Back to what this is for : I got buckets full of recycled lead shot from a trap range nearby , after melting it (or better trying to!) the stuff turned into a powder like substance in a grey/yellow collour ........what the hell is it made of , I wondered ?
Any explanations for what it is ?Thanks a lot in advance , J�rgen

Are you saying that there is no lead on the bottom? I have melted down range lead and it has a bunch of weird stuff floating to the top, which has to be skimmed off, but there was always lead in the bottom of the pot.

Ed

clueless (story of my life) Paco over at http://leverguns.sixgunner.com/ Is known to use lead shot in bullet makeing . He is a busy man and does not come around often.

My guess then is that it is bismuth or some other type of non-toxic (no lead) shot.

If it casts good, and is heavy enough, then use it as is as a boolit. Don't mix it, unless experimentally. Bismuth, in any realistic proportion, will make a brittle and heavy boolit, unless mixed down substantially with something like tin. ... felix

I have no clue what it could be , it is heavy , it is fairly hard and I thought it will be hardened lead shot , maybe with some antimony content in it !?
No , there was no molten lead on the bottom !Maybe it needs a higher temperature to melt at all ?I`ll give it another try next time I cast bullets , simply because it would be an enormous supply of raw material and no glue or grime sticking to it like my wheel weights !
Does anybody know the melting temp. of bismouth ?

The yellow coloration could be lead oxide. It would be unusual for the soil conditions to be such that the corrosion was that complete. If it is lead oxide you can recover most of it by reducingit with charcoal. The next time you try mix some with charcoal, sawdust or coal will also work. Heat the mixture and keep it hot until all the charcoal is concumed. If it is lead oxide the pot will contain the refined lead beneith the ashes. Good luck.

Jurgen: I'm wondering if you haven't gotten into one of the "non-toxic" shot composites; maybe something like the tungsten powder suspended in a plastic matrix the U.S. Army has started using in their "green" M855 5.56mm ball rounds. floodgate

Floodgate : Now this was my assumption in the first place , but I haven`t seen stuff like it before !Maybe another bucket full will turn out real lead , I`ll give it a try , thanks , J�rgen