272 replies to this topic

[Jerronimo]

When I made lead media I used wooden molds. Drill large holes on a piece of wood clamped to a wood backing plate so holes will be cleaner. Remove the backing plate and clamp the wood with holes tightly to another (flat)piece of wood.Pour in the melted lead, let it cool and knock them out with a hammer and punch.If you drill the holes close to the edge they will come out easier as the wood will break.

Yes, that's the way to do it, I follow the exact same procedure when casting lead milling media.

[marble]

Going to have another go, going to try some copper pipe. If that fails ill just drill a long hole in a piece of wood as per above.

[Jerronimo]

Why drill one long hole?
It's much easier to make multiple holes with the same diameter and depth.
I suggest you use MDF plate for the mold, it's easy do drill, available in different sizes and will leave a smooth inside surface so it's easy to remove the lead.

[marble]

The copper pipe kinda worked as it was loose (rattled when shaken) but i was unable to get it out and its stuck fast now. The wooden method produced some ugly lead rods even though the holes were as smooth as i could get them.

Might be easier buying a heap of sinkers or finding some sort of graphite mold.

[pudi.dk]

Passfire suggest spraying WD-40 on the inside of the coppertube before casting the lead.
Will make surface uglier, but it will smooth out when milling.

[Bonny]

The copper pipe kinda worked as it was loose (rattled when shaken) but i was unable to get it out and its stuck fast now. The wooden method produced some ugly lead rods even though the holes were as smooth as i could get them.

Might be easier buying a heap of sinkers or finding some sort of graphite mold.

How long (deep) were the holes? I used a 3/4" thick board with 5/8" holes and mine turned out fine. they were a little rough but who cares what they look like, they're for crushing and grinding, not a fashion show. You can mill them alone to smooth them out a bit...

[marble]

4-5" deep, 3/4 bit

They looked really bad, im trying now with a new piece of copper pipe with the ends de-bured and smoothed.

[Bonny]

4-5" deep, 3/4 bit

They looked really bad, im trying now with a new piece of copper pipe with the ends de-bured and smoothed.

Why so long? Try drilling 3/4" holes into wood 3/4" or 1" thick. Cast a bunch by pouring into short holes, then they will be easy to extract and no cutting needed. If you are determioned to use copper pipe, I'd cut short lengths and pour a bunch. The longer you the piece, the harder it will be to remove the cast lead.

[marble]

phew

Figured out that the tube was brass so i just cut it into sections with a hacksaw, used a smaller brass tube to make a few long lead bars which i then cut up into smaller pieces. So i have about 30 pieces of mixed lead and lead in brass media. Only problem is that the sides are rough so ill have to figure something out.

[marble]

Went out and purchased a kilogram of ball sinkers for $6, sure they have a hole in them but ill only be using it for BP. Combined with my lead filled brass slugs i have a decent set of media.

[Jerronimo]

what kind of lead are those ball sinkers made of?
I assume they are pure lead?
You realy need linotype (antimony) hardened lead to keep the lead contamination to a minimum.

I have no idea why you are having so much trouble casting that lead, the procedure bonny and I suggested works realy well.

[marble]

I'm fairly sure they are hardened, ive got the hang of it now. Cast up about 10 nice rods and a further 5 lead filled brass tubes. I'm now using some divers weights that are hardened so their ware should be minimal.

[Bonny]

Another thing you could use is brass pipe plugs. I don't think they are very cheap, but come in different sizes,would last forever and no lead contamination.

[dr thrust]

shop around and find some 12mm brass rod ,it lasts forever, and mashes everthing to talc like powder

[Pyrogeorge]

ceramic media sparks or not??some says yes and other not..
can i use lead and ceramic media together?