gentlemen all i can say is "WOW' your video just made me glad im a bullet caster and you guys went far and beyond, by separating all your lead by type and organizing very professionally done, i can watch it over and over like a good movie "bravo" gentlemen.
Nice video. That sheet lead is used anywhere there is radiation from x-rays, chemo, or other radioactive rays. As a plumber, I was working in a hospital that all it did was cancer treatment. The lead was in most every room and it is glued to sheet rock.Both carpenters and plumbers worked together in it's installation since "PLUMBUS or PLUMBER" means worker of lead. Just a little FYI.
Hey Mike and Evan..!! Second time I've seen this one, and I enjoyed it as much as the first time... Now the ongoing fun of casting bullets and shooting the same.. Congrats Steve
How satisfying it is to step back and admire your stash when the work is 'almost' over...I enjoy making ingots just as much as I do casting, it's a job of work but the dividends are awesome. Aren't you amazed at how well the sawdust does in stirring all that Sn and Sb back into the melt...it virtually disappears. I wish I had known that you had all that type metal in that form, I've been wanting to get a few of the letters to keep as historical artifacts as that industry is virtually gone now. Oh well...one of these days I'll score some. This was an awesome video for the fellas that have been reluctant to get into smelting, it ain't that big-O-deal once you've seen a good instructional video like this one . . . great job Mike . . . now it's time to organize and stack all that precious stuff in the shop somewhere! I hope that you've found that computer program by 'BUMPO' over at CastBoolits that allows you to prefigure all the weights of various leads because your gonna have a good time blending this further for use in the pour pot for specific platforms & especially the lo-pressure pistol/revolver Hollow Points. The fun has just begun... c h a r l i e
Yeah, there is something very satisfying about standing back and admiring a bunch of shiny new ingots after a day's worth of good ol' hard work. FYI, let me know what letters you are looking for and I can keep my eyes peeled for them. Another funny thing--how heavy a 5 gallon bucket can be when it's full of ingots. Just gotta slide them around--no lifting ha ha. And yes, that handy little spreadsheet from Bumpo is great. I did a video on that about a year ago--talking about lead alloy calculations.
Always fun to melt lead. Satisfying video! I still have 16 5 gallon buckets of range lead, and 22 buckets of wheel weights to go. Have used 1/2, 1, and muffin molds, but sure like the idea of your 4 lb mold.
Lead Ingot making day, one of my favorite days. I like your process and the variety of your lead. Most people don’t understand how often it varies so much and how we have to sort it.
@@FullLeadTaco with all the different molds you have you should use dedicated mold types for different leads. I use large muffin tins for my range scrap, small muffin tins for wheel weights, and 1lb ignot molds for my finished casting alloy. helps to keep better track of what you got without having to worry about getting them mixed up.
Ha ha, yeah man, it is always relaxing (but lots of work) to make ingots out of scrap. Very satisfying and fulfilling when you accomplish a big job. I wish I had better musical talent--if I did, I could take those lead bar sounds and make a song.
ha ha ha... my wife will never understand, but I could stare at a pile of freshly cast ingots for a while. I tell my kids it is like a pirate staring at gold.
Wow. awesome. You should make a bullet trap so you can reclaim your material. That's what I would do. You really have it down pat in the lead business. I wish I had a source of material like you do. Dave.
My uncle has a counter balance weight he believes is lead. Still trying to figure out how to get it to me, ha ha--it's a big one! Funny thing is that I do have a bullet trap, but I mostly shoot steel targets, so the lead splats and flattens...
I set my ingot molds on the cold concrete to harden up. Goes much faster, also lay the ingot molds across 2 clay bricks. They cool faster, but are still warm enough to form clean looking ingots. I use the OLD manufacturers ingot molds : OHAUS, LYMAN, SAECO, RCBS, THE blank LACHMILLER to differentiate between alloys: LYMAN = #2, OHAUS = Linotype, SAECO = 20-1 and so on. The Lodge cast iron scone pan triangles are range lead.
Yeah, I usually end up making ingots in the summer... And the concrete is hotttttttt! But yeah, I can see how that would help the cooling. The moist towel trick seems to work well too.
Wow Taco! That's a nice haul! That will equal a whole lot of smiles in the future. I got 75lbs of roof vents the other day that I'm gonna melt tonight. I'm gonna have to make the "Evan" scoop too. Looks like it worked well. Awesome video my friend.
Omg the lead fumes are causing glaciers to melt.... asteroids will fall from the sky...you're killing pandas...and you're going to die from radiation! ...just kidding, i love your video...thumbs up!
@@FullLeadTaco yeah i read the comments...they're entertaining. In the 70s I collected lead as a kid, I would load my Tonka trucks with it and haul it around. I'm 50 now and still going strong. No lead poisoning.
I used to go to tire shop and get the old lead wheel weights. They stopped selling the weights due to EPA restrictions. Now it is getting hard to find lead to cast with. Having to buy a good bit commercially.
yeah, i used to ask em about the wheel weights every time i took my vehicles in to get new tires, or get the rotated/balanced... Not much there anymore.
