xray lead

[historicfirearms]

I was at the local scrap yard today hauling back some spring clean up scrap steel. I asked if he had any lead for sale and he showed me a barrel of what he thought was xray film lead. It was thin, very shiny lead, stuck to a paper backing. It was maybe four inches by two, and maybe half an ounce per. He was selling at one dollar per pound. Is this a good buy and does anyone know for sure what it is?

[lightman]

It sounds like the backing on x-ray film. Its usually good clean lead and casts well. You have to separate each piece, which is kind of slow. The price seems high, but not knowing the market or availability in your area it may be worth it. There are a few threads about x-ray film on here that you may be able to find. If memory serves me, I think there is enough tin in it to make it work for casting.

[RogerDat]

Little shiny foils? Look sort of like the ones that seal individual cans of orange juice? Yes it is fairly decent I had some gunned once and it was better than COWW's by a little bit. Does tend to stink when smelting has some sort of plastic backing/coating/adhesive or possibly some plastic pieces of the x-ray holder end up in the pile. Distinct smell of burning plastic.

I think tightly packed into a 5 gallon bucket it was only about 30# of lead. And I mean crammed and pressed down into a near solid block. I stood on them to pack them in.

Also since these are peeled off of the x-ray films being put into a patients mouth at the dentist there is at least some chance of spit contamination, wear rubber/nitrile gloves. No worse than bucket of WW's but certainly no better from a sanitary perspective.

[Bullwolf]

I have a really old school Dentist, one of the few left that hasn't made the switch to digital X-rays. Since the X-ray film backings are lead, my Dentist has to save them, and recycle/dispose of them. I asked nicely if I could have them instead.

Here's a small batch I was melting into ingots on a Coleman camp stove, from an older post of mine.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0b4b99eb0.jpg http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0b713d881.jpg

Melting down the X-ray lead foil backings. I flux the lead, using both sawdust and paraffin or bee's wax, while stirring vigorously with a dry hardwood stick.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0caa9eb68.jpg http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0cbeecffd.jpg

Some clean little mini-ingots for my small hand held electric pot. The ingots sure drop easily out of my rusty mini muffin pan.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0dd7648da.jpg http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0de87c371.jpg

Finished product. A handful of mini ingots, next to some of my larger bottom of the pot lead ingots. Not a huge amount, but it all adds up.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0eaeb722d.jpg http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_187904f3b0ec2500c9.jpg

I believe the X-ray films have a very thin clear plastic film coating of some kind that easily burns off. It makes a bit more trash powder for you to skim, versus melting down wheel weights or print type. Other than being really light with lots of air gaps unless compressed, they are a fine source of lead for our hobby.

Since they are so fluffy, they take up a deceptive amount of real estate in a 5 gallon bucket. So definitely go by weight rather than volume if you happen to be paying for them.

Notice in my pictures the papers have already been separated from the foil, another thing to watch for if you are paying for them by weight.

(My dentist separates them for recycling... mostly but a few still slip in)

No point in buying the paper too, just so you can throw it away or burn it off. The paper and plastic parts smoke and stink lots more when melting them down.


- Bullwolf

[sixshootertexan]

Dentist friend of mine give me some unused film. His office switched to digital and had a few rolls of Kodak film leftover. It might be enough for one bullet. He could not just throw it in the garbage even though it was new film because of the lead in the package.

[RogerDat]

sixshootertexan has the disease! Only a matter of time before he will be sitting in a lawn chair by a rough railroad crossing waiting for WW's to fall off when people drive over the tracks ;-)

BTW here is what the assay was for the dental foil I picked up at scrap yard.
Pb 96 / Sb 2.5 / Sn 1.5 as I recalled it was pretty decent alloy just as it smelted. Your foil may not match my foil but would not surprise me if all of it was made by same company. Or two companies.

[historicfirearms]

Thanks guys. I think I will go buy some and give it a try. The stuff my recycler has still has the paper and plastic on it, looks unused as dental film. I'm hoping he meant $1 per pound for just the lead without the paper attached as I think the paper and plastic was probably half of the weight.

[stormingnorm]

I have been paying $1 a lb at a scrap yard here in socal.