rusty wheelweights

[pearson1662]

This may be a dumb question but a buddy gave me a bucket of wheelweights that had been sitting outside for a few years. As a result the clips are rusted to the point that there is a heavy coating of rust on everything. I did several searches but haven't found anything addressing this. Makes me think that it must be a non-issue. Any particular tool that would be best for skimming the rust that I assume will float to the top? Are there any problems that I should be aware of when I melt them down to make ingots?

Thanks for your patience.

Jay

[powderburnerr]

flux it good when you smelt and ater all the clips and big junk are off the top , flux and stir and if you have powder on top sprimkle some borax on the top it will stick to the fine debris and will skim off very easily ,, 20 mole team borax is in any grocery store, ...dean

[HeavyMetal]

Melt and skim! The rust, depending on what it is, will burn off or float on top.


What you use as a flux will have a lot on influence on how easy the dross is to remove.

I have used Marvalux in the past and, other than the deposits it can leave on the side of a lead pot, is the best product for this particular problem.

You can find it at brownell's for sure I'm not sure who else carries it.

[Bob Krack]

This may be a dumb question but a buddy gave me a bucket of wheelweights that had been sitting outside for a few years. As a result the clips are rusted to the point that there is a heavy coating of rust on everything. I did several searches but haven't found anything addressing this. Makes me think that it must be a non-issue. Any particular tool that would be best for skimming the rust that I assume will float to the top? Are there any problems that I should be aware of when I melt them down to make ingots?
Thanks for your patience.
Jay

Jay,

In my experience, the rust will rise to the top. Skimming is no problem - the problem is the rust sometimes sticking to the smelting pot.

I use an old cast iron pot for smelting and should I develop a coating on the pot interior, I scrub it out with a wire brush. If not, I just realize I loose a little "good stuff" with the skimmed dross.

Best not to ever smelt in your "casting" pot.

Your mileage may vary,
Vic

[686]

Jay,

In my experience, the rust will rise to the top. Skimming is no problem - the problem is the rust sometimes sticking to the smelting pot.

I use an old cast iron pot for smelting and should I develop a coating on the pot interior, I scrub it out with a wire brush. If not, I just realize I loose a little "good stuff" with the skimmed dross.

Best not to ever smelt in your "casting" pot.

Your mileage may vary,
Vic

THE RUST IS VERY BAD. DO NOT USE THEM. THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO ID SEND TO ME I WILL PAY THE SHIPPING AND I WILL DESPOSE THEM IN A VERY SAFE WAY. ----JUST USE THEM. ANY THING LIGHTER THAN LEAD WILL FLOAT TO THE TOP. HAVE FUN.

[STP]

Ditto on the "no problemo" with rusty WW clips.

Last Saturday I went to a friend`s house to help him melt down 2 buckets of material. He said both buckets had been in his basement for more than 10 years...he does little casting, but he just bought a Group Buy 6-cavity mould here for his M-1 Carbine. So I agreed to bring my RCBS Pro-Melt over and we`d both work on both buckets.

Turns out all he had was his Lee 10lb bottom pour pot to use. (I`d forgotten that.)

We got both pots set up on his bench first, then he dragged out both of the buckets....

A 3/4 full 5gal. bucket of rusty/dirty wheelweights. The 2nd 5gal bucket was nearly full of Linotype, in the original block form. This was a surprise to me, as I`d never seen it in it`s "type" form.

It was pretty obvious to me to my 20lb pot for the wheelweights, and his 10lb Lee for the Lino. It was slow going for him...and I watched closely as he melted and poured. I suggested he pour only two ingot trays at a time to save some re-melt time for each of the following melt cycles.

I finished well ahead of him of course...so I finished the unmelted Lino for him. Having never melted such before, it was most interesting to watch the transformation of those small blocks turn into a mushy slurry..(can I say that?) It took quite a spell for it to turn into a liquid, and quite frankly, I had visions of my past experience with Bismuth and another Pro-Melt furnace and the terrible mess left behind.

When all was done, we had filled a 2lb coffee can full of clips and trash.

The only thing I did to the WW clips was to knock off most of dirt and dust from them first. Fluxing and skimming was pretty straightforward.

When we wrapped up, he insisted I take 4lbs of the newly poured Lino home with me.

[pearson1662]

Thanks, fellas. I think I'm ready to melt and make ingots!

Jay

[The Nyack Kid]

Well if they are rusty then the got wet , use the standard cautionary practices when dealing with molten lead and moisture .