I received my first batch of free lead today

[Kenk]

I received my first batch of free lead today, but am unsure what the aprx 2.5 x 3.5 cylinder ones with the handles are. They almost look like some type of counterweight, or maybe some type of a funky boat anchor, any ideas?

[John A.]

Window weights.

[Kenk]

Thanks John, now I just have to figure out how to melt them in my dinky little furnace

[John A.]

You could always melt it with a propane torch dripping into your ingot mold.

I've already suggested an old skillet.

[Kenk]

Thanks

[blaster]

I used to use an old pump-up Coleman camp stove & cast-iron pot to melt lead.

[Kenk]

Thanks, I?m hoping to pick up the 20lb lee pot soon now that I know I enjoy casting, That little Lee 4lb pot is just way small

[sqlbullet]

I used to use an old pump-up Coleman camp stove & cast-iron pot to melt lead.

This is how I started.  White gas coleman stove and a cast iron dutch oven that was in the back yard half buried when we bought our house.  My first haul was a bit larger than yours, coming in at about 1800 lbs.  It didn't take me long to realize that I needed a more efficient set-up.  I moved on to a two burner camp chef I got on sale.

There are a number of reasons to NOT use your casting pot.  One, as you have identified, is that scrap lead may not come in a convenient size to fit in a small pot.  The bigger one for me is the amount of dross scrap lead produces.  Paint, dirt, grime, and thick lead oxide layers all end up in your pot.  While most of it floats, some ends up clinging to the sides and bottom of the pot, and eventually makes it to the spout where it can clog, or worse into a boolit where it acts as an internal flaw that guarantees a flier.

Also, dirty lead requires lots more application of a wax or "flux" to bind the impurities together. Stirring helps, but stirring is hard in a pot with the hardware for bottom pour running down through it.  A skillet or dutch oven makes the process of getting gunk out of the lead a lot easier.

Melting the scrap down into clean ingots that are a good size to fit your pot will make your life a bunch easier long term.

[Kenk]

Absolutely, and once I get a bigger pot (20 lb) and possibly a Turkey fryer setup or similar, it should go way more smoothly?Thanks!