If you wash it to get rid of the grease, for god's sake (and yours) make
sure you get it absolutely dry before you put it into molten lead. You
DON'T want to be around when it starts spitting...

Pirate_Dave
--
In article , Brian Whatcott wrote:
On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 19:29:03 GMT, "Andrew Butchart"
wrote:

I've come into possession of a quantity of lead wheel weights - about 70lbs
worth. I'd like to turn them into 10lb weights with an eyebolt on the top.
One minor issue is that the weights were stored in an old grease pail and so
are quite greasy.

As I see it I have three options:

- Melt it down and pour it into forms. The good thing with this, is that
the weights will be all lead. The bad thing is that I don't know how to
make forms - would wood be good enough, or old juice cans? Could I melt the
lead on my BBQ - kitchen stove is out because of fumes of course. What
about the grease? Should I clean it off first? I'm not keen on this method
because of all of the safety issues, but it give me the "best" and most
dense result.

- Use polyester resin and 1 litre cardboard milk cartons as a form to cast a
weight. Would it hold together? Do I need to remove the grease from the
wheel weights?

- Put the weights into a large juice can and somehow seal up the top. I'd
worry about how solid this would be though.

Thanks

Lead melts around 328 degC
Paper and card char well below this.

Wood is in the same class, though the thicker, the more resistant.
I have used a brick form on concrete - the concrete tends to spall
explosive shards. Dry brick with fireclay seams could work for you.

Greasy lead will smoke badly, better wash it first? A soak in water
with Dawn detergent etc. Steel cans would hold up to casting temps.
They would probably be best?

Brian W