# Casting a lead hammer.



## Tamper84

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


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## rgray

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.


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## SE18

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


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## Tamper84

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


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## Ulma Doctor

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)

- - - Updated - - -

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!!


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## BRIAN

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,




Next the tubt held upright for pouring.




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





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

Hope this helps Brian.


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## core-oil

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


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## valleyboy101

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


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## Tamper84

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


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## Tony Wells

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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## Ulma Doctor

Tamper84 said:


> 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




iv'e made fishing sinkers that way a whole bunch of times. it works very well.
you 4x4s will most likely become consumable items. you may get a couple of pours out of them if you don't let them catch fire.
if you have a space cleared out dig a hole in the ground a foot or so deep, put you mold in the hole supported as to not have direct contact with the ground a brick, rocks sand anything will do. make the pour and bury the whole shooting match with dirt.
leave it alone for an hour or better and dig er up & take the mold off.
my dirt is mostly sand and clay, so don't do it if you have excessively wet soil!!!


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## ScrapMetal

Thought I'd pull this older thread up - http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/13939-Lead-Hammer?highlight=lead+hammer  So far that's the nicest lead hammer I've seen.

-Ron


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## Rbeckett

Chris,
When you start to melt that lead make sure you have adequate ventilation.  Lead fumes are definitely bad news and you don't want to breathe them at all if you can possible avoid it.  I would melt them outside with a propane bottle torch and pour the hammer head into a plaster mold that has been baked in the over to get it completely dry.  Wet plaster and molten lead can result in splattering and burns, so make sure the plaster has dried completely or been baked for a couple of hours in an oven.  You can make a mold of a current hammer and preposition the handle so that it is all integrated when you pour and it will make a very nice dead blow and soft faced hammer.

Bob


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## Tamper84

ScrapMetal said:


> Thought I'd pull this older thread up - http://www.hobby-machinist.com/showthread.php/13939-Lead-Hammer?highlight=lead+hammer  So far that's the nicest lead hammer I've seen.
> 
> -Ron



WOW that is a nice hammer!!!! Maybe I should about the search function :whistle:  But yes I do have a respirator out there. Along with different filters, I work in an aluminum smelter, I know what fumes and dust are like. Its crazy!!! 

I will be safe as I can be. I dont want to go about hurting my self to get a hammer. Heck the hammer will hurt me at one point it is life, Guarenteed!!! :rofl:  I'm going to give my grandpa a call, he may still have something I could use for a heat source.

Thanks,
Chris


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## MrTFW

I've used a Coleman camp stove to melt lead in an old thrift-store tea kettle.  And then poured it into an old, clay flower pot with eye-bolt and a washer through the drain hole.  Broke the pot after it cooled and had a fine boat anchor.  Yep, did it all outside.  Gloves, eye-protection and heavy clothes.  But no OSHA blessing, I suspect.

Keith


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## Tamper84

Hmmm. I do have an old Coleman stove out there....

thanks,
Chris


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## Rick Leslie

Another echo of the safety precautions. I've had sweat drip into my casting furnace with pretty spectacular results! If you have an old fish (turkey nowadays) cooker, that will serve well. Just be safe.


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## oldgoaly

Chris, I wish you lived closer, I've got hammer molds and 600-700 pounds of lead, even have a bunch of 3/8" and 1/2" cut for handles just looking for some help to melt and pour. I've held metal melts here but the turn out is 6-8 people 1/2 just come to look. Last one I had I was cleaning up after everyone went home tired cause  foundry work is hard!  really with a power muller and riddler? even the young one were tired, too hard..... 
:whiteflag:


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## pineyfolks

I've had the same hammer for years , I've been thinking of using a 1 inch pipe T to use as the head. Screw in a handle and pure the head . Just have to come up with a small form to let the ends of the head extend out an inch or so:think1:


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## genec

why wouldn't you just use a dead blow hammer? I had a 8oz by snap-on that was just perfect until the plastic rotted from old age.


