What did I score?

[Ronbo256]

I went to the recycler today after striking out as usual looking for some COWW, and he had a 111 pound bucket of this stuff. It looks like linotype with a copper wash over it, anyone know what it is so I can mix it properly with pure lead for around 12-14 Bnh for my .40 smith? Obviously it came from a funeral home, since there are lots of "Bailey Funeral Home" pieces. It melted really nice in my lee 10 pound pot, and after the mold got warm the bullets came out nice and sharp, and harder's than dick's hatband. Here's the picture.

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2401/pa210099.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/851/pa210099.jpg/)

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[randyrat]

Did it melt real easily? possibly Tin Sn
Sn melts at about 450 / wheel weight temps(500 or so)
It very well could be high in Tin

[Ronbo256]

it melts really easy, I'm about to melt some more down, with my temperature probe in this time, if it melts around 450 or 500 we will know, I'll post back after I get some more melted down. The guys at the recycle place weren't sure what it was, I just knew by the way it cut with snips that it wasn't Zinc and it was harder than pure lead. My recycler doesn't have an analyzer. I'm pretty sure it's not pure tin since the boolits came out around 168 grains, and the 98/2 that I caste before weigh around 182-184 grains. The mold is the Lee 401175 TC plain groove one.

[uscra112]

Good chance that it's "monotype" metal. Very hard, high antimony alloy used for permanent type, (i.e. would be used over and over, not remelted and recast.) Don't have an explanation for the copper wash, though, unless it was to prevent corrosion.

[Ronbo256]

It was totally melted before 460 degrees, and on cool down it remained at 455 and liquid for a long time, and solid again by 450. That's pretty close to 63/37 solder isn't it?

added, 63/37 melts at 361 according to the wiki.


Looked at the sticky above--doh! Looks like it's copper or bronze washed linotype, looks like I made a good score!

[Ronbo256]

The copper or bronze wash is ornamental, it was obviously used for temporary grave markers, and the wash is to make it look like solid bronze I'm sure. Some of the wash has the typical copper green oxide.

[frkelly74]

If it were for printing it would be mirror image, Wouldn't it?

Probably spray painted copper color.

[Ronbo256]

yes, it's not for printing, it was for temporary grave markers so the letters and numbers are forward. I just finished casting some mixed down 40/60 with lead, waiting for the pan lube to cool off, I'll get to pop off a few rounds of it tomorrow!

[badbob454]

im thinking pewter?

[swheeler]

pewter I would guess

[Ronbo256]

Pewter is a possibility, I have enough of it to cast some really hard boolits now, they bounce off the feed ramp, right into the chamber the way John Moses Browning intended, instead of smearing and sticking to the feed ramp/barrel junction. Now to see how they shoot and if they leave a lot of themselves behind!