Micro lead keel casting
Here is an update on my progress building
my Micro...
http://www.hallman.org/bolger/micro/hour20/
Perhaps I should share my learning experience
melting lead for my Micro keel:
It is easy, fun, and stinky.
Glen's brother Brad gave me three buckets of wheel-weights.
I made a "fire pit" of bricks, and set a steel 5 gallon
junk paint bucket on top. Burning BBQ charcoal with my
leaf blower to heat up the fire.
Cluelessly, as the first bucket started to melt down, I added the
second bucket. Then I waited for it to melt, and waited, and waited,
three hours.... Melting the third bucket by itself, took only one
hour. The stink comes from the glop of melted paint floating on top,
as many of the weights had paint on them.
Turns out that by volume, a five gallon bucket of wheel-weights is
mostly air and steel clips. The lead in one five gallon bucket of
wheel-weights is perhaps only a gallon. [and two gallons of clips]
In short, don't try to melt more than a five gallon bucket of wheel
weights at at a time. I found that pouring molten lead onto solid
lead partially melts the solid lead and adheres. I still need to
find another bucket of lead to finish the keel.
Brad, while casting Glen's Micro keel, first melted the weights down
into 20 pound ingots. Not a bad idea at all, but a needless step I
think.
my Micro...
http://www.hallman.org/bolger/micro/hour20/
Perhaps I should share my learning experience
melting lead for my Micro keel:
It is easy, fun, and stinky.
Glen's brother Brad gave me three buckets of wheel-weights.
I made a "fire pit" of bricks, and set a steel 5 gallon
junk paint bucket on top. Burning BBQ charcoal with my
leaf blower to heat up the fire.
Cluelessly, as the first bucket started to melt down, I added the
second bucket. Then I waited for it to melt, and waited, and waited,
three hours.... Melting the third bucket by itself, took only one
hour. The stink comes from the glop of melted paint floating on top,
as many of the weights had paint on them.
Turns out that by volume, a five gallon bucket of wheel-weights is
mostly air and steel clips. The lead in one five gallon bucket of
wheel-weights is perhaps only a gallon. [and two gallons of clips]
In short, don't try to melt more than a five gallon bucket of wheel
weights at at a time. I found that pouring molten lead onto solid
lead partially melts the solid lead and adheres. I still need to
find another bucket of lead to finish the keel.
Brad, while casting Glen's Micro keel, first melted the weights down
into 20 pound ingots. Not a bad idea at all, but a needless step I
think.