the differance between linotype and ww

[sammy]

my brother just gave me a bunch of lead, wheel wieghts, and linotype,he found in an old barn on the land ..
it is all in 1 pound ingots,the problem is only about 1/2 of them are marked as to the material, how can i identify the rest?
the lead is is not so bad but the lino and ww look the same..
or can i use the linotype the same as i use wheel wieghts?

[Marlin Junky]

Clip-on WW metal can be scratched with a fingernail while Linotype cannot. Also, WW metal is more dense than Linotype; therefore, if all the ingots are the same size, using a scale may efficiently segregate the two metals. I would treat Linotype as a source of tin and antimony and add it to the other metals in small portions, but I heat treat so you may develop another plan once you've figured out what you have.

MJ

[jhrosier]

Sammy,
The lino will be noticeably harder than lead or WW when you try to scratch it.
The WW and lead might be almost impossible to sort.
While you can use the lino straight, it would be a shame to waste it, as it is so hard to come by these days.
I find that a pound of lino in ten to twenty pounds of range scrap, makes excellent rifle or pistol boolits. When water dropped they are much too hard to scratch with the fingernail and they shoot without any leading problems in either rifle or pistol loads.

Jack

[runfiverun]

sort what you can mix the pure ww's and lino together and melt into one batch.
if the no's are even close to the same you will have good boolits.
and about a 1%tin 4-1/2% mix good for w dropping for rifle and air cooled for pistol.

[xr650]

I've been playing with the ball and vise guesstimate method lately.
Position a steel ball ( the one I use is 3/4") between two ingots.
Squeeze with a vise.
The larger/deeper impression is softer.

You should be able to seperate the different leads with ease.
I have tested pure, stick on ww, range and clip on ww.
There is quite a difference in the size of the impression.

Congrats on the score. :drinks:

[2muchstuf]

Sammy, just give it the drop test. Pure thuds and doesn't bounce. WW gives a distinktly higher pitched sound and bounces a little. I've never played with lino, but given the bhn , I would imagine it would "ring" and bounce a little higher.
All info here is good advice, the drop test is EASY. Not too scientific though.
2

[Gunslinger]

Sammy, just give it the drop test. Pure thuds and doesn't bounce. WW gives a distinktly higher pitched sound and bounces a little. I've never played with lino, but given the bhn , I would imagine it would "ring" and bounce a little higher.
All info here is good advice, the drop test is EASY. Not too scientific though.
2

Good advise. The lino will cling when you drop them or clash them against each other, the ww will have a deeper sound, like clong or something 8-)

[dolang1]

xr650, Thanks for the ball and vise method. I melted a 48 lb. disc that was 12' in diameter and an inch thick, into ingots. It was represented at the recycling place as pure lead. It didn't act like it during melting process. I kicked it aside as I didn't know what it was. It tested harder than pure lead but not as hard as 60/40 tin solder. It was identical to my bullet ingots, so if it makes bullets and penetrates paper targets, then I've got 48 lbs. added to my lead stash.

My new goal is to get thru one casting session without picking up a hot ingot or bullet. I'm old enough to know better, but so far it hasn't happened for me. Later Don

[xr650]

That is one of the nuggets of golden info I have gleaned from the knowledgable people here.

Uh umm uh, you're supposed to leave your gloves on when admiring your latest achievements. :)

[454PB]

Linotype breaks when hit with a hammer, WW and pure lead bends.

[Will]

I take two ingots and bang the edges together. The harder one will dent the softer.

[sammy]

well about half way through sorting so far 112 lead 65 ww 27 linotype........
i have used every test you gents have sugested with known material first made it fairly easy
to sort through knowing what the results of your tests were like with known material..
will keep sorting thanks a million guys.!!!!

[Bob Krack]

well about half way through sorting so far 112 lead 65 ww 27 linotype........
will keep sorting thanks a million guys.!!!!
Here's another -
If you have the time and the inclination, cut off a small piece (or cast one) and weigh it. Weigh it again in water (supporting it with a string).
I cannot remember where I saw the exact data documented but it seems to me it was on the WWW.LASC.US (http://WWW.LASC.US) site. Mayhaps someone else here will remember and let you know more.

Good luck

[Bigjohn]

I've been playing with the ball and vise guesstimate method lately.
Position a steel ball ( the one I use is 3/4") between two ingots.
Squeeze with a vise.
The larger/deeper impression is softer.

You should be able to seperate the different leads with ease.
I have tested pure, stick on ww, range and clip on ww.
There is quite a difference in the size of the impression.

Congrats on the score. :drinks:

+1 on this method. It would give the more constitent results for sorting. Then "stamp" an identifying mark into the ingots.

John.

[MtGun44]

+1 on lino being brittle. This is likely the easiest way to tell if you have lino,
it breaks under impact like cast iron, ww and other alloys tend to just mush
out. Shooting straight lino boolits is pretty wasteful of the fairly high tin and
antimony content. 50/50 ww and lino makes a really great and pretty hard
boolit, or 50/50 lino and lead makes a great alloy for general purpose use.
You should cut your lino with 'cheaper' lead alloys or pure lead to make it last
longer.

Bill