Lead box?

[MikeACP]

A friend gave me an old Eastern bloc 9mm ammo box. The type you have to open like a can sardines. He swears it is made of lead. The outside is a grey chalky kind of finnish. The inside seems like tin or something. It's light weight, thin, soft. Anyone ever seen one of these?

[Doby45]

Melt it down and see what it does. I can assure you that back in those days they did not use zinc.

[lwknight]

Its probably a genuine tin can if its really old.

[Huntducks]

I have several full in 7.62x39 and 30 carbine and have oppened others mine were nothing more then a galvanized can.

The fumes from galvanized can be very hazardous.

[fryboy]

i had an old old one much the same , mine ended up being zinc ( good thing i kept it separated ) anything is possible so melt it and test it or do the muriatic acid test - if it fizzes it's zinc or zinc alloy , zinc can be melted and ingoted but it will surely mess up a lead alloy

[MikeACP]

I fiqured out its Finnish Lapua 9mm ammo. Hermtically sealed can. Most likely some sort of tin.

[Doby45]

I stand corrected on the chance that it could not be zinc due to age. Thanks fryboy, I had no idea..

[bumpo628]

I would hit it with a grinder to see if it sparks. That way you can rule out galvanized steel.

[evan price]

I would hit it with a grinder to see if it sparks. That way you can rule out galvanized steel.


OR, you could just see if it attracts a magnet... Much more low tech!

It may be a metal called "tern" which is solder-plated thin steel. Used before zinc-galvanizing was common and also non-sparking.