[kingmt]

How can you make lead soft again?

[rcmodel]

Send it to a smelter and they will send you back pure lead.
For a price.

A process of high heat, fluxing, skimming, and cooling can recover a bunch of impurities and trace elements like antomeny & zinc.

Other then that, you really can't do anything with it to make it soft.
Pure Lead is soft.
Everything else melted in it isn't and makes it harder.

In the long run, it's cheaper, cleaner, safer, and easier to sell your too hard impure alloy to a scrap yard, and buy certified pure lead from a vender in bullet casting alloys with the money.

It is also way more likely to net you some pure soft lead.

rc

[kelbro]

Thin it down with pure until you get it where you want it.

[kingmt]

"A process of high heat, fluxing, skimming, and cooling can recover a bunch of impurities and trace elements like antomeny & zinc."

This process is what I want to know. What temp to heat it to? What do you flux it with? ...

[Lost Sheep]

I think it depends on what is alloyed in the lead that is making it hard.

Getting impurities out that will float to the top is one thing. Quite another to try to get mixed or chemically combined alloys out.

How hard is your lead, what is the mix and how hard/soft do you want?

Without those specifics, it is hard to answer.

Lost Sheep

[ReloaderFred]

The best flux is either sawdust or wood shavings. Pine and oak work well and smell good. Just stay away from some of the exotic woods that are heavy in oils.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[kingmt]

Thinks Fred I remember reading that before no that you brought it back to mind.

Lost Sheep

Some of it is wheel weights other is berm diggings. I have no idea of the alloy. I would like to get it as soft as I can.

[JohnM]

Right, anything that will burn or char and create carbon will flux impurities out of a lead alloy.
But while different metals in the mix do melt at different temps and some can be driven to the surface to be skimmed off, once an alloy is made all you can really do is add others to change its characteristics.
You can't effectively remove any.

If you got some harder lead alloy, like linotype, or even some harder wheel weight alloy you ought to be able to trade it for some soft.

[homatok]

The short answer is (for hoby casters) you can't! All you can do is keep adding pure lead to reduce the hardness to a point that you are happy with. The best advice you have been given is to find someone who will trade pure lead for whatever you have. Have a great day!

[kingmt]

I don't know anyone who would swap. I don't even know any else that messes with lead.

This is all for the point of learning & the fun of knowing I can do it myself.

[JohnM]

It's kinda basic chemistry kingmt, or metallurgy if you will.
Once the various metals have been melted into solution, there's no way to separate them short of a refining process.

Too bad, sure would make things easier :D
I got a few hundred pounds now of lino I'd sure like to get some antimony out of, juss can't be done.

[918v]

Sell it to someone that likes hardcast. Buy some 1:20 alloy. Cast some beautiful and accurate boolits.

[snuffy]

There IS a process that can purify lead. Refiners have a process that involves a lot more heat than a hobby furnace like ours can muster. There's a reagent or some such that they add to do the separation.

Here's a good article about the different methods of lead refining:

http://www.pagrik.com/lead-smelting.html

[dragon813gt]

You can trade it on Castboolits. And just how hard is it? What is the Brinell Hardness. I find it hard to believe that WW mixed with range lead is to hard. Especially when range lead is typically softer than WW. You can always send a sample to a lab and have it tested. Then you will know exactly what you have and how to fix it, if possible.


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[Hondo 60]

This process is what I want to know. What temp to heat it to? What do you flux it with? ...

Sounds like someone needs a Cast Bullet handbook.
http://www.i-martstore.com/servlet/the-118310/Cast-Bullet-Handbook-4th/Detail

Even found a good price for you.

[kingmt]

It isn't mixed. I have some from WW & some bullets.

I'm not casting I want to try swageing.

[dragon813gt]

Then you are better off buying certified alloys. The WW is most likely going to be to hard with the antimony content. But there are guys that use it without issues. The range lead may work but it depends on if you are retrieving mostly cast or jacketed. Either way you are going to need pure lead so you might as well just buy it.


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[evan price]

Set it in front of the TV and tune to the Lifetime network. Make sure a box of tissues is nearby.