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Thread: Linotype questions

  1. #1
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    Linotype questions

    I scored a bunch of linotype today, but I have never even seen it before so I would like to make sure I understand what I have and how to use it. A little bit is in ingots, but most looks like this:

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    This is linotype, not monotype, spacers, etc., correct? It looks really, really clean so I would almost be tempted to add it straight to the pot, but I probably should smelt up ingots before doing so. OK to just flux with beeswax?

    The lead calculator on this site says that lino is 12% SB, 4% Sn, and 84% Pb. If this is indeed lino is it pretty consistent or all over the place? Ultimately I want to be able to turn COWW and range lead into Lyman #2 via the addition of this stuff and pewter.
    When you care enough to send the very best, send an ounce of lead.

  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Most of us that have linotype in the print form like to keep it that way as positive identification. Personally, I acquired a ton of this in a mixture of monotype, linotype, and 10 kilo ingots. I rendered about 200 pounds down for easier use, the rest was left alone. I have since (this was acquired 35 years ago) used, given away, and sold all but 600 pounds.

    Yes, it can be rendered and fluxed the same as any other lead alloy. You may want to do some research as to what form of type metal is what mixture.
    You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

  3. #3
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    The linotype alloy is excellent for "sweetening" lead and getting harder alloys.

    this calculator will give you an Idea of what you can do with it

    Lead alloy calculator
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/atta...4&d=1341560870

    Play with the calculator, if you have pure and a little tin (pewter) you can blend a lot of useful alloys.

    Lyman CB #4 says to use straight linotype for .223 boolits, I think that's a bit hard.

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Linotype in type form is literally a line of type like the piece in the bottom of your picture. As you know, the ingots could be anything. New linotype was very consistent but the tin can gradually be lost as it was remelted and recast over and over. But used as a sweetener for our alloys its usually good enough for what we do with it. Spacers look like the piece in the bottom of your picture without the letters and Foundry and Monotype are usually larger individual letters. Nice Score!

  5. #5
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    All the pieces actually had text on the edge, I just did not show it. Thanks.
    When you care enough to send the very best, send an ounce of lead.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    The way I understand it to work is that Linotype is a Line Of Type - as pictured in post #1
    Monotype is a single letter.
    Spacers are blank slabs of lead with nothing on them.

    I purchased a couple of containers full of Linotype and Spacers last year and have have real good luck just adding them into a mix a handful at a time. Leaving them as individual pieces allows you to use as much or as little as you want. All the pieces I purchased were real clean and seem to work OK just being added to the pot. I stir and flux with a little saw dust at the beginning.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    Glad to hear you have had success adding raw Linotype to the pot. The stuff I got is so clean it is shiny, so I was thinking about directly adding it to the casting pot.
    When you care enough to send the very best, send an ounce of lead.

  8. #8
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    Used it all my life. Always from an old Gentleman here in LA. Either in type form or 5lb blocks designed to be feed into a typecasting machine. (Still saving about 12+ 5lb blocks) Melted down all the pieces into 1lb ingots using OHAUS Ingot Molds. It's how I identify alloy type. #2 is cast into LYMAN Molds, Pure Lead into LEE 1lb ingots. Foundrytype goes in the LEE 1/2 blocks, For 1/20 alloy I use SAECO Molds and COWW's go into RCBS Molds. I use the blank RCBS ingot molds for melting down alloys of unknown hardness. I label it with A Big felt marker until I can determine the hardness. I use a LODGE Scone pan for range scrap. Tin goes into a one ounce & half ounce egg sinker molds.

    One pound of pure lead + one pound of Linotype = 2lbs of #2 alloy.

    Correction, it makes 2lbs of Hardball. I misrembered what my Dad told me 60yrs ago.

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    Last edited by Walks; 04-19-2018 at 04:14 PM.
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  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Always keep linotype in it's NATIVE format.........."lines-o-type". That way everybody in the future knows what it is. Anyone can cast anything in home-made ingots and say it is lino!!!!!!!

    Don't melt the lines down! I just whack off a piece of my many hundreds of pounds of the stuff when I need sweeten my casting mix. I do NOT EVER mix up hundreds of pounds of a "special" alloy....I may want to change it in the future and I am stuck with what I thought I would always want.

