On the shelves of specialized stores there is a wide range of different weights and shots. Nevertheless, judging by the numerous reviews, most avid fishermen and hunters prefer to use products not of factory, but of their own manufacture. Due to the fact that the shot is a consumable material, and sinkers are often lost, the hunter and fisherman have a constant need for this raw material.
It is this category of consumers who is interested in where to get lead for casting? According to experts, there are several effective ways lead mining. Information on where to get lead for sinkers and shots can be found in this article.
Introduction to the material
Lead is and has excellent anti-corrosion properties, due to which this chemical element is used in the manufacture of protective coatings in shipbuilding.
Lead is immune to X-ray and radioactive radiation. For this reason, special protective sheets are made from this metal, the task of which is to protect a person from intense radiation.
After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, reactive substances were transported by helicopters in containers surrounded by lead ingots.
The most common areas of application of this metal are fishing and hunting. Due to the fact that lead is inexpensive and easy to melt, it is easy to make a projectile for firearms or a sinker for fishing tackle from it.
Due to the softness of lead, such a weight is easily crimped and it will be easy to attach it to the fishing line without additional devices. If there are usually no difficulties with melting, then the question of where you can get lead is very relevant. The following are some popular lead mining methods.
From battery
For those who are interested in where to get lead, experienced anglers and hunters recommend paying attention to the battery. It won't be too hard to find him. Enough to go to the scrap metal collection point. In this case, you will have to spend a little. Those who want to save money can be advised to look for it in a landfill. Old batteries often gather dust in motorists' garages. If you know motorists you know, you're in luck. The owner will be only too happy to get rid of such rubbish. Judging by the numerous reviews, it is the batteries that are considered the most common source for the extraction of lead, which is presented in the form of special plates. Non-ferrous metal is easy to melt.
How to extract?
Having obtained a battery, beginners often ask the question of what to do next. Experts recommend doing a complete disassembly. Only in this case will it be possible to remove the lead plates. Since they are in acid, they must be dried before melting. Judging by the reviews, it will take at least six hours to disassemble. The plates dry within a day. Remelting will take one hour. In general, one battery will have to be transported for at least a day and a half. As a result, after remelting the plates, up to two kilograms of lead can be mined. Whether it is worth spending time on this, everyone decides for himself.
From fishing weights
If there are no familiar motorists, and not a single battery was found at the scrap metal point and the person does not know where to get lead, experienced craftsmen recommend purchasing this non-ferrous metal in the fishing products department. However, this method is less effective, since you will first have to buy lead sinkers, and only then melt them. 1 kg of lead costs about 200 - 250 rubles. Nevertheless, already with the necessary raw materials in a handicraft way, you can make good shot for ammunition.
From car wheels
Another option where to get lead is a car service. Since the car wheel is equipped with special balancing weights, if necessary, they can be dismantled and used for other than their intended purpose.
According to experts, one such weight weighs 50-60 g. Judging by the numerous reviews, 1 kg will cost no more than 50 rubles. For beginners and those who have no idea where to get lead, experts recommend using car weights.
But today, lead is not used in its pure form as a material for their manufacture. Often this is zinc with impurities of babbitt - fusible. The composition may include antimony and tin. In addition to weights for wheels, lead is also mined from plain bearings, less often from sealing gaskets.
From counter
This method is suitable for those who have friends who work in the water utility and the power grid. Employees of these services quite often have to deal with meters, put or break seals. They are made of lead and are no longer of value when dismantled, so regular deliveries of this non-ferrous metal can be arranged.
Where to get a lot of lead?
According to experts, you can use a communication cable with a lead sheath. Lead is used to make the coating, which, judging by the reviews, is very soft and can be easily removed with a regular knife. Depending on the cable brand, the thickness of its protective layer can vary from 1 to 2 mm. Due to the fact that bitumen is applied on top of the lead coating, and the product itself is wrapped with steel tape, those who want to get low-melting non-ferrous metal will have to tinker pretty much.
