Lead encased in copper.

[Ruedeleglise]

I wish to make a pair of earrings using a bullet which is lead encased in copper to which I hope to attach a sterling silver fine chain that will be attached to a sterling silver or stainless steel ear wire. I know lead must not be used in jewellery (which comes into contact with the skin) but if encased will this be legal. Of course there is the problem of the low melting point of the lead so I may have to sink a length of wire into the lead interior forming an eye at the top to attach a small length of chain to, then seal the top in some way (epoxy resin?) covering this joint with a silver cap to mask the the top of the bullet, again attached with the epoxy.
Comments please!

[china]

What size bullet would be heavy are you meaning assembled bullet or jut the projectile, very common to complete all the soldering then copper plate it,
or make the bullet from silver or gold I have made hundreds of them, or use a FMJ that has no exposed led and just solder a bail or jump ring to the blunt end

[Ruedeleglise]

This is just the projectile and not the cartridge case, caliber .223, weight 3.6 grams and 20 mm length. I have 100s of them!
Ah! Just looked into may arsenal and have found quite a number of FMJs. I have given up reloading!


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[ps_bond]

Tsk. Bullet's the pointy end; the bullet fits in a case, the case has a primer, the whole ensemble is a round :)
Full metal jacket is swaged over the core, but there's hole in the end still.

[Ruedeleglise]

Yes! I use .243 and .308 as well, but poss a little heavy for the average ear lobe. Also of course target rounds are a different kettle of fish to expanding rounds.


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[Dennis]

There are so many possible variations, so a rough sketch of what you have in mind would help. Then we could suggest a number of cold connections.

But ideally you will just send one to casters, to get some made in silver as suggested by Bob, possibly with a jump ring already attached, and all your troubles will disappear. They could also be reproduced by the Delft Clay method. Dennis.

[Ruedeleglise]

Thanks as always to the suggestions and advice. The whole idea is to, as it were, recycle these bits which otherwise could just get wasted. Also of course these are free, as the majority were given to me! I have found quite a number of fully encased rounds which I neded to be reminded of. Thanks China! The majority of my work is in fact using bits from my hobby of shooting that would normally be just thrown away.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200219/d7387a088dd784d1ceb7adf56a5b9ef5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200219/d7387a088d


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[Ruedeleglise]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200219/37cfe8fcfef987b27dd968892a719524.jpg

[Ruedeleglise]

There are so many possible variations, so a rough sketch of what you have in mind would help. Then we could suggest a number of cold connections.

But ideally you will just send one to casters, to get some made in silver as suggested by Bob, possibly with a jump ring already attached, and all your troubles will disappear. They could also be reproduced by the Delft Clay method. Dennis.

Casters...Can you recommend a company please?


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[ps_bond]

I like dealing with this bunch - https://www.jewellerycastingscotland.com/

[Dennis]

Some members have also recommended West 1 Castings, Hatton garden. You cold also consider having them cast in two halves and soldering together, to save weight.

My pictures show an experiment for suspending a bullet horizontally:
1. A bamboo bullet, a large soldered jump ring, a burr shank.
Insert the bullet, twist first with pliers and then using the burr shank.
2. Cold connected suspension. You might need to make shallow grooves on opposite sides of the bullet. Dennis

[Wallace]

You will need to be careful when posting bullets, some carriers require specific labelling on the packaging.