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#11
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Lead Shot needed
Lew Hodgett wrote: Also, expect to find some live ammo. Unlikely at most indoor ranges. Live ammo is always at the other end of the range. As you melt it down a bucket of "resource", you sometimes get a "pop", not a "boom", just a pop. Probably right but just add half a gram of water and see what happens. :-) If you don't melt down and clean up shooting range "resource", expect to find at least 20% useless scrap, at least that was my experience. I was not suggesting he melt it. Just use it as is. It is just about the right mix of sizes for filling between lead pigs. -- Glenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com |
#12
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Lead Shot needed
"Glenn Ashmore" writes: Unlikely at most indoor ranges. Live ammo is always at the other end of the range. That was not my experience with both public and private ranges such as the sheriff of Los Angeles County or various city ranges used by the police departrments. Probably right but just add half a gram of water and see what happens. :-) No thank you. I was not suggesting he melt it. Just use it as is. I was aware of that. Trust me, shooting range "resource" is full of crap, especially dirt, or what masquerades as dirt. Melting down about 500 lbs of range "resource" will yield about 360 lbs of lead pigs. The rest is scrap. At least that was my experience. Maybe others will accept this garbage as part of their keel ballast, I wouldn't and didn't. BTW, probably melted down more than 20,000 lbs of range "resource" to get my ballast lead. This included about 10,000 lbs of clean lead pigs that were stolen. Remind me to tell you the story about the convicts who loaded range "resource" sometime. It was quite an experience. HTH -- Lew S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the Southland) Visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett for Pictures |
#13
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Lead Shot needed
Uh, is that stolen FROM you or BY you? (g)
"Glenn Ashmore" writes: snip BTW, probably melted down more than 20,000 lbs of range "resource" to get my ballast lead. This included about 10,000 lbs of clean lead pigs that were stolen. |
#14
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Lead Shot needed
Lew Hodgett wrote: Trust me, shooting range "resource" is full of crap, especially dirt, or what masquerades as dirt. Melting down about 500 lbs of range "resource" will yield about 360 lbs of lead pigs. The rest is scrap. At least that was my experience. Odd, I got much better yield out of bullet lead than I did out of wheel weights. I just couldn't use more than about 1,000 lbs because I needed the antimony in the wheel weights. Maybe the indoor sand backstop made a difference. -- Glenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com |
#15
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Lead Shot needed
"Glenn Ashmore" writes: Odd, I got much better yield out of bullet lead than I did out of wheel weights. I just couldn't use more than about 1,000 lbs because I needed the antimony in the wheel weights. Maybe the indoor sand backstop made a difference. Didn't seem to make much difference whether it was from an outdoor range or indoor ranges that used a steel trap. Most of my stuff was from indoor ranges. Lots of what I'll call slag which was NBD. Had a pot that would hold about 900 lbs of molten lead. When melting was in process, the slag would float on the surface of the molten lead where it could be scooped off with a common garden shovel. -- Lew S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the Southland) Visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett for Pictures |
#16
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Lead Shot needed
It's hard finding lead keel casting information. If you don't mind what did you
use to melt the lead? Used iron bathtubs seem to be unavailable where I live and I was thinking of having a 2'by 2' steel box made out of 3/16 or 1/4 plate. I was also wondering if renting a couple of propane burners that use the common 18 pound tanks would be enough. Any suggestions about this plan? I am restoring a 43 year old Dutch built 26' sloop. It has a 1200 pound iron keel and 650 pounds of inside lead ballast. It is a keel centerboard design and the keel is in rough shape and keeping it from rusting in salt water I think would be an unending chore (the centerboard slot is the source of most problems). If I replace the iron with a lead keel of identical dimensions I could eliminate the inside ballast and not have to deal with rusting. The inside ballast was added by the designer ( I suppose after complaints about tenderness) and is penciled in on the factory plans. JJ On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 13:55:02 -0400, "Kevin Fitz-Gerald" wrote: "mike worrall" wrote in message om... I've discovered a few sites on the 'Net selling 25lb bags for $15, but am hoping that the assembled brain-trust can suggest a less expensive option. Mike, try going to a trap range. If you explain what you want it for, they may let you collect all you want for free. There is a local sportsman's club that has a range and you can go out and scoop up handfuls (or shovel fulls) of mostly #8 shot. You will get some dirt and debris mixed in, but that can be sifted out fairly easily if it bothers you. Mixed with a little epoxy, it makes a great slurry that will flow just about anywhere. Good luck. Regards, Kevin Fitz-Gerald "Have ShopBot, Will Create!" James Johnson remove the "dot" from after sail in email address to reply |
#17
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Lead Shot needed
You are looking at a little less than 3 cubic feet of lead. The top