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## Shade

Tamper84 said:


> How hot would the lead need to be?


When I am casting lead I try to get the lead between 700-750°F for good casting.



genec said:


> why wouldn't you just use a dead blow hammer? I had a 8oz by snap-on that was just perfect until the plastic rotted from old age.


What is the fun in that?


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## hey-bear

I cast lead bullets, and melt down wheel weights as a source for lead.
I use a cast iron dutch oven for my melt.  You can use just about any kind of steel or aluminum pot.  Lead melts at about 600 degrees.

Make sure you have good ventilation when melting.  Don't eat the yellow snow.


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## Tamper84

Ok you lost me on the flux lol. Do you put that in the mold before you pour?

Thanks,
Chris


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## Chucketn

This looks like a handy tool to have! Anyone have a simple, easy to make mold that doesn't require welding? I'd like to try making one?
What is a good diameter for the head? 1", 1 1/2"? I like the paper in the tubing trick!
:holdphone:I happen to have some bee's wax, and some steel tubes that were the rollers on a treadmill.

Chuck


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## Snag_one

Tamper84 said:


> Ok you lost me on the flux lol. Do you put that in the mold before you pour?
> 
> Thanks,
> Chris



  No , the beeswax is added to the crucible/melting pot just before you pour . Add a small lump , stir , skim the dross and crud off the top , then pour . Different metals need different fluxes , I have one for aluminum , one for brasses , and of course the beeswax for lead and lead alloys . 
 --
  Snag


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## Sharky

I you need a source for lead, go make friends with your local tire shop.  The ones around here always have 5 gallon buckets of old wheel weights kicking around.  You will have to dip out the steel clips that hold them on the wheels, but that's easy enough.  If you check the reloading suppliers, you can get a hardness tester and additives to make the lead harder too (some wheel weights are very soft.)  Not expensive and helps the end result.


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## benmychree

Tony Wells said:


> 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.


I have made or re poured literally hundreds of lead hammers; I was given a cast iron homemade mold, made in halves with considerable taper (small towards the striking face)  The mold halves are split at the handle center, the handles being 1/2" pipe, pinched down at the end, with a chain link welded on crossways to retain the handle in the lead.  Plain old lead is too soft for hammers, they will mush out quickly; the guy that gave me the mold said to use wheel balancing weights, they give the proper hardness to the hammers, but each time they are re melted and cast, some of the hardening agent (antimony) is lost and the hammers get softer.  This is dealt with by occasionally adding antimony which can be bought as a 30% alloy with lead, which melts at a temperature that does not so much create toxic fume (antimony is quite toxic) When melting pure antimony, the temp is over 1000deg F and as I remember, purple fumes come off the melt; this was when I was making a batch of cheap babbitt metal, the highest melting ingredient Antimony) is melted first, then the second highest lead, then the lowest (tin).  I bought and used a special metal fume respirator for this job.
Back to the hammer mold, there is the pouring sprue on one of the striking faces; after a hammer is poured and hardens, we take the acet. torch and melt out the sprue metal and knock the mold with a hammer  and the halves fall off; the mold is made of cast iron to avoid the lead sticking.  Occasionally, the mold is cooled off by dunking the mold with hammer still in it, in a bucket of water and quickly pulling it out, perhaps at an interval of every 4 or 5 hammers, and leave the halves apart until it is seen that all the moisture has evaporated.


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## RJSakowski

I have a stash of lead from various sources including a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights.  If you befriend  the local garage, you can often get wheel weights for free.  

I make jigs and sinkers for fishing and usually do one or two pours a year.  I made my pot by welding some 1/4 plate on one end of a short length of 4" steel pipe.  A couple of loops for eyes and some 3/6" rod for a handle and I have a very serviceable pit that I have been using for the last 30 years.  I bought a ladle back when plumbers still poured the lead and oakum joints for cast iron pipe.  The hardware store probably doesn't stock them any more but they are available on line.  For a furnace, I use a propane fired camping stove.  To concentrate the heat, I made a chimney from a large coffee can that fits over my kettle.