Experienced masters recommend that beginners perform this procedure at sub-zero temperatures. In this case, the bitumen is much easier to separate. Bituminous substances melt well. It is enough just to hold the cable over the fire for a while. The bitumen will flare up and it will be much easier to remove it. According to experts, it is lead sheaths that give the largest number required metal. Compared to lead extracted from a battery, cable is much cleaner.
In addition, during the melting of battery plates, a lot of debris remains, which is often more than the non-ferrous metal itself. For this reason, before starting to melt, the plates are carefully tapped. The main purpose of these actions is to get rid of the filler. Otherwise, there will be a lot of unnecessary slag in the container with molten lead.
Can be ordered from supplier
Those who have already tried all the methods and no longer know where to get lead can be recommended to order non-ferrous metal from the manufacturer. Judging by the numerous reviews, in this case, about 170 rubles will have to be paid for 1 kg of a fusible substance. Much cheaper, about three times, you can buy lead at a non-ferrous metal collection point.
Finally
No matter how the lead is mined, when working with it, it is necessary to adhere to safety precautions. Lead is a very toxic substance and should be smelted in a well ventilated or exhausted area. Many home craftsmen prefer to work with him on fresh air. If this recommendation is neglected, then the released electrolyte vapors can cause irreparable harm to human health. In addition, in order not to get burned, you should be as careful as possible with molten lead.
The article discusses where to get lead for shots, making sinkers and other things. There are several options, everyone can choose something for themselves.
In old car batteries. The electrolyte is drained, and the lead plates are quite easily melted down. I also met lead plates in hardware stores like Samodelkin.
If you need a little lead, then you can buy fishing weights in sports or hunting stores.
I can tell where can i get lead, and for ridiculous money. You need to apply by mail. They use disposable lead seals, which then do not know what to do with. You can’t throw it away - you can damage the environment, and the collection of seals is usually not organized. Therefore, you can agree on acceptance for recycling.
Well, in childhood, we hunted for old batteries for the sake of lead, gouged, pulled out lead plates, cleaned them, broke them into a container on fire until it melted, and then into a pre-prepared form.
1) The easiest way to buy sinkers for fishermen from lead. There is a large assortment of sinkers of the most different sizes and shapes, as well as different in weight - from 0.5 g to 230 g. For example, I give one option: Lead sinkers Salmo Faceted With Ring And Swivel 100G - 185 r.
2) Cable lead (tape), has a weight of 11 kg with a tape width of 8 cm and a thickness of 1.5-2 mm at a price of 100/kg. while 1 m of tape weighs 2 kg. such lead will cost significantly less than ready-made sinkers.
3) The next option is lead hunting shot, it can also be different, for example, this one at a price of 99 rubles / kg (RTG MetPromStar, LLC, Moscow).
So choose what suits you best. If you look hard, you can still find lead.
There is a lot of lead in the batteries, though it will take a long time to get it out of there, and the used batteries themselves still need to be found. Usually, there are a lot of them near the garages, as some drivers simply expose them, not having the desire to bother with them themselves. You can also buy lead in fishing and hunting shops.
Lead can be bought at a fishing store, where it is sold in the form of weights. Further, lead can be extracted from old used batteries, this method was used by my grandfather, who was an avid fisherman, and in those days it was probably much more difficult to get lead than it is now. I remember how he melted the lead battery grids in the backyard, and all the dirt floated to the surface, and the liquid lead remained at the bottom.
I also completely agree that many high voltage cables that are laid either in the ground or on some metal structures have a lead sheath. But now there are no unowned cables left, so this method is not widely available. And finally, the easiest way to get lead is to turn to the guards of some base with sliding gates, which are sealed with lead seals every evening, and every morning these seals are torn off and thrown away. Often they just lie on the gate and you just need to pick them up.
If for fishing, then in a store, and for other purposes it is better not to mess with lead at all. This is the most dangerous and insidious metal, it does not noticeably penetrate the human body and begins its dirty work, after which the process of replacing calcium with lead is irreversible.
