I just scored a bucket full of WWS! I usually recycle range scrap, so is there anything tricky I need to know? I know that water and molten lead don't mix. I was wondering about any dangers associated with oil soaked WW backing tape? About half the bucket consisted of those stick-on WWs and they were OILY. Does this constitute an explosion danger? Considering that my pine resin flux or candle wax flux immediately liquifies, I don't think oil should be a worry, but I've been wrong before.
Thanks, Cheeky

cheeky. You're certainly right to be concened about moisture in the melt. I've been melting lead since the 60's & certainly learned to be careful. I try to put as many WW into the pot at first, as the simplest way to avoid an eruption is to heat it all from the start. I've never had a problem this way. If any metal must be added to the melt, make sure it's very well preheated. The oil on WW's will also boil violently when new metal slips below the surface of the melt. You may want to consider separating your stickons from the other WW's as they're much closer to pure lead. I don't know what you're loading for, but the stickons are very useful for different applications, such as black powder cartridges etc.
Also if you leave them in , they'll soften up your WW's a little too much for some applications
requiring a little harder alloy. Ron.D

Cheeky, Be sure to store your weights inside to prevent the slightest chance of moisture. Oil, grease, paint, and Rover's territorial marking will all float to the top and be removed with the clips. A great tool is a large perforated spoon for removing the clips. Be sure to keep your weights where primers can't get into the container. Once, a friend of mine was doing his loading in my garage. He was a real pig with primers, and the bucket of weights was under the bench he used. I had a lead pot explosion and went through the bucket and found two more live primers stuck under clips on weights, so I guess he had dropped three primers in my bucket. Regards, curmudgeon