I dug out my hammer mold.  I have needed to remake my hammer for some time.  The mold is hinged  and meant to use 1/2" pipe for the handle. The mold has a built-in ladle to simplify casting.  The mold is hinged and a small clamp keeps the mold closed during the casting process. My handle has the pipe threads on the end and a common nail inserted through cross drilled holes.  The end of the pipe is stuffed with insulation to prevent the molten lead from running down the handle.  The casting is made by tilting the mold so the molten lead runs from the ladle into the mold. The mold will cast a 3 lb. hammer. It took about ten minutes start to finish to cast the hammer.

I am not too concerned about lead vapors.  The boiling point of lead is almost 3000ºF.  Unless you were using something like an oxyacetylene torch as a heat source, the likelihood of having lead vapors in the atmosphere is pretty small.


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## benmychree

RJSakowski said:


> I have a stash of lead from various sources including a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights.  If you befriend  the local garage, you can often get wheel weights for free.
> 
> I make jigs and sinkers for fishing and usually do one or two pours a year.  I made my pot by welding some 1/4 plate on one end of a short length of 4" steel pipe.  A couple of loops for eyes and some 3/6" rod for a handle and I have a very serviceable pit that I have been using for the last 30 years.  I bought a ladle back when plumbers still poured the lead and oakum joints for cast iron pipe.  The hardware store probably doesn't stock them any more but they are available on line.  For a furnace, I use a propane fired camping stove.  To concentrate the heat, I made a chimney from a large coffee can that fits over my kettle.
> 
> I dug out my hammer mold.  I have needed to remake my hammer for some time.  The mold is hinged  and meant to use 1/2" pipe for the handle. The mold has a built-in ladle to simplify casting.  The mold is hinged and a small clamp keeps the mold closed during the casting process. My handle has the pipe threads on the end and a common nail inserted through cross drilled holes.  The end of the pipe is stuffed with insulation to prevent the molten lead from running down the handle.  The casting is made by tilting the mold so the molten lead runs from the ladle into the mold. The mold will cast a 3 lb. hammer. It took about ten minutes start to finish to cast the hammer.
> 
> I am not too concerned about lead vapors.  The boiling point of lead is almost 3000ºF.  Unless you were using something like an oxyacetylene torch as a heat source, the likelihood of having lead vapors in the atmosphere is pretty small.
> View attachment 239648


California has outlawed the use of lead for wheel weights, but luckily, I have a lifetime supply stashed away!  I tried using babbit for hammers once, it is too hard and will spall and send out shards of metal easily capable of doing bodily injury.  I do not begrudge the state for outlawing the wheel weights, many fall off on the road and get ground up by passing vehicles and enter our waterways, not a good thing.


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## Silverbullet

I made a mold out of a black iron 2"x 4" pipe nipple , I drilled a 5/8" hole in the middle of the pipe. And welded piece of steel to one end. , then I sawed it length wise thru the center of the hole in the side . Then I drilled a cross hole in a 1/2 black pipe a foot long 1/4" in diameter about 3/4" from one end to anchor the lead I used a 1 1/2 long 1/4" bolt . Then I just squeezed it with a clamp set the handle on a brick and poured the lead in the open end of the nipple full to the top . When it cools they come out easy and last for ever. Any squeeze outs can be cut with a knife and file. They look as good as the fancy high price ones


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## Silverbullet

genec said:


> why wouldn't you just use a dead blow hammer? I had a 8oz by snap-on that was just perfect until the plastic rotted from old age.


I've had everyone of mine bust apart even the Mac tools black ones. I made aluminum handles and ground the strap welled on off then slide the handle and used set screws to hold the on. They still get used the ball peen models. The big 24 just blow out the shot. Think they should owe me some hammers or a ton of money.


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## 09kevin

I love this guys YouTube channel and his latest video is a lead/aluminum hammer, I think you will enjoy it!  




Kevin


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