I was picking up lead from a source last Thursday & while going through the lead bin & found 2 & 1/2 of these "pig ingots" in the bin. They have the ends that are similar to linotype pig ingots, but these had them on both ends. So I was a bit unsure of their content. So, I broke off one of the tangs off of two of them & paid for them along with the other 300+ pounds of pure lead I purchased & brought them home to melt the pieces down to see how hard they were. The broken bits had the look of linotype & they broke off similarly leaving that course grain. I told the source that I was interested in them, but wanted to research & try to test the hardness before buying them.
After melting, pouring into ingot form ( lee mold) & cooling it, I tested it with my Lee BHN tester.
It came out to about .046" dimple, which converts to approx. 24 BHN. Close to linotype hardness & I was a bit enthused about it, but still could not seem to find an image of linotype with both ends having that "clevis"-type shape.
Well, I thought it over & decided to go back Monday to see about buying them, thinking that since they were pretty close to Linotype, perhaps they were of similar composition. I wanted to pick up some more lead anyway & so it would not be a wasted trip. Later on after buying them, I would see if someone around here had an XRF to tell me the alloy composition to verify it before using it.
My luck was good in that on Friday, a "rep" from one of the scrap buyers had stopped in & the owner/source borrowed the reps portable XRF ( The owner said it reminded him of a "Phazer" from Star Trek) and he scanned the pig ingots to see what they were as he was not going to be able to include them in the lead if they were not of the right composition.
To his amazement ( And mine that day), the XRF said the composition of those pig ingots was the following:
AL (Aluminum) 1.8%
SI (Silicon) 3.3%
P ( Phosphorus) 0.12%
Fe (Iron) 0.26%
Sn (Tin) 0.09%
Sb (Antimony) 16.4%
PB ( Lead) 68.93%
91.98% Total...
[ They don't add up to 100% & that concerns, as well as confuses me... ]
BTW, The source told me that he thought the list above was very similar to the alloy used for making batteries & perhaps this is an ingot from the manufacturer of battery lead sheets for inside the batteries.
Here are some pics of the pig ingots & the actual list I was provided:
Pig ingot & list
List closer up
If you can see it, there is writing stamped into the pig ingot.
"THIS INGOT IS NOT TO BE SOLD MOLD NO1" is what I think it says from the pic
A look at the "clevis type" end of the pig ingot. Note that BOTH ends of the pig ingot have this "clevis".
So, the biggest concern I have is in the Red above in the list. The FE/Iron is very minor at 0.26% almost to not be a worry I would think.
The Si/Silicon, which I understand is abrasive, is at 3.3% of the whole. That is of more concern to me as I do not think having an abrasive of any kind or amount running down any firearms bore to be a good thing..
I am also a little bit concerned about the lack of tin & higher amount of antimony as well as the reduction in the amount of lead as compared to a Linotype alloy.
Lastly, since the amounts don't add up to 100%, what might be any other components of the alloy, or what parts of the components of the ally are possibly written down incorrectly.
The source is the one who wrote them down, and I do not know if he may have written any down incorrectly, or if any were missed & not included in the list... another "Hmmm".
I can only see a few options for me right now:
*Buy it & have it tested again by someone else to check the composition to decide to use it or not. Which will be an expense & if it turns out that it is more of the Si/Silicon and/or the Fe/Iron than is acceptable, I am out the $$ for the pig ingots as well as the cost of the test.
*Buy it & use it as it seems to be, since it is going to be further reduced by my adding close to pure lead to it to make an alloy for boolits.
*Not buy it & just forget about it.
Maybe you folks can help me out on any other options.
So, I have decided to ask here for advice & trust the membership to help out in determining if it is a worthwhile buy or not.
Please share your related thoughts, advice, or further info on these pig ingots, & about whether I should buy them. The input will be very appreciated.
Thanks if you can help me out!
JB