Thanks for the informative video guys, I prefer to cast ingots prior to making batches of fishing weights here in the UK. I think you call them sinkers in the US. I find it far easier to have the pure product for use in my Lee melting pot. I will definitely be copying the ladle tool with the holes drilled ...
Last week, I got 513lb of ingot from 568lb of scrap lead. It included X-ray room sheeting, roofing, plumbing and other types. I melt indoors on an electric cooktop in an iron kettle. I have a vent hood mounted horizontally in my window, inches from my cooktop. I never smell the fumes. The best way to cut that sheeting up is with a circular saw. I cut four or more layers at a time like butter. The profits are obscene right now.
Yeah, I always spread the word to everyone I know that I'm always looking for lead. Sometimes other people come to me because they hear that I'm looking and they find the lead for me.
@@FullLeadTaco Лью пули и на стрельбище)),очень нравится процесс литья пуль и их окраска. Lew bullets and on the shooting range)), I really like the process of casting bullets and painting them.
Cast up a bunch of 69 cal round balls for my shotgun slugs a little while back. I brought home a bunch of reloading equipment from storage and unpacked it and found my brand new NOE .309 mold 318gr. that I haven’t used yet so I’ll be firing that up soon.
I usually mix them in ratios when it is time to cast the bullets (like one part hard with three parts soft or whatever ratio I am using). I try to remember to mention in my videos what ratio/alloy I am using, but I sometimes forget.
Idea??? When the ingots are solid,drop them in a 5Gal. bucket just for extra cooling and solidification. Watched a video with the extra "WATER PROCESS" . It help a bit.
taco can you ask evan if his cast iron dutch oven has the self basting lid marked 101/4 and 8 and the bottom reads 8 DO made in the USA D, if so it is the pre-1964 lodge dutch oven, this is the same one i bought at the flea mkt for 20$ now i need to find a turkey gas grill at a cheap price, thanks again.i was watching your 50 alaskan videos and i see snow in that BLM land your at and it was 82* here in the bay area today.
I am now a new subscriber. Good video guys. I do like that purple tinted ones. You should get bullet molds and cast bullets and other stuff. Great job, again guys!🤘🇺🇸🇺🇸🤘
Thanks for subscribing. Casting bullets is what I do--youtube has deleted 28 of my instructional casting videos so far, but you can find most of them on thereloadersnetwork.com under my posts.
Hello I liked your video I am new to this field and I have seen some video where the world uses wax but I would like to know what and the powder you also add to clean it Thanks
In the process of melting into ingots, I get all the junk and impurities out of the lead. Then later on, I can take the ingots and mix them as I want to get the desired alloy properties to then make bullets or fishing sinkers or whatever.
Marvellux , great stuff!! Try it. Great video, the hard bullets will shoot into the same hole all day! Only thing is you need to mold them at a higher temperature ..the bases should be like mirrors when they are cut..
Great information… I have been buying lead on e bay and boy let me say that a guy has to be really careful what your purchasing… I pour a lot of .58 cal mini ball
Also, get a metal tag attached to that pot. Stating it has been used with lead. So nobody ever gets a hold of it, cooks food in it, and gets severe lead poisoning.
I plan on destroying the pot when I stop casting--My wife knows that the lead pots and zinc pots and bread pans, etc... all get destroyed if I die before she does.
Flux the lead with beeswax and you won't be scraping off the valuable element of tin. This stuff is suitable for fishing sinkers, but not bullets. Good bullets require 8% tin and 3% antimony, otherwise you'll end up with an alloy that shrinks down smaller than your mold diameter. Frosted looking lead, has been brought too far above the melting point when it was poured. Stay away from wheel weights. Type metal has a high content of tin and will become very hard after casting. To help your cupcake tins cool, place a wet towel under the pan.
Don't know if you watched the whole video, but I covered most of the stuff you mentioned in your comment. I fluxed with both sawdust and wax to prevent scraping off the tin. As far as your statement of "This stuff is suitable for fishing sinkers, but not bullets" I believe that to be false. In this video I melt down 3 different lead alloys, 1: pure lead 2: stained glass window scrap 3: a mix of foundry type, linotype, and monotype. These three alloys when properly mixed make GREAT bullets. Also frosted looking lead doesn't necessarily have to do with the lead temperature being too high, but the mold temperature--and with ingots it doesn't even matter at all. You can have frosty ingots all day long and it doesn't matter. I also disagree with your statement of staying away from wheel weights--wheel weight alloy makes GREAT bullets. You mentioned that the type metal has a high content of tin and will become very hard after casting--it is the high content of antimony that makes the type alloys hard. Tin helps a little but the antimony makes it much harder. And your statement about wet towels under the ingot molds/cupcake tins to help them cool--we covered that in the video and used the wet towels to cool the ingots faster.
