Linotype -- smelt or melt?

[CollinLeon]

I recently came across a couple hundred pounds of linotype at my local metal recycling company and I have a question...

Do most people just keep the linotype in it's original form and add it to their alloy in the melting pot or do they run it through the smelter and cast it into ingots and put those ingots into the melting pot when needed?

[paul h]

If you are prone to sticking with one alloy and casting alot of bullets from that alloy, then smelt up a big batch and mark the ingots with a sharpy so you know what the alloy is. If you're more of a tinkerer and want to frequently experiment with different alloys, then add lino as needed to your pure lead, ww's, range scrap or whatever it is you use as your base.

[Suo Gan]

I would just keep the print and add it as needed. If I have some dirty lead, or lead that is too large to fit in a pot, then I render it into ingots. Sometimes I want a consistent batch and I render my mix in the big 100 pound pot and that way when I add them to the small casting pot everything is consistent for quite some time.

Someone will invariably say that it will be worth a lot less if you put the type into ingots. That is worth considering too I guess.

[Defcon-One]

I keep it in strips stored in plastic drywall screw buckets. It is easier to add small amounts and if I ever want to sell some, the buyer will have no doubt about exactly what they are getting.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_178454e3b599384c3a.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1703)

[uccm25]

Suo Gan- Why would the lino be worth less? Because it is not identifiable? It's only worth less if you're going to sell it, correct?

Guy

[leadbutt]

Someone will invariably say that it will be worth a lot less if you put the type into ingots. That is worth considering too I guess.

I dont buy lino in ingot form.

L. Bottoms

[CollinLeon]

I keep it in strips stored in plastic drywall screw buckets. It is easier to add small amounts and if I ever want to sell some, the buyer will have no doubt about exactly what they are getting.


So, do you wash it / clean it up before you store it in the plastic buckets? Mine looks a bit dirty -- might just be ink residue, I guess...

[Ole]

Store it as is.

If you melt it, it becomes (to anyone but you) an unknown alloy. It's worth more as lino than it is as an unknown alloy ingot.

[badbob454]

its a trust issue , if you buy linotype on *bay it wont sell to those whom cannot recognise it as being linotype .. as it is twice the price of plain lead , unscrupluos persons may call coww , linotype, to get more money, if it is in ingot form ..., same with tin if you have solder bars marked 60/40 leave them in a recognizable form if you ever , repeat ever , plan on selling them . or the value is lost

[CollinLeon]

its a trust issue , if you buy linotype on *bay it wont sell to those whom cannot recognise it as being linotype .. as it is twice the price of plain lead , unscrupluos persons may call coww , linotype, to get more money, if it is in ingot form ..., same with tin if you have solder bars marked 60/40 leave them in a recognizable form if you ever , repeat ever , plan on selling them . or the value is lost

Twice the price of lead? Last time I bought lead on eBay, it was going for $1 per pound including the shipping... I checked the other day and it was $1 per pound and it didn't include the shipping... Assuming $12 in shipping for 50 lbs, that works out to be $1.24 per pound... The linotype that I found at the metal recycling company was $1.25 per pound, so I guess I came out ok on it...

[jabo52521]

Yeah, you did alright. I need help. Found a supply of lead based electro-plating anodes. makes HARD and shiney bullets. Anyone here know a way to tell what the composition of this stuff is? Seems like it has a lot of tin in it. Reads around 22 on the BHS.

[btroj]

Do whatever you feel works best for you.
I have my monotype loose in a bucket, I just don't have the time to smelt it down.
If you don't plan to ever sell any then why worry how it's "value" is affected by smelting it into ingots.

Find what works for you and stick with it. There is no right answer here.

[darkroommike]

Linotype slugs are a good way to add just a bit of hardness to your melt, and the "dirt" is most likely black ink, lampblack (carbon) in oil, which should contribute to your flux.

[gbrown]

My buddy has about 600# of Mono/Lino he got, and I smelt it down for him and get some in return. Not sure what is on it, in the form of ink or other chemicals, but it smokes and stinks like stick on WW. All I know is that I do not want that (chemicals or ink) in my casting pot or Lee Production Pot. I smelt it all down and mark it, then mix for what I need.

[Defcon-One]

So, do you wash it / clean it up before you store it in the plastic buckets? Mine looks a bit dirty -- might just be ink residue, I guess...