In addition to all the above options, I will add one more. Sheaths of communication cables have a lead coating, which is easy to cut even with a knife, but a heavier knife is desirable. This shell is thick enough 1-2 mm, it is easy to melt and cast into desired shape. True, it was coated with bitumen on top, and a steel tape was wound on top of the bitumen in two layers, so you need to tinker a little. Bitumen easily separates in the cold, but you can melt lead directly with bitumen, it then flares up, which makes the melting process go much faster.
By the way, the lead sheath of data cables is larger than lead with less trouble and it is cleaner, and it is much more difficult to smelt lead from battery plates and the output is minuscule, plus a lot of garbage. Before remelting, the plates must be tapped somehow so that as little filler remains as possible, otherwise you will get one slag in the molten pot. Yes, not the purest lead in batteries, they say with impurities, in addition, much more harm to health is obtained by extracting lead from battery plates, here there will be electrolyte vapors and vapors of lead itself, still disgusting.
Therefore, when melting lead, good ventilation is needed, or an exhaust hood is even better, or outdoors with the wind. And in no case should you melt more volumes indoors, it is extremely dangerous for health. Be extremely careful with liquid lead as well.
Lead is sold in shops serving anglers. In bullion, for self-manufacturing loaded.
Lead can be smelted from battery plates, but there is very little lead, much more waste. The lead sheath of the cable will give it much more, and besides, it will be cleaner. Smelting lead requires a well-ventilated area. If you need a small amount of lead, you can buy fishing sinkers in the store
Instruction
Warm up the container in which the melting will be carried out. Position the container securely over the gas burner. Light a fire. Adjust the gas supply so that the flame is small. Wait for the container to warm up. Heating is necessary to evaporate moisture from the surface of the container, burn out organic substances and prevent the destruction of ceramic dishes due to rapid uneven thermal expansion.
Melt the lead. Place a few pieces of lead into the container. To avoid burns, do this with tongs or a spatula. Wait for them to completely melt. Add portions of lead to the melt until the required amount of liquid metal is obtained. The gradual addition of lead to the melt accelerates the melting process, since the solid fragments are in contact with the liquid fraction, which increases the contact area and improves heat transfer.
note
Lead melt has a very high temperature. Avoid contact with skin, clothing and flammable objects. Work outdoors or in a very well ventilated area as lead fumes are toxic.
You can melt lead even in a tin can, firmly setting it over a gas burner.
Lead is immediately recognizable by external signs, it is quite flexible, does not break, easily melts under a hammer, and has a dark gray color. It belongs to low-melting metals, as it melts at 327 degrees. In the event that it is in an alloy with another metal, the melting point can significantly decrease or increase. Lead is quite suitable for foundry work at home
Instruction
It is not at all difficult to get lead, it is possible in organizations involved in the disposal of raw materials. It is advisable to purchase more pure lead. Before you start melting lead, prepare a mold into which you will pour it. Take a cast-iron pan, put it on the fire, put the pieces of lead into the pan and keep it on fire until the lead becomes like a shiny liquid. Make sure there are no small pieces left. If the temperature required to melt lead is exceeded, it will begin to take on a reddish tint.
While the lead is on fire, prepare the mold for pouring by warming it up a bit to avoid partial or uneven casting. After that, clamp the mold in a vise attached to the table. For these purposes, there are also special clamps and molds with welded handles.
Once the lead has melted, use a knife or spoon to scrape off any debris from its surface. Then, with a large spoon, scoop up a small amount of lead and carefully pour it into the mold, placing it next to the pan, as it can splash and leave serious burns on your hands. People who constantly work with lead prefer to pour it into a mold with a special spoon that has a small notch on the side.
The finished product will cool down in at least an hour. All costs due to uneven fit of mold parts can be cut with a knife.
Lead can also be obtained from a conventional battery. To do this, disassemble the battery, first draining the acid and leaving it upside down for one day. After chip off sides battery and remove the lead plates that are in the rubber bags. Melt them as described above. And charcoal will help prevent surface oxidation during smelting - just sprinkle it on top of the lead during smelting.
note
Despite the fact that lead easily melts, it fills the mold worse than other low-melting metals.
Lead must not be poured into a cold mold, as it can splash on contact with a cold surface.
