What the heck happened

[No Powder]

Decided to cast some balls today using some old lead lines that my friend gave me. Some was 1 1/2" , and a small piece of 4" . Used two pieces of the 1 1/2" and everything was working fine. Decided to try some of the 4" " stuff.  That's when everything went wrong. I was using a Lee pot, and this stuff didn't want to melt and everything in the pot turned into what looked like silver cement. I got most of it dug out, but more in the bottom yet that I don't know if I'll ever get it out. Never had this happen to me before.  [ Invalid Attachment ]

[Bigsmoke]

I've never had anything like that happen so no idea what the cause could be.

However, Tom, I don't think today is the day for you to buy Lotto tickets.   

[No Powder]

Good advice. I don't do the lottery thing anyway. But my wife does. I think I found the problem. I decided to heat the pot again to help remove what's in the bottom of the pot. I think my pot bought the big one. It is not heating up. Has anybody else had their pot quit working in the middle of a melt? I think it makes sense. I bet this stuff would melt if my pot was heating.

[Winter Hawk]

Hit the thrift stores and look for a heavy pan you can put on the kitchen stove (with windows open) or a camp stove, and try melting the dregs that way.  No sense getting a new electric pot and maybe ruining it....

[No Powder]

Good idea Kees. I live about 150 yds. away from a Family Dollar store. But it's not that thrifty.

[Butler Ford 40]

Zinc? Would be my bet.

[No Powder]

Hey Bill could you enlighten me a bit more on this zinc stuff. It has the appearance and is easy to bend and cuts just like lead. The pot won't even get warm, but anything is possible. I ordered a 4lb. Lee pot this morning. It could be a coincidence that the pot quit working at that particular time, but I don't want that to happen again.

[Butler Ford 40]

I'm not sure what all it is used for but I do know that they frequently used them for wheel weights and when they get mixed in with the lead wheel weights, it all turns to sludge resembling your photo.   I can't imagine any reason for it to have caused your pot to fail?

[No Powder]

This was a piece of 4" line of some kind. I cut 2" pieces off this pipe, and then used a pair of tin snips to cut that in half. Would I been able to cut it with snips if there was zinc in it?

[Winter Hawk]

Good idea Kees. I live about 150 yds. away from a Family Dollar store. But it's not that thrifty.

I meant the second hand stores, not Family Dollar or Dollar General!   

~Kees~

[No Powder]

That's why you make the big bucks , huh buddy. Well Kees I did a little experimenting today. When I held the bernzomatic on one of those pieces of slag, there were pretty little silver, shiny drops falling into the pan. So here's what I think happened. My pot quit heating several minutes before I placed those pieces in. The molten lead remaining in the pot was getting cool. When those pieces of cool lead were put in, the other lead in the pot cooled even quicker, forming that ugly slag in the picture. Thanks for everyone's help.

[PetahW]

.

Practice some alchemy and turn the metal into gold..... 

[No Powder]

If I only knew how to do that. 

[Winter Hawk]

It may get to be gold, the way the world (& USA) is going.  Lead is bad for the environment, and for people so it will be banned for private possession.... I can see it coming.

~Kees~

[doggoner]

Not for sure about what you have BUT if you get zinc in your lead melt, the melt will look like oatmeal mush. Pure lead melts at 621*'s and zinc melts at 800 something *'s. I think your original melt had some zinc in it. Zinc is harder than lead also. Pure lead at 800*'s plus takes on a purple like hue if that'll help you decide about the temperature of your melt. Good luck and if it was me, I'd chuck that stuff away and stick with pure lead for special shoots and REAL wheel weights I.E lead ones for the plunking and blasting trips.

doggoner