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I am glad I had this opportunity to mess with some pure lead. The properties are dramatically different than alloys. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c2446ad2e7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...293fcd4fef.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3e9a8c4467.jpg
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That purple color is something, ain't it ? First time I rendered pure, I got it far too hot, and ended up with purply (that's a word, right?) ingots.
Keep the heat a bit lower next time, they'll look a lot different.
One of my roofing subcontractors gave me a brand new 50lb roll of flashing. My ingots came out with that same purple hue. The pot never even reached 700 degrees, so I suspect it's just a byproduct of clean and pure lead?
I surmise it may be oxidation since the lead was quite silvery until I began to ladle it out. It was very enjoyable to me. 8)
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My uneducated guess as well, i had some pure plumbers lead recently do the same thingQuote:
Originally Posted by 308Jeff
I lucked into about three hundred lbs of rolls a while back. When I saw the purplish color I thought it was some kind of vinyl coating or something then realized it was too hot. Once I found the right temp it was a dream to cast with. Love the stuff.
The Latin word for lead is 'plumbum'. It refers to the color. Pure Pb is purplish when heated hot.
That's where we get the word for a 'plum', the fruit - the color of lead.
That's why plumbers are called plumbers - from the Latin word for lead. Plumbers work(ed) with lead pipe.
I knew those 2 years of Latin I struggled through 45 years ago would come in handy some day.
Pure lead melts at 627 F
how much does tin melt at I cant remember, i'll venture a guess at 421'
A friend, a plumbing contractor, gave me about 800 lbs of pure lead sheets used in a hospital x-ray room walls. My question is what/where should I add to it that is free/cheap/easy to get to bring the BHN scale up to where WW would be?
Lead will turn all colors of the rainbow! I have seen it red, purple, gold, blue, etc. the hotter you get it the more it turns colors. Does not hurt anything. Once you put some Sn in there, it all goes nice and sliver!
Most of my pure Pb ingots are "technicolor".
Ive noticed that pure lead is shiny like chrome even when water quenched.my WW lead is a dull silver. Night and day visual difference.
Try offering it for trade to someone who cast for muzzle loaders or someone who swages. For me, the dead soft is a lot harder to find. I use range scrap, that is a bit on the hard side, for most of my casting. I only have about 60 or 70 pounds of soft that I use in swaging.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSSP
Download the free alloy calculator spreadsheet on this site.Quote:
Originally Posted by GSSP
All will be revealed!
That purpley color only means that pure lead oxidizes really fast. Not an indicator of having been too hot but indicates pure lead.
It won't do that if you pour in in a cold mold but your ingot might be ugly.