the dude
04-02-2009, 11:58 PM
I have reclaimed lead and solder. It was melted down from pipes and solder joints. Is there a simple way to tell what the actual content is of the different bars?
I know some is "pure" lead as it was melted down from lead pipe and heated enough to get rid of a large amount of dross. I do not know if the pipe was "pure" or if the pipe is alloy.
The same with solder that started out at 60/40 or 40/60 but I do not know what it is now,after heating ,cleaning and molding into ingots. I also have bars of 50/50 that are factory marked, and one bar marked SN. At some point I will need to figure out what to add to the lead to make castable metal, right now I am trying to figure out what I have.:confused:
At one time we had someone come by to buy our excess lead,solder, etc. and he used a cone mold and then decided on the composition of the metal by the appearance and weight of the cone. I this a valid method?
Any ideas on how to tell what I have?
I know some is "pure" lead as it was melted down from lead pipe and heated enough to get rid of a large amount of dross. I do not know if the pipe was "pure" or if the pipe is alloy.
The same with solder that started out at 60/40 or 40/60 but I do not know what it is now,after heating ,cleaning and molding into ingots. I also have bars of 50/50 that are factory marked, and one bar marked SN. At some point I will need to figure out what to add to the lead to make castable metal, right now I am trying to figure out what I have.:confused:
At one time we had someone come by to buy our excess lead,solder, etc. and