Zinc contaminated bullet picture

  • 2.7K Views
  • Last Post 09 November 2011
RicinYakima posted this 29 October 2009

Even though I am usually very careful when making alloys, I had a mess last week. Using some scrap lead salvaged from a old laboratory, I made an error and dropped a bottle stopper, that I thought was tin, into a 20 pound pot of lead.

To make a long story shorter, I spent three casting sessions trying to make good bullets out of this stuff. Finally the light dawned, and I took a sample to work for analysis. The result 00.24% zinc.

Attached is a picture of one of the better castings, about 1 out of 4 of the best of the lot. This was cast from an aluminium mould, well heated, at 775 degrees. At 750 degrees fill out was even worse.

Ric

Attached Files

Order By: Standard | Newest | Votes
hunterspistol posted this 29 October 2009

Thank you for a visual warning, that could make it quite plain what's going on.  Three casting sessions is a lot of work though.

Attached Files

tturner53 posted this 29 October 2009

I've been lucky so far, have put a few zinc ww in the big smelting pot, but they floated and I spotted them. I didn't know before that some stick ons are zinc, or at least not lead. They float, have “FE” stamped on them.

Attached Files

Vacek posted this 29 October 2009

FE is really Fe the elemental formula for iron (ferro)

Attached Files

Don Fischer posted this 30 October 2009

I'm courious, what do yopu do for work that you can analize the content of lead?

Attached Files

tturner53 posted this 30 October 2009

V, thanks for the explanation. It's been a long time since I had to memorize the Periodic Table of Elements. I figured out that you can run a magnet through your stick on pile and remove the Fe's. It is not a good way to remove floating clips from the smelt if your big ol' magnet has a plastic handle.

Attached Files

RicinYakima posted this 30 October 2009

Hunterspistol:

I'm a slow learner! I haven't had any issues since I first found Zn in wheelweights almost ten years ago and ruined 100 pounds of alloy trying to dilute it out. This stuff came out of a old lab and I thought I had classified everything in the boxes as lead or tin and recycled all the other metals. I messed up apparently.

tturner53,

I haven't been gathering up any WW's since about 2002, as I have enough to last me. So I wasn't looking for problems in the alloy mix.

Don,

I'm a chemical garbage man (semi-retired). Been doing hazardous materials response for about 35 years and know a lot of lab folks. A little under the table work is possible if you know the right people.

Ric

Attached Files

codarnall posted this 30 October 2009

Yes, don't be an idiot like me and turn up the gas just because you can. What a mess. I just didn't know the concoction was a zinc based casting material. Nice photo, lousy bullet.

Attached Files

72coupe posted this 30 October 2009

That is a really big void in the base of that bullet.

Attached Files

Uncle Russ posted this 07 November 2011

That's not a big void in the base of the bullet. Its Ric's propriatary hollow base design. Made without a base punch!

When perfected I am sure he will share. :nawnawnaw:

Attached Files

Wineman posted this 09 November 2011

There have been a few articles on the addition of elemental sulfur to melts with Zinc. I have not looked at the chemistry of the reaction (ZnS2??? sulfides are notorious for their insolubility). I have added some vineyard sulfur dust to a melt (DO IT OUTSIDE!!!). You get a loufra like precipitate that can be skimmed off. Anybody try this?

Wineman

Attached Files

Categories
Search
Popular Tags
This Weeks High Earners
Hot Topics
Close