Letter block type metal - to ingotize or not?

[MarkK]

I have a bunch of block type metal (50-70 lbs) stored in ammo cans. Should I leave in original form or ingotize? Also, what is the composition? Also, considering mixing up a batch of rifle alloy and or 44 magnum pistol alloy - recommendations?

[onondaga]

I buy 100# lots of linotype that includes blocks, spacers strips of type. I do not smelt it to ingots. I only smelt wheelweight scrap. When I cast I measure 7# of WW and melt it in the pot, then I flux and add 3# Lino, stir and flux again. This gives me bullets that I air cool and they test BHN14 at 7 days. I can oven treat the bullets 350F/1hour and ice water quench. The heat treated bullets test BHN22 at 7 days, These are the only 2 harnesses I use . The hard stuff I use for high velocity .223 varmint ammo and the BHN14 I use for everything else hunting and target.

Gary

[Wireman134]

If it's single case letters it's mono type. I'd leave it original for mixing my small batches. I doesn't take much mixed in with Pb to make a good boolit alloy. I only use 10-12oz. to make 10lb batch that air cools to 10-11Bhn water drops to 15 Bhn. Check you hardness to make sure. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showpost.php?p=795603&postcount=35
The case mono type I have is close to foundry type.

[imashooter2]

If you are sure you are going to use it yourself, then it makes no difference although I find it much easier to weigh out small amounts for alloying when it is in letter form. If you might sell it, then type metal in letters is easier to sell because buyers are more confident in what it it they are actually buying.

As to what is it... Individual letters are more likely to be monotype or foundry type. Hard to say for sure without testing it.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I have some of the foundry type that I melted into ingots. I used the small muffin pans for these ingots. The BHN of a boolit made from these is 33. Really good stuff to mix in an alloy. If I hit one of those ingots with a hammer, it will shatter. The boolits look good though. They shine like a mirror. I just cast a few of them to check what the hardness was.

[*Paladin*]

If you are sure you are going to use it yourself, then it makes no difference although I find it much easier to weigh out small amounts for alloying when it is in letter form. If you might sell it, then type metal in letters is easier to sell because buyers are more confident in what it it they are actually buying.
As to what is it... Individual letters are more likely to be monotype or foundry type. Hard to say for sure without testing it.

Agree 100%. Personally, I would pay a good bit more for Lino/Mono in letter-block form, because I KNOW what I'm getting.

[lwknight]

I would put in nice 10 pound ingots and plan to keep it. And then use your ammo cans for actual ammo.
The way everything looks is that we should should hoard up every kind of commodity that we can.
When it all goes down , no one will sell anything because they know that they can't replace it and no one will have money to buy anything so it will be a stagnant economy.

[bumpo628]

Sounds like monotype.
The composition is most likely: 9% Tin, 19% Antimony, 72% Lead

Here are some recipes for you:
1 lb of Monotype + 9 lbs of Pure Lead will give you:
0.90% Tin, 1.90% Antimony, Hardness @ 11

1 lb of Monotype + 14 lbs of Pure Lead will give you:
0.60% Tin, 1.27% Antimony, Hardness @ 10

Hardball
3 lbs of Monotype + 7 lbs of Pure Lead will give you:
2.70% Tin, 5.70% Antimony, Hardness @ 15

Lyman #2
3 lbs of Monotype + 8 lbs of Pure Lead + 10 oz 50/50 solder will give you:
5.01% Tin, 4.90% Antimony, Hardness @ 15

[evan price]

NO need to ingotize. A waste of energy, time and reduces the value of the metal.

Letters of type should already be clean and won't need a smelt and flux.
Letters of type are readily identifiable as what they are- so if you decide to trade or sell some later on you won't have buyers second guessing what the alloy really is in random ingots.
Letters are easy to add to a melt pot as is to make an alloy- no need to pour small ingots or cut ingots.
Letters store better in buckets than ingots.

I know you probably won't want to sell but just for my feeling, I would never pay a premium for ingotized alloy claiming to be high tin typemetal because I've seen too many crooks who mix other lead with typemetal and claim it is "Type metal alloy" (which it is) but charge as if it is linotype when it is 50-50 random lead and lino.

[Suo Gan]

I have a bunch of block type metal (50-70 lbs) stored in ammo cans. Should I leave in original form or ingotize? Also, what is the composition? Also, considering mixing up a batch of rifle alloy and or 44 magnum pistol alloy - recommendations?

Until you alloy, it is not necessary to ingotize clean metal small enough to put into the casting furnace IMO. Highly recommend you to find a good alloy that shoots good in your guns, and then make a large batch on a pot by pot basis. Because I have learned that consistency is a good thing.

I have a system for numbering the alloy ingots, date, then pot number. Usually I am good for only alloying a couple pots a session, I do this outdoors in the cool part of the year. For example, Mar 03/11 2 would indicate the third of March, 2011 2nd pot. Then whatever alloy No 2, 50/50 2, WW2, etc. I am sure when I keel over my wife will sell them all in a garage sale and someone will be putting World War II ingots up for sale on ebay, lol.

Depending on what you have, I like to alloy 5 pounds of pure with 5 pounds of ww, and 5 pounds of lino, and I add a little tin. These come out air cooled around 13 BHN, and 17 BHN water dropped. Splitting half ww and half lino is a good all around alloy too.

PS. I wanted to add to do yourself a favor and get a postal scale on ebone. They are surprisingly accurate and help in so many ways around the homeplace, including alloying bullet metal.

[bobthenailer]

I have lino and monotype in letters ect also ! I would leave it that way you still can measure out the desired amount , it also would be easier to sell as the buyer can see he is getting the real product ,

[Wireman134]

I have lino and monotype in letters ect also ! I would leave it that way you still can measure out the desired amount , it also would be easier to sell as the buyer can see he is getting the real product ,

+1 to that. Opposed to taking someones word in an ingot form.

[GLL]

SELL !!!??? Are you guys drinking tonight ?? :) :)

Jerry

[fredj338]

I've never seen the point. Just weigh out th amount you want to add to the pot & go. It's already cast, alredy cleean, why do the extra work?:holysheep