What do I have?

[Roundnoser]

I poured 40 pounds of a mystery lead(?) from an old donated pot into 1 pound ingots. After cooling, the metal was fragile and crumbed (not the ingots, just the weaker parts like the bit of lead between the ingots)

there is also a weird texture to it. The ingots (on the flat, smooth side) have a large cross-hatch pattern on it...like frost on a windshield.

Also, when it had cooled in the ingot mold cavities, and I tried to knock it out of the mold, it did not want to release...had to bang on the mold pretty hard to knock it out.

Any ideas? Anyone had a similar experience with ___?_____ metal!

[Hickory]

U-238 maybe?

[454PB]

Some of what you're describing sounds like linotype or other high antimony alloy.

[Roundnoser]

Oh, I forgot to mention...The pour was at 700 degrees.

[Roundnoser]

U-238 maybe?

Thats rediculous! Everyone knows that Uranium 238 has a melt temp of 2070 degrees. Duhhh! :veryconfu

[Stick_man]

The answer is pretty obvious. That cross-hatch pattern is due to the lead being from leaded glass. It's tough to clean out the old memory of some metals. :kidding:

The brittle "symptom" makes me wonder if you have some monotype or stereotype alloy. Something with really high Sb and fairly low Sn content. (just guessing here though).

Have you tried casting any boolits from the alloy yet? If so, how was the mould fillout? Have you checked the bhn? That would likely give you the best idea of what you may have.

Happy Casting!

[white eagle]

Thats rediculous! Everyone knows that Uranium 238 has a melt temp of 2070 degrees. Duhhh! :veryconfu
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=109937 :coffeecom

[Roundnoser]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=109937 :coffeecom

Didn't find that verbage (including the little green smiley with rolling eyes)silly, cute, light-hearted, or humorous in the least?

Hickory's comment was funny, right? Thought I'd toss the ball back in his court.

I could rephrase..." Oh Hickory, your wit and silly comment caught me off gaurd and I chuckled! Please, allow me this opportunity to express my wit and sense of humor by highlighting the obvious fact that Uranium melts at such a high temperature, that all of us with even a basic understanding of lead casting will recognize the ironical aspect of my comment, causing us all to laugh. I will then make my comment even more light-hearted and humorous by using a slang expression (please note the aforementioned "Duhh") which charactorizes a person that is lacking the knowledge and/or thought process necessary to understand a fact, such as with the melt temperature of Uranium, and place it into the context of my comment. In doing so, the reader, having already understood that Uranium is not a viable metal for bullet casting, will find it even more enjoyable that I used the "duhh" expression in such a satyrical sense".

Or, is just plain old "DUHHH" o.k. with you?

[plainsman456]

Now that's funny there.

[Hickory]

It was suppose to be funny

[Roundnoser]

It was suppose to be funny

I KNOW!!! It was funny! -- but I think some people didn't like my use of "duhh". That was suppossed to be funny too!

[glicerin]

Linotype in a long bar will crack when struck, showing a fine crystalline edge(that's how I break 24 lb. lino ingots). Will scratch with a knife, deform with a hammer on a solid edge, and rings. Zinc doesn't deform, is easily cracked showing large glass-like crystals. goodluck

[Roundnoser]

Just talked to the guy from whom I received the pot. He's not sure, but knows the purpose for the pot was to solder armatures in vehicle alternators. He thinks it might be 60/40 solder. Could that be possible?

glicerin: I struck the ingots with a hammer and it deforms (like lead does). When I break the ingots into individual 1 pound blocks, the broken edge is all fine crystaline textured.

[lylejb]

63/37 solder melts at 361 deg, and is a eutectic alloy. That is, it all melts at the same time / temp. There is no "slushy" phase like WW.

IF this is 60/40 it should melt slightly higher, but still very noticably lower than the usual WW, pure, ect.

Time to get your thermometer out.

[Roundnoser]

I had a sample of that mystery lead tested at a local scrap yard....

LEAD = 84%
TIN = 9%
BISMUTH = 2%
IRON = 4%
ZINC = 0%

[lwknight]

How in the cat hair do you get iron alloyed into a mostly lead mix?
That could splain a lot of things Lucy.

[Roundnoser]

How in the cat hair do you get iron alloyed into a mostly lead mix?
That could splain a lot of things Lucy.

I dont know "Desi". The alloy had been sitting in a cast iron pot for 10 + years. I wonder if some of that iron (rust) content got there when I was fluxing/scraping the sides the pot. -- It might need to be re-melted and fluxed again. Best of all ...no Zinc.
-- either way, it should be good to use to harden my softer lead supplies.

[454PB]

Actually, adding some antimony could bring it up to monotype alloy. While tin is a great additive to boolit alloy, it's a poor hardener.

[lwknight]

Actually, adding some antimony could bring it up to monotype alloy. While tin is a great additive to boolit alloy, it's a poor hardener.
Tin is at least a great partner. Lead without ther lovely tin is just a lonely toad.

[454PB]

Don't tell that to the charcoal burners.