Linotype questions

[jimlj]

I recently acquired 200ish pounds of Linotype. There are two 30+ pound pigs, the rest pieces of type.
I AM NOT OFFERING ANY FOR SALE HERE, JUST ASKING ADVICE. If I sell any I will post it in the proper place. If I were to cast boolits from this it would likely last me the rest of my life at the rate I shoot. Seems like a waste of good metal to use it like that.
Is this worth melting and casting ingots if I were to sell any? The pigs are too big for adding to your typical bottom pour pot, but the pieces of type seem like a perfect way to sweeten up the pot if you need more tin or hardness.
What is this stuff worth as is vs ingot form?

[quail4jake]

Adding Linotype won't necessarily add tin...Alloy should be 84% Pb, 12% Sb, 4% Sn, so you will add 3x the Sb to Sn which will alter hardness and increase brittle properties. I have used Linotype to alloy for a known BHN but it usually comes up Sn poor and I always need to add Sn. That is probably because it was re melted many times and the dross skimmed off is actually Sn, so after many re uses it really is not 4% Sn. You can cut the pigs with a log splitter with a hardwood backer board, file your wedge to a sharp edge...makes the pigs more user friendly.

[bangerjim]

Remember.....................

linotype is "lines of type" in full words and phrases, not individual letters.

Individual letters are either MONO TYPE of FOUNDRY TYPE, which are much harder and richer in alloys.

Do some research on the net to learn the difference.

The lino pigs good prove it is some alloy of linotype, but the % can vary as old printers mixed their own when the Sn was depleted. The above numbers are the ideal ratio but rarely are found in real life!

If cast into ingots, it decreases the PROOF of what it is and it could be anything. People would have to really trust you to buy your home-made ingots of "linotype". I would never pay more than a buck a pound for anything someone had home cast their self.

[Paper Puncher]

Easy way to make the pigs smaller is to score the pig with a chisel all the way around. Support pig on either side of score mark. Strike score mark with big hammer and it will split right there.

[jimlj]

Remember.....................

linotype is "lines of type" in full words and phrases, not individual letters.

Individual letters are either MONO TYPE of FOUNDRY TYPE, which are much harder and richer in alloys.

Do some research on the net to learn the difference.

The lino pigs good prove it is some alloy of linotype, but the % can vary as old printers mixed their own when the Sn was depleted. The above numbers are the ideal ratio but rarely are found in real life!

If cast into ingots, it decreases the PROOF of what it is and it could be anything. People would have to really trust you to buy your home-made ingots of "linotype". I would never pay more than a buck a pound for anything someone had home cast their self.

I defiantly have Linotype...lines of type. I can't vouch for the pigs, but they are way harder than soft lead.

[jimlj]

Easy way to make the pigs smaller is to score the pig with a chisel all the way around. Support pig on either side of score mark. Strike score mark with big hammer and it will split right there.

Thanks for the information. I'll likely keep the pigs and mix with the soft lead I have for boolits. That will likely keep me shooting till my "best by" date.

[Beerd]

Thanks for the information. I'll likely keep the pigs and mix with the soft lead I have for boolits. That will likely keep me shooting till my "best by" date.

sounds like a good plan.

[Outpost75]

Scrap salvaged linotype sold at auction from small town newspapers which went out of business goes for about $1.25/pound. NEW virgin linotype in pigs from a smelter runs $2.0-$2.50 per pound, depending upon American Metal Market and ISRI spot market price. I blend linotype with wheelweights or backstop salvage to get the hardness I want. Makes a great general-purpose alloy mixing 50-50 with soft plumber's lead for about 13 BHN.

[MT Gianni]

Linotype pigs should ring when hit with a crescent wrench. Lead makes a dull thud. Pigs are the equivalent of gunpowder sold out of a barrel. You have an idea of what it should be and what it should do but are not 100 % sure of it. Get it analyzed if you want a value. If you want to use it you can rig a tripod and lower it into a pot, cut it with a splitting wedge or saw if you have no other method.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If the pigs are unmarked, as I suspect they are??? Then they were poured by a end user, instead of a foundry...and likely are a "pig in a poke", but you can investigate the alloy to confirm what it is. If the seller told you it's linotype and he was the type of person who would know, then it likely is linotype...but when it comes to you selling, third party info is just that, meaning the end buyer needs to have faith that you and the previous seller knew what they were talking about.

If I were to be a buyer of linotype, I would want "Lines of type", and I would likely pay less (per lb) for a pig and even less, if you melted the pigs and cast them into small ingots.

SO, what do you do?
I'd bust the pigs into pieces using the sledge hammer and fulcrum technique, a very quick and easy thing to make a 22 pig into 5 lb chunks (if it's linotype, pure lead will just bend). If you have a traditional sized pig ingot and they weigh 30 lbs, then they could be soft lead, as it is denser than linotype.

I'd use the Pig ingot metal, assuming it is linotype, before I'd use the "lines of type", because if you were ever to sell it to boolit casters, they'll likely pay more for it in it's recognizable form...again, at least I would ;)
Good Luck

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Linotype is useful for making Lyman #2 alloy. Great alloy for rifle bullets. But you will need some pewter (tin) and pure lead to do it. Linotype by itself is too hard to be of much use in making boolits. To make a good alloy for pistol boolits you could use 40# pure, 3.3# of lino and 0.75# of pewter. This would get you a bhn of about 10. As you can see, that lino would last a very long time at that rate.

Maybe keep 50# of it and trade the rest for pure and pewter.

[Char-Gar]

Linotype metal was used, melted and reused many times by printers. In time, the depleted metals had to be refreshed and the foundry sold to the printers the needed metals to replenish the metal. So, when linotype comes from a printer, you never truly know its contents.

Still, if it rings when struck with a metal object, I would buy all I could get at a reasonable price. I have mixed allot of it 50-50 with X-Ray room sheathing to make a very good alloy. I have also mixed allot of No. 2 alloy with it over the years. Good stuff.

[jimlj]

There were two pigs, and the rest (about 150pounds) is “lines of type”.
I’ll wack a pig to see if it squeals er rings. All of my casting this far has been 9mm. Since I started powder coating I’ve had zero problem leading, even with pure lead. Unless the pig metal proves to be too hard, I’ll likely keep it for my own use, and use the lines of type for trading. I’m in this less than I’ve bought “range lead” for in the past, so unless I got total garbage I didn’t get hurt.

[FISH4BUGS]

The posters here keep telling us how to cut up linotype pigs. While they may well work, my way is easiest of all.
Use a table saw with a carbide blade and just cut them up to the size you want. I had 5 25+ lb pigs and cut up two of them to 6" pieces in just minutes.
I have blended 5lbs ww to 1 lb linotype for all of my casting years....something like 35+ years. That is my handgun bullet.
I have NEVER leaded a barrel. Period.
I may well try some range scrap alloy someday to see how much I need to blend with linotype to get the same BHN.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

5# COWW and 1# Lino would get you bhn of 13. You could push that alloy pretty hard.

[FISH4BUGS]

5# COWW and 1# Lino would get you bhn of 13. You could push that alloy pretty hard.

PRECISELY why I like it. It is a great all round bullet alloy.