What's More Valuable - Loose LinoType or LinoType Ingots?

[rototerrier]

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. I'll sort out all the spacers and blocks and will smelt all that down and mix it into my other ww alloys for personal use and just leave everything else loose. For my general purpose plinking, I am not particular what the mixtures are. I've found just about anything I PC will shoot just fine in 9, 45, 357, etc. I'll save the mono for things where I need a more known mix.

[OS OK]

I have some linotype and this monotype, it will not get melted down...I want to make a shadow box to commerate this old lost art of typesetting. Still looking for a few capital letters, 1 3/8" size... L & I and a number 2 & 8 and in the 1" an I.

[kevin c]

I went the opposite route, based on what I have and how much, and what I think I might do with it.

The typemetal I have bought on different occasions from a local metals recycler includes small amounts of monotype, Linotype, and Linotype spacers, and much more in the way of factory pigs and bars, and repoured (not factory) pigs. I had it all tested and only one partial pig was not type metal (no tin, low antimony) I combined the small amounts of mono, Lino, spacers and the repoured pigs into one consistent and easy to use Sn/Sb rich alloy for personal use and am keeping the factory stamped replenishment pigs and bar ingot Lino for easy storage for future personal use or possible sale.

[dondiego]

I have some linotype and this monotype, it will not get melted down...I want to make a shadow box to commerate this old lost art of typesetting. Still looking for a few capital letters, 1 3/8" size... L & I and a number 2 & 8 and in the 1" an I.

You need to get some of the old type set drawers for those gems!

[rototerrier]

Went and bought some of those white 2 gallon buckets from homedepot, with lids. Kinda pricey at about 5 bucks each for bucket and lid together, but it really makes everything well organized and clean. I am able to cram in 60-63lbs of letters per bucket and stack them. Zero wasted space and just light enough that I can easily manage them. Handles are strong enough to handle the load as well.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I am late to this discussion, but here's my story.

I bought 3 flat rate boxes (60 lbs per box?) of lino years ago, from a member here. I melted it all into ingots...mixing spacers and lines of type together. That was a mistake, but I didn't know any better and didn't do my due diligence and ask the questions you are getting answered here. While I am not loosing any sleep over my blended ingots. I wish I did what you are planning on doing.

About the same number of years ago, I also bought and ingotized some Monotype, and mixed large letters with small letters...that too, was probably a mistake.

Recently, I came across some more Monotype (both large letters and small letters). I won't be melting them into ingots. One package was all small letters, new in original boxes, separated for each Letter and size...never used. It'd be a shame to melt them, I'd like to find a person who could use them for printing, I imagine they'd treasure a stash like this.

[Conditor22]

Unless it is new and in a box, it's difficult to tell the difference between monotype and foundry. they are cast from two different machines with the foundry casting hotter, with pressure and with a harder alloy.


I store my loose letters (big and small) in 50 cal ammo cans, I have several 100 pounds smelted into ingot for use.

[RogerDat]

OS OK I'm sorting through some type to pull the "decorations" out for a member that uses them for printing cards etc. I can keep an eye out for those missing letters. I don't recall any as big as 1 3/8 but I'm pretty sure there are some 1 inch letters in that batch.

Have a list of letters I am saving to spell out the kids and grandkids names. So I'll just add your 3 to the list.

After those drawers have been dumped you would have to live to biblical age to sort them back out into letters and font sizes. Can you spot the difference between an 8 point and 9 point font? Even a single drawer spilled was a disaster. When one gets a half a barrel of many drawers dumped it is all over but the making of puddles.

I do have 5 small flat boxes of a specific font still sorted. I also can't see melting them down. However if not a complete set I'm not sure anyone would want them. Since I don't need the lead they can sit on the shelf for now.

[fredj338]

Not so much a value as it is I know what I am buying. You can put anything into an ingot & tell me it is whatever you want. Yes sim to clip ww.

[JBinMN]

I do not have a lot of these alloys like some of you, so I just keep the items in their original condition. (To "me", anyway, they are more valuable for the reason(s) given below)

While I do stamp my ingots with what they are, I think I just prefer things done the way I do right now. If I were to accumulate more of the specialty "type" alloys, I would probably ingotize only what I needed to for storage purposes & usage, then keep some in original form as much as I could, if for nothing else, for posterity/history purposes so folks would actually know what the stuff looks like.

I'd hate to be the guy who melted down "the very last" of the stuff & it no longer existed in original form...

Would you? (< rhetorical ? with no need to answer, see the wink below.)

[lightman]

[QUOTE=JBinMN;4643985]
I'd hate to be the guy who melted down "the very last" of the stuff & it no longer existed in original form...

Would you?

I'm kind of this way with pewter. Modern or damaged stuff will be condemned to bullet alloy. But, I will not melt historical stuff or stuff exhibiting a lot of craftsmanship.

I'm also this way with lead. I won't melt factory dive weights or new factory decoy weights. They are more valuable in the original form than they are to me as scrap. Homemade dive weights and decoy weights that I find in rice fields gets melted. Maybe if I was short on lead? But prolly not!

I have three 5 gallon buckets of mixed type, mostly Foundry type, and I'm undecided about what to do with it. I've had it for a long time, I don't need it, but I'm just undecided. I have enough soft to mix it with but I also have a good supply of wheel weights.

[JBinMN]

[QUOTE=lightman;4644044]

I'd hate to be the guy who melted down "the very last" of the stuff & it no longer existed in original form...

Would you?

I'm kind of this way with pewter. Modern or damaged stuff will be condemned to bullet alloy. But, I will not melt historical stuff or stuff exhibiting a lot of craftsmanship.

I'm also this way with lead. I won't melt factory dive weights or new factory decoy weights. They are more valuable in the original form than they are to me as scrap. Homemade dive weights and decoy weights that I find in rice fields gets melted. Maybe if I was short on lead? But prolly not!

I have three 5 gallon buckets of mixed type, mostly Foundry type, and I'm undecided about what to do with it. I've had it for a long time, I don't need it, but I'm just undecided. I have enough soft to mix it with but I also have a good supply of wheel weights.