    It also can be found in long 50+ pound pigs....feed ingots for the old lino machines. That is also OK to leave in that format.

    Just a few words word of experience.
    banger

  10. #10
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    Just as everyone knows the silver content of a 1969 Kennedy 1/2 dollar everyone knows the alloy content of lines of type form of lead. It may be a bit lower on the Sn and Sb than the posted values of 4/12 but not by too much or they wouldn't be spitting it out as text strips. Thus being it its raw form is as good as an assay or foundry for the alloy type.

    If you use that alloy calculator I would start mixing the recipe I was going to make by adding the linotype. It melts very easily and gives you a chance to skim or work out any impurities before you add your ingots of WW or plain lead. Pretty clean and shiny is not the same as no crud or chemicals on it from ink or whatever. It has enough tin that it doesn't corrode as fast but as they say rust never sleeps, some oxides will be present. Might as well stir those out as you begin.

    I'm sort of the opposite of Banger Jim I like large batches of my mixed scrap ingredients and finished alloys. I'm melting scrap so the only way I have to maintain a consistent alloy is to make a really big batch. Typically I like to do 100# or more. Then I know for the next 100# of that alloy it will be the same. I don't melt down lines of type or actual letters of mono/foundry type except to make finished alloy. But spacers, solders, pewter or lead items in general I like to work with a large batch. Then get it tested. Better for me 100 lbs. I know and can adjust a bit to be what I need than smaller batches.
    But I am pretty much a 100% scrap fed operation.

    Remember a little linotype goes a long way. Even cut 50/50 with plain lead it is a hard alloy. Harder than needed for most pistols.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

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  11. #11
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
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    Ok...I use pure Linotype mixed with COWW. I mix 2 parts COWW to one part lino. (2lbs ww to 1lb lino). this gives a 92/2/6 ratio. This comes out to about 15 BNH for hardness. I cast right to the specified bullet weight in my molds with this mix. (ex. 340gr 458" bullet comes out right at 340gr.)

    hope it helps.

    redhawk

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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    Just as everyone knows the silver content of a 1969 Kennedy 1/2 dollar everyone knows the alloy content of lines of type form of lead. It may be a bit lower on the Sn and Sb than the posted values of 4/12 but not by too much or they wouldn't be spitting it out as text strips. Thus being it its raw form is as good as an assay or foundry for the alloy type.

    If you use that alloy calculator I would start mixing the recipe I was going to make by adding the linotype. It melts very easily and gives you a chance to skim or work out any impurities before you add your ingots of WW or plain lead. Pretty clean and shiny is not the same as no crud or chemicals on it from ink or whatever. It has enough tin that it doesn't corrode as fast but as they say rust never sleeps, some oxides will be present. Might as well stir those out as you begin.

    I'm sort of the opposite of Banger Jim I like large batches of my mixed scrap ingredients and finished alloys. I'm melting scrap so the only way I have to maintain a consistent alloy is to make a really big batch. Typically I like to do 100# or more. Then I know for the next 100# of that alloy it will be the same. I don't melt down lines of type or actual letters of mono/foundry type except to make finished alloy. But spacers, solders, pewter or lead items in general I like to work with a large batch. Then get it tested. Better for me 100 lbs. I know and can adjust a bit to be what I need than smaller batches.
    But I am pretty much a 100% scrap fed operation.

    Remember a little linotype goes a long way. Even cut 50/50 with plain lead it is a hard alloy. Harder than needed for most pistols.
    Yes!!!!!!!! Lino goes a VERY long way. I cut off 1” of the stuff to sweeten my 20# pot all the time. It is easy to cut off and measure that way. I check with my Cabine tester and it always comes within 0.3% of where I want to be on hardness.........10-12. After years of mixing “on the fly” I know what to add.

    Do what works for you. It all ends up down range!!!!!!!!! PC’ing minimizes the worry about hardness.

