Got Faked out to the Max

[LAGS]

A week ago, I picked up some scrap lead from the scrap metal dealer across from one of my projects.
He lets me Cull thru the lead and pick out what I want.
I found a Lead Flange pipe fitting that was 1/4" thick lead and a 3/4" flange on the end weighing 25lb.
I tried to scratch it with my knife.
It barely made a mark so I thought it might be something like Monotype.
Well, When I smelted it down into ingots, it comes out about the same hardness as COWW.
I think it was not Cast Lead, but Forged lead making it Denser and harder.
But when remelted, it goes back to the base metal hardness it was before hammering or Pressing into shape.
Oh well, 40 cents a pound is still worth it, and usable.

[Dusty Bannister]

Well it is known that pure lead does work harden, but during production, it will be allowed to rest and return to the normal soft state. Perhaps you did have a cast flange fitting containing tin and antimony, that was cast and water cooled to speed up production? That might retain the hardness of a quench and still be slowly age softening. And if there was an oxide coating, that might fool one into thinking it is hard all the way through. You did not mention if it was clean and new looking, or old and corroded and beat up. Interesting find, and certainly worth the price.

[sqlbullet]

I think you missed a word in there. Pure lead does not work harden as the recrystallization temp is 0° C. It will lose any hardening within just a few minutes at room temp.

[LAGS]

Like I said, after smelting ot is about an 11 or 12 hardness, so it isnt Pure Lead.
But it was not something really special.
So basicly it was like smelting Swedged lead boolits to recast them into something else.
The Alloy hardness will remain, but any added Work Hardening will melt away.

[runfiverun]

it's antimonial lead.
lead flows better under pressure when there is antimony present.
extruding/swaging and casting the same alloy make them behave differently.
what is brittle for one is a help in the other.

[RogerDat]

BHN of 12 is pretty nice boolit making material right from the pot. Would have been nice if it had turned out to be some premium alloy but 25 lbs. of fairly clean lead, hard enough for bullets at 40 cents a lb. is not bad.

[williamwaco]

12 BNH makes excellent handgun bullets and less than half price? I am jealous. I can't buy anything for less than a buck.

[LAGS]

I can get the scrap lead for 25 cents a pound by just taking what they gives me by weight.
But then I get a mix of Lead flashings SOWW's some COWW battery terminals Steel WW and plenty of Zinc WW.
The extra money is worth my time.
They give me those prices, because the building they are in was the first building the company I work for built, and use to be our old company office.
They bought the building from the original owner before he passed away.