Did I do the wrong thing?

[Jim K.]

I'm just getting started to try my hand at casting. Let the local pawn shop know I would be interested in picking up some lead for bullet casting.
They called me today and said they had someone in trying to sell some diving weights was I interested? I went in to see what they looked like.
They seemed to be a bit lite to me but did not have a scale to weigh them... could have been me. When I tapped them against each other they had a tinny sound and not a thud like pure lead. I have a Cabin Tree lead tester and tested a few, they were about a 22+ on the Brinell scale.
The front of the weights looked smooth and very shiny, the back of the weights were dull and very pitted, almost a corroded look.

Just getting started I decided I did not want to try these. Wondering if I did the right thing? Price was .50 lb.

Jim K.

[MUSTANG]

At .50 per pound I would have bought them. Dive weights tend to be made from whatever salvaged lead was available. At 22BHN sounds like they might make some good rifle boolits.

[Jim K.]

Do they normaly have a tinny type ring to them?

[MUSTANG]

Depends on the alloy. If there were some zink in them could have a tinny sound, as as other metals in the alloy. Good news is that only a small amount of zink could be in the mix because when it reaches a certain point it would turn to mush and not be able to cast a Dive Weight 0or boolit).

Should you have a mix with zink, you can use sulfur to help remove the zink contamination.

[leebuilder]

Is there a brand name on the weights? Sea pearl brand has 10% antimony in them, there is a thread here on dive weights. 50 cents a pound is better than a punch in the head with a frozen mitten.
Fire up the melter and see how it casts!!
Be well

[Latheman]

I think he decided to pass on them. But he can always go back and ask them to sell for .40 a lb. Heck they might say yes. That what I do when I go into pawn shops. I bought a like new chainsaw using this method.

[Jim K.]

There was no brand name on them.... I did pass on them mainly because the backs were badly pitted (looked like air bubbles in welding slag....Wish I had a camera with me)
Being a beginner I would rather err on the side of caution!

P.S.

The Pawn shop would not buy them either!

[RP]

The backs were pitted i think from salt water between the weights and belt they were on salt is hard on all metals. Melting them and fluxing will remove the junk. Odds are they will not sell them to a diver since the newer ones are plastic coated give them a counter offer and go from there.

[w5pv]

If I bought them I would driill a couple of holes through each block,I have read where they have water trapped in voids a will explode when melted under these conditions.This may be an old wives tale but I would rather be on the careful side than have the tinsel fairy to visit.

[Springfield]

The bubbles could also be caused by someone running the lead too hot when pouring. I have never seen lead corrode into pits, it just gets all crusty. At .50 I would have taken a chance.

[bangerjim]

Buy all you can get at that price. All the dive weights (commercial made) I have bought were 22+ and excellent alloys. Local-made can be anything from fishing weights (soft) to COWW's (12).....whatever they can melt in the pot. And....be careful....ZINC! Test them with a drop or two of muriatic (HCl) acid....any bubbles and you got Zn in there.....no reaction is lead alloy.

I would go back if I were you............and you need lead.

Just bring up the melt temp from cold when you start to re-melt into ingots. That way any water trapped in there will boil off long before you reach the Pb molten point. Do that for ever one and do NOT add cold weights to a liquid melt!!!!!

banger

[jsizemore]

I wouldn't buy them without testing with the muriatic acid.

[Yodogsandman]

You did the right thing! When in doubt, check it out! Posting your question here was a solid decision! Why lay your hard earned cash down for questionable lead. Those diver weights might be of a known alloy for others but, if don't know, you did it right.

[BattleRife]

A newbie caster has enough on his mind without dealing with potentially garbage alloy. Use quality alloy until you know how casting should look and feel, then gamble with unknowns.

[fredj338]

Dive wts can be just about anything. If they will dent when banged together, it's castable alloy. If they just ring & not dent, likely zinc or something like that.

[edp2k]

Beware, I have seen chromed/nickel plated cast iron dive weights. Check with a magnet.

[Yodogsandman]

If I bought them I would driill a couple of holes through each block,I have read where they have water trapped in voids a will explode when melted under these conditions.This may be an old wives tale but I would rather be on the careful side than have the tinsel fairy to visit.

Thanks, you might have answered a mystery to me. I just bought some lead ingots from an estate that had holes drilled through them. I had no idea why any caster would do that.

[Dusty Bannister]

Drilled holes to adjust the weight? You want to be neutral, not float like a log or sink like a rock.

[Big Dangle]

As far as water in them I have heard of it being possible from under water pressure or what not. I run into them fairly frequently here, I just put them in an old cast iron pan on the hot plate till its almost hard mush then into the pot it goes.

[lightman]

You probably made a good decision. You could have tested them for zinc and tried a magnet on them. If they passed both test I would have bought them, if I needed lead. You don't have to know exactly what the alloy is for what we do, although it helps. As far as moisture in the lead, I would have put them in my smelting pot before lighting the burner and put the lid on it and let it come up to melting temp slowly.

[RogerDat]

The less lead you have the more of an issue buying garbage is. Blowing $10 on junk when you have several hundred dollars worth of good lead sitting around is no big deal. If it would be a big chunk of your lead supply and it turns out to be garbage that would be a bummer.

Better to put the $10 toward buying 10# of good COWW lead ingots in Swapping and Selling forum.

[LAGS]

I have taken Dive weights, then heated them up slowly till they just started to meld.
But Dont stir them, just let them turn to liquid slowly.
I found the ones that had Zinc in them, the zinc for the most part seperated and floated to the top.
I skimmed that off, and that stuff was rock hard, and tested with acid for Zinc right away.
The rest of the melted metal, did test or react for Zinc, but it was so low, it still cast pretty good, especially after I blended it with pure lead then added Tin And antimony.
But most people find some Mystery metal, and dump it in the pot with the good lead right off the bat.
Turn up the heat Full Blast and wait for it to all melt.
That is wrong.
What melts at or just slightly higher than the melting point of lead is what you want to salvage.
Smelt Unknown alloys separate first, till you know what you have, and Keep the heat Low, and let the alloy melt and separate on it's own as much as it will.
Don't stir or flux it, and watch the temperature, and keep it below the melting point of Zinc.
You will not get it all out, but you will be surprised how much Zinc, that is Bonded to the lead will separate.
Yes, you will be loosing some lead when it separates, but you will recover much more contaminated, but usable alloy.
Take your time, and be careful with the heat.

[RogerDat]

I think LAGS offers good advice on avoiding contamination from mystery metals. Or salvaging what you can from them. What temp something melts at and how rapidly the whole pile goes from solid to liquid, or how long the "slush" stage is are all data points that can help determine value or usefulness. I just prefer to avoid the bad stuff if possible which was even more critical when I did not have a bunch of "good" lead to use in order to dilute zinc to the point where it was not a problem. I guess I'm saying don't be driven by fear into avoiding good deals but don't buy something of questionable usefulness unless you are willing to kiss the money good-bye if the metal turns out to be garbage.

Spending $5 on what I think is 3# of pewter based on best assessment of the metal is entirely different than buying 20# for $100 which is a decent deal but only if that is mostly or all pewter. Stack of Pewtex cast aluminum leaves you out $100 and without any tin. That is why I say risk has to match up with what you can afford to lose. If that $100 is all you have to buy metals with for a month and the cost of a mistake means no tin for a month....