I just melted a couple hundred pounds of ww lead the other day and still enjoyed watching you do it. That's a baby T-1000's diaper @ 7:32. BTW my typset lead get's that purple sheen sometimes too, maybe from getting too hot?
there are several different types of lead alloys. Usually you have harder alloys which are worth more like the printing press lead (linotype, foundrytype, monotype) which are worth roughly 2-3$ per pound... and the soft stuff like xray lead, pure soft stuff, which is closer to somewhere around 1-2$ per pound. The harder stuff has higher content of tin and antimony and less lead.
Lead is softer, you can get some cutters and bite down on the metals. The soft ones will probably be lead. Ones marked with a Z are usually zinc. The magnetic ones are steel, and the Others are usually aluminum (hard but not magnetic and have AL markings. When melting them, be sure not to contaminate the lead with zinc.
Hey man, I'm looking to get a setup put together like yours using a dutch oven and HF weed torch. My hot plate and frying pan aren't keeping up anymore ;) Struck out at DI a few times on the dutch oven, so I started looking on KSL/Craigslist. I can find a really cheap one but it's enameled. Any reasons an enameled one wouldn't work?
while i have done this before never on this scale usually 50 lbs at a time i will do wheel weights or lead , I use muffin pans for lead thus I can not mix them up. never floss though
Never floss? That can be detrimental to your dental hygiene and is not recommended. J/K I assume you mean flux? After I process the lead into ingots they go into labeled buckets by alloy type.
yeah, sometimes it can be tough to find it. You can always try to find it on the classifieds or ebay/facebook, or get it at a local metal recycler, or if all else fails, you can buy it at rotometals.com
the use of blocks to support the torch under the pot of molten lead is inspirational, one false move, a trip over the gas line , or overbalance and you would become your own memorial ready for mounting on a headstone.
not sure if a rocket stove could kick out the btu's like the torch. I did a bullet casting video using a rocket stove, but youtube deleted it--and it was difficult to maintain the constant heat.
Does the hard lead damage barrels? Does it foul less? Also where are you still finding Linotype ? Is there a reason no one uses commercial flux? I used to work at an electronics factory and used to help the guy who ran the wave solder machine. I will say if you use any of the store bough flux do NOT breathe the fumes. Also Evan is a good friend.
Lots of questions... I will try to answer them all. 1. hard lead is still much softer than copper--and we use copper jacketed bullets all the time. Copper will wear out a barrel faster than cast lead bullets. Hard lead doesn't damage barrels and harder alloys are preferred if you want penetration with little bullet deformation. 2. fouling wise, bullet fit is more important than lead hardness when it comes to fouling. if a bullet is properly sized over bore by .001-.002, you shouldn't get any fouling. 3. finding linotype on ebay, facebook groups, old guys who still have tons of it, etc... if you want it and can't find it, you can still buy the alloys on rotometals.com. 4. hardly anybody uses commercial flux because it is sort of a waste of money. When you can use cheap stuff around the house, like used bday candles, sawdust, other wax, etc... why pay for something when it doesn't work better than free stuff. Sawdust and wax seem to work very well. 5. Evan is an awesome friend, glad to have him as a friend. I need to do another lead melting video as I've come across a big counterweight and some more stained glass window scrap.
Anyone have some precautions for a new caster. Or smelter in general. How bad is this lungwise? Am I gonna need chelation therapy if I do something wrong here lol.
Avoid eating while casting, wash hands really well (cold water first), keep your lead temperatures low(ish) so that the lead melts but doesn't boil, etc... I also get a blood lead test done at my yearly physical exam.
Full.Lead.Taco Super cool that you responded. How are your levels? Have you ever seen spikes? If you don’t mind my asking. Also what do you think about particulate filters, when would that be necessary, or say a gas filter.
When the ingot molds are not preheated before pouring ingots, it just makes the ingots solidify faster. The ingots might have wrinkles and stuff, but the lead doesn't splash or anything.
What a nice haul, I just got 250lbs from a friend, 5 anchors of 50 lbs each. I have no idea what alloy it is but does it matter if it the bullets gets powder coated? Cheers
get the lee lead hardness tester and alloy up or down as needed. Bullet fit is far more important than hardness especially if powder coated. When I get relatively soft lead of unknown origins I usually save that for 230gr ball for the 45 Acp. I think in all honesty that a 1:20 alloy would work fine with the 45 as long as its .002 over barrel diameter.
yes, I usually keep my ingots marked in different buckets and then mix between the hard and soft to get the alloy that I want. Haven't seen you around for a while--good to have you back!
The question i keep asking myself as i watch this video is..... why?.... why melt down so much lead into ingots? Other than having material for DIY bullet making is there any other uses for it?
gentlemen all i can say is "WOW' your video just made me glad im a bullet caster and you guys went far and beyond, by separating all your lead by type and organizing very professionally done, i can watch it over and over like a good movie "bravo" gentlemen.
Thanks! I appreciate those kind words. Being a bullet caster means "inexpensive freedom!"
now if i can only make my own gasoline LOL .
Or convert a truck to run on wood.
