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View Full Version : PICS...Funky Looking Ingots


Jaybees
08-30-2014, 07:19 PM
114989Hey guys. Quick question. Started this casting session off by melting 6 muffin pan ingots of WW's. Once melted, I dropped in about a 15 lb. Bar of lead a buddy said he found on his farm. Casting was EXCELLENT. Threw back the 1st two drops of a 2 cavity lee .452 (200gr) and the 1st drop out of the 6 cavity lee 9mm mold. Made about 300 of each and decided to call it quits. Got my muffin pan to pour up the leftover lead in and while that was cooling, emptied my quench bucket and separated the 9 and 45s. The whole time I was separating the two, I was thinking that they looked extremely shiny. Muffin pan finally cooled and I dumped the ingots. As you may can see in the pic, the bottom of these looks........well, looks like galvanized steel to me. That's the best I can explain the looks of it. What am I dealing with here? Sure made some pretty boolits with it, whatever it is.
Jaybees
08-30-2014, 07:24 PM
114995A little better picture. There are specks of shiny silver all through out.
CastingFool
08-30-2014, 07:43 PM
I have seen that before. Maybe slow cooling caused the grain size to increase?
William Yanda
08-30-2014, 08:04 PM
Is it possible that the Sb:Sn ratio was poor in Sn, allowing grain formation of Sb?
jsizemore
08-30-2014, 09:29 PM
It has the look of COWW ingots. Nothing abnormal about them.
el34
08-30-2014, 09:43 PM
They look like most of mine, at least the ones I make with muffin tins. Everything I melt I do a process of finding out (measuring BHN) the lead I got and calculating the amount of high-antimony stuff to add (lino, mono, Superhard) to get 12.5BHN 'casting' alloy and how much tin to add to get 2%.

The point is a hopefully consistent alloy. But it sometimes looks like yours, sometimes doesn't. Never concerned me a bit.
zomby woof
08-31-2014, 08:44 AM
Normal
jsizemore
08-31-2014, 09:03 AM
When I first started messing with dental foils, I assumed they were pure Pb. After pouring ingots they looked like your's with no shinkage dimple in the middle and single shiny color like pure Pb. Come to find out they have a little Sb/Sn added.
jeepyj
08-31-2014, 09:06 AM
Looks like mine as well. I'd say the're fine.
jeepyj