Weirdness while smelting...

[AllanD]

After having smelted many, many times over the past 20-some years I had something happen that I've never seen before.

And when Imsay weirdness you don't know the half of it... here goes....

I've learned when smelting "soft lead", Pipe, etc to segregate pipe types
and trim out the solder joints, etc, so tpday I'm working my way through a 150lb batch of mixed lead;
1)some thick walled "drain" pipe
2)some thin walled drain pipe, that always seems to be
alloyed to some degree (the ingots clink)
3) water supply pipe (1/2" ID) that always seems to be VERY PURE lead
and the one that baffles me
4)Some SHINY thin walled soft tubing that was 3/8" ID

As I melted these seperatly I can easily see the differences
But what really confused me is that the nine ingots wrth of
metal from the thin walled tubing came out HARD, took
FOREVER to solidify (Low temperature solidus), and the
ingots came out GOLD/STRAW colored.

And these ingots are HARD, I can't find my hardness tester
(and I've been looking for over a year)

Anyone have any ideas?

Anyone have access to a GCMS?



AD

[grumpy one]

The low solidus temperature and the goldish colour are consistent with the pewter I've melted down, though I've never seen pewter pipe myself.

[GrizzLeeBear]

Something with lots of tin (like pewter)? If so, a nice suprise, eh?

[Dale53]

Draft beer commonly had pure tin pipes (instead of the soft plastic tubing common today) feeding the taps.

It sounds to me as if you have scored some tin pipe.

Dale53

[AllanD]

Ok, I can believe I scored Tin tube from a brewing system because same day at the same scrapyard I scored several clean beer tap faucets.

Damn, I only grabbed 10# of the stuff, there was more there and
now I've gotta go back for it!

Funny thing was the most gold-ish ingots were the first four out of that pot
and I then added more of that tube before dipping the next four ingots
which aren't quite as gold

It was after that I did all the solder joints and they came out quite different
and were recognizably high tin, but "quick froze" as expected.

I still don't understand why those gold ones took so long to freeze.

Oh well, I'm done for now, except for the lead sheet, but before that I'll need
to clean my smelting pot, the lime scale can get pretty thick...

a bit of muriatic acid takes it right down to bare iron, no scrubbing, no dust.



AD

[dakotashooter2]

I had a similar thing happen tonight when smelting some lead pipe. I got some thin wall stuff that was harder and just broke when I cut it down with the ax and clinked when it hit theground. It set it off to the side but dropped a small chunk in the pot and also noticed the ingots came out with a gold tint. HMMMMMM.

[carpetman]

AllanD----"been looking for your hardness tester over a year---any ideas? I'd say where you find it will be the last place you look.

[WickedGoodOutdoors]

But it makes Great Fishing Eel spoons.


Get a Mold and pour up all the Tin into Tin Eel Spoons and bring be a couple hundred of them..

Mold in Mustad or Gamakatsu heavy duty live bait hooks - 4/0, 5/0, or 6/0 jig hooks

Ill take you on a Guided Striped Bass Fishing Trip along the Maine Coast.

This is what you need to make a mold look like.

Make the Jigs from 1 o, 1.5 oz to 2oz

Its good to have a selection depending on water depth & Currents.


Well rig them up with Live Eels


https://www.njtackle.com/shop/images/product/ES-075T-PH.jpg

[leftiye]

Maybe some copper in it??

[grumpy one]

Maybe some copper in it??

That is what made me think pewter (91% tin, the rest lead, antimony and copper if it's old, or 96% tin, the rest just antimony and copper if it's modern). Mine has a slight gold tint in some cases, but is just silvery in others.

[AllanD]

AllanD----"been looking for your hardness tester over a year---any ideas? I'd say where you find it will be the last place you look.

I've been looking for over a year, but I haven't actually seen
it since....


Oh...


July....


of 1994? :)

I guess it's time to buy a new one.

I went back to the scrap yard and got another 20-odd lbs of that tubing
and had it confirmed that it was beer line by the tap fitting left on one end of
one of the pieces line

I also got more of the dark grey 1/2" ID water supply line,
that stuff makes ingots so soft...

I love any excuse to go to the scrap yard and collect more lead

today's haul was 120# of 1-1/2" drain pipe.
I left the 3" stuff behind (not enough cash)
and besides that stuff will still be there with it's "throne"
mounting rings still attached another day.

Next week I start "nibbling" at their supply of wheelweights
5gallons at a time

AD

[jleneave]

AllanD, if you don't mind me asking how much are you having to give for the lead pipe per lbs and how much per lbs for the wheel weights? I hope I am not crossing the line with this question, if I am please put me in my place. The reason I ask is that wheel weights are getting scarce around here I am may end up having to buy from the scrap yard and would like to have an idea of prices so that I don't get raped!! Thanks.

Jody

[AllanD]

Jody,

I'd rather not discuss that in public, people would get jelous (really! no joke)

PM sent

AD

[jleneave]

Jody,

I'd rather not discuss that in public, people would get jelous (really! no joke)

PM sent

AD

Thanks for the PM AllanD. You were right!!