2. Dollar store slotted spoon. Check.
3. Heavy duty steel ladle. Check.
4. Votive candles and sawdust. Check.
5. Sn/Pb (50/50) solder. Check.
6. Outdoor propane stove w/fuel. Check.
So it seems that all I need is a stainless or cast iron pot* and I'm ready to process the 150+ pounds of mixed wheel weights I picked up on Thursday.** I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Or at least the mephitis of burning plastic, oil, dog urine, and whatever other fetors a wheel weight accumulates in its short, grasping life.
UPDATE: I now find myself in possession of a nearly limitless number of 1/4 and 1/2 ounce steel ingots. I threw 150 or so into the brass tumbler and they came out looking pretty sweet. I'm sure a few of them are going to start appearing in geocaches around this area.*** Any other ideas for what kinds of arts/crafts/science projects they might prove useful?
UPDATE II: The first sort is complete except for a dinner plate-sized pile of tiny weights. Better than 75% (by weight) of the subjects thus far have turned out to be lead, with a surprisingly small proportion (2% maybe) being made of zinc. The rest were steel.**** I ended up with a few pounds of soft lead (stick-on type) that the muzzleloader guys want, but not really enough to work with, so I'll box them up for now. Next step: how much do we have to wash (and with what) to ensure that our melt does not smell like a meth lab on the edge of hell?
* "Don't even think about it. In fact, don't even think about thinking about it." - Rogue
** I still need couple dozen donuts for the guys at the tire store whose continuing generosity is necessary to make the 8-16 BHN Project a success. There are a number of underhanded ways to make them want to sell primarily to me in this tight market.
*** I can see dropping a dozen or so into a felt marble bag for those who already have enough Las Vegas refrigerator magnets.
**** Or cleverly-disguised wheel stems, nails, and candy bar wrappers.
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6 comments:
Dang, I'm envious.
Would you raise pigs again? How difficult was it? I'd like to, but I don't want to expand too quickly.
Pigs are easy, but they are not a good idea with little kids*. So while I would not be opposed to having a pair, at most, it will be a bit before it happens, unless someone comes by with piglets to give away as occasionally happens.
* Little kids being a subclass of 'everything,' which is what pigs eat
I would think smelling like a meth lab would be the goal.
I haven't smelted any lead wheel weights. So I can offer no advice.
Except maybe to melt the whole batch at once, so that all the water evaporates before the lead melts. Throwing some weights that are not dry into the melt will be exciting, from what I've read.
Dry weights - right on. I intend to wash them (I'm thinking bleach, laundry detergent, a 5 pounds at a time, swirled around in a gallon of water) and then dry them on the concrete for like a week before they go in the pot.
I do not have an entry in the 8-16 BHN Project plan for "Steam Explosion."
Maybe dish soap to cut oil and grease.
I went with straight dish soap on the itty bitties and it worked like a champ. Haven't separated them yet (I don't want to throw wet weights in my dry buckets) but at least I can read them now.
The final numbers are going to look like better than 80% lead, and while it will work out to about 33c/lb before propane costs, it's a decent price to pay to establish a supply.
Money is not a problem, and as is illustrated with my utter inability to get small pistol primers anywhere at any price, sometimes money is no solution either.
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