85 lbs +/- unknown lead... What to do

[8mmFan]

What would you guys do with this? Found a guy with about 85 lbs of assorted lead ingots. Different stamps on all the ingots (Bunkerhill, etc.). Since I don't have a lead tester, and they're all different, should I just generally melt them all together in my melter to get a blended mix to work with? I can only really melt 20 lbs at a time. Or should I keep them segregated and matched among the different types, and melt them homogeneously and cast each batch individually? What would you do? I cast primarily 45 ACP 230 grain Lee tumble lube. Will be casting for my 8mm Mauser later this spring. Thanks.
8mmFan

[CastingFool]

My first inclination would be to segregate by stamp, then melt them into individual batches. Can you scratch any of the ingots with your thumbnail? Once you have individual batches, you can try to cast some boolits, and see how they work for you.

[8mmFan]

What would you guys do with this? Found a guy with about 85 lbs of assorted lead ingots. Different stamps on all the ingots (Bunkerhill, etc.). Since I don't have a lead tester, and they're all different, should I just generally melt them all together in my melter to get a blended mix to work with? I can only really melt 20 lbs at a time. Or should I keep them segregated and matched among the different types, and melt them homogeneously and cast each batch individually? What would you do? I cast primarily 45 ACP 230 grain Lee tumble lube. Will be casting for my 8mm Mauser later this spring. Thanks.
8mmFan

I have a little Lino I could mix in, and a couple of those 1 lb. plumbing solder rolls from Menard's, too.

[zomby woof]

My first inclination would be to segregate by stamp, then melt them into individual batches. Can you scratch any of the ingots with your thumbnail? Once you have individual batches, you can try to cast some boolits, and see how they work for you.

This.

As long as it's not pure soft lead, 45acp will shoot with just about anything. Separate and try some.

[Dusty Bannister]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?125702-Genuine-Brinell-Hardness-Tester-Cheap&highlight=bathroom+scale+hardness+tester

Might look at other posts in the archives to see if something else is more to your taste.

[lwknight]

Don't get in too much of a hurry to add tin. A lot of that could be tin solder or tin babbit.
I would suggest some testing like melting point, specific gravity, and hardness.
Between the 3 you can get a pretty good guess what it probably is.

[jsizemore]

You can mix it any time. You can't unmix it any time.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

85 lbs +/- unknown lead... What to do
....snip...
What would you guys do with this?
Knowing what I know now, I'd smelt similar types together into the largest possible batches, flux well, then pour into ingots.

Since you appear to be new to all this. I'd stick around and read, read, read.
Besides the stickies, this link is a great reference http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

[runfiverun]

I'd definitely research the marked ingots before doing anything.
stuff marked doe-run etc is generally soft [pure] lead, you also have wiping and joint solders to deal with, the shape and size can give you a clue as to which is which.
melt point, and weight compared to a known will also give you a good idea.

I once picked up a bunch of unknown lino-type ingots, for 40 cents a pound, and was able to figure out what I had by comparing it to a known alloy by weight, boolit diameter, and melt temp.

[WILCO]

Since I don't have a lead tester.....

Without a lead hardness tester, you're just wasting materials and effort.
My best advice is to seperate and set them aside until a hardness tester can be had. I used plain old wheel weights for my first 8mm boolits. The first one cast, I named Fritz! :grin:

[WILCO]

You can mix it any time. You can't unmix it any time.

Wise words indeed.

[8mmFan]

Thanks for the great device, guys. Based on the average answer above, I'll keep them separated. I appreciate the collective wisdom shared here. Thanks. 8mmFan

[RogerDat]

Check the site for "pencil test" for hardness. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?75455-Testing-hardness-with-pencils It is a sticky and has some info well worth copy and print for your smelting work area if your going to go after scrap.

Using art pencils which have specific hardness for each grade of pencil you can at least group your mystery ingots by hardness. Cost less than $10 for a set of pencils that will give approx test for everything from hardness of plain lead to mono type. So you will know what ingots are plain lead and you might post pictures of the stuff that pencil tests harder than plain lead. Could be someone here will be able to identify those ingots and tell you what is in them that makes them harder than plain lead. Could be tin, or antimony, or .... but you are probably not the first to find something from that company with those markings.

[jp1]

Why mix a bunch of unknown ingots together? Try to scratch them to see if some are harder than others.

[Themoose]

I had the same issue... I sorted them into similar piles... each pile I melted, then fluxed well and then cast about a dozen into a bullets... took the remainder and cast into ingots... I labeled the ingots and the cast bullets with a letter... continued until I was completely done... think I ended up with 14 groups of bullets and ingots... all identified by a letter that was unique to only that mix... In the meantime I had ordered a Lee hardness tester... now I am in the process of seeing how the hardness changes with age on the air cooled samples... I can also play with pencils(which I am terrible at) for comparison... I made a spread sheet and recorded all the readings... it is pretty obvious by looking at the indent of the tester which groups are similar but taking actual measurements will be more accurate......If you don't have a tester, you could possibly ask for help from someone in the area who does....

Hope this helps.

TheMoose

[mikeym1a]

I bought a lee hardness tester just for that reason. I've gotten some alloy ingots that seemed soft, and they were, not pure lead, but softer than regular WW. So, I can test and determine what I have and alter it to suit myself. If you can't lay your hands on a Lee, the one of the others, you can try the art pencil test as mentioned above. I was going to do that, but none of the stores had them in stock. Good luck to you. This is fun. :-D

[John Boy]

85 lbs +/- unknown lead... What to do
Buy hardness tester! If your a serious caster, the tester is as necessary as the thermometer and pot one melts the lead in... especially when the Pb is a mixed box of chocolates