Cable Sheath Lead

[Ferdinand]

Over a year ago, I bought about 150 lbls of lead that the seller said was derived from cable sheath. It had been smelted into the classic corn-muffin forms. How does this differ from WW, and what special treatment might it need for use as 9mm and .357 projectilces moving at 1100-1250 fps? Blend it with ww? Add something? Thanks in advance.

[bowfin]

Cable Sheath lead is very close to pure lead, very soft and pliable.

I have stripped over 500 pounds of it this summer. I wish I would have saved a long piece of four strand electric cable to do a YouTube video on the method I used to strip it by hand. It might save some other slow learner a lot of aching muscles.

I'll let more experienced alloy blenders chime in on what or how to alloy it.

[runfiverun]

depends on what you have to alloy it with if it's ww's you'll add the soft to them.
if it's lino you'll add the lino to it.
however you do it, an alloy with about 3-4% antimony and some tin should do what you need.

[10 ga]

Dittos " " to what bowfin said. Cable sheath I've had is very close to if not pure lead and always soft. I mostly use 1-1+1%, thats soft-COWW+tin. Shoots good and great hunting boolits. 10 ga

[ombesb]

Cable Sheath lead is very close to pure lead, very soft and pliable.

I have stripped over 500 pounds of it this summer. I wish I would have saved a long piece of four strand electric cable to do a YouTube video on the method I used to strip it by hand. It might save some other slow learner a lot of aching muscles.

I'll let more experienced alloy blenders chime in on what or how to alloy it.

Bowfin, if you would please... can you describe how you stripped that lead telephone cable?? I have about 200 ft of it still all full of those little wires. Thank you.
Eric

[kokomokid]

Most that I have found has a little tin in it and almost no antimony. If I want 20/1 , I mix at 25/1 and it usually weighs out for a correct bullet.

[bowfin]

For starters, if you have woven wire shielding around the wires, you are out of luck with this method.

My cable was four strand electrical cable, with each strand being about as thick as an appliance cord. but I think the same method would work with other lead sheathed cable. I split the sheath down far enough to expose enough wire to tie around the clothes line pole, trailer hitch of a pickup, or small tree...even the swing set. In my case, I would tie two of the three or four strands to the pole and pick one to pull. In your case, not knowing exactly how many strands and how strong they are, you might have to experiment to see how many it takes to be strong enough to pull through the outside sheathing.

Anyhow, with (let's say) half of the strands tied to our pole, we grip the other half and pull straight back along the length of the cable. The lead is soft enough that it will tear as you pull the wire out of it. If the strands are wrapped around a central core, then it gets to be a real bugger, because you can only pull about a half a wrap before you find yourself pulling agains the wires tied to the pole. In which case you have to pass the free wires underneath the intact part of the cable and give another pull until the wrap starts working against you again.

I am going to look for a piece of three or four strand that I might not have stripped yet, and get something up.

[10 ga]

I use limb loppers. Like for pruning trees and bushes. The kind with short blades and long handles. Just jam the thin blade in under the sheathing and clip away. I cut about 2-3" each time and in short order have the sheathing cut off. Bowfins method sounds quicker.

10

[afish4570]

I use limb loppers. Like for pruning trees and bushes. The kind with short blades and long handles. Just jam the thin blade in under the sheathing and clip away. I cut about 2-3" each time and in short order have the sheathing cut off. Bowfins method sounds quicker.

10

Many years ago a now long gone shooter friend who worked for a utility co. gave me some copper service wire sheathed in lead. I used a muffler /tail pipe tool that was curved on bottom and had 3 cutting edges. Was about 6" long and was hit with a hammer ......today I think I would use an air hammer with the same type of tool.....just my experience. With all the scrappers today had to find anymore. afish4570

[OneSkinnyMass]

from what I remember about the old lead jacketed phone cable is it was real soft and the wire inside, usually 25 pair, 50 pair, 75 pair or larger is not twisted pair like we have today. we would take a razor knife and cut the lead back to terminate the cable and the white blue could be on the opposite side of the cable from the blue white, not like the twisted pair cable we use today to minimize induction from the other pairs in the cable.
I think 4 or 5 razorblades and a good sturdy razor knife and it's be done purdy quick.

Skinny

[405]

Yes, cable sheathing is usually good stuff! It's got to be near pure lead since it is near dead soft. I got ahold of about #1000 of it a few years ago- it appeared to come from approx. 3/4"-1" cable. Thank goodness! it had already been stripped and was in long coiled loops. I just cut into about 1-2 ft lengths and folded them for easy fit in my large melting pot for melting, fluxing and pouring into ingot form. I've noticed whatever is in it produces a bunch of fluffy dross on the first melt. Just flux with some hardwood filings and skim. The melted, fluxed and skimmed alloy is very nice and clean. These near pure lead ingots can later be mixed with WW or tin or antimony to produce whatever alloy is desired.