half of a 55 gallon drum would work but you will need some strong bracing around the base. I say top half because it has the fitting for a drum valve. You will need to rig a way to pull the valve open when the melt is ready and a length of 4x4 angle iron for a trough to run the lead to the mold. A fish cooker type burner will not cut it. You really need something with forced air like a tar pot burner and a 40 lb tank of propane minimum. If the tanks have OPDs with flow restrictors use two 40s tied together to keep up with the burner. 100 lb tanks are better because they don't require OPDs and you can pull gas as fast as you need. It will probably not take more than 15-20 lbs to do the melt but the gas is drawn off very fast which chills the tank and drops the pressure. 20 lb tanks will freeze up and you will stall out about half way through the melt. Another hint: When the melt is almost ready to pour, stir it with a freshly cut straight green wood stick. I use crape myrtle. The stick will start to make a singing sound and all the trash and dross will magically rise to the top. Also, if you are casting a fin, do not use bullet or shielding lead. Pure lead is fine for internal balast but to soft for fins. It needs antimony to strengthen it. Wheel weights have about 3% antimony and will produce a good strong fin, at least in ths size you are casting. My 5' high 9,000 fin required 4% antimony. James Johnson wrote: It's hard finding lead keel casting information. If you don't mind what did you use to melt the lead? Used iron bathtubs seem to be unavailable where I live and I was thinking of having a 2'by 2' steel box made out of 3/16 or 1/4 plate. I was also wondering if renting a couple of propane burners that use the common 18 pound tanks would be enough. Any suggestions about this plan? I am restoring a 43 year old Dutch built 26' sloop. It has a 1200 pound iron keel and 650 pounds of inside lead ballast. It is a keel centerboard design and the keel is in rough shape and keeping it from rusting in salt water I think would be an unending chore (the centerboard slot is the source of most problems). If I replace the iron with a lead keel of identical dimensions I could eliminate the inside ballast and not have to deal with rusting. The inside ballast was added by the designer ( I suppose after complaints about tenderness) and is penciled in on the factory plans. JJ On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 13:55:02 -0400, "Kevin Fitz-Gerald" wrote: "mike worrall" wrote in message . com... I've discovered a few sites on the 'Net selling 25lb bags for $15, but am hoping that the assembled brain-trust can suggest a less expensive option. Mike, try going to a trap range. If you explain what you want it for, they may let you collect all you want for free. There is a local sportsman's club that has a range and you can go out and scoop up handfuls (or shovel fulls) of mostly #8 shot. You will get some dirt and debris mixed in, but that can be sifted out fairly easily if it bothers you. Mixed with a little epoxy, it makes a great slurry that will flow just about anywhere. Good luck. Regards, Kevin Fitz-Gerald "Have ShopBot, Will Create!" James Johnson remove the "dot" from after sail in email address to reply -- Glenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com |
#18
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Lead Shot needed
"James Johnson" writes: It's hard finding lead keel casting information. If you don't mind what did you use to melt the lead? snip I don't know where you are located, but I no longer need my melting equipment including ingot molds that produce 30 # pigs. Have 2, 500,000 BTU propane burners and a melting pot that holds about 900 lbs. If interested, I'm in Los Angeles. Lew |
#19
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Lead Shot needed
I'm also wondering if some of internal ballast isn't in there for TRIM. I
pesonally would'nt put all the lead into the pot. You might have to add more internal to get back to your water lines. Just a thought. terry |
#20
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Lead Shot needed
Unfortunately I'm in Maryland, the freight costs would probably make the total
cost prohibitive. Otherwise I would be very interested. In answering questions on several other replies: The point about trim is valid but the penciled in changes to the factory blueprints have the weight distribution (it specifies what weight to be put where) pretty much matches that of the external ballast keel, and several other owners who removed the ballast to lighten the boat for afternoon racing reported that the boat was excessively tender but trim was OK. I'm wondering if the design was originally drawn up for lead and the yard substituted iron, and went back to the designer after complaints for advice. The factory blueprints don't spec the weight of the external ballast, but the internal ballast is detailed. The boat was built by Werf Gusto in Holland in 1961 and designed by Bill Tripp. The blueprints are in Dutch but the internal ballast is penciled in English. The shape of the external ballast is about 4' or so long, around 8" high, and 8" wide with a 1" centerboard slot making it look like a stretched 'U', so cautions about alloys for fins (with their high bending loads) I don't think would apply. I was going to pull the keel anyway to inspect/replace the keel bolts because of the amount of rust at the hull joint. To drain the lead from the melting pot I was thinking about something I read about by Larry Pardey. He used a cast iron bathtub and had a plumbing pipe elbow welded to the drain. Screwed into the elbow was an 'L' shaped piece of water pipe. He used a chain to lower one end of the 'L' to start the pour, and raised it to stop it, with the 'L' rotating by the threads at the elbow. His book about classic boat construction is one of the few references I found. JJ On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 16:40:52 GMT, "Lew Hodgett" wrote: "James Johnson" writes: It's hard finding lead keel casting information. If you don't mind what did you use to melt the lead? snip I don't know where you are located, but I no longer need my melting equipment including ingot molds that produce 30 # pigs. Have 2, 500,000 BTU propane burners and a melting pot that holds about 900 lbs. If interested, I'm in Los Angeles. Lew James Johnson remove the "dot" from after sail in email address to reply |
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