Thread: Fluxing lead in a Lee Production Pot IV

I have been known to make some molds. Getting ready to start making all of my own molds. Got 2 heads I think my have a major impact on the jighead world.

Smoking the molds works well for the few that I pour compared tho some here. I poured about 35 1/8 in a mold that I hadn't used yet and fought with it for a short. mold wasn't up to temp and hadn't been smoked. got it hot and it still gave incompletes til I smoked it, and that was using pure I usually use WW for 1/8 and up but wasn't going to change it out for the few I wanted. Once it was smoked I was done in short order. The pro molds I have from do-it cast well and break off the excess easily with very little flash. My want list has a few customs that the wallet wont allow.

I get some scrap lead in different forms. Battery terminals, lugs and post. The rest of the battery isn't worth going after the lead. Wheel weights, spent bullets and plumbers lead. I save the pure, plumbers lead for pinch-ons and split shot sinkers. I melt this in a cast iron pot outside on a fryer base. After the lead is melted, trash removed with a large slotted spoon then a large spoon, I flux with any kind of wax. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to remove more trash. Flux again, scrape bottom and sides of pot again. Pour into ingots.
When the lead is melting and the Lee pot is full, I turn the heat down to 5. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Add wax to flux again. At the lower heat, zinc will float to the top. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to remove more trash and zinc. Zinc will be the fluffy stuff that floats at low heat. It's not a real problem with pouring sinkers, but makes a harder bullet and can mess up a barrel. Then I turn the pot up to 8, let it set a few minutes and start pouring.