Casting a lead hammer.

Tamper84

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I am starting to feel better, so, my list of things to do keeps getting longer :LOL: I was out kinda cleaning/sweeping up the shop, and I found ALOT of old sinkers I've kept for years and not using. I thought about just getting rid of em:nuts:, but then I thought, hey I need a lead hammer:)). Now I have never cast anything in my life. All of these sinkers were cast by my grandpa or great-grandpa. And there is some big ones in there.

I know I would need a heat source and a mold, anything else? For the heat source, I have an old kitchen stove in there (the oven part is going to come in handy lol). Could I use the stove top to melt them down? Also, what would you use for a mold?

Thanks,
Chris
 
I needed a heavy lead hammer once and I cast it on a 1" hexagon shaft with a 1/4" pin through it sideways where the hammer would be to keep it from flying off. I cast it in a regular sized soup can. Just 1/2 way or less up so it is about 1 1/2 inches deep.
I still have it after 15 years and I use it as a dead blow when setting pieces in the vise on the mill.
The handle is heavy and a hollow one would probably improve the balance.
The sides could be shaved to look more like a hammer.
 
I've cast lead and mixtures of solder and lead in basic RTV molds believe it or not. I've not done it but I think wood would work as well and for smoother finish the wood would need lacquering

I use the outside BBQ grill to prevent lead fumes

Dave
 
Thank you guys!!! Im going to give it a try here soon. I just need to make a mold lol. How hot would the lead need to be?

Thanks,
Chris
 
Chris,
the lead gonna melt around 630*F if it's pure lead, alloys of lead have different melting points dependent on what it's alloyed with.
700*F would probably be a safe bet for most leads smelting!!
Avoid breathing any fumes, and wear a respirator if in doubt!!!
mike:))

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you can make the mold from a 4 X 4 . split the 4x lengthwise and mark both sides so they meet up. add a couple of dowels or roll pins to locate the 2 halves. hollow out the wanted area with a router or chisel and hammer and make the hole in the top for the handle. add a couple holes in the top of the mold for the pour riser and the escape path. put your handle in the mold. clamp the outside of the mold. Smelt up some sinkers and start a pouring!!!
in about 10 mins break the molds apart. Cut off the risers and....baddda-bing you have a cool new beatin' instrument cheap!!
 
Funny ive been casting lead today, for the drive weight of the new clock, strange how subjects turn up.

Doc/Mike. has it right about the mold I will make only one point .If you cool the mold down with water as I did once at the age of 16( allways in a hurry )
you cant use the mold again until its perfectly dry, If you try, the damp will flash to steam and the lead will explode. I am now 73 this week, and still bear the scars. You only do things like that once!!!

Re temp, when a metal changes state the temp remains constant until all the mass has changed.
So dont worry about the temp when its melting its time to mold.

Make sure you can get a good grip on the pot, a heavy pot of molten lead is not easy to controll, my pot has two handles and i use my welding gloves


In the first pic the tube is lined with paper to stop the lead sticking to the tube and the studding,

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Next the tubt held upright for pouring.

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Removing the lead you can see that the paper is just getting crisp and the wood plug is hardly marked

P1012259.JPG


I have to be able to remove the lead to adjust the weight on the clock.

Hope this helps Brian.

P1012257.JPG P1012258.JPG P1012259.JPG
 
Temper 84 -- Safety first, be sure to wear safety goggles lead can be evil stuff if it spurts off something damp, & also a safety mask is essential Remember it is heavy stuff & handling it molten requires care, as a youngster I gave myself a burn with lead, Please take care
 
I have done a fair amount of casting lead in every thing from bullet moulds to aluminum pipe to pine forms. The pine was to make weights for barbells - every body thinks your a lifting lightweight (which I was) until they pick up a weight and sudden look of surprise comes over them. I always thought a length of 2" aluminum pipe would make a nice form for a hammer. As lead shrinks when cooling you have to either have a sprue or keep the top surface topped up or machine it afterward. One time I machined barbell discs in a wood lathe with wood turning chisels, in order to radius the edges for a nicer appearance. You need to be careful of grabbing when drilling it - I've got a scar to prove it. It is an accessory that i'd like to have so one of these days .....
Michael
 
Thank you all for the ideas!!! Here shortly I'm going to give it a try!! I would of never thought of making a mold from a 4x4. I figured it would just burn up!!

Thanks,
Chris
 
My grandfather, who was from the "Old Country" (Hungary), worked in a lead smelting facility. He died before I was born, so I never got to know him. He was 46. I have to believe that the lack of knowledge, or consideration of the hazards of molten lead fumes contributed to his early death.

When I was a kid, I helped set up all the soil pipe for the sewer and drain on a house that my father's family built a few blocks away from my home place and then moved it next door to us. There was an old (late 1800's) house there that we demolished and cleared away. Anyway, we had a gasoline powered lead melting pot and a few cast iron "kettles" that we melted to pour in the joints. They were the old style Oakem and lead joints. I believe I can get that melting pot still. There was an asbestos "snake" that wrapped around the joint on the horizontal runs to keep the lead in, then we tamped it tight with a couple of special chisels. I could use a couple of lead hammers. I just wish I could buy the lead ingots now days. My father worked in a plumbing wholesaler and we bought everything there cheap, but of course, lead was everywhere back then, as was the asbestos.

Please be careful. Everyone has mentioned dry molds and caution with fumes. I echo emphatically those cautions. Even in High School shop, I did a dumb thing. Well, I knew better, but was distracted. I was pouring lead belt buckles for all the Copenhagen dippers in the lid of the can for the pattern it had. I turned my attention away from the oxy/acetylene torch for a second and dipped the flame into the ladle. I was glad I wasn't looking(???) or I would have gotten a face full of it. Or I guess if I had been looking, I wouldn't have dipped the torch. Be careful.
 
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