Its time to play is it lead or not :)

[milsurpaddict]

5848258483

[I'll Make Mine]

Is that the crane counterweight? Certainly doesn't look like cast iron or steel; judging by the cut on the left photo, I'd say it's some kind of lead alloy, probably the same as boat keels, i.e. "whatever was dense and would melt". Melting temperature and density should give you some clues to composition, or you could take a piece to a scrap yard that has an analyzer gun and end all doubt...

[Dusty Bannister]

While it does look like lead, it would be nice if you were to take some of those chunks that have been knocked off and melt them and cast a bullet in a large mold to compare with a known alloy. Or see how it feels to cut a sliver off one of the chunks. Hard to really "see" how soft or hard the pieces are.

[turtlezx]

what does it weigh???????????????

[dragonrider]

I would hack off enough to put in a ladle and melt it, cast some boolits with it and comparison check them against some boolits of known alloys. No sense in filling a pot with it as you may just have to pour it out.

[runfiverun]

yep weigh it.
a cubic foot of lead is airc 730 lbs.
you'd have to figure how much room the steel takes up [steel is 400 sumthin per cu foot]

[asp]

yep weigh it.
a cubic foot of lead is airc 730 lbs.
you'd have to figure how much room the steel takes up [steel is 400 sumthin per cu foot]
Steel is 483 lb/ft^3 @ .28 lb/in^3, which is the nominal density for A36 steel. I have heard anywhere from .280 to .286 lb/in^3 depending on the alloy, but that's still a pretty small spread.

[runfiverun]

thanks asp.
i couldn't remember. i was thinking 470 and didn't want to go find my crane weights book to look it up.

[220swiftfn]

With the oxidation it looks pretty much like pure to me, but once again, hard to tell how soft it is thru a monitor......(unless the missing chunk is from mice..........)


Dan

[asp]

thanks asp.
i couldn't remember. i was thinking 470 and didn't want to go find my crane weights book to look it up.
I'm a mechanical engineer... Some things are impossible to forget ;)

[milsurpaddict]

I am sorry everyone. I did weight it 57 pounds. I did melt it is looks and feels and plays like lead. I just wanted to make sure it was not zinc, bismuth, or something else. My friend gave it to me. I will make some boolits tonight and post pics. It is real soft so I will need to add something to it. and suggestions on additive. I do not have a lead hardness tester.

[Echo]

Add 3% Sn and press on...

[milsurpaddict]

I dropped about 50 125 grain 357 boolits . To a T they all came in at 114 grains.???

Any ideas?

[338RemUltraMag]

Does it bubble when white vinegar is splashed on it?

[I'll Make Mine]

I dropped about 50 125 grain 357 boolits . To a T they all came in at 114 grains.???

Any ideas?

Too heavy for zinc or zinc with 1.8% lead. That's just over 90% of the density of the "standard boolit alloy" your mold maker calculated from, which itself was probably something close to Lyman #2 (90% lead, 5% tin, 5% antimony) -- seems likely what you've got is mostly linotype, probably cast from scrap that included some other lead alloys as well.

[Grendel99]

How on earth do you break that down to manageable pieces?

[Sergeant Earthworm]

How on earth do you break that down to manageable pieces?

A hammer and really sharp chisel. Chip off enough pieces to cast what you need, repeat process next time you cast. Tedious but it works, especially with pure lead and softer alloys. I've read suggestions on using a torch but my concern with that is generating and breathing vapors.

[Bert2368]

Find someone with a log splitter...

[fordwannabe]

Try a sawzall

[milsurpaddict]

ok everyone here are the boolits from 125 lee mold in 357 caliber. The first set is of the unknown ally

5975359756
The second set is of WW alloy
5975459755

[Nose Dive]

Hmmmm I would remelt a pound so..just a little.....flux a bit with elemental sulfur...and recast...see if she 'beefs' up.

Could try some tin after fluxing with sulfur....if money is no object...there are lots of options...

Nose Dive

Cheap, fast, good. Kindly pick two.

[I'll Make Mine]

Looks like it's got (best guess) 18-25% tin and antimony. Antimony is 6.6 g/cm^3, tin is 7.3 g/cm^3, and pure lead is 11.3 g/cm^3, and you're just over 10% lower boolit weight compared to wheel weights (which average around 5% antimony and almost no tin); if there's no tin, you'd have to be around 18% antimony, while if there's no antimony, it's closer to 25% tin. The latter is unlikely, given the relative costs, but 18% antimony is pretty high, too (though it would explain the appearance of the boolit from the unknown). Once again, it's tempting to suggest this was cast from scrap that was mostly linotype. Melting temperature would tell the rest of the tale, pretty closely.

[Grendel99]

Is there any problems casting and shooting with it? If it is high antimony, maybe not hunt with it because it would be very brittle. Other than that, it should work right?

[I'll Make Mine]

Based on an assumption of equal parts tin and antimony, cutting that with an equal amount of pure lead should give you something close to Lyman #2; cutting with three parts pure to one part mystery metal will bring you close to wheel weights sweetened with tin, which is a nice casting alloy and hard enough for almost any handgun loading. Pure lead isn't expensive; Rotometals has it for $2/lb plus shipping.