Nice video. That sheet lead is used anywhere there is radiation from x-rays, chemo, or other radioactive rays. As a plumber, I was working in a hospital that all it did was cancer treatment. The lead was in most every room and it is glued to sheet rock.Both carpenters and plumbers worked together in it's installation since "PLUMBUS or PLUMBER" means worker of lead. Just a little FYI.
From the old days where the would solder cast iron with lead?
Hey Mike and Evan..!! Second time I've seen this one, and I enjoyed it as much as the first time... Now the ongoing fun of casting bullets and shooting the same.. Congrats Steve
How satisfying it is to step back and admire your stash when the work is 'almost' over...I enjoy making ingots just as much as I do casting, it's a job of work but the dividends are awesome. Aren't you amazed at how well the sawdust does in stirring all that Sn and Sb back into the melt...it virtually disappears. I wish I had known that you had all that type metal in that form, I've been wanting to get a few of the letters to keep as historical artifacts as that industry is virtually gone now. Oh well...one of these days I'll score some. This was an awesome video for the fellas that have been reluctant to get into smelting, it ain't that big-O-deal once you've seen a good instructional video like this one . . . great job Mike . . . now it's time to organize and stack all that precious stuff in the shop somewhere! I hope that you've found that computer program by 'BUMPO' over at CastBoolits that allows you to prefigure all the weights of various leads because your gonna have a good time blending this further for use in the pour pot for specific platforms & especially the lo-pressure pistol/revolver Hollow Points. The fun has just begun... c h a r l i e
Yeah, there is something very satisfying about standing back and admiring a bunch of shiny new ingots after a day's worth of good ol' hard work. FYI, let me know what letters you are looking for and I can keep my eyes peeled for them. Another funny thing--how heavy a 5 gallon bucket can be when it's full of ingots. Just gotta slide them around--no lifting ha ha. And yes, that handy little spreadsheet from Bumpo is great. I did a video on that about a year ago--talking about lead alloy calculations.
Always fun to melt lead. Satisfying video! I still have 16 5 gallon buckets of range lead, and 22 buckets of wheel weights to go. Have used 1/2, 1, and muffin molds, but sure like the idea of your 4 lb mold.
Yes, very satisfying when you are done and have a nice stack of ingots.
Next: Taco and Evan cast a 500 pound cannon ball and launch it into to side of a hill. This video was a great way to start the day.
ha ha, now that would be something, eh?
That would be pretty cool! Just don't lose the cannonball! haha. Oh guess you have to get a cannon or forge one yourself first!
I'd click like and subscribe on that video!
Lead Ingot making day, one of my favorite days. I like your process and the variety of your lead. Most people don’t understand how often it varies so much and how we have to sort it.
Very true my friend! Got lots of options for future mixing and bullet making!
@@FullLeadTaco with all the different molds you have you should use dedicated mold types for different leads. I use large muffin tins for my range scrap, small muffin tins for wheel weights, and 1lb ignot molds for my finished casting alloy. helps to keep better track of what you got without having to worry about getting them mixed up.
@@enyaw1212 yeah, keeping order with what you have is important. I keep my ingots in labeled buckets so I know which alloy is which.
Thank you guys 👍🏻😃🍀
you're quite welcome!
The sounds of lead... could be a haiku! This was very relaxing and satisfying to watch brother!. Great stuff!
thanks man, how goes the tacopocalypse? Mike Treen and a couple others just finished their videos.
Yes! I'm frequently amazed at how submersed I get in the process. Very therapeutic.
Been doing this for 41 years; it never gets old or boring.. You might want to patent the sounds, great hardness tester..
Ha ha, yeah man, it is always relaxing (but lots of work) to make ingots out of scrap. Very satisfying and fulfilling when you accomplish a big job. I wish I had better musical talent--if I did, I could take those lead bar sounds and make a song.
Surprised this hasn’t been age restricted 😁 To us casters it’s better than porn! Nice haul!!
ha ha ha... my wife will never understand, but I could stare at a pile of freshly cast ingots for a while. I tell my kids it is like a pirate staring at gold.
MIKE, TELL HIM THE REAL TRUTH, WE WANT HIS ADDRESS, AND A MAP OF WHERE IT IS STORED
lol just saw this comment, ha ha ha!
Why would it be age rated because this video is fine
TH-cam is getting suckier all the time
I've got a 55 gal drum of wheel weights I need to get started on, inspiration!
get to it! ha ha ha
i'll help
What a beautiful sight.
amazing how fast you go through it when you shoot big bore calibers though, ha ha
Wow. awesome. You should make a bullet trap so you can reclaim your material. That's what I would do. You really have it down pat in the lead business. I wish I had a source of material like you do. Dave.
My uncle has a counter balance weight he believes is lead. Still trying to figure out how to get it to me, ha ha--it's a big one!
Funny thing is that I do have a bullet trap, but I mostly shoot steel targets, so the lead splats and flattens...
I set my ingot molds on the cold concrete to harden up. Goes much faster, also lay the ingot molds across 2 clay bricks. They cool faster, but are still warm enough to form clean looking ingots.
