Water quenching pure lead for hardness?

[vmathias]

Saw this on a discussion board recently. Will pure lead harden if water quenched? I am inclined to think it does not and would need added materials to be possible.

[khmer6]

I believe it's the arsenic that causes the hardening process in water quenching? I'm not sure if pure lead posses

[btroj]

Hardening like that reques antimony. Arsenic, and sulfur, work as grain refiners. They speed up the process.
Pure lead and lead/tin binary alloys don't quench harden and they also don't age harden.

[geargnasher]

Hardening like that reques antimony. Arsenic, and sulfur, work as grain refiners. They speed up the process.
Pure lead and lead/tin binary alloys don't quench harden and they also don't age harden.

Exactly.

Gear

[454PB]

I mix pure lead with linotype 3 to 1 and quench from the mould. I get 20 BHN. I doubt there's any arsenic or sulfur in the linotype, and I know there's none in pure lead, so it looks to me like all you need is the antimony for heat treating.

[badgeredd]

For some good information on hardening alloys, go to the sticky above "The Definitive Answer page for Lead and Alloys!". Inside said sticky is a link to http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm.

Look for this article, third one down I believe. "Heat Treating Lead Alloys"

Edd

[khmer6]

Antimony it is :)

[geargnasher]

I mix pure lead with linotype 3 to 1 and quench from the mould. I get 20 BHN. I doubt there's any arsenic or sulfur in the linotype, and I know there's none in pure lead, so it looks to me like all you need is the antimony for heat treating.

If you had 1/4% arsenic content it would water-quench to 28-30. What you refuse to acknowledge DOES still exist.

Gear

[303Guy]

If you had 1/4% arsenic content it would water-quench to 28-30.Is that lead-arsenic without anything else?

[454PB]

That was my point, antimony is the needed ingredient for heat treating, the arsenic increases it's hardening ability. No antimony, no hardening.

[Green Lizzard]

and it dont take much