Cutting up linotype pigs

[FISH4BUGS]

Many years ago, I bought from a friend 125 lbs of linotype pigs. 5 of them. They were my stash. Never to be used.
So while I kept them in reserve, I was casting and alloying with another 75 lbs or so of letters and spacers that i picked up here and there.
My cast bullets are all the same formula - 5 lbs of wheel weights to 1 lb of linotype. Hard cast Lyman #2 formula...supposedly.
I have been casting with that formula for 40 years and I have NEVER leaded a barrel....ever.
So now the letters and spacers are gone - time to dig into the secret stash of linotype pigs.
All these years I have read of casters that have freaked out over how to cut up the linotype pigs. Hatchets, torches, notching them and breaking them with a sledge hammer, etc.
I have a friend that that is a 40 year aerospace machinist, and is my go to guy for all things mechanical. I can barely boil water so he a fountain of knowledge to me. I asked him how he would do it knowing I could get the right answer. He thought for a moment and said to bring one over and he will do it on the table saw. I relayed my apprehension about doing it that way...he said let's just give it a shot.
He put a carbide blade on the table saw and laid the pig down. In 4 easy cuts he had the thing cut up into about 6 lb pieces....small enough to fit into the Lee 4-20.
The moral of the story is don't believe everything you read. I was convinced that the blade would heat the lead, the lead would clog the teeth, and it wouldn't work.
Silly me.....it cut as easily as a 2x4 gets cut.

[plainsman456]

Might have to try this as i have 10 of them to rework.

[Stewbaby]

Recip/sawzall will work also as long as blade is long enough. I add a little cutter oil just to help with the friction

[Pete44mag]

Hand circular saw with a carbide framing blade works great. Can be done outside over a tarp to pickup the chips and no mess.

[Conditor22]

You will need to change your ratio IF you want to keep the same hardness, the single letters "monotype" runs from 26-30 bhn, linotype runs around 19-20 BHN

[FISH4BUGS]

You will need to change your ratio IF you want to keep the same hardness, the single letters "monotype" runs from 26-30 bhn, linotype runs around 19-20 BHN

Not quite sure what you mean. Linotype is pretty much linotype, and if you ever saw a lintoype machine operating, the pigs were hung and slowly lowered and melted into the mix to create the letters and set the type.
I am not even sure what monotype is.
Seems to me that the letters were made from the pigs and there were very few spacers but I used them all along in the mix.
I must be doing something right because i have not leaded a barrel in 40 years of casting.
Can you explain?

[Dusty Bannister]

I guess I am not understanding what you mean when you say "letters and spacers" and them being the same composition as the ingots of linotype. Individual letters, lines of type, and spacers can be of different alloys. Spacers are often of a softer alloy, but not always so. Individual letters and lines of type are not the same. This is where a misunderstanding can take place. This is also why the warning was given to consider changing your ratio.

[dimaprok]

I bought a few pigs once. I dropped it in my driveway on cement floor and it breaks in two, drop again over metal bar, problem solved!


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[1Hawkeye]

I cut mine up with a ryobi miter saw that has a regular carbon blade in it. I put the saw on a tarp to catch the little pieces and chop the bar into 6" hunks without a problem.

[BK7saum]

Basically the confusion comes down to your use of "letters and spacers" Did you mean individual letters or "lines of type"? Individual letters are monotype or foundry type and are harder_more antimony than lino pigs or linotype. If you meant lines of type, then yes, nothing changes, cast away.

If you actually meant individual letters, then your old alloy was slightly harder than new alloy you will alloy and cast from pigs of lino.

The chart posted shows the hardness of different lead alloys and compositions.

[LAGS]

To smelt down large pigs of lead or alloys, I just set the pig onto a couple of bricks with the end hanging over.
I then set my MAPP gas torch in a position that it will heat the end that is hanging over.
I place a cast iron pan under the overhanging end to catch what drips off the pig as it melts.
I place the melted off chunks in my casting pot or just place the cast iron pot over a fire and let it smelt down , then cast it into smaller ingots that easily fit in my casting pot.
My way is not as fast as sawing up the big pigs.
But you don't end up with a bunch of shavings or the lead dust getting all over everything or in your lungs.

[FISH4BUGS]

Basically the confusion comes down to your use of "letters and spacers" Did you mean individual letters or "lines of type"? Individual letters are monotype or foundry type and are harder_more antimony than lino pigs or linotype. If you meant lines of type, then yes, nothing changes, cast away.
If you actually meant individual letters, then your old alloy was slightly harder than new alloy you will alloy and cast from pigs of lino.
The chart posted shows the hardness of different lead alloys and compositions.