Sources:
- melting point of lead in 2018
Tip 3: How to protect figurines from oxidation after melting lead
Lead has been known since ancient times. Archaeologists quite often find figures of deities and jewelry made from this material. Lead is also popular in our time - for example, sinkers are made from it for fishing tackle. This metal melts quite easily, so figurines, beads and bracelets are cast from it. However, lead has a rather significant drawback: it very quickly becomes covered with an oxide film and loses its luster.
What is needed for this?
An oxide film on lead appears rather quickly after melting. It is completely useless to clean it mechanically - this is a rather laborious process. In addition, the cleaned surface will also quickly begin to oxidize. You can protect sinkers, beads or electrical connectors with the following substances:- ;
- ;
- varnish.
Prepare also a pack of paper napkins, and for working with acid - chemical utensils, gloves and a respirator.
Home and industrial methods
There is literally a homemade way to protect a lead surface from corrosion. Sunflower oil is always available on the farm. Pour it into a bowl and dip the newly smelted figurine into it. Hold for five minutes, remove, put on a layer of napkins and let dry.In production, to protect lead parts, it is usually used in a word, where industrial oil is sold. You can order graphite grease through the online store. The lead product will retain its luster for a long time.
If the product is large, you can simply wipe it with a cotton swab dipped in vegetable oil.
Fishing varnishes
You can cover the lead figurine and varnish for metal. In a store that sells products for anglers, there is often a special "fishing" varnish designed specifically for this purpose. Colors come in a wide variety, but if you want to keep the metallic sheen, colorless is better for you. The industry also produces fluorescent "fishing" varnishes.Get rid of oxide
If there is already an oxide film on the surface, it can be removed with concentrated acid. Remember that it is better to use chemical glassware for chemical experiments. An ordinary glass jar may not be strong enough, and using metal or plastic items is completely undesirable. Do not forget also about precautionary measures - you need to work with caustic acids with gloves. A protective mask is also desirable. Dip the object in acid, wait until the oxide film disappears. Pour off the acid carefully. Let the product dry, then lubricate it with oil, graphite grease or varnish. When working with lead, remember that this material is toxic.Lead has been known since ancient times. This metal is indispensable in many industries due to its physical and chemical properties. To use lead, you need to know its melting point, which will allow you to make the necessary materials and parts from it. It is easy to forge, very ductile, and this metal is also inert to acids at normal temperatures.
Applications of lead
One of the most common uses is in the manufacture of bullets, shot, and other projectiles for firearms. And the opportunity for hunters to make homemade bullets was created due to the cheapness of the metal and its low melting point.
Lead is also used to make fishing weights. Due to the fact that the metal is soft enough, it can be fixed on the fishing line without the use of special devices, by simple crimping.
Lead also has an anti-corrosion property, so it is used to apply a protective layer on iron products and to make protective sheaths for cables. Also, this feature of lead allows it to be used in the production of paints and varnishes.
As the main component of the ship, or iron, minium, which is used to paint the underwater part of the ship, a pigment is used, which includes lead.
Often this metal is used in the form of alloys. Sheets with an admixture of lead, for example, are capable of protecting against x-rays and radioactive radiation. During the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, accompanied by intense radiation, bags with blanks and lead shot were used to stop dangerous processes in the reactor. To protect the people who were on the helicopters delivering this cargo, lead sheets were used. The unique features of this metal in this case turned out to be indispensable.
Lead melting point
The melting point of pure lead, in which there are no impurities, is 328°C. When melted, the casting qualities of the already ductile lead are improved. This allows hunters to cast projectiles for weapons.
Lead can be melted even at home or over a fire.
However, for pouring into molds, it is necessary to bring the metal to a fluid state. To this extent, lead can be used at a temperature of about 100-200 ° C above the melting point. The boiling point of this metal varies within 1749oC.
In molten form, it has a noticeable volatility, which increases with. Vapors of lead, as well as its dust, can cause acute poisoning in humans. For severe intoxication, a concentration in the body of 0.3 g of lead or its components is sufficient.