CollinLeon:

I just store it as is!

That's not gonna hurt anything. When I need it, I put the Lead, Lino and Solder into my smelter and make a big batch of the desired alloy, fluxing it well. Then I pour ingots and mark them. I use those clean ingots in my RCBS bottom pour pot, which keeps it cleaner.

My lots are typically 60 to 100 lbs.

[CollinLeon]

CollinLeon:

I just store it as is!

That's not gonna hurt anything. When I need it, I put the Lead, Lino and Solder into my smelter and make a big batch of the desired alloy, fluxing it well. Then I pour ingots and mark them. I use those clean ingots in my RCBS bottom pour pot, which keeps it cleaner.

My lots are typically 60 to 100 lbs.

I was thinking that it might be preferable to have them clean so that I can put them directly in my melting pot without them going through the smelting pot that I use for wheel weights that contain a lot more contaminants...

[Defcon-One]

No problem. That is your call!

Do it if you want, just make sure that they are completely dry before adding to a hot pot of lead!

[CollinLeon]

just make sure that they are completely dry before adding to a hot pot of lead!

Agreed... I've had one visit from the "tinsel fairie" when I poured some lead from my smelting pot into a steel mold that had been sitting in my garage for quite a few months... It should have been dry, but the rust had absorbed enough moisture from the air to make for an exciting first pour... I quickly learned that even when you *think* that your ingot molds are dry, put them on the flame for a minute or so, just to be sure...

[evan price]

I personally don't see any benefit in smelting down type metal. It's usually pretty clean already and in a nice compact form that's easy to store and easy to weigh out. I would never, ever, buy Lino or any type metal that wasn't in type form. There are guys on eBay that melt everything and call it "Linotype Alloy" ingots. Water drop the ingots, they will feel hard to the buyer, but melting them down reveals crud metal.


It's really your choice, but calculating the amount of time and fuel to smelt clean type metal, it seems a waste to me.

[JesterGrin_1]

Some Good ideas BUT what if your Lino is in the 22 pound Pigs that they would use to make into type?

I guess if you wished to sell it then you would show a picture of the Pig and then say you would melt it into Ingots for easier shipping. :)

But sorry I am going to keep mine. :)

[CollinLeon]

Some Good ideas BUT what if your Lino is in the 22 pound Pigs that they would use to make into type?

I guess if you wished to sell it then you would show a picture of the Pig and then say you would melt it into Ingots for easier shipping. :)

But sorry I am going to keep mine. :)

Could you post a picture of what those 22 lb pigs look like? My local scrap dealer might have some of those since they were over in the area with the linotype, but I wasn't sure, so I just went with the ones that were obviously linotype...

[Ole]

Could you post a picture of what those 22 lb pigs look like? My local scrap dealer might have some of those since they were over in the area with the linotype, but I wasn't sure, so I just went with the ones that were obviously linotype...

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh280/Ole1830/IMG_5526.jpg

[CollinLeon]

Thanks.... They definitely didn't look like that... They looked more like an unlabeled Lyman ingot, but with a major supersize going on... Probably at least 12" long and 4" thick, maybe 5" wide...

[41mag]

What little of each Lino and Mono, that I have I wasn't overly concerned with the selling aspect so it got smelted. I used the Wally world SS condiment cups for molds and labeled them by type and weight when done.

Now if I had a large amount on hand I would simply leave well enough along and weigh up what I thought I was going to need as I went along. The way I have mine now is all in one storage box and pre weighed so I only need to reach and grab the right amount and drop it in the pot as needed.

I can however certainly understand the ID aspect of it however as they all look the same now.

[evan price]

I've seen lino ingots that look a little different but generally all the same as that. Long, sort of triangular cross section.

The way I do lino ingots is I take a Sawzall and chop them into flat-rate-box sized sections. That way the integrity of the 'lino ingot' can still be determined. Often cutting into thirds works fine. You can put two ingots in a medium FRB with some rolled cardboard for padding that way.

[454PB]

Here's a picture of some linotype ingots. The lifting loops broke off on some of them.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v16/eddard49/Linoingots.jpg


The ingots are easy to reduce to smaller size.....just lay an end on a fulcrum (another ingot works) and hit them with a hammer. They break just like they were ceramic.

[michiganvet]

I added tin and lead to my lino to make Lyman #2, poured into ingots and stamped a "2" on each one.