From the beginning when I first reviewed the entire process to scratch build a Bearhawk, making the balance tube was one of those things that was a mental hurtle for me. Now in hind sight it really isn't that big of a deal - even though I did manage to screw one up.
I don't normally cook lead around my house so I didn't have any supplies. I didn't really want to use my camp stove or BBQ so I picked up a 2 burner propane stove from HF. I also picked up a cheap stainless steal pan and ladle from the local distributor of cheap Chinese products. Finally a good use for cheap Chinese products - it's kind of ironic I'm cook'n lead in it.
I cut the tubes to length and made a plug for one end out of scrap spar cap material. I put the tubes in front of a propane heater to preheat them.
I picked up some used tire lead from the local tire shop a while back. I loaded up the pan and put it on the burner. When the lead was molten the clips were easy to skim off and discard. I worked upwind from the brew and was careful not to breath the fumes.
When I was ready to pour the first tube I clamped it to a stand to stabilize it. I started pouring lead - the pan actually has a spout on the side so that worked real well to control a slow pour into the tube. I ran out of lead about after a 2/3's pour so I had to melt some more to finish it off.
The first tube turned out perfect but the second one didn't go so well. I was trying to make sure I had enough for a complete pour so I added some more lead at the last minute. I should have let this get hotter before the pour. Also, in hind sight I had too much lead in the pan which made it heaver and harder to control the pour. I got sloppy during the pour and instead of a steady trickle at the start it came out of the pan in too heavy of a stream. It led to an 8" air bubble getting trapped in the tube. It was easy to see because the tube turned to a brown hue in the areas of the lead. The lead in the pan turned solid just as I finished. I'll remake later...