I use the OLD manufacturers ingot molds : OHAUS, LYMAN, SAECO, RCBS, THE blank LACHMILLER to differentiate between alloys: LYMAN = #2, OHAUS = Linotype, SAECO = 20-1 and so on. The Lodge cast iron scone pan triangles are range lead.
Yeah, I usually end up making ingots in the summer... And the concrete is hotttttttt! But yeah, I can see how that would help the cooling. The moist towel trick seems to work well too.
Wow Taco! That's a nice haul! That will equal a whole lot of smiles in the future. I got 75lbs of roof vents the other day that I'm gonna melt tonight. I'm gonna have to make the "Evan" scoop too. Looks like it worked well. Awesome video my friend.
Yeah, hey you should get out and shoot a smiley for the tacopocalypse giveaway. Still have until October 14
Mega Smelt! Great job👍🏻 Good job with the spoon Evan👍🏻🇺🇸🥄
yeah, we were both surprised how well that leaky spoon full of holes worked.
GEORGIABOY, THEY WILL BE SURPRIZED WHEN WE TRAVEL TO UTAH---for our cut
fuzztfork8. Whatcha think fuzz, 30%? Haha 🤣😂
Yep, comes out about 155 pounds
:O
Omg the lead fumes are causing glaciers to melt.... asteroids will fall from the sky...you're killing pandas...and you're going to die from radiation!
...just kidding, i love your video...thumbs up!
lol, you'd be surprised how many comments I get like the first part of your comment. Good laugh, thanks.
@@FullLeadTaco yeah i read the comments...they're entertaining.
In the 70s I collected lead as a kid, I would load my Tonka trucks with it and haul it around.
I'm 50 now and still going strong. No lead poisoning.
I used to go to tire shop and get the old lead wheel weights. They stopped selling the weights due to EPA restrictions.
Now it is getting hard to find lead to cast with. Having to buy a good bit commercially.
yeah, i used to ask em about the wheel weights every time i took my vehicles in to get new tires, or get the rotated/balanced... Not much there anymore.
Great video guys, thanks!
thanks for watching skip!
Thanks for the informative video guys, I prefer to cast ingots prior to making batches of fishing weights here in the UK. I think you call them sinkers in the US. I find it far easier to have the pure product for use in my Lee melting pot. I will definitely be copying the ladle tool with the holes drilled ...
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment, I appreciate it
Jeez, here I'm thinking I'm doing good with wheel weights, but it pales in comparison to what you've got going on, very nice!
Ha ha, gotta feed the guns!
Such a heavy subject. Thanks man
Ha ha ha ha
Super cool video man, good stuff!
thanks!
That’s awesome 👏 500 pounds of mixed lead 👍👍 that should last a good while
yeah, unless I start making a bunch more of those 880gr .50 cal monsters again, ha ha ha!
I enjoyed the guitar music along with the lead melting!
Thanks, I also really enjoy guitar music.
As an audio tech, I appreciated the drop in the music level while he spoke. BTW, that's the same canned tune Bubba Rountree Outdoors uses a lot.
Must be nice to have a friend like that. And thats alot of lead, dont think ive collected that much altogether since i started casting.
Lol yeah man, it is nice have buddies who keep an eye out for lead for you.
That is an incredible pile of lead... When you going to visit Ontario and process the 2,000lbs of wheel weights I've got sitting here...
uhhhh buy me a ticket? ha ha ha!
Last week, I got 513lb of ingot from 568lb of scrap lead. It included X-ray room sheeting, roofing, plumbing and other types. I melt indoors on an electric cooktop in an iron kettle. I have a vent hood mounted horizontally in my window, inches from my cooktop. I never smell the fumes. The best way to cut that sheeting up is with a circular saw. I cut four or more layers at a time like butter. The profits are obscene right now.
I've just put together a big melter out of a propane cylinder cut in half (from a fork lift). I need to do a video on that sometime.
@@FullLeadTaco That will make a great "POURNO!"
Nice work, you are very lucky to find all that scrap. It is not so easy to find these days.
Yeah, I always spread the word to everyone I know that I'm always looking for lead. Sometimes other people come to me because they hear that I'm looking and they find the lead for me.
I am just getting started collecting range led for casting bullets .
let me know if you have questions. You can also check out my "ammo videos" playlist
Отличный результат,
сам плавлю за один заход по 30-40 кг,но до ваших объемов мне очень далеко,подписка,лайк.Удачи.
Спасибо, для чего ты используешь свинец? Вы бросаете на ружье, на рыбалку или что-то еще?
@@FullLeadTaco Лью пули и на стрельбище)),очень нравится процесс литья пуль и их окраска.
Lew bullets and on the shooting range)), I really like the process of casting bullets and painting them.
@@сергей163 Это круто, я тоже люблю метать пули. Делает съемку более доступной.
The talk of the DI Must put you in Utah? Great video. Thanks for sharing!
Yup located in Utah! And thanks for watching!
Oh cool I'm just in Provo
I was wondering that as well! Lol. That's awesome I'm in Springville! Nice vid
Thanks man!
This is awesome. A grand haul!!!
