Wheel Weights (with .25 Fe)

G

Glen Oakes

Guest
I recently got a couple of hundred pounds of wheel weights. While going thru them to melt them down I saw that quite a few are marked .25 Fe. I think I may have put quite a few of those in the first batch I melted/processed. I got to thinking about that and think I now have 40 or so pounds of alloy that may not be suitable for bullet casting. My normal processing method is to melt the WWs so I can discard the clips, flux the melt, and pour into ingots as just wheel weight metal. Later, I alloy with some Sn and pure Pb to make a more usable alloy for casting bullets.

Am I right that I probably have a contaminated batch or is this OK to use (after proper alloying w/lead and tin)?

Question(s):
1) what is the effect of this amount of iron in the alloy on bullets -- casting and performance?
2) can usable bullets be obtained from this alloy?

Thanks,

Glen
 
No matter what you cast you need to check the hardness. I use a saeco hardness tester. Like you i cast ingots and actually use muffin pans. Just my trick of the day- love lead muffins. I mark them with a sharpie of basically what they are like w-w or lino then i can kinda keep up with how many muffins of what makes what hardness.
 
Fe are iron. They will not melt into the lead. The ones you have to be on the look out for are the Zn. These are zinc. If you get them into your lead they will not let the mould to fill out very well. The zinc melts into the lead really easy. There is only like 75* difference between the melting point of lead and zinc. What I do to check for then besides looking for the Zn, is to take a pair of side cutters and try to cut them. The lead ones cut easy. The Zn ones will be like trying to cut the Fe ones. Not all Zn are marked. That is why you have to check each one.
 
Some states dont even use lead wheel weights anymore.
I know WA state is one of them.
And the muffin pan trick is a great way to go.
 
As stated above, check each batch for hardness. pure WW should be in the 8-11 Bnh range. On each batch, flux with alox and skim off the dregs. If the batch fluxes and leaves a shiny top, and fills out a properly seasoned mold you should be fine.

ONE CAUTION-always do your cast bullet material work in a well ventilated area.
 
And use an extension cord so you can unplug it from a distance and the first sign of rain unplug it and run
 
A rain storm will empty your pot in very short order and if its plugged in close you cant get to it. Just plan for the worst and take the safe path. Molten lead exploding is not a nice sight and just a few drops of rain or sweat hurts bad
 
Life's lessons

As a teenager (a long time ago) I worked for my Dad, summers & Sat's. He was a custom homebuilder & used very few sub's. He did the plumbing & electrical himself. Back then they used a lot of leg in plumbing. they had a big lead pot going & Dad told me to put several more 5# ingots of lead in the pot. They came as about 5 ingots connect by a sliver of lead. So I cut off a couple & washed some red mud off them in a barrel of water. I dropped them (still wet) into the hot pot & POW !! Splatters of lead all over my face. I did not have on safety glasses (long time ago). I was just very luck that none hit my eyes. I learned a lesson I'LL NEVER FORGET. Bye the way, along about that time my Dad begin to feel very tired & listless. Luckily his Doctor was very aware of my Dad's occupation, my Dad had built the doctors house, & diagnosed the problem, lead poisoning, & gave him a medication to leach the stuff out of his system! Due to that I have never done any casting & won't. Whenever I luck into a stash of wheel weights, or linotype I just pass it along.
 
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