I have about 500 pounds of sheet lead that was given to me several years ago .. If ya don't know , this stuff is rolled roofing ..
Has anyone evr cast it ?? Is it pure lead ?? , thinking it probably is , if looks are anything ..
All I know is it's cast on a bed of sand , and is the most durable roof , if properly applied , that you can have .. 200 years or better ..
Thanks
Jack

Pure lead is just fine for casting muzzleloader projectiles. However, if you want to cast pistol or rifle bullets,pure lead is a bit soft and may cause severe leading. For pistol and rifle bullets I prefer wheelweights mixed with linotype for a fairly hard bullet. All the best...
Gil

I was wanting to know how close to "pure" the sheet lead is , i have found out , for all practical purposes it is considered pure , I wanted to be sure cause some of it will be alloyed up ..
You can also put wheelweights in an oven at about 5-10 degrees below melting point for thirty minutes , and they will go from BHN 9 to almost 30 depending on the amount of arsenic in them , then quench in cold water ..
That comes from my Lyman No 46 manual , have beeen doing it since I got the book in 1982 ..
Jack

GroovyJack wrote:

I was wanting to know how close to "pure" the sheet lead is , i have found out , for all practical purposes it is considered pure , I wanted to be sure cause some of it will be alloyed up .. You can also put wheelweights in an oven at about 5-10 degrees below melting point for thirty minutes , and they will go from BHN 9 to almost 30 depending on the amount of arsenic in them , then quench in cold water .. That comes from my Lyman No 46 manual , have beeen doing it since I got the book in 1982 .. Jack

I don't have a front stuffer, but like yourself I have a quantity of roofing lead so I use it for making fishing sinkers. I was going to say it is pretty well pure.

Be interested to know what BHN9 actually means. Is it a hardness measurement?

Cheers, Vince

Vinny , yeah BHN is Brinnell Hardness Number , a relative indicator of a metal's hardness , there is a gadget you use to make an indentation in your bullet , and gives you a BHN number ..
Pure Lead has a BHN of 5 , wheelweights are around 9 ..
Jack

Yea I used sheets of lead years ago for casting rounds... my father in construction built some lead lined walls for an XRay company. I used scraps at home for some conical and Roundball loads. I found it was just cheaper to buy conicals and RB's than spend several hours making then


-DallanC

I have used something similar. Cable lead is wrapped around underground cables to waterproof them. Usually telephone cables but the technology is changing to fiber so I don't know if they still use lead shielding. It cast like pure lead and I shot some out of my TC Renegade and CVA KY Rifle.

Dallen,
Casting is for fun and user satisfaction not economy. I took numerous deer with home cast bullets. For the traditional guys there is no other way. I'm not that dedicated, I cast-um and buy-um too. Like Vince I cast fishing sinkers and leadhead hooks too. I guess I have enough lead exposure to put lead in several pencils. Hummmmm, they use graphite for that.

Yeah it s purely an enjoyment thingy now a days , unless , and I do , you need an off the wall caliber or want a bullet no one casts ..
I can buy 100 round balls for $7.50 and 100 rifle bullets for $14.00 , so definetly is an enjoyment thingy .. When I got started in the early=mid 70's , didnt have 40 zillion outfits selling all the custom casts bullets you wanted ..
Jack

popgun wrote:

Dallen, Casting is for fun and user satisfaction not economy. I took numerous deer with home cast bullets. For the traditional guys there is no other way. I'm not that dedicated, I cast-um and buy-um too. Like Vince I cast fishing sinkers and leadhead hooks too. I guess I have enough lead exposure to put lead in several pencils. Hummmmm, they use graphite for that.

I used to cast 9mm Conicals, .357 SWC when pistol shooting and I still cast 150gn FN that I used in my 30.30 TC Contender and also in my Mod 94 30.30. I would sit at the melting pot for 8 hours happily casting away.

I find casting and reloading to be theraputic. I like nothing better than to sit at the reloading bench churning out loaded rounds. By the time I buy the alloy, cast up, lube and size fitting a gas check I don't think it is any cheaper, but it is all my own work and that is where my enjoyment comes from, I really enjoy doing it.

PopGun
You really should take steps to ensure you don't ingest lead fumes. Too much of that stuff will stop you farting in church real quick. Nasty stuff lead. But then again, I like the "lead in the pencil" concept...food for thought there. Hmmm

Cheers, Vince