Help! Lead that will not harden

[put]

I have been casting boolits for about 3 months. I have been reading this forum for about 6 months and this is my first post. This has been a great resource.

I was given 3 blocks of lead from a friend. 2 were 10 lb. blocks and 1 was 28lb block. They seamed to be very hard. They had been outside for several years. I melted down one 10# block. It melted very quickly. When I pored the lead into the ingot it stayed liquid to well less than 150 degrees. When I finally dumped it out it was very brittle with a heavy crystal structure.

Does any one know what I might have?

[Bullshop]

sounds like karosafe

[put]

That is probably it. I let the second round of mould cool longer and it turned out very hard.

If it is Karosafe I have several lifetimes’ worth.

[shooter575]

If that is what you got you did well!That stuff is pricey

[BudRow]

Midway sells it by the 1/2 pound for $11.79 plus shipping. Cerrosafe, you could cast it up in 1/2 pound ingots and make some profit by selling it on the firearm boards.

[montana_charlie]

There are several alloys that resemble CerroSafe, and each has a different melting temperature. You need to accurately determine what the melting temperature of yours is...so you can tell buyers what they are getting.

Here they are...
http://www.alloyinnovations.com/standard-cerro-alloys.html
CM

[put]

That sounds like a good idia. I will need to do some research like you said.

Thanks for the information.

[44man]

Be very careful, that stuff might be loaded with cadmium, very poisonous.

[PatMarlin]

That's what I was thinkin'... battery lead?.. :confused:

[GLL]

As has been pointed out the bismuth/tin alloy that melts at 158 degrees (F) does indeed contain about 10% cadmium ! I would exercise great care when messing with that stuff in molten form at high temperatures !

Jerry

[John Boy]

With a melt temp of 150F - my bet is CerroSafe. Here's the composition of it:
38.4% Bismuth
30.8% Lead
15.4 % Cadmium
15.4% Tin
At 5-10 bucks for a half pound, folks would beat a path to your door for the stuff to make chamber castings ... Send Mailing Address and Check Will be in the Mail![smilie=1:

If it was battery plates, the melt temp would be in the 640F range because of the Pb content of the alloy:
94Pb, 6Sb

[TCLouis]

is 10" Cd why don't they mention that little detail. I would wash my hands a LOT better if I had known.

Lead and some of the heavy metals are one thing, Cd and Be are a whole noter issue.

Maybe just cause I play with lead and NOT the others.

What is that saying, "Famailarity breeds contempt".