BFS Biggest Finest Smelter

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 9:38 pm

Yancey and I bought a 1940s linotype smelter on eBay for $26. It's pretty good sized. It was a bit of a challenge getting it in the truck.

The thermocouple was broken, so I had to make a new set-up. I used PEX to plumb the natural gas to it and to make the pilot bypass.

Cleaned 3 buckets of WW yesterday and made #2, #10, and #25 Pigs.

Used it to make WW/Lino/Magnum Shot ingots today. Wish I had more molds. The three I used I borrowed from Yance.

I started with #500 of cleaned WW and added #50 of Linotype ( the smelter came with #200 of Lino) plus one pound of Magnum Shot.

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/th ... I_7119.flv

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a88/th ... I_7123.flv

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 9:45 pm

You know, I really hate you.

I spent all of Laborday Sunday smelting over a propane stove in a couple of stock pots...

Took me 10 hours to finish 650lbs of raw lead...

and my rental cost on the burner/gas was more than you paid for the smelter.

And I still have 3 buckets of wheel weights to do.

Hanz · Post by **Hanz** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 9:53 pm

Very Slick!

That's a great set up.

Where's your eye protection?

Yance · Post by **Yance** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 10:21 pm

Bummer, me having to work and miss all the fun!!!!!

Yance

cubrock · Post by **cubrock** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 10:25 pm

So, you're telling us you paid for about 50 pounds of linotype and you got another 150 pounds and a smelter for free?

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:09 am

cubrock wrote:So, you're telling us you paid for about 50 pounds of linotype and you got another 150 pounds and a smelter for free?

Lino is about a buck a pound around here

The valve, controller, thermocouple, and plumbing cost about $150.

The smelter was a very good purchase. Nancy is not overly pleased to have it in the back. Maybe a coat of paint will help

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:43 am

Very slick!

John in MS · Post by **John in MS** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:06 am

That is really COOL!!

How did you clean the wheelweights?
John

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:23 am

Let's see... shipping my WW and Lino to you and back, vs. having my wife hunt me down and do permanent, severe injury for stealing another of her pots to melt my raw stuff over a one burner electric element.

Nah, it's too much fun when she catches me.

Congrats on your find. Especially great it was nearby and you could go fetch it. Especially great to get that Lino with with. That stuff is very rare around these parts!

Tycer · Post by **Tycer** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:57 am

John in MS wrote:That is really COOL!! How did you clean the wheelweights?
John

I dumped a 5 gallon bucket in the smelter and shut the door. At 686ÂºF the clips and zinc weights were skimmed off, dumped in another bucket, heat, skim, dumped another bucket in, heat, skim, flux, stir, and skim.

I have a 15' section of stovepipe I add between the cap and smelter for cleaning fresh nasty WW. It is held at the top by an old speaker magnet attached to the white fascia with a white enameled shelf bracket. (This was a sweet moment: When Nancy came and asked me to come upstairs, she showed me this buttugly galvanized pipe sticking up beside her beautiful upstairs deck. She was really trying to be polite. I was very proud of myself for anticipating this and all puffed up like a rooster when I showed her the magnet and promised to take it down after each use. She was pretty good about it.

)

At that point I poured #2, #10, and #25 pigs so I could weigh it and add the right amount of Lino and Magnum Shot.

Next time I do this I'll add the ingots #100 at a time and measure the depth at each #100 so I can skip pouring the pigs and just make whatever alloy I want and pour one pounders.

cubrock · Post by **cubrock** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 6:41 pm

Tycer wrote:
cubrock wrote:So, you're telling us you paid for about 50 pounds of linotype and you got another 150 pounds and a smelter for free?
Lino is about a buck a pound around here

The valve, controller, thermocouple, and plumbing cost about $150.

The smelter was a very good purchase. Nancy is not overly pleased to have it in the back. Maybe a coat of paint will help

So, I guess I got a good deal getting 3 30 pound pigs for $30, then?

I didn't realize it had gotten that high. Earlier this year, I met a guy who had a few hundred pounds to sell at 60 cents a pound. I wanted to buy it all, but he didn't have it all with him (was at a gunshow) and it wasn't a local show for me. Wish now I'd made more of an effort to follow him home after the show!