N/A Who's Casting or Wants to Learn?

I swage but I've been holding on to my waste lead. Most in the form of the thin extrusion bleed off. I was planning on waiting until I have enough to justify the shipping cost, and offer it to someone on here for free, just the cost of shipping. I'm wondering if it's worth it though. Since it has a high surface area to volume ratio and is exposed to air, would there be more slag than is worth it if melted? Should I just toss it?View attachment 433912

@Asher Is that pure lead from swaging? If so it can be melted to make cores. If you don’t want it I may be interested in taking it off of your hands.
 
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@GenXer What just happened here? Why a thumbs down and such a strange reply for an answer to your question?
I worked in a barrel manufacturer. You are not going to hurt your barrel .Many different forms of jacket s are used for similar results. No powder burners are wearing out barrels from solid copper slugs. Powder coating is a Jacket performing similar results to copper jackets at less velocity of course. Powder coat makes your slug more slippery. And of course lube can be added to any powder coat slug if wanted..
 
I swage but I've been holding on to my waste lead. Most in the form of the thin extrusion bleed off. I was planning on waiting until I have enough to justify the shipping cost, and offer it to someone on here for free, just the cost of shipping. I'm wondering if it's worth it though. Since it has a high surface area to volume ratio and is exposed to air, would there be more slag than is worth it if melted? Should I just toss it?View attachment 433912
Dont toss it just yet. How heavy is it? I'm interested in a quote. Can you fit it all in a large flat rate usps box?
 
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Are you buying lead at 85 cents per pound?
Recently?
Like in the past 2 or 3 years?
I'm in PA and I bought 300 lbs at a local scrap yard. $1.00a pound. It was sheets of roofing lead. Has to be cut in pieces and melted into ignots.. I'm sure they buy it for a lot less .. Bought in the last couple years.
 
I'm in PA and I bought 300 lbs at a local scrap yard. $1.00a pound. It was sheets of roofing lead. Has to be cut in pieces and melted into ignots.. I'm sure they buy it for a lot less .. Bought in the last couple years.
You'll need to google your local recycling centers. Here they charge $.85. They separate clean vs. dirty lead. You want clean.
This is good to know.
Im still new and just begining , when it comes to casting lead.
So Ive never really shopped around for any.
But now I know where to start looking, and what to expect to pay!
Thanks!
 
This is good to know.
Im still new and just begining , when it comes to casting lead.
So Ive never really shopped around for any.
But now I know where to start looking, and what to expect to pay!
Thanks!
You can buy on eBay shipped to the house lead. Also on castboolits.com its always for sale. Molds are the most expensive part... Lee makes some pretty affordable molds.to get started with..
 
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I didn't look at the prices, but you can get lead in many forms there

I've already looked into this. Rotometals or online lead is 4x the cost of local lead. There was one review that hit the nail on the head. He said he found that the rotometal ingots he purchased, even with prime, were not worth it since the weight received was not accurate and they were only 89% pure (or very close) after measurement. Look at the reviews on amazon and they also tell a story. Sure, online lead come in ingot form, but throwing lead in a pot directly skips the step, and you save a lot of money in the process.
Exercise for those who have a money and time to get down to the smoking gun: Purchase local and online lead. Weigh and conduct a hardness test on both. Then measure the delta between the pureness of the two. I'm betting there will be a 5% delta (if that) in pureness between the two resources. With local, they weigh the lead in front of you with no shortage, so local has that going for them.
 
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Is anyone casting non-lead slugs or pellets? If so what metal or alloy are you using? I have more questions about this process.

The only thread I’ve read so far about this is linked below.

 
All of this info looks great, but how would a newby get started casting 33 gr. and 35 gr. .25 caliber slugs.
I have a press( reloading CF) , a lead pot, ( fishing jigs) , but where and how would I get the molds . Custom made?
Thanks
@MEC17670 You can buy molds online from NOE molds, MP molds, Accurate molds, or buy some commercially available molds (maybe Lee or Lyman molds) that match the bore size of airgun barrels that you already have and like. To learn how, continue reading thread, articles, watch videos, ask questions, and maybe get with someone you know who is into casting bullets to learn.
 
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