Thanks man, you been doing any casting?
Cast up a bunch of 69 cal round balls for my shotgun slugs a little while back. I brought home a bunch of reloading equipment from storage and unpacked it and found my brand new NOE .309 mold 318gr. that I haven’t used yet so I’ll be firing that up soon.
Awesome. I think I will have more time to cast this fall/winter than during the summer
You guys rock!
lol, thanks mark
Great video , always wanted to do my own reloads but im always worried I'm gonna screw it up
I was worried too when I first got into reloading. It isn't a difficult thing to do, just requires your full attention--and some care.
I found a mold . Thanks Daron.
have you shot it yet?
I'm going to do a tacopocalypse video with me raiding your lead stash ! HAHA
Better start hitting up the gym... That shiny stuff ain't very light.
Oh , I guess I didn't think this through . Ha !
😁
I want him to talk more about what alloy he will use for what
I usually mix them in ratios when it is time to cast the bullets (like one part hard with three parts soft or whatever ratio I am using). I try to remember to mention in my videos what ratio/alloy I am using, but I sometimes forget.
I don't cast stuff but I want to get into it. It's super satisfying. Put satisfaction with earning money and I'll do it. Seems fun.
I enjoy it, it is very relaxing
Idea???
When the ingots are solid,drop them in a 5Gal. bucket just for extra cooling and solidification.
Watched a video with the extra "WATER PROCESS" .
It help a bit.
I usually do that with the bullets to harden them, haven't ever water dropped ingots before.
awesome!!!! ha ha ha I have Lead envy !!!!
:D
This is awesome! This makes me hunt harder for lead.
Always spread the word that you're looking for lead... Sometimes you get surprised with free lead.
Now that is one hell of a hall good for you sir keep making the videos sir
Thanks Willie! Have yourself a great weekend!
That's a nice day's work!
yeah man, it's nice when you get done and have a big ol pile of ingots to show for it.
Lot of lead to send down range this fall and winter.
yup, getting ready to do some big bullet casting this fall/winter!
Great video
Thanks
That must've produced all kinds of nasty fumes
Once we skimmed the burning glues off the top the fumes were minimal.
taco can you ask evan if his cast iron dutch oven has the self basting lid marked 101/4 and 8 and the bottom reads 8 DO made in the USA D, if so it is the pre-1964 lodge dutch oven, this is the same one i bought at the flea mkt for 20$ now i need to find a turkey gas grill at a cheap price, thanks again.i was watching your 50 alaskan videos and i see snow in that BLM land your at and it was 82* here in the bay area today.
I notified evan about your question, hopefully he can get back with me or post an answer.
He said yes to your question about the Dutch oven.
I am now a new subscriber. Good video guys. I do like that purple tinted ones. You should get bullet molds and cast bullets and other stuff. Great job, again guys!🤘🇺🇸🇺🇸🤘
Thanks for subscribing. Casting bullets is what I do--youtube has deleted 28 of my instructional casting videos so far, but you can find most of them on thereloadersnetwork.com under my posts.
@@FullLeadTaco I will be sure to check them out. Thanx loads (lol, get it)
Hello
I liked your video
I am new to this field and I have seen some video where the world uses wax but I would like to know what and the powder you also add to clean it Thanks
I use wax and/or sawdust. Regular old sawdust.
Now. What is the point? I mean besides the sheet. I get the sheet being melted down to two up less space. But why
In the process of melting into ingots, I get all the junk and impurities out of the lead. Then later on, I can take the ingots and mix them as I want to get the desired alloy properties to then make bullets or fishing sinkers or whatever.
Marvellux , great stuff!! Try it. Great video, the hard bullets will shoot into the same hole all day! Only thing is you need to mold them at a higher temperature ..the bases should be like mirrors when they are cut..
Great information… I have been buying lead on e bay and boy let me say that a guy has to be really careful what your purchasing… I pour a lot of .58 cal mini ball
Yeah, never know exactly what you're getting if you don't see it in the scrap form first
Great video! But in my opinion you guys should use respirators.
When it gets real smoky we use respirators. I should have shown that in the video.
Going to try 12ga slug today for the first.
And a bunch of 9mm. Keep up the good fight brother
12 g slugs, someday I need to get into shotguns a bit more
Why is this so super interesting to watch?! 🤣🤣 Now I wanna try it!
Lol you'd be surprised how good it makes you feel to take scrap lead and turn it into a pile of shiny ingots...
@@FullLeadTaco that's awesome. Great video 👍
Man, I wish we could find surplus lead like this here in So California.
I bet you can still find it somehow... Don't give up!
I would have been really tempted to make 5 100lb blocks
And that would be awesome, but not super usable. 😂
Also, get a metal tag attached to that pot. Stating it has been used with lead. So nobody ever gets a hold of it, cooks food in it, and gets severe lead poisoning.
I plan on destroying the pot when I stop casting--My wife knows that the lead pots and zinc pots and bread pans, etc... all get destroyed if I die before she does.
