stick-on weights are pure lead?

M

maillemaker

New member
So I was melting wheel weights last week, and in the bucket were a bunch of "stick-on" wheel weights. Supposedly these are pure lead, and should be weeded out of wheel weight alloy as it dillutes your alloy. I did not care that much since I don't know what the alloy is and did not trust that it was pure lead anyway, so I threw them in the pot. I cut into them with my pocket knife and they cut easily and revealed shiny metal, so I was sure these were lead.

But in the melting pot, even though the rest of the wheel weights had melted, these did not, so I pulled them from the melt with the dross.

Any idea what these are?

Steve
 
They may be zinc, but I would bet if you re-check the stick on that did not melt are steel.
Most all the stick on WW I have tested that were Lead were real close to pure lead, but I have been seeing a lot of zinc and steel ones lately.
 
I'm almost certain they are not steel. They did not float on the top of the lead like steel, and I could cut them with a pocket knife almost like cheese.

Some of them eventually melted; I was afraid I was contaminating my alloy so I started fishing them out if they did not melt after all the WWs were melted.

Is it possible that pure lead has a higher melting temperature than WW alloy?

Steve
 
I've seen some stick ons that were plated. The plating didn't melt but the lead did. As I recall the plating came out with the dross...

Tony
 
Not only is it possible that pure lead has a higher melting point than WW alloy, but it definitely does. Pure lead melts at approx. 620 degrees. WW alloy melts at about 560 degrees. The higher the tin content (in common percentages), the lower the melting point. Pure tin melts at 450 degrees.

Check out the following link for more exact melting points (but keep in mind elevation differences)
http://www.weights-and-measures.com/xcommetalsalt.html
 
Pure lead should melt at about 620 degrees, and it has a bhn hardness of 5.
Stick-on ww are almost pure lead, with a bhn hardness of 6.

Clip on ww should melt at around 600 degrees... slightly cooler than pure lead.
 
Well, that explains it then. Too bad, I threw out probably 5 pounds or so of stick-ons then that I fished out with the dross, for fear they were something else.

Oh well. I netted 140 pounds of ingots . :)

Steve
 
pure lead

I think so to I just bought a new Lee R.E.A.L. mould for my muzzleloader and just had to try it out.So I found a few stick ons and melted them down.The results were very good and the bullets are so soft that I can deform them with my fingernail easily.I am thinking about checking them for hardness with my Lee tester to make sure.
 
Keep them separate but don't toss them. Some rifle boolit casters think a 50/50 mix of stick-on/clip-on WW's is ideal for some cartridges. Never know when you'll get tired of buying cast or swaged round balls for your muzzleloader or c&b revolver. More lead, more heat. PITA but can be worth it.
 
You really should invest in a casting thermometer... about 35 bucks... well worth the investment. It can, by itself, help prevent you from contaminating your smelt with zinc. (if you pay attention to it, that is..;) )
 
I've seen them that were pure zinc. They'd float with the clips until way long after the lead alloy had melted. Normally, I'm the kind of guy who'll make bullets out of anything plumbous, but I try to avoid those. If they don't melt with the lead, they don't go in the alloy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top