Frankcnb
03-12-2009, 10:15 AM
I have been lurking around Cast Boolits for a while. I really enjoy the forums.
This is my first post here.
I have found some lead at a near by metal scrap yard. The owner told me he had some lead and took me into one of the buildings and waht he has I have no clue as to the purpose of these molded hunks of lead. below is some pictures.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/Frankcnb/led002.jpg
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/Frankcnb/led001.jpg
This chunck of lead weighs 31.5 lbs. and is 6 1/2 inches long. As you can see on the hollow end there are two metal clips that are actualled attached with socket head screws. They look to me to be some kind of electrical contacts sort of like what you see in the bottom of a flashlight except much bigger.
The owner of the scrap yard says he believes it to be pure lead, but it is harder than pure lead. I can barely scratch it with my thumb nail. Seems to be not quite as hard as wheel weights.
He also had some hollow taper shaped cup-like castings that werte about 2" tall and 1 1/2 inches wide at the top. I wish I had taked some pictures but I melted those down into ingots marked with a question mark. These "cups" had a rim casted in them as if another piece fitted into them. There were labels on these cups, but I could only read one word on one of the labels; the word iodine. Maybe this was some kind of medical containers. Hope I will not start glowing!!
I have decided to melt this lead down and cast a few bullets to see haow they cast and check hardness. I hope there is no zink.
If I get good castings I will go back and buy more . The scrap yard has a barrel full of the big castings. I bought fifty pounds at .47 cents, one big chunk pictured and a few of the cups.
This is my first post here.
I have found some lead at a near by metal scrap yard. The owner told me he had some lead and took me into one of the buildings and waht he has I have no clue as to the purpose of these molded hunks of lead. below is some pictures.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/Frankcnb/led002.jpg
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss128/Frankcnb/led001.jpg
This chunck of lead weighs 31.5 lbs. and is 6 1/2 inches long. As you can see on the hollow end there are two metal clips that are actualled attached with socket head screws. They look to me to be some kind of electrical contacts sort of like what you see in the bottom of a flashlight except much bigger.
The owner of the scrap yard says he believes it to be pure lead, but it is harder than pure lead. I can barely scratch it with my thumb nail. Seems to be not quite as hard as wheel weights.
He also had some hollow taper shaped cup-like castings that werte about 2" tall and 1 1/2 inches wide at the top. I wish I had taked some pictures but I melted those down into ingots marked with a question mark. These "cups" had a rim casted in them as if another piece fitted into them. There were labels on these cups, but I could only read one word on one of the labels; the word iodine. Maybe this was some kind of medical containers. Hope I will not start glowing!!
I have decided to melt this lead down and cast a few bullets to see haow they cast and check hardness. I hope there is no zink.
If I get good castings I will go back and buy more . The scrap yard has a barrel full of the big castings. I bought fifty pounds at .47 cents, one big chunk pictured and a few of the cups.