Flux the lead with beeswax and you won't be scraping off the valuable element of tin. This stuff is suitable for fishing sinkers, but not bullets. Good bullets require 8% tin and 3% antimony, otherwise you'll end up with an alloy that shrinks down smaller than your mold diameter. Frosted looking lead, has been brought too far above the melting point when it was poured. Stay away from wheel weights. Type metal has a high content of tin and will become very hard after casting. To help your cupcake tins cool, place a wet towel under the pan.
Don't know if you watched the whole video, but I covered most of the stuff you mentioned in your comment. I fluxed with both sawdust and wax to prevent scraping off the tin. As far as your statement of "This stuff is suitable for fishing sinkers, but not bullets" I believe that to be false. In this video I melt down 3 different lead alloys, 1: pure lead 2: stained glass window scrap 3: a mix of foundry type, linotype, and monotype. These three alloys when properly mixed make GREAT bullets. Also frosted looking lead doesn't necessarily have to do with the lead temperature being too high, but the mold temperature--and with ingots it doesn't even matter at all. You can have frosty ingots all day long and it doesn't matter. I also disagree with your statement of staying away from wheel weights--wheel weight alloy makes GREAT bullets. You mentioned that the type metal has a high content of tin and will become very hard after casting--it is the high content of antimony that makes the type alloys hard. Tin helps a little but the antimony makes it much harder. And your statement about wet towels under the ingot molds/cupcake tins to help them cool--we covered that in the video and used the wet towels to cool the ingots faster.
Impressive.
thanks
Full.Lead.Taco I kept expecting some nosy triggered neighbor to show up 😂
@@InSightFreedom lol most of my neighbors are really cool, so I don't have to worry about it.
The blue &purple is tin
I just melted a couple hundred pounds of ww lead the other day and still enjoyed watching you do it. That's a baby T-1000's diaper @ 7:32. BTW my typset lead get's that purple sheen sometimes too, maybe from getting too hot?
Thanks man, not sure why it gets that purple color.
Nice
In the industry, they say there are two types of lead, one more expensive, the other, cheaper. What's the lead difference, and the value difference?
there are several different types of lead alloys. Usually you have harder alloys which are worth more like the printing press lead (linotype, foundrytype, monotype) which are worth roughly 2-3$ per pound... and the soft stuff like xray lead, pure soft stuff, which is closer to somewhere around 1-2$ per pound. The harder stuff has higher content of tin and antimony and less lead.
How much does a pound of led sell for in British money
A pound for a pound? Just kidding, not really sure how much lead costs in England.
You should use a jig saw next time for cutting the lead curtains. It will make the job go faster.
jig saw could help speed up that process--but then you'd have to collect the lead shavings.
The stuff at 7:36 or so looks almost like what you get with zinc contamination, but for the pretty colors.
Yeah man, that really hard stuff melts and cools much differently than the softer stuff.
Do you know if country boy prepper is still making videos? Great channel . Thank you for your information.
Thanks man, appreciate it. I don't think he is still making videos these days.
Wow 🤩 very nice 👍🏻
That was alot of lead !
Yeah, it was... Still haven't done a batch that big since... Done a few 300lb batches though
I have lead that is used to balance the tires, a LOT of them . What is best way to separate lead from metal rim clip?
Lead is softer, you can get some cutters and bite down on the metals. The soft ones will probably be lead. Ones marked with a Z are usually zinc. The magnetic ones are steel, and the Others are usually aluminum (hard but not magnetic and have AL markings. When melting them, be sure not to contaminate the lead with zinc.
...and it's at this point you're wishing alchemy actually worked...
lol, well, I actually like using the lead... But I guess if I could turn the lead to gold, I would do that... and then buy more lead.
Hey man, I'm looking to get a setup put together like yours using a dutch oven and HF weed torch. My hot plate and frying pan aren't keeping up anymore ;)
Struck out at DI a few times on the dutch oven, so I started looking on KSL/Craigslist. I can find a really cheap one but it's enameled. Any reasons an enameled one wouldn't work?
Good job 👍👍
thanks
while i have done this before never on this scale usually 50 lbs at a time i will do wheel weights or lead , I use muffin pans for lead thus I can not mix them up. never floss though
Never floss? That can be detrimental to your dental hygiene and is not recommended. J/K I assume you mean flux? After I process the lead into ingots they go into labeled buckets by alloy type.
@@FullLeadTaco funny
Very nice video and thank you for sharing. Next project? 500+ Pounds of Gold into Ingots? Anyone?!
anybody want to donate to the gold project?
Is this radiation shielding lead-alloy suitable for casting bullets?
Pure lead is great for muzzleloaders, but for modern guns you have to make it harder by adding tin and antimony.
nice job!
Thanks
The hard lead as you called it may have a lot of zinc in it and it will not come out
No, the hard lead is printing press lead, a mix of monotype, linotype, and foundrytype. It has high amounts of tin and antimony, but not zinc
I’m unable to get anyone to give up the lead.
yeah, sometimes it can be tough to find it. You can always try to find it on the classifieds or ebay/facebook, or get it at a local metal recycler, or if all else fails, you can buy it at rotometals.com
the use of blocks to support the torch under the pot of molten lead is inspirational, one false move, a trip over the gas line , or overbalance and you would become your own memorial ready for mounting on a headstone.
