Lead identification

[turmech]

I picked up this lead from a customer of mine. It is right around 500 lbs. Some of it, like the lead pipe and sheet lead, I am familiar with the source and typical alloy content. Some of it is in ingots of unknown sources. Some looks like it was smelted and cooled in the smelting pot then dumped out these have some partially intact WW in them that did not melt all the way.


The few that I would like to see if anyone here might have seen before are:


1st pic- The round lead in a few various diameters which had been painted white in the right of the pic. The vessel with the strap handle in the front middle of the pic. The vessel painted white and about the same diameter as the round forms. Some of the large plate (blue and white paint) some of which is 1/2” thick.


2nd pic- these are strange manufactured pieces (look like some kind of bushing). Marked 1/2” USA


Anyone have any ideas? Either way I am happy with it and will use it?

[lightman]

I think I see an isotope container, at the bottom of the 1st pic, on the pipe. That may be what the white thing is, too. Nice Score!

[RogerDat]

Those flat approx. 1 inch rectangular slabs look a lot like counter weights I have. Came with a steel box around them that would hang from an arm like a RR crossing guard. Melted pretty easy, lower temp than plain lead. As I recall more antimony than WW's and some tin.

Those rings may be bearings, possible lead Babbitt alloy. They would be harder than plain lead but if they are not marked with a name or # that identifies the alloy then you might look at the common lead Babbitt alloys listed on Wikipedia. Nice haul by the way.

[stu206]

You also have some lead sleeving from telephone cables/splice coverings, the one piece of sleeving with the air valve on it, small tinned brass flange soldered to the sleeve with the air valve in it. I have put alot of them on cables in the past, all in pic one, pic two shows lead sleeves looks like inch and a half to two in dia. about 1/8 to 3/16ths thick about 2 feet long. If the sleeve is smaller in thickness and softer then its a lead calcium mix and easy to cut etc, and melts faster. Vern

[bangerjim]

You got lead! But you also have a mess on your hands. There are bunch of different alloys there and ID'ing them will be difficult at the least! You need a hardness tester for starters. That will at least get you in the balllpark of hardness. For % content.......you need to take some ingots to a scrap yard that has an xray gun and get them to give you a read on what is in there.

Like I said, you have a bunch of lead, but knowing what it is will be very difficult.

You could just grab some of this soft stuff and some of this hard stuff, melt it down, see how hard it is, and cast some boolits try.

That is why I only buy lead I know the composition of......no matter how much there is.

bangerjim

[turmech]

Yes it is nice to know the alloy content when possible, which was the nature of the thread. So far I have had pretty good luck with just a bubba method of mix this with that and cast them up an shoot. The typical things like can I scratch it, does it thud or ring, what temp does it melt at and what diameter do the bullets fall at kind of thing handles most of my needs. I use mostly know alloys for hunting and the rest for just plain shooting. I typically just get lead where I can when the price is right. If it cast well and gives good fill out I will find a use for it. Just wanted to see if anyone recognized anything that I did not. Just for my knowledge as much as anything. Thanks for all the help so far.

[Alan in Vermont]

Beautiful batch of mystery metal! I'm like turmech, I would probably try to sort it into "hard" and "soft" piles. The pipe and sheet stuff I would consider to be pure, or close to it. Set that aside and melt everything else together and pencil test it, then cast some. If it doesn't want to cast good add a little tin and see what happens. Doesn't need much of a pedigree to make handgun boolits.

[John Boy]

Turmech - sounds like you don't have a lead hardness tester - Buy one, Lee is 50 bucks
* Then separate the lead into like kind piles
* Take a propane torch and melt a small muffin tin ingot
* Mark the ingots in accordance with the sorted lead
* Let each ingot age for 2 weeks and test for hardness - lead ages over time
Now you have the Bhn of each kind of lead in the pile of stuff

Posting pictures and then asking 'anyone have any ideas' ... is a pot shoot and your replies will vary from incorrect to no idea. So where's that leave you? You have to do your own homework