32 BHN lead, uses?

[dieselrealtor]

I have a lead on some of the above, have done some reading & studying but this seems way harder than what I need.

If it is 32 is it usable as is or will it need softened up?

I have yet to cast my first boolit, gathering equipment & supplies.

Thanks in advance.

[dilly]

You could always alloy it with softer lead.

[Ole]

Maybe in a specialized application, but for most general casting you'll want your lead much softer.

[NewbieDave007]

What is in the alloy?

[Bullshop]

You could always alloy it with softer lead.

Or trade it for softer lead. I have soft lead I would trade.

[williamwaco]

You could use it to cast sledge hammer heads.

[bangerjim]

Cut it for much much softer! I have some alloy that will WD to 36Bhn and it is totally unusable at that hardness.

Why do you think you need lead that hard for boolits?


bangerjim

[dieselrealtor]

I didn't think it is usable as-is & figured I would have to soften it down, checking with the experts here to know for sure. I don't know what the alloy is, just working on a possible trade or purchase & trying to figure out what I will have to do to make it usable & with that determine value.

[JSnover]

Yeah, unless it is marked it might be hard to trade because you don't know what's in it. I'd just mix it with pure lead.

[fryboy]

lolz @ " cast sledge hammer heads"

actually it's a wee bit too brittle for that ( but thanx for the grin :P )

there's a fine line between brittle and useful

is it worth having ? simply put ? yes ! but caveats also apply [shrugz] in today's world ANY lead is worth having !! but it boils down to desired application ( and that amigo i have no clue as to what your desired usage is )
oddly enough for the longest time soft lead was what i found most and finding harder alloy to umm stiffen it up was a chore ,years later the tables have turned and i find more harder lead than soft ,of your situation and foreseeable future i have no clue ( my crystal ball is so clear i cant find it :P )
what you've found is perhaps either monotype or foundry type ( just a guess given the BHN ) you can cut it 4 to 1 ( PB to this alloy ) and come up with something much friendlier to use
as to value .... that really depends upon it's true composition ( again something none of us knows ) but ..it can be utilized
btw ? i'm no expert so allow me to leave you something to study ( i suggest saving it and reading it often ) besides they type way way better than i do

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm

[just_shooter]

Can you melt this alloy? That's so hard I really can't imagine what could be in it.

[bangerjim]

B4 investing a bunch of your $$ in it, I would "borrow" a piece to take to a scrap yard and have them shoot it with thier x-ray gun and give you an analysis. That is assuming there is lots of this stuff, not just 10 ro 20#.

That hardness could be from a large % of "stuff" we do not want, like zinc.

Buyer beware. Good luck!

bangerjim

[dieselrealtor]

There is around 2000 lbs. could have even been a typo, 32 is pretty close to 21 on the keyboard. We'll see how much I end up with depending on the price.
The majority of my shooting is 9mm & .223, followed by .45acp, .380acp, .357mag, .45 colt, .30-06 & .308.

I want to get my feet wet with pistol loads till I get comfortable with more knowledge then move onto faster GC rifle rounds.

[NewbieDave007]

The reason that asked about what the alloy is made of is precisely what Jim and others have pointed out.

If it is monotype then I would say it is great stuff and worth around $2/#.

If it is mystery metal then I personally wouldn't touch it without a scan (unless it was free). Even then if could be a big waste.

[bangerjim]

What form is this mystry metal in? Bars, hunks, ingots, ground pour puddles?

If hardness is from large quantits of Zn or other undesirables, it cannot be easily removed and I would say "FREE" is even too much of an investment in significient time, hauling, storage, etc.

Only way to be sure is that x-ray shoot. Find a yard that will do it for you, even if they charge $10 which some will do if you are not buying something. Tell them YOU are looking into selling it!!!! And get an analysis (probably for free) and price for what THEY would pay for the lot.

bamger

[dieselrealtor]

He stated it is in 33lb ingots & that he used to cast commercially & ordered it. He is going to try to find the paperwork that shows what the alloy is.

[madsenshooter]

I know of a couple National Lead babbitts that have a bhn of 32. One is their Heavy Pressure Metal, the other #1 Journal. Both are tin based babbitts with a high percentage of Cu.

[fryboy]

lolz @ "could have even been a typo, 32 is pretty close to 21 on the keyboard" true that added to with "He stated it is in 33lb ingots & that he used to cast commercially & ordered it."

adds credence to the possiblity of a typo , lino for instance is closer to 21 BHN and comes in 25-35#-ish ingots ( called pigs altho they be more like a giraffe's neck lolz )
if he cast commercially with it the chances of it having any zinc begins to lower ( depending upon what he cast of course )

[dieselrealtor]

he was pretty confident on the BHN, I haven't heard back on the alloy content. He said that he used to cast boolits, we'll see what the alloy is when he finds the paperwork.

[RogerDat]

Check out the sticky on using Art pencils to test BHN. Cheap (less than $10) set of pencils that will allow you to at least clarify approx. hardness.
Art pencils are made to specific and graduated hardness so using the approach outlined in the sticky one can determine the BHN is less than the hardness of the first pencil the can dig into the metal and greater than the BHN of the next softer pencil.

Babbitt or Mono/Foundry would be good to have, if nothing else purchase of plain lead to soften it is less costly than purchase of alloys to harden plain. Babbitt as mentioned would be either really high tin or pretty high antimony, both good additions to you pot of plain. That copper in Babbitt would make the bullets pretty tough, good for those rifle calibers.