Maybe I am overthinking this, but it seems to me that individual letters DO make up the "lines of type". That is where the term typesetter came from.
Am I missing something here?

[shdwlkr]

Linotype vs. Monotype vs. foundry type
linotype, commonly used in newspaper offices, casts a complete line of type
monotype is similar, and yet different, from the linotype. The operator sits in front of a keyboard, and each key when pressed makes an impression on a roll of paper similar to that used for the automatic piano-player. This roll is placed in another machine, which automatically casts and sets single type monotype is admirably adapted to book work, partly because its work is as easily corrected as is that of hand-set type, while a correction made on the linotype requires the resetting and recasting of an entire line.

still looking for a good definition of foundry type

[cwlongshot]

The reason for the different hardnesses in PRINTING LEAD is DIRECTLY associated to use.

"LINO" is just hard enough for small jobs or "one time" uses.

"MONO" for type set intended for "MULTI" use. Like special faces. Spacers and such too. Again more dureable intended for multiple uses/jobs.

"FOUNDRY" was often found on wooden blocks. Commonly eclectic swirly capitol letters for the first letter in a paragraph of a fancy book for example... Something that would see use over and iver over many years use.

25 years working in the industry. I inly wish I had stocked up more then I did with those pigs. They where SO CHEAP back then.

CW

[RogerDat]

The reason for the different hardnesses in PRINTING LEAD is DIRECTLY associated to use.

"LINO" is just hard enough for small jobs or "one time" uses.

"MONO" for type set intended for "MULTI" use. Like special faces. Spacers and such too. Again more dureable intended for multiple uses/jobs.

"FOUNDRY" was often found on wooden blocks. Commonly eclectic swirly capitol letters for the first letter in a paragraph of a fancy book for example... Something that would see use over and iver over many years use.

25 years working in the industry. I inly wish I had stocked up more then I did with those pigs. They where SO CHEAP back then.

CW

This sorts it out nicely. Think of those westerns where the local paper had a "press" with a big wheel to print the paper. He was setting the same letters into the frame every time he printed, just arranged differently. After printing he pulled the letters out of the tray and stored them in flat drawers. The lead has to be harder to hold up to the wear and tear of repeated use. So harder alloy than linotype.

The lines of type (whole words) on the edge of a small flat bar came out of a machine into a tray, were used to print todays paper, then melted back down for re-use. Only had to last for that single days printing. The melted alloy could be refreshed to replace lost tin or antimony. So while nominally linotype is 4/12/84 it can vary due to depletion from re-melting depending on how long it was since the pot was refreshed.

Lino pigs where hung on the ring to lower into the melt for making linotype they will be 4/12/84 or close enough.

Single letters will generally be at least 10/16/74 alloy. Possibly even more tin and antimony for some types of single letters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_metal

Clearly one pound of those two different forms of type metal will add a different amount of tin and antimony to the mix. Either one will yield a nice rich alloy for casting when mixed with the OP's wheel weights ratio. Maybe Lyman #2 or maybe better or maybe a little under.

If it works that is what matters. And anything near 5/5/10 is going to cast sweet and be a good solid bullet able to withstand anything one would expect a lead bullet to handle. In short I wouldn't worry about any difference unless or until it became a problem.

[country gent]

In one shop I worked we did a lot of aluminum staple fixtures. We cut both the leaxan and aluminum parts with a circular saw and fine toothed carbide blade. When cutting the aluminum we did use some kerosene for cutting fluid. Did a great job and didnt seem to lower bade life much. If you were careful the finish was pretty good too. Feed dlow and give it time to cut.\

Lead wouldnt be a problem. a light layer of wax on the bottom to help it slide and on sides to lubricate the blade and should cut fine

[Stewbaby]

Linotype (lines of type) and Monotype ('mono' meaning single) and some material test results from a batch I have.

[Bookworm]

Linotype (lines of type) and Monotype ('mono' meaning single) and some material test results from a batch I have.

Interesting. Almost 2% copper in the Mono. That would certainly make it harder, and more durable.

[glicerin]

Put 2 spacers under a long narrow lino pig, strike middle with large hammer or back of axe, breaks into pieces to fit in 10 lb. furnace

[HARRYMPOPE]

Linotype is the smaller text used one for each article.
Monotype is the larger reused title pages and such

Stereotype was the final half sheets that took the impression from the other two and did the printing.

Dad was a printer for 50 years.im.still using the lino he got me.i bet 5 tons