Elkworks
Member
New (very) to the lead pot process and I have only made about 200 round balls total. I use a Lee electric melting pot (with the stem that runs down the center of the pot) and the sports shop that set me up with the pot and round ball mold sold me six one pound ingots to get started. I used four of the ingots last month on a nice 60 degree day and got around 100 round balls and noticed little contaminants. I had bought 10 pounds of lead from a guy in Washington state who said it was very pure lead, but when I got it, it was in one large ingot that I had to melt on a camp stove and pour into one pound ingots. They look great and are shinier than the ones the sports shop sold me.
Today I melted the last two original ingots and added one of my new ones. The day was cold (about 30 degrees) and I kept running into the spout clogging on the melting pot. I kept cleaning it with a small nail periodically and that seemed to work. I started noticing a lot of what I would refer to as contaminants floating on my melted lead. I skimmed them off and set them aside. I have included two pictures of the material. My cast round balls look like my first batch and "seem" ok. What I am asking is if anyone knows what this material is and if its is good or bad and if I am doing something obviously wrong, such as casting when it may be too cold etc. any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Today I melted the last two original ingots and added one of my new ones. The day was cold (about 30 degrees) and I kept running into the spout clogging on the melting pot. I kept cleaning it with a small nail periodically and that seemed to work. I started noticing a lot of what I would refer to as contaminants floating on my melted lead. I skimmed them off and set them aside. I have included two pictures of the material. My cast round balls look like my first batch and "seem" ok. What I am asking is if anyone knows what this material is and if its is good or bad and if I am doing something obviously wrong, such as casting when it may be too cold etc. any advice would be greatly appreciated.