Hmmmmm, your statement is very hyperbolic.
With that cinder block setup you could probably just make a rocket stove and use wood scrap to melt the lead
not sure if a rocket stove could kick out the btu's like the torch. I did a bullet casting video using a rocket stove, but youtube deleted it--and it was difficult to maintain the constant heat.
Clever Nice n koool !! Tkx Guy !!
Caster's Heaven!
oh yes!
Roll it up into rolls. Stick it in on its end. Simple and effective.
Does the hard lead damage barrels?
Does it foul less?
Also where are you still finding Linotype ?
Is there a reason no one uses commercial flux?
I used to work at an electronics factory and used to help the guy who ran the wave solder machine.
I will say if you use any of the store bough flux do NOT breathe the fumes.
Also Evan is a good friend.
Lots of questions... I will try to answer them all. 1. hard lead is still much softer than copper--and we use copper jacketed bullets all the time. Copper will wear out a barrel faster than cast lead bullets. Hard lead doesn't damage barrels and harder alloys are preferred if you want penetration with little bullet deformation. 2. fouling wise, bullet fit is more important than lead hardness when it comes to fouling. if a bullet is properly sized over bore by .001-.002, you shouldn't get any fouling. 3. finding linotype on ebay, facebook groups, old guys who still have tons of it, etc... if you want it and can't find it, you can still buy the alloys on rotometals.com. 4. hardly anybody uses commercial flux because it is sort of a waste of money. When you can use cheap stuff around the house, like used bday candles, sawdust, other wax, etc... why pay for something when it doesn't work better than free stuff. Sawdust and wax seem to work very well. 5. Evan is an awesome friend, glad to have him as a friend. I need to do another lead melting video as I've come across a big counterweight and some more stained glass window scrap.
Great video question can you ues a piece of pvc pipe to make a round stock of brass or would it be to hot
Not really sure. I haven't done much brass melting if that is what you are talking about. It would probably be too hot.
Definitely to hot
Anyone have some precautions for a new caster. Or smelter in general. How bad is this lungwise? Am I gonna need chelation therapy if I do something wrong here lol.
Avoid eating while casting, wash hands really well (cold water first), keep your lead temperatures low(ish) so that the lead melts but doesn't boil, etc... I also get a blood lead test done at my yearly physical exam.
Full.Lead.Taco Super cool that you responded. How are your levels? Have you ever seen spikes? If you don’t mind my asking. Also what do you think about particulate filters, when would that be necessary, or say a gas filter.
Lead levels always come back as normal.
I wear a respirator when there is lots of smoke from the other crap, not from the lead.
what lead would you say is best to make #8 bird or clay bird shot? thanks
Need more antimony in bird shot, like a bhn hardness of 20ish or more
is this X-RAYprotection radioactive?
I think they should be processed in different way
Not radioactive and totally safe to process this way
Can you cast it hard enuff not to use a gas check
Yes, but it all depends on what you are using them for. Like what velocities and pressures you are pushing them.
@@FullLeadTaco powder coat the bullets to prevent leading.
I use powder coat almost all of the time
Are you not worried about splashes when the molds are not pre-heated?
When the ingot molds are not preheated before pouring ingots, it just makes the ingots solidify faster. The ingots might have wrinkles and stuff, but the lead doesn't splash or anything.
What a nice haul, I just got 250lbs from a friend, 5 anchors of 50 lbs each. I have no idea what alloy it is but does it matter if it the bullets gets powder coated?
Cheers
All depends on what you're using it for! But yeah, melt down them anchors and turn em into bullets!
get the lee lead hardness tester and alloy up or down as needed. Bullet fit is far more important than hardness especially if powder coated. When I get relatively soft lead of unknown origins I usually save that for 230gr ball for the 45 Acp. I think in all honesty that a 1:20 alloy would work fine with the 45 as long as its .002 over barrel diameter.
How much is a single pound of lead worth?
changes over time, but the soft lead is worth somewhere around $1.00-$1.50ish, the printing press lead is worth somewhere between $2.00-$2.50ish
I'm late to the game of collecting lead. I'm soooooo jealous
yeah, it's one of those things where I'm always on the lookout for free/cheap lead.
Where’s one get the 2lb flat bar mold ?
Found it lol 👍
@@Ray-ro2jj the NOE ingot molds are a bit on the expensive side, but they last forever and are super high quality.
Mr taco. Are you going to further alloy any of this?
yes, I usually keep my ingots marked in different buckets and then mix between the hard and soft to get the alloy that I want. Haven't seen you around for a while--good to have you back!
The question i keep asking myself as i watch this video is..... why?.... why melt down so much lead into ingots?
Other than having material for DIY bullet making is there any other uses for it?
you make it into ingots to use at a later time. You can make fishing weights, jigs, bullets, etc...