did we ever get an alloy for dental lead

[mike in co]

i still have a bunch of dental lead that i mix with ww......the real question did anyone ever find the alloy of dental lead ???

just what is it ??

thanks
mike

[felix]

Mostly lead, and I'd say from casting experience about 99 percent. ... felix

[mag_01]

Very soft melts easy---mostly lead

[Shuz]

My records on dental x-ray backers show a hardness of Bhn 5, 3 days after "smelting". A 429421 boolit cast from this alloy weighed 255.7g. Wheel weight 429421's are usually are around 251 to 253g. Based on this, I believe it to be NEARLY pure lead. However, 1 lb ingots made from this alloy had a definite ring when dropped on a cement floor. Pure lead ingots give a definite thud when dropped the same distance. There must be sumthin else in there, but no tellin' what. I alloyed 5 pounds of dental lead with 5 pounds of "pure lead" and 20 pounds of wheel weights and ended up with an alloy of Bhn 9 right after smelting. a year later, this alloy tested Bhn 18!!! I wished I'da kept a testing sample of the dental lead to check in a year, but I was lulled into thinking it was nearly pure lead. Next time I get some, I'm gonna do just that. I just hope my dental office doesn't go to digital x-rays first!--Shuz

[felix]

Based upon what you said, Ray, weight and hardness and lower melting temp, et.al., we are talking bismuth! Yes, I will vote for that analysis as being pretty much fact for what bismuth will do to lead. And, if this is indeed true, these dental flashings will make excellent 22 thru 25 boolits. I would not waste the material on making 44 boolits. ... felix

[mike in co]

well i still have over 20lbs of dental lead, but will get no more as the dentist office went digital.
i currently put about 5 lbs in with 100-110 lbs of ww......

casts very well.......in my opinion better casting than straight ww.....

[piwo]

I have been shooting exclusively dental lead as my wife is a hygienist and saves it for me. She actually brought me the last bit she had saved home from work last night: @ 6 lbs. I was going to turn it into ingots this week. Since I only had cast roundball for frontstuffers, the hardness didn't matter to me. As I get into this, it's starting to get more important. My next infusion of lead will be plumbing scrap.....

[mike in co]

I have been shooting exclusively dental lead as my wife is a hygienist and saves it for me. She actually brought me the last bit she had saved home from work last night: @ 6 lbs. I was going to turn it into ingots this week. Since I only had cast roundball for frontstuffers, the hardness didn't matter to me. As I get into this, it's starting to get more important. My next infusion of lead will be plumbing scrap.....

I WOULD GLADLY TRADE YOU WW OR SOFT LEAD FOR YOUR DENTAL LEAD.

SAY 2 LBS OF WW FOR 1 LB OF DENTAL....WE EACH PAY SHIPPING USING PRIORITY MAIL ENVELOPES...

MIKE

[John Boy]

I'm with Schuz on dental x-ray backers.
Some folks get free tooth brushes when they visit their dentist ...I get a bag of about 50# each visit
It's melted down and the the ingots are marked Pb - Done![smilie=1:

[KCSO]

I use dental as pure lead. All I have ever smelted was so close to pure that I couldn't tell the difference. Casting in my favorite round ball mould pure lead is 127.0 grains, plumbers lead is 126.8 and dental is 126.8 average. Since I don't grade that close anyway I call it pure.

[trickyasafox]

so im guessing it's safe to get dental lead? My buddy has an uncle who is a dentist. what do i ask for? old vests or backers?

[Goatlips]

so im guessing it's safe to get dental lead? My buddy has an uncle who is a dentist. what do i ask for? old vests or backers?

Just ask for their X-ray foil, trickyasafox, but hurry, my dentist just went to some kinda digital or ultrasound or something, and won't be using foil anymore. When I first asked them for lead foil they looked at me funny, when I pulled a boolit out of my pocket to show them why, they looked at me REAL funny but gave it to me anyway. [smilie=1:

Goatlips

[carpetman]

Are dental lead bullets prone to having cavities?

[9.3X62AL]

No, Ray--but cavities produce THEM. You got it backwards.

[felix]

Well, maybe not, Al. Gotta' ask Beagle, CrazyMark, and Buckshot. They like cavities in their boolits. ... felix

[piwo]

I WOULD GLADLY TRADE YOU WW OR SOFT LEAD FOR YOUR DENTAL LEAD.

SAY 2 LBS OF WW FOR 1 LB OF DENTAL....WE EACH PAY SHIPPING USING PRIORITY MAIL ENVELOPES...

MIKE

Well, I only have a little left now and have plans for that. My wife’s office doesn't produce a huge amount of the stuff, nothing near the 50lbs per visit referenced above (though if I went years between visits, maybe then!). My daughter is in dental hygiene school, and I've asked her to try and work it out with the school to save it.. That would be awesome, but liberal places of education don't tend to support the shooting sports. Individually, she and a few friends there may be able to dumpster dive me a little from there. Still waiting to see if that pans out though.......