Small dental lead score

[flyer1]

Just moved to Texas and had to find a new dentist. Asked if he had any left over film. His assistant came out with a box with about 10 pounds worth. This is new territory for me, is this soft like stick on ww?

BTW, I learned to ask about dental xray lead right here. Thanks, guys.

[runfiverun]

dead soft.

[flyer1]

Thanks, R5R. Kinda thought so. I will keep this separate. The box had been sitting in the closet for about 4 years.

[Beagle333]

Nice find. Makes wonderful round balls for black powder shootin' too.

[flyer1]

Beagle333,
thanks. I think I will do that.

[fredj338]

Yep dead soft. With most dentist going digital, it will also go extinct. My dentist gave me two good size boxes. After separating the foils form the paper, about 30# worth! Good job.

[flyer1]

Yep dead soft. With most dentist going digital, it will also go extinct. My dentist gave me two good size boxes. After separating the foils form the paper, about 30# worth! Good job.
Thanks my box is about 10 pounds.
Mike

[Vinne]

Nice score. Mine won't let me have any...said it is a privacy thing??!! Hard to get any here down south.

[DerekP Houston]

Yep dead soft. With most dentist going digital, it will also go extinct. My dentist gave me two good size boxes. After separating the foils form the paper, about 30# worth! Good job.

The 3 I've been to in the last year were all digital, looked at me funny for asking too!

[Cowboy_Dan]

Wait, are we talking about the foils or sheilding? Sheilding could be dead soft, but the batch of dental foils I ingoted are closer to COWW hardness, maybe with a percent or two of tin judging by fillout. An older thread I dug up with the search feature when I melted them suggested they are basically COWW+2%Sn as well.

[flyer1]

These are small pieces from film. They crumble very easily.

[too many things]

if you stop and think about it each one is a $40 charge

[flyer1]

Wow, that is a pile of money.

[John Boy]

More dentists are now using digital X-Ray machines and the sources for dental lead shields has dried up

[fredj338]

Nice score. Mine won't let me have any...said it is a privacy thing??!! Hard to get any here down south.

What? It is a lead foil, there is no film inside.

[zomby woof]

The lead they use is Lead >96%, Tin 1.5% +/- 0.1%, Antimony 1.5% +/- 0.1%.

[flyer1]

[QUOTE=zomby woof;3937834]The lead they use is Lead >96%, Tin 1.5% +/- 0.1%, Antimony 1.5% +/- 0.1%.[/QUOT

Great info. Thank you.

[Digger]

Like this ?
187068

[zomby woof]

Like this ?
187068

Just remember all that was in someones mouth at one time

[Shuz]

The lead they use is Lead >96%, Tin 1.5% +/- 0.1%, Antimony 1.5% +/- 0.1%.

My experience with "dental film" lead down thru the years is that it is far from pure lead but closer to clip on wheel weights in hardness. I used to think it was pure lead until I tested some. It's a good source of cheap boolit alloy, but alas, like wheel weights it is drying up. The composition that zomby woof listed is closer to what I've experienced than pure lead.

[jsizemore]

I hope we have a dental tech or dentist on the board.

Doesn't the lead foil get peeled off before it goes into the mouth to be exposed to x-rays? I wouldn't think that the medical profession would actually put LEAD in someone's mouth and say it's ok to do it!

[flyer1]

That exactly what it looks like.

[RU shooter]

That exactly what it looks like.

agreed throw it in a pot and melt it all down the non lead will burn off . About 6 years ago I traded my oral seurgeon a few teeth for a nice big box of those ! Lol think he won out on the deal !

[454PB]

Mine tested a little over 8 BHN.

[LavaTech]

I just finished stripping several hundred unopened dental film packs, and realized how much nicer it's been for me to simply accept the donations from the dental assistance students to the bullet gods down here in the man-cave/dungeon/Parking Tech/HazMat office I share in my little corner of Libtardia (local city college).:p

Someday maybe I'll find out how much the bushels of compressed foil weigh, just for giggles. Gotta love free lead!:D

P.S. The long closed printing/grahic arts program managed to "donate" something in excess of 200 lbs of virgin lino-type to me, for eventual sacrifice to those bullet gods.:-)

[scottfire1957]

BNE tested some dental foil for me a while back.

Pb 96.2
Sb 2.1
Sn 1.7

Essentially 96-2-2.

[turtlezx]

think how much the denist made on the xrays weighed a few they where 11 grs each
so it takes 39 of them for just 1 oz!! 624 films per 1 lb

[scottfire1957]

I hope we have a dental tech or dentist on the board.

Doesn't the lead foil get peeled off before it goes into the mouth to be exposed to x-rays? I wouldn't think that the medical profession would actually put LEAD in someone's mouth and say it's ok to do it!


I've typed up several responses, but I really don't know how to respond to this post.

Best I can do is say "google dental xray film." Everything is contained, no Pb exposure.

Lead, symbol Pb, for the Latin "plumbum," from which we get the words plumber and plumbing. See last years news about lead pipes in Flint, Michigan. Those lead pipes delivered clean water for years, till somebody screwed up. It ain't a boogeyman.

[BoolitBill]

Ok guys, I'm a dentist so I hope this is helpful. The lead foil is inside the plastic film packet, it is next to the film and used to minimize the radiation exposure to the body (X-ray machine to tooth to film to finally the lead where it is supposed to stopped by the lead film). After exposure the film packet is opened the the film is removed to be developed. The plastic packet is discarded (thrown away) and usually the lead foil also. Except at my office where they are gathered and smelted into ingots for casting later. I am too old to go digital (may retire soon) but the other dentists are going digital so it is only a matter of time. The dentist who said that he cannot give them to you for privacy reasons means that he must be a caster also and is hoarding them for himself! And before any of you ask, I just ran out of foils and can't help you out.

[Krieger82]

Basically pure. Good find, none of the dentists in my area use it anymore, all digital.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[lightman]

I've never scored any dental film, but most of the Guys here find it to be harder than pure. As far as any germs go, I would not expect anything to have a very long life once its away from its host (human body). Maybe someone in the medical field could comment on this.

[zomby woof]

Doesn't the lead foil get peeled off before it goes into the mouth to be exposed to x-rays? I wouldn't think that the medical profession would actually put LEAD in someone's mouth and say it's ok to do it!

That is correct. However, in the process of opening the packet, the technician has to pull the packet apart to get to the film. I'm sure there is some contact with the outside of the packet and the lead. It's just a precaution.

I've pulled more of those packets apart than ten dentists combined.

[RogerDat]

Yes mine were gunned and I reported them here as I recall they were sort of like 50/50 COWW/Plain plus some tin. Great stuff to cast with but many will have a thin plastic or adhesive on them so they smoke some when melting. They are definitely a place for wearing nitrile gloves when handling, they are pealed from the film before the film goes into someone's mouth BUT no one was concerned about contaminating the peal off lead so me I would consider them contaminated waste until I sterilized at around 650* in my ingot pot.

I think some of the dead soft comments are regarding lead shielding for x-ray rooms, that is dead soft plain if not pure lead.