Found some interesting ingots at the scrap yard

[Miata Mike]

I mixed about 25 pounds of this stuff with maybe 5 pounds of dead soft wheel weight lead, and it came out the Lee ingot molds so shiny and smooth. There were 5 ingots casted with "NL" on them and each weighed about 5 pounds each. Looked like little cannon balls. :lol:

Could I have happened upon "No Lead" tin solder? If it makes my boolits fill in as nice as the Lee ingot mold I will be very happy indeed. :D

[softpoint]

NL most likely stands for National Lead, but I don't know what you have either..:smile:

[Kskybroom]

What did the ingots look like from the scrap yard..
(size) Maybe you got some pure tin ...

[Miata Mike]

What did the ingots look like from the scrap yard..
(size) Maybe you got some pure tin ...

I would say they were maybe 5# each. 3 were connected together and the other two were also connected. They were kind of round balls maybe 3 or 4 inches tall. Crude looking casts that didn't look ornate enough to be from National Lead company as it seems they make nice fancy ingots. Just the letters NL cast in them.

I didn't really think much about it since they looked like crude soft lead ingots. They seemed to melt a little harder than I expected them to, but man did the ingots come out smooth!

[I'll Make Mine]

Those "ingots" that looked like crude cannon balls, connected together in strings, were most likely for a ball mill -- some ball milling processes want soft balls (as opposed to stainless steel or ceramic), and they'd throw 'em into the mill still connected (they'll disconnect in the first few turns of the barrel); might well be from National Lead, no point putting effort (cost) into making them perfect when they're going to get beat up the first minute of use.

Nobody makes ingots spherical -- too much work goes into the mold when you can get perfectly fine ingots with a slope-sided rectangular mold and an open top.

[Miata Mike]

Here is a picture of my stash. Wheel weight is all in the back, some similar hard is on the front left in the muffin tin ingots, and the shiny stuff front right is the stuff that has me wondering.

[Miata Mike]

Those "ingots" that looked like crude cannon balls, connected together in strings, were most likely for a ball mill -- some ball milling processes want soft balls (as opposed to stainless steel or ceramic), and they'd throw 'em into the mill still connected (they'll disconnect in the first few turns of the barrel); might well be from National Lead, no point putting effort (cost) into making them perfect when they're going to get beat up the first minute of use.

Nobody makes ingots spherical -- too much work goes into the mold when you can get perfectly fine ingots with a slope-sided rectangular mold and an open top.

What is a "ball mill"? Sounds like you may be on the right track.

[I'll Make Mine]

What is a "ball mill"? Sounds like you may be on the right track.

Essentially, it's like a drum type case tumbler, with heavy balls inside as the "milling" medium. One of the uses for lead balls in a ball mill is in making black powder -- you have the barrel loaded with lead balls, put in your measured ingredients, close up the mill -- and then start it from a hundred yards away (powder mills do explode occasionally). The rolling action of the balls pulverizes and incorporates the ingredients; what comes out is very, very fine and ready to cake and corn. A ball mill (using harder balls) can produce aluminum powder that floats like smoke for use in fireworks and rocket propellant (there's a hazard in opening the mill, don't try this based on this much description, if you value your face and hands). They're also used industrially to crush pigments for paint, and even in some food processes (don't know if they still do, but Dutch process chocolate powder used to be ball milled).

Google for "ball mill" with the quotes, and you'll find enough information to keep you reading all weekend... [smilie=w:

[evan price]

I find the shinier silver like chrome the more lead. Tin gives a matte finish. I have an ingot of tin and it looks very matte silver.

[40Super]

Test the bhn of the ingots,that could give you an idea if there is maybe a bit of Lino or some hardener in the alloy to make the balls more wear resistant, if they were actually made for a ball mill. Lino gives lead ingots that shinny look.

[turmech]

I have read here that tin is 65% the weight of lead and this has seemed correct when I have tested it. Your ingots should weight significantly less than than pure would in the same ingot mold if the tin content is high.

[Miata Mike]

:neutral:I will weigh some up next time I get up to my cabin. I don't yet have access to a hardness tester, but they sound a little softer than my pure wheel weight lead.

I threw a pound in my 20 pound pot after casting some .44 boolits yesterday. Didn't change things visually a whole lot. :|

[garrisonjoe]

You probably have plumbers lead. Dead soft. Scratches with a fingernail. Casts shiney, oxidizes in a few days.

Ball mill balls for grinding ore are cast iron. You'll know it if you find one.

[pergoman]

Miata Mike, you don't need a hardness tester just yet. A simple ball bearing dropped onto the ingots will make an indentation which can be measured and hardness then calculated.

[Frank46]

Ball mills were used also for grinding up coal before it was blown into a boiler. The ones we had
the balls were 16" diameter. Every so often the mill would be shut down and the balls measured. If they were 15" or less they threw in another 16" ball. They will handily clean out a trash chute when inserted at the eighth floor opening. Frank

[sw282]

l would hate to be the 'catcher' on a pitch like that Frank