My best score ever

[Mitch]

154287

I tell people all the time I will pay up to $1 per lb for lead depending on what is it.This what one of the guys at work brought me.

The large weight at the top is 100lbs of what seems to be pure lead.It goes thud and scratches very easy with the thumb nail.

Below the large weight are 16bars marked SN50B Anyone know what the B stands for?I have never seen any of these before.Just wondering if the B is some code for some other alloy mixed in there or just for bar or body solder.

Below that are 12lbs of large and small bars some are marked with very old tape tin 100.the lager bars are stamped TIN.I am not sure about the content some of the small bars.Or really if the large bars a 100% tin or not.

To the right 11lbs of bars marked 50/50 or Sn 50

The there is 2lbs mostly unmarked but for sure some sort of solder

There is 41 lbs of tin rich alloy there.My plan is to melt the bars marked tin or marked with tape tin 100% into one lot and the rest with no tape or marking into another lot.The same with the odds and ends Just so I do not have alot of samples to send. Then send it to one of the members here for testing.How bad could it be mixing some together I will still have the tin 100% or less really make no differanc as long as I know what the content is.



Bob

[BK7saum]

I don't think I would melt all the tin together, if it's marked or content is already known. For unknown or unmarked I'd melt that together and get it tested.


BTW, great score.

[Mitch]

Oh my
I will not melt any of the bars that are factory marked.Just the bars that were marked with tape and hand stamped tin.It is likely that the tape just fell off. Only the 12 lbs of stuff I suspect being 100% tin will be made into 2 lots just so do not have to send in 15 samples.And then the 2 lbs of odds and end with be melted with some other odds and ends I have laying around for another test batch.These all look to be Home made bars and seem to be the same looking alloy.

[BK7saum]

Ok I didn't quite follow. Sounds like your good to go.

[runfiverun]

the top bars on the left looks just like the Kester [wiping] solder I used to get when in business it was usually marked 63/37 or some such.
they weighed 1-1/3 pounds so each bar contained 1 pound of solder and 1/3 pound of lead.

if they are marked 50-B the B is for bar they used to come in all sorts of shapes like 6 point stars and 3" wide by about 15" long bars in pure Tin, for anode use.

the ones on the left with the old tape look more like 50-50 bars to me they might have been used to mix with 100lbs of ww alloy at the time.
Tin or higher [+60%] Tin content bars will retain their bright shiny appearance, 50-50 bars will dull out like that over time.

[Mitch]

the top bars on the left looks just like the Kester [wiping] solder I used to get when in business it was usually marked 63/37 or some such.
they weighed 1-1/3 pounds so each bar contained 1 pound of solder and 1/3 pound of lead.

if they are marked 50-B the B is for bar they used to come in all sorts of shapes like 6 point stars and 3" wide by about 15" long bars in pure Tin, for anode use.



the ones on the left with the old tape look more like 50-50 bars to me they might have been used to mix with 100lbs of ww alloy at the time.
Tin or higher [+60%] Tin content bars will retain their bright shiny appearance, 50-50 bars will dull out like that over time.

Thanks for the tip the B marking I kinda figure but was not sure.

the dull black dirty look is what has me guessin on the bars marked with tape and the hand stamped bars are the same.The factory bars marked 50SN, 50/50 and SN50B are much cleaner.so my thinking is they are not 100% tin like they are marked.But hard tellin how old these are and how they have been stored or if the person who marked them knew the content.

Bob

[runfiverun]

if they were mine I would do a comparison melt and keep a close eye on the temperature.
the higher tin content will melt closer to 450-f [the melt temp of Tin] the lower ones will be closer to 630-f [which is the melt temp of lead]
the 50-50 would be close to 550-f

[scottfire1957]

if they were mine I would do a comparison melt and keep a close eye on the temperature.
the higher tin content will melt closer to 450-f [the melt temp of Tin] the lower ones will be closer to 630-f [which is the melt temp of lead]
the 50-50 would be close to 550-f

IF they were mine, I would send samples to BNE and be sure as to composition. Look in the S&S forum and find out how easy that is.

So many non-easy answers.

[RogerDat]

I take unknown alloy that is presumed to be solder such as partial bars where the stamp is missing or rolls with the label missing or small quantity solder and melt them into a batch which I pour into muffin tins and make fairly thin round "coins" of a few ounces each which I then have tested. I have bags then of these coins labeled with their percentages. Bars that are clearly stamped by the foundry I keep in that form.

Nice score, you can't ever tell what networking will lead to. In your case it lead to something pretty nice.

[runfiverun]

IF they were mine, I would send samples to BNE and be sure as to composition. Look in the S&S forum and find out how easy that is.

So many non-easy answers.

some of us are just used to not having the internet to fall back on for every answer.
mixing the unknowns and sending them In for an analysis would provide the better answer, if the equipment is set up properly.

[RogerDat]

One thing worth keeping in mind is for most of our uses exact percentages are not required. The 50% tin solder is great to find and certainly better than say 30% tin solder because it has more tin per pound. BUT if my 20# recipe calls for 1.5# of 40% tin solder I'm either going to be over by a small amount using an unknown that turns out to be 50% or under just a touch using an unknown at 30%. For general use the difference between a final alloy of 1.5% or 2.3% tin when casting the bullet won't matter a huge amount.

Knowing exact alloy so that one can get consistent casting process and results is of course good, and for some precision target or hunting uses might be essential. But for general target shooting or plinking one can get by on getting as imprecise as casts with good fill out, right weight, and don't lead the barrel.

[Mitch]

I agree hardness in BHN or alloy content should be all ballpark for general shooting and plinking.But we all know what tin prices are.i have no problem using a bar of solder that is factory marked for what it is.I do have a problem with the home brew looking stuff if it is from an unknown or not from a trusted source.so the 12 or so lbs of alloy in question will be sent for testing.And the only reason for testing is so I do not use up good tin for no reason.I have been casting for about 3 years now.For the first years or so I spent time figuring alloys and thinking all had to be prefect.there were several reasons for my thought process.first was likely the tool and die maker in me.I work with close tolerances every day for 35 years.the 2nd thing was I started with a 686 no dash I have owned since new.not knowing that a name brand gun like S&W could be built with such wide tolerances or should we say flaws.I have a 586 I bought a few years after the 686 and knew the 586 shot much better,I allways thought it was the 6 icn VS the 8 3/8 barrel.But till I started casting I never knew I was suppose to check all this stuff out.turens out the 686 had a .0025 to .003 barrel constiction at the thread.so by 50/50 chance I picked the wrong gun start casting for,i slugged the barrel at the muzzle and got .357 I pin gaged all the cylinders and they were all very close to .3585.from all my readin and research this should be the ideal measurements for a revolver.Then one day I used some pin gages on the barrel of the 686 and it was .003 difference from one end to the other.then I did the same with the 586 and it was the same strait thru.The light came on at that point and I knew I has a problem that needed fixing.Now I can not say the 686 is now ideal.after some fire lapping it shoots lead just fine.Bottom line is a lesson learned Boolit Fit and a gun that is right is King.BHN or alloy does not really does matter a lot for my plinking needs.i tried every alloy from super hard to soft in the beginning with the 686.i pulled my hair out tying to figure all this out.I do not have any hair to waste either LOL, All that I really am worried about is using my tin resources the best I can with out wasting it.Just a little story of where I started 3 years ago for some backround.I now have several guns shootin cast very well 2 357s,colt 45 and a 1911.

Finding this site was god send for me.All the great People and info will never be forgotten.

A big thanks for all that make this site great.

Bob