    Banger

  13. #13
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    I use Lino to harden 1/3/96 (from isotope cores) specifically for my rifle boolits. I like to have a little harder alloy for these, BHN >15. The 1/3/96 is very good for pistol boolits such as 38 Special or 45ACP, as it's pretty close to WW in makeup. Pure Lino casts the most beautiful boolits you have ever seen, but they are a bit too hard and brittle for my needs. Best suited for custom alloying.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by bangerjim View Post
    Yes!!!!!!!! Lino goes a VERY long way. I cut off 1” of the stuff to sweeten my 20# pot all the time. It is easy to cut off and measure that way. I check with my Cabine tester and it always comes within 0.3% of where I want to be on hardness.........10-12. After years of mixing “on the fly” I know what to add.

    Do what works for you. It all ends up down range!!!!!!!!! PC’ing minimizes the worry about hardness.

    Banger
    The concept that you can't take an alloy back apart certainly has merit as a consideration. I keep the majority of my components separate but.... When I make Lyman #2 I'll end up having it gunned a couple of times to adjust the alloy until it is on the mark. At the end I want a nice big batch of it. Did the same with some 94/3/3 made a bunch because it is good on its own and I can cut 50/50 for nice pistol alloy.

    Come to think of it I do those mixes in small batches of 20# in the pot. Also do that with adding a percent or two of tin to COWW's for general use. Or for tin / plain soft alloy for hollow base wad cutters. I take known ingredients and add them to the casting pot. I don't use lino that much. Have a lot of printers lead that came from foundry/mono/lino spacers. those vary so bigger batches even it out.

    I can see where knowing the number of inches of linotype for a pot of COWW's to get known hardness would be a useful bit of information.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    Just as everyone knows the silver content of a 1969 Kennedy 1/2 dollar everyone knows the alloy content of lines of type form of lead. It may be a bit lower on the Sn and Sb than the posted values of 4/12 but not by too much or they wouldn't be spitting it out as text strips. Thus being it its raw form is as good as an assay or foundry for the alloy type.

    If you use that alloy calculator I would start mixing the recipe I was going to make by adding the linotype. It melts very easily and gives you a chance to skim or work out any impurities before you add your ingots of WW or plain lead. Pretty clean and shiny is not the same as no crud or chemicals on it from ink or whatever. It has enough tin that it doesn't corrode as fast but as they say rust never sleeps, some oxides will be present. Might as well stir those out as you begin.

    I'm sort of the opposite of Banger Jim I like large batches of my mixed scrap ingredients and finished alloys. I'm melting scrap so the only way I have to maintain a consistent alloy is to make a really big batch. Typically I like to do 100# or more. Then I know for the next 100# of that alloy it will be the same. I don't melt down lines of type or actual letters of mono/foundry type except to make finished alloy. But spacers, solders, pewter or lead items in general I like to work with a large batch. Then get it tested. Better for me 100 lbs. I know and can adjust a bit to be what I need than smaller batches.
    But I am pretty much a 100% scrap fed operation.

    Remember a little linotype goes a long way. Even cut 50/50 with plain lead it is a hard alloy. Harder than needed for most pistols.

    I use mostly Lyman #2 so I do 100 pound batches of ingots. When I want to cast I can grab a stack and go.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy
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    I just cast up 60lbs of foundry to mix for my batches. I do a 1:8 foundry: pure lead for pistol. 1:4 for rifle and it works well for me. I tend to stamp my finished ingot with the mix info and BHN numbers. Works well. The 1:8 makes really good shot outta my shotmaker too.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master brewer12345's Avatar
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    I was looking for some Linotype because I want to try 5/5/90 for rifle bullets. Pushing coww in 3006 has definite limitations, so I figured lyman #2 might let me push faster with good accuracy. I also expect to be unable to get coww in the near future, so a source of antimony will be necessary to harden up soww, range lead, etc.
    When you care enough to send the very best, send an ounce of lead.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    I've read that type in either letter or strip form has a relatively high surface area for the weight of metal compared to ingotted alloy and can have a lot more oxidation. Is that an issue?

    Personally, I would like my alloy to be consistent from one batch of boolits to the next (I shoot two to four thousand of the same each month). I also like to cast in long sessions where replenishing my casting pot is necessary and since I'm trying to keep the pot fairly full and am trying to speed cast, adding preheated premade ingots seems best for all that. So, like rogerdat, I have a few hundred pounds of my preferred alloy all made up in advance, done in my big scrap melting pot.
    Last edited by kevin c; 07-27-2018 at 11:48 AM.

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
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