How to identify mystery alloy

[vincecyr]

My brother in law said he has a bunch of old lead mallets at his work(they have to get a new one if they get slightly damaged). Melting them down would be simple, and the little bit of steel hardware easy to separate, but how do I tell what I am working with? Hardness?

[USSR]

Many years ago, I worked in a factory that used these. They are soft, treat them as pure.

Don

[JM7.7x58]

I use artist pencils to determine a relative hardness when compared to other alloys. They don’t tell you what’s in an alloy, but it’s a good place to start. They are very mobile and inexpensive.

Here is a link to the sticky.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?75455-Testing-hardness-with-pencils

JM

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Lead hammer's are typically soft lead, but there is no written rule.


old lead mallets
"old" being the key word here, pure lead will oxidize more so, than a alloy. Are they flat grey and spots of white corrosion? If they are not corroded, but still seem soft, there is likely a small percentage of Tin (1 or 2%), to inhibit corrosion.

[fredj338]

You would need a hardness tester but do you really care? if it dents it will make pistol bullets. If it can be scratched with something pretty soft like a thumbnail, it is pure or close & will need some alloying.