Alternate flux*

Another old-timers flux is to use dry wood sawdust. 

I have used this for years, by itself or with beeswax or candlewax, for a very clean flux that won't splash wax or give nasty fumes, and the price is right.

It work great when you need a lot of flux to clean a pot full of wheel weights, clips and all.

Just make sure its dry before you stir it into the lead. Scatter the sawdust over the top of the lead, you'll see it darken and dry, then flux as normal.

Update: Well, there you go, I just read the fluxing article and he also speaks well of the sawdust results.


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## chilehead2 (Jun 20, 2006)

*lead*

Ok, got the sawdust from the cabinet shop and a box fo 20 mt borax and am ready to pour some breakaway style english sinkers for pompano ; water in the 60's. can't weight. 

Thank you again for all your help.

Curtis


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## pipe (Nov 10, 2009)

We poured a few sinkers this weekend using wheel weights.Everything went as advertised except sometimes it can be a little difficult to keep the lead from seeping out a bit.
What I did notice however,is that the weights are considerably,10 to 15 percent,lighter then the weight marked in the mold.
Is this usual or could it be that some lead has a higher specific gravity then the junk lead from wheel weights?
John


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

pipe said:


> We poured a few sinkers this weekend using wheel weights.Everything went as advertised except sometimes it can be a little difficult to keep the lead from seeping out a bit.
> What I did notice however,is that the weights are considerably,10 to 15 percent,lighter then the weight marked in the mold.
> Is this usual or could it be that some lead has a higher specific gravity then the junk lead from wheel weights?
> John


Wheel weight lead is not pure lead and therefor not as heavy. It will have antimony and tin mixed in it to make it harder to stand up to the abuse of being on a wheel but both of these elements are lighter than lead. If the exact weight is important then you have to get some pure lead. Pure lead will also give more consistant results when pouring anything with details in the mold like Jigs.


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

narfpoit said:


> Wheel weight lead is not pure lead and therefor not as heavy. It will have antimony and tin mixed in it to make it harder to stand up to the abuse of being on a wheel but both of these elements are lighter than lead. If the exact weight is important then you have to get some pure lead. Pure lead will also give more consistant results when pouring anything with details in the mold like Jigs.


Both true and semi true.

If the mold is calibrated for pure lead then any lead alloy will throw lighter than the mold spec.

Pure lead is dead soft and might be good for some applications where very soft metal is good, but pure lead does a poor jobs of filling out details unless you are pouring at very high temperatures, over 750F. At those temps, lead is vaporizing and you will be breathing lead fumes no matter where you are casting.

If mold detail is important then add a little tin so the metal flows better and you will get very crisp details. 

Tin will harden the alloy a little, but it's the antimony that does the real hardening work. Drop your antimony-containing castings into a 5-gal bucket of water and you will get very hard castings that will hold their shape much longer.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

Cerberus said:


> Both true and semi true.
> 
> If the mold is calibrated for pure lead then any lead alloy will throw lighter than the mold spec.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the tip. What percentage of tin do you think will help with detail cause I am getting a small void on one of my molds that is driving me crazy.


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

narfpoit said:


> Thanks for the tip. What percentage of tin do you think will help with detail cause I am getting a small void on one of my molds that is driving me crazy.


The classic pistol bullet alloy in the old black powder days was 30-1 lead-tin and this does a good job with most castings. Wheel weights have enough tin to get good results but the percentage varies a lot. WW alloy also contains antimony, which will give hardness when water quenched. 

It really doesn't take much tin to get good flow, just add a little at a time until you get the result you want.

BTW, if you are melting down wheel weights or other tin-containing alloy, the very thin, dull grey "skin on the top of the metal after fluxing is your tin. Don't scrape this off, just flux it back into the mix.

It also helps if you smoke the mold cavity with a match or other non-oily flame.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

Not using wheel weights, remelting lead found on the bottom of the James river so it seems to be mostly pure but I do have some wheel weights so I can add a little of that to see how I like it.


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

Adding a few wheel weights to a lot of pure lead won't give you much tin.

It's easier to buy tin bars, sold as plumbers solder, and just stick the end of the bar into the metal and melt off what you want. 

Or you can add tin wire solder the same way. For sinkers and jigs, a little tin goes a long way.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

Well I have probably 80 pounds of wheel weights I just havent been using them since I had the pure lead. But I will look into the tin solder too.


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