Linotype quiz

[nueces5]

Is there any way to know which one has a linotype?

[maxreloader]

Not sure on your question... "A linotype" is not clear to me. If you are asking if we can tell which ingot has linotype in it...

[rancher1913]

yes.


the harder one has linotype in it.



to know for sure send a sample to BNE

[nueces5]

problems with the translator, my English is very bad ...
A few moments ago a friend sent me this photo and he tells me that one of these ingots has 8% linotype, and if I can tell what it is.
I would go find Lee's hardness meter ...
But first I ask those who know best

[Peregrine]

There is definitely no way to tell that just from looking at a picture.

[JimB..]

Put the plates in a vise with a ball bearing between them. Apply some pressure. Whichever one has the larger dent is softer.

[Walks]

Or you could cast bullets from each ingot and test them for hardness.

[Dieselhorses]

The one on the left.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NyFirefighter357]

The right one

[Conditor22]

simplest test, drop them on concrete, the one with the higher ring would be the harder alloy

[dbosman]

Given that linotype is (4%-Tin, 12%-Antimony, and 84%-Lead) mostly lead, an alloy that contained 8% linotype would be difficult to distinguish from lead.
An alloy calculator shows 98.7% lead as the result.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

both look the same, can't tell anything from picture

[uscra112]

Given that linotype is (4%-Tin, 12%-Antimony, and 84%-Lead) mostly lead, an alloy that contained 8% linotype would be difficult to distinguish from lead.
An alloy calculator shows 98.7% lead as the result.

My lead alloy calculator says that, assuming that the ingot with the 8% linotype is 92% pure lead, the hardness would be 9.6 brinell. Pure lead is 5.

[Rooster]

Jim B's is the way I'd do it. Quick and dirty in the ballpark guess: Smack the edges together. The softer one will have a larger dent.

[RogerDat]

If one is plain lead and the other has 8% linotype there won't be a big difference. The small amount of tin from the linotype should make one melt at a lower temperature. It might also flow better as it melts. Might be enough difference to be able to tell by hitting with a propane gas torch. Might not be enough difference in how they melt to see by just watching. The steel ball bearing between the two and clamp them in a vice would probably be best test. Larger dent means softer metal, pure lead is softer so there is your answer.

[Lloyd Smale]

pretty much impossible. Only clue might be the purer the lead the more blue the color because it takes higher temps to melt. that or put them in a vise and bend them and see if the bend or crack. Linotype will usually crack before it bends. But neither of them are absolute answers because theres to many inbetween alloys that do the same. Best bet is a hardness tester.

[jsizemore]

If it was mixed with pure lead then that's less then 1% antimony. I've seen 22lr bullets with more antimony.

[nueces5]

in the end my friend gave me his answer
the one with the linotype is brighter, the one on the right is pure lead

[lightman]

I would have guessed the left one would contain the linotype. But that was just a guess. I would have used a hardness tester on them.

[NyFirefighter357]

Melt them together and they both have the same amount of Linotype!