Can you identify this lead?

[MGnoob]

When i first got started i refused to buy lead.....i got some wheel weights, a piece of lead that someone was shooting, and a piece of ballast from a ship.
I then caved and bout just over 1000lbs of wheel weights.

Today i smelted all but 2 small pails of the WW... I assume the piece of lead someone used for a target is close to pure, i could do a harness test but just haven't yet. and am just going to assume it is between pure and wheel weight.

My question is on the ballast lead...it was the first thing i tried to smelt and it wouldn't melt at any reasonable temp..SO i have just moved on.
It is pretty eaten up by sea water.. it says something on it that i can't make out...perhaps the foundry or the name of the ship..

Anyway, i managed to break it in half then remove a small piece.. i couldn't get a readings on it hardness. It looks like the picture of antimony on Rotometals website and think it is some kind of high antimony lead?? What do you guys think? Is it something you guys have seen? do you think it is just high in antimony or just all around high in random stuff?

Picture of the whole thing
http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/MGnoob/media/GEDV0197_zpsb4048721.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

Picture of it broken in half
http://s1339.photobucket.com/user/MGnoob/media/GEDV0198_zps29b2f159.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

I am just courious..i was thinking about puting the lead "target" and the ship ballast in my pot heat it up then hit it with the weed burner to alloy it 50/50 then further when i need extra hardness. i've never used the weed burner for thing other than burning weed, because i don't sort my WW i just heat slow and then remove the zinc with the clips. Then maybe i can get an accurate reading on hardness

[petroid]

If it rings like a bell when you tap it it is very possibly zinc. I don't know why it wouldn't melt other than it has other components that you don't want in your pot

[MGnoob]

It doesn't make a "thud" like the lead target, but it sounds the same as a wheel weight ingot i tapped.......sure hope it's not zinc, i am glad it didn't melt..which kind of makes me think it isn't zinc..atleast not pure zinc.

I thought with "keels" of ships they came cast iron or lead.... i guess there are probably more options out there and this isn't a keel anyway.


it does seem alittle light (weight) but it isn't as thick as the "target" and has heavy crust from the sea water

[leeggen]

test for zinc by putting a couple drops of muratic acid on it. If it foams then zinc is present.
CD

[MGnoob]

I'll have to try that.....that's good to know, i never came across that in my research.

[mac60]

They look like zinc anodes to me. I had 2 zinc anodes that came from a shipyard that looked just like 'em.

[retread]

Definitely bot zinc. Tell by the welding strap for securing to the hull, rudder. etc.

[Yodogsandman]

It is definitely a zinc anode! Seen plenty.

[Rockastr]

Look into it being part of the degousing material on ships.... These are bars that play a part in keeping the metal in the ships from corroding by neutralizing the charge that the ships achieve in salt water.... I do not know. The specifics of the metals used but the fact that they were strapped to the hull makes me wonder.....

[MGnoob]

well thanks guys....i guess i'll put it aside for now. IDK anything about boats and figured the experts here would have seen it before.

[MaryB]

Yup zinc anode, saw some on an ocean going ship that was dry-docked up in the Duluth Harbor for repairs after being one of the first ships in after ice out. They had hit ice and tore up the rudder.

[dondiego]

I have worked on board ships and they also use magnesium sacrificial anodes in the bilge.

[Bad Andy]

Yes that is Zinc for sure. It has the metal tabs on it for attatching to a boats hull. I have installed many of them in my time. I just had a friend give me some lead or should I say a zinc anode he thought was lead, it looked just like what you picutred.