I had about 200 lbs of solder I salvaged at work (before I retired) that they were going to pay a hazardous waste company to haul away. Out of the goodness of my heart, I offered to dispose of it at no charge. This stuff was originally 40/60 Sn/Pb, I think. It was cast into various configurations, mostly triangular from angle iron, depending on what they could find to pour it into. In order to make it more compact for storage, I melted it down and cast it in small ingots (Lyman, RCBS, etc.). Since this stuff sat in a large solder pot in the molten state for hours at a time, I'm not sure what the Sn/Pb proportion is now.
I have tested 4 sample ingots with the Cabine Tree tester. Two of the ingots were cast in a Lyman aluminum mold and two were cast in a SAECO iron mold. Averages of 4 readings each were as follows:
Cabine Tree Brinell
#1 Lyman .089 22
#2 Lyman .087 22 * .080 lowest reading
#3 SAECO .090 22
#4 SAECO .089 22
Except for the noted low reading above the ES of all readings was .005 and the high and low were on different samples.
I'm not sure whether I'm using poor technique or whether the alloy is not really solder. I don't see how a tin/lead alloy could be that hard. I am sure there is no Pb in the alloy. I have tested some of my WW ingots and the readings were within the range Gussie gives with the cross reference chart he includes with the tester.
Does anyone have any ideas???
Sorry about running everything together, I can't seem to maintain any spacing.
John