Team Slinky - Lesson in metallurgy

[The Great Wallsendo]

Visited the skipper at home tonight for my first "melting" session

Got to say what a great feeling starting off with fairly unpromising materials and ending up with a nice shiny lead...LOL the irony is it'll end up hanging off a wreck somewhere in the North Sea

Anywho with a pile of lead on the floor we set about the task in hand...

Norman showed me the crack and after making a couple it was my turn - easy peasy (but jinkys it ain't arf hot mum ) Me fingers are starting to callous up after just one session







The Before and After...



And the final product (please note Team Slinkys bespoke leads - very high brow stuff )



Cheers Norman

Roll on the next session

Incidentally there is a video in the offing too (you'd expect nothing less tho eh? )...soundtrack? Hmm perhaps some Heavy Metal?

[bigdaz]

shame to put them in water ,they are so shiny lol.

[The Great Wallsendo]

Forgot to add that I also had a lesson in star gazing too

We saw an Iridium Flare (spelling?) and a brief fly by of the International Space Station in the night sky...all very interesting stuff every day is a school day

[mark]

dark skies are great, several sat's fly past my little 'office in the roof' window every night, there's hundreds of the buggers!

[Iva-Cod-on]

Aye its good making sinkers I always find it thereputic like you say it a shame there gonna end up in Davy Jones locker lol

[northeast1]

It looks like you have a good burner Norman, i made some up on Tuesday using a Colman camping stove and i only made 54 10oz leads in 2hrs due to how long it takes to get the lead hot.

Beats paying 90p in the shop for them, i lost 8 of the shinny one's on Thursday.

[The Great Wallsendo]

Byproduct of breathing in toxic fumes was that I woke up today and found all my hair had fallen out

[seanyrooroo]

Byproduct of breathing in toxic fumes was that I woke up today and found all my hair had fallen out

PMSL I'm gonna nick that excuse Tony.

[mick dunn]

I made a dozen on our electric oven. Molten lead leaked out and marked all the tops. Our lass went off it. Ha Ha.

Must buy a camping stove.

[mick dunn]

Forgot to ask--do you heat up the moulds before the lead is pored in.

Mick.

[northeast1]

I dont bother i just pour some lead in oen with ut a link in then the 2nd one comes out perfect everytime

[Norman]

Aye as rich says I too just go for the first one striaght in, if it cools and clogs the spru just put it back in the pot and pour the next one. The mould soon warms up after the first pour ....

[Iva-Cod-on]

Byproduct of breathing in toxic fumes was that I woke up today and found all my hair had fallen out

Here here I've made too many sinkers too LOL

[mick dunn]

Must buy some equipment. Norman you put me to shame with the vice and stove.

I use a pair of spring grippers to hold the lead together and put the mould on one of of the electric rings on the oven.

I make sure the missus is out. Usually takes about 1 hour to make a dozen.

Probs costs £10 in electric.

[jimmy]

Got a large propane bottle connected to a burner ( the kind roofers use to melt the bitumen in the huge pot)
i just heat the mould in the flame as the lead is melting in my ladle (only takes a minute or less) then pour the lead in, job done.
Although i just normally make 3, 4, 5 and 6oz leads and the occasional pirk, this set up works a treat and very quickly as propane burns hotter than most other gases