Found a LARGE piece of what I think is lead, need advice

[victor3ranger]

I found a piece of what I think is lead but not sure. It is 24"long x 6"wide x 2"thick. Not sure if it is babbit, lead or ??

How would I figure out what this thing is?? Feels kind of soft like lead, very heavy.

[gareth96]

Just guessing.. but find out its melting point, density, and hardness and compare that to the numbers for lead. Problem is that if it's only a few percent of something else, it will be hard to tell what else is in there. Could send it to a lab for analysis, but not sure how much that would cost.. or could just try casting some boolits and if they cast well and weigh in at what the mould usually throws.. if all's good, shoot it..

http://www.msitesting.com/metallographic-examination/index.php ?

Just for giggles I sent the above an e-mail to see what it would cost to test a sample alloy for content. Will let you know if I hear back.

[gareth96]

k.. forget having it tested by the above... $575...

[Safeshot]

victor3ranger,
If you can weigh the item, then determine the volume and calculate the density. Compare that to the density of lead and tin and it should give you some idea of what it is.

[jonp]

You seem to have forgotten basic high school science. Look up Archimedes...oh the state of the public school system

[dbosman]

Can you scratch it with a finger nail?
Can you scratch it by very lightly drawing a nail or coin across the surface?
If you pick it up and drop it from a foot or so, does the sound come out more like a thud or a metallic clang?

[deltaenterprizes]

Cast a boolit of known lead and cast a boolit of unknown material and compare weights. If they are the same it is lead, if lighter it is an alloy, if heavier it may be depleted uranium!

[leadman]

If you can scratch it with your fingernail it is probably not babbit. I would go with casting a boolit and checking the weight against a known alloy in the same mold. There is a way to test lead hardness with pencils also, look for the sticky at the top of the section.
I, and others here will test a boolit hardness for you if you send it to me.

[I'll Make Mine]

if heavier it may be depleted uranium!

If you can cast a boolit from depleted uranium, I want to know what you're using for a pot and what your mold is made of. Melting point is similar to that of tungsten...

['74 sharps]

If you can cast a boolit from depleted uranium, I want to know what you're using for a pot and what your mold is made of. Melting point is similar to that of tungsten...

Makes me think of the Lone Ranger and his silver bullets. Silver melts @ 1763F. Must have had a hot campfire........

[Spokerider]

Sounds worth packing home either way.........

[Nose Dive]

Mmmmm Mystery Metal... been der...dun dat....

Take it home and in a 'clean pot',,(not 'good' alloy in the pot)..smelt it. FLux with saw dust a few times...might hit it with some sulfur from the nursery... and pour into ingots.... Keep it separate from all other alloys ingots...don't mix it up....

then...in your melt pot...melt it...pour out a few boolits and see how they look. If they appear "OK"...load'em up and shoot them...

Once you know you can cast with them...then you might try to allow a few ingots...add some Tin or some Linotype.... cast that...see how the shoot.

Know...if you have to smelt at 900 and the first cast boolits are bad...won't cast clean boolits... trash the lot....

I got a 'friends' pure lead... alloyed before cast testing... ****...full of aluminum or zinc and boolits looked like water droplets and shot the moon when aimed at the sun. waste of time, gas,,linotype and a friend.

Nose Dive

Cheap, fast, good. Kindly pick two.

[deltaenterprizes]

If you can cast a boolit from depleted uranium, I want to know what you're using for a pot and what your mold is made of. Melting point is similar to that of tungsten...
I was not being serious, can't put emocions on iPhone

[TCLouis]

Nose Dive.

What does the sulfur do in the cleaning process?

[Jeffrey]

It combines with zinc and makes it possible to remove from solution in lead. Look up the stickey:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?63082-Zinc-Removal-with-Sulfur-Report
I'd say test first with muriatic (hydrochloric) acid, bubbles = zinc. Zinc IS valuable. A vendor on this site trades it # for # for lead.
Jeffrey

Nose Dive.

What does the sulfur do in the cleaning process?

[sthwestvictoria]

Cast a boolit of known lead and cast a boolit of unknown material and compare weights. If they are the same it is lead, if lighter it is an alloy, if heavier it may be depleted uranium!
or polonium

[runfiverun]

if it's lead it should weigh @ 225 pounds.

[sthwestvictoria]

it may be depleted uranium!
Of course this would be a lead free projectile - California friendly!

[jonp]

I was serious with my comment. If you know the true dimensions and weight you can fjnd ifs density without melting, casting, acid or.$500 tests.

[I'll Make Mine]

I was serious with my comment. If you know the true dimensions and weight you can fjnd ifs density without melting, casting, acid or.$500 tests.

This is absolutely correct; lead is about 11.34 g/cm^3, or roughly 6 3/8 ounces per cubic inch. All the alloys of lead that we cast are lighter than that by some margin; the only reasonably common metals that are denser are gold and tungsten (gold, I'll assume you'd have spotted by now; tungsten is hard and, because large pieces are only made by sintering, often brittle).

[Doc1]

Just a note for the trivia department: The comments about uranium prompted me to note that every lead bullet we shoot was at one time...uranium! Lead is a uranium decay product!

Best regards
Doc

[victor3ranger]

Well, I cut a piece of this stuff off the bar, hard as hell to cut with a porta-ban. It was easy to scratch with my fingernail and scratched easy with a wheel weight.
I smelted the piece that I cut but I had to get the temp up around 800* for it to melt. Cast a couple of ingets then resmelted the ingets to cast some boolits to see what they looked like. After the mold warmed up the boolits look like my wheel weight boolits.
This stuff must have something mixed in it I would think due to the melting temp. What ever it is, makes nice loooking boolits:popcorn:

I have to figure out a easier way to cut this thing up for smelting, the porta-ban is not a good choice for this.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Well, I cut a piece of this stuff off the bar, hard as hell to cut with a porta-ban. It was easy to scratch with my fingernail and scratched easy with a wheel weight.
I smelted the piece that I cut but I had to get the temp up around 800* for it to melt. Cast a couple of ingets then resmelted the ingets to cast some boolits to see what they looked like. After the mold warmed up the boolits look like my wheel weight boolits.
This stuff must have something mixed in it I would think due to the melting temp. What ever it is, makes nice loooking boolits:popcorn:

I have to figure out a easier way to cut this thing up for smelting, the porta-ban is not a good choice for this.

For a piece that size an ax and a small sledge hammer will work. I put stuff that size on a railroad tie and wack away.

[swheeler]

Contact Manbeast on here, he will probably test a sample of it for free/.

[firefly1957]

Lead is .4092 pounds / cubic inch if i did not goof up that bar should weigh 117 lbs. if lead.