What did I just buy?

[Bored1]

Got a call from a friend who's done some automotive repair for me lately saying he had a whole bucket of lead ingots for me to pick up. Only info he had was it might be plumbers lead and the bucket was too heavy to lift.


:bigsmyl2:


So I ran over on my lunch break and picked this up......
http://s19.postimage.org/ov4aukgn3/PTDC0090.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/ov4aukgn3/)

http://s19.postimage.org/t5iyq5lq7/PTDC0091.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/t5iyq5lq7/)

The ingots weigh roughly 5 pound a piece and are in strings of 5. Top of them like the photos has a diamond indent with a L raised in the diamond. Any ideas? Dropping them on the sidewalk causes the deep thud like some other soft lead I have, and fingernail scratches pretty easily.

Anyone know what these were or who made them/



Last but not least there is a roughly 8lbs tube of something that appears to be lead but has no markings and has a high pitched ring when dropped or hit with the other lead.

http://s19.postimage.org/ijz3e5fen/PTDC0092.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/ijz3e5fen/)

http://s19.postimage.org/n755fx2rj/PTDC0093.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/n755fx2rj/)

Let me know what you think guys!!!

Wire cutters scratch the rounded bar!!!!

http://s19.postimage.org/lam7gkg8v/IMAG0123.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/lam7gkg8v/)

So some sort of lead? Any ideas what else it may be mixed with? I'm not sure but that puts zinc out of the mix now right?

[imashooter2]

Plumber's lead. Pretty close to pure.

The lone ingot is probably Zamak or some other hammer die alloy. Zinc / aluminum and not much use to us. Shadygrady might want it though...

[I'll Make Mine]

The half-round tube is probably a crimp for splicing steel cable -- as noted, most likely high zinc percentage and no lead; it might well be a Kirksite or Zamak aluminum/zinc or aluminum/zinc/copper alloy (one of the Zamak alloys, ZA12, is a good substitute for cast iron, similar density and hardness, but melts at under 900º F). I'd guess it's bigger than two of the 5 lb lead pieces put together, since zinc is about 2/3 the density of lead.

[Bored1]

The half-round tube is probably a crimp for splicing steel cable -- as noted, most likely high zinc percentage and no lead; it might well be a Kirksite or Zamak aluminum/zinc or aluminum/zinc/copper alloy (one of the Zamak alloys, ZA12, is a good substitute for cast iron, similar density and hardness, but melts at under 900º F). I'd guess it's bigger than two of the 5 lb lead pieces put together, since zinc is about 2/3 the density of lead.

Thanks for the info! And your right about the size, its just a tad bit bigger than 2 of the little bricks and weighs right around 8 lbs. Was hoping it was some form of lead alloy, tried the fingernail test and it did lightly scratch so I though zinc was out since I can't scratch zinc @ all.

[imashooter2]

If it can scratch with your fingernail, it isn't a hammer die alloy (Kirksite or ZamaK). I'm out of guesses.

[I'll Make Mine]

Yep, I agree -- even pure zinc is too hard to scratch with a fingernail (though you might take crud off the metal surface and think you've scratched the metal) -- but even accounting for the hole, it's too big to be lead, and it's almost exactly the right size for zinc. However -- pure tin is similar density to zinc, and is soft enough to scratch (barely) with a fingernail. Can you bend the tube? If so, does it "cry", a cascade of little clicks that run together into a soft scream as you increase the bending rate? If so, it's high percentage tin, and probably worth as much as all the lead combined.

Alternately, how big is the hole? If there's less metal volume there than I think, it might still be a lead alloy (crimps have been made of lead, too; they crimp easier, but don't hold as strongly compared to zinc alloy).

[imashooter2]

Looks too dull and corroded for tin to me, but I don't have anything better to offer...

[Bored1]

There isn't a hole in it at all. It seems pretty solid to me, don't know if I will be able to bend it. I will try when I get home from work tonight and see what happens. I called it a tube for lack of a better term. I guess half round bar may be a better explanation.

[imashooter2]

Get a chisel and knock off a small piece of the "stuff." Melt a little bit of known alloy in a small pot or ladle. Put the chunk of "stuff" in the melt and see what happens.

[Lizard333]

I was given some of the lead shown in the bottom picture. It was almost pure lead, tested at 7.5 to 8. Soft, but not pure. Free lead is good lead. Good score!!

[runfiverun]

put the side cutters to the rounded ones.
if they'll nip out they are most likely lead of some sort.

[Bored1]

Wire cutters did scratch it!!!

http://s19.postimage.org/lam7gkg8v/IMAG0123.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/lam7gkg8v/)

So some sort of lead? Any ideas what else it may be mixed with? I'm not sure but that puts zinc out of the mix now right?

[imashooter2]

Wire cutters should have cut it a lot deeper than those scratches. What you have is very hard. I still suggest you see what a small amount does in a melt. You shouldn't jeopardize more than a quarter pound of known alloy in the experiment.

[I'll Make Mine]

No holes: those aren't crimps (a crimp would be used by putting the wire rope through, wrapping onto the thimble, if used, then back through, and the crimp compressed into the surface of the wire rope to hold securely). If those wire cutters were applied to the corner, that alloy is pretty soft, so probably contains some lead.

Try measuring the three dimensions, calculating the volume, and using that to back out density; pure lead is around 11.3 grams per cubic centimeter, or a bit more than six and a half ounces per cubic inch, so eight pounds (128 ounces) of near-pure lead should be just under 19 1/4 cubic inches. Most likely, it'll be a bit bigger than that from alloying, but if it were pure tin or pure zinc (which would not cut as readily as your photo seems to show), a block of that weight would be closer to 27-30 cubic inches. Alloys of lead and tin will fall somewhere between (lead/zinc would be almost the same density as lead, but harder, or almost the same density and hardness as zinc, since lead will only dissolve about 2% zinc, or zinc about 1.8% lead)

[shadygrady]

thats right if its zinc ship it to me for lead

[Jeffrey]

Don't forget the acid test for zinc. Zinc bubbles hydrogen on contact with muriatic acid. Small quantities can be bought at pool / spa stores.

[Bored1]

Don't forget the acid test for zinc. Zinc bubbles hydrogen on contact with muriatic acid. Small quantities can be bought at pool / spa stores.

Damn completely forgot about that!! Saw some at walmart the other day and couldn't remember why it sounded familiar. Was in a pool testing kit if I remember right!!