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Thread: Softest pure lead

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy

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    Softest pure lead

    What was the softest pure lead you have come across?

    I was metal detecting at this old homesite. I found nothing else but a good amount of lead pipe. probably about 40 lbs. anyway it is the softest lead I have ever seen! I mean its super soft.

    anyone know why this is? anyone find anything like this?

  2. #2
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    Winger Ed.'s Avatar
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    The softest most pure Lead I've come across is Lead sheeting.


    The Lead pipe you describe will be pretty pure.
    If the pipe has a wall thickness of about 1/8th inch or so, its sewer/drain pipe.
    The real thick wall, heavy stuff was used for water lines in the old days.
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    Boolit Buddy dimaprok's Avatar
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    My bro in law brought me a lead pipe, after I melted into ingots it yielded 30 lb of lead, I cast some cores for swagging bullets and noticed they are lighter than my previous "pure" lead I was using so that tells me it's not as pure as my other source which I am not sure where it came from, I think it was WW stick ons. The purest lead will be heaviest and softest.

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy
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    I got ahold of some ballast that I treat as pure. At least this batch I do since it came in at about a 6 bhn. Close enough

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Agree with Winger Ed, lead sheeting is tops and a pleasure to deal with.

    Don
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  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    60 lb pigs from the Herculaneum smelter in 2006, or earlier.
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  7. #7
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    Stained glass window lead.
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  8. #8
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    Much of the lead pipe has Antimony in it, up to 5% or so. It helps the lead 'flow' as it is extruded into pipe.

    I have to agree with the roofing/sheet lead. It is very soft.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    The best pure lead I found was Lead flashing from Roofing and lead sheilding from X Ray room wall sheeting.
    I worked 40 years in the construction trade , so I got lots of that stuff for FREE.
    Back when I worked in Demolition many years ago , I use to find Lead Pipes or the old Lead packed pipe joint connections.
    Now that I have retired all that free lead connections have gone away.

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    Only way to know is test it with an accurate hardness tester. I use a Cabine-style tester - repeatable, easy to use, and very accurate. I have verified it against known lab samples to over 30.

    Best pure Pb I have found is roof flashing and x-ray shielding in walls.....can't get any purer that that. I really don't worry about because I alloy it all into 10-12 for casting and PC'ing.

    banger

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    Boolit Master MOA's Avatar
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    The softest lead I've come across was roof jacks. Had a roofing friend collect all the jacks from all their jobs for 5 years. About 100 barrels just like these two. Must've come to 2 -3 thousand pounds worth.


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    I have to say roof flashing also. You just have to cut out the soldered sections or they will increase the hardness.
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  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    Sheet lead comes in 4 different grades ... A to D and D will have an antimony mix. A is 99% pure. Regardless, casters that do not have a hardness tester will call all grades of sheet lead ... pure Pb
    Lead pipe is usually Bhn 8 to 8.5
    Last edited by John Boy; 06-20-2020 at 03:48 PM.
    Regards
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  14. #14
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    Roof flashing for sure.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    roof flashing I'd say also

    Having melted down a roughly 1/3 flashing, 1/3 pipe, 1/3 sheet pile of scrap (random tin joints left in) the resulting ingots were bhn 6. I figure the random joints gave me about 1% tin for fill out when casting.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    The purest lead I've found is radioisotope shielding in the form of bricks, heavy slabs and containers. I'm not certain, but it might have to do with meeting certification standards.

    Very dense, dark and shiny fresh cast, dark and dull when aged, and soft. Marks easily with a fingernail. Takes significantly more heat during processing. Has that iridescent play of colors on the surface of the melt.

    Per BNE's analysis, depending on the machine he used, multiple samples have XrF'd out at at least 99.9% purity.

    Of the other soft lead I've encountered and analyzed, most seem to have a bit of antimony, the lowest being 0.5% Sb, or 99.5% pure Pb.

    No experience here with roofing lead.
    Last edited by kevin c; 06-22-2020 at 02:00 AM. Reason: More info

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bookworm View Post
    Much of the lead pipe has Antimony in it, up to 5% or so. It helps the lead 'flow' as it is extruded into pipe.

    I have to agree with the roofing/sheet lead. It is very soft.
    I my lead collections tested.
    I had approx 150lbs of lead flashing from a construction friend. 90% of that was small sections of new rolled. Came back at just under 5% Antimony. Comes in at 8bhn with my pencil test?

  18. #18
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    I picked up some roof jacks from the scrap yard last week. I smelted them into ingots but cast a few bullets to test for hardness. The tested at BHN of 5.

    Tim
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  19. #19
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I've handled a good bit of soft lead. I'm not seeing much difference between roof jacks, stick on wheel weights, lead wire or sheet lead from X-Ray rooms. When I smelt I put all of the above in the melting pot together. Cable sheathing is slightly harder and I keep it separate.

  20. #20
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    X-ray room shielding, (sheet). Tested the ingots I made from it, got about 6.5 Brinnell. Close enough to pure for my purposes.

    That was the luckiest find of my life. Was at the yard to drop a load of steel junk from the farm, and they had just unloaded four pallets of that sheet from a remodeling job. Each pallet was ~ 300 lbs, I only took one, not to be too greedy. Sent a friend after a share next morning, but it was already gone.
    Cognitive Dissident

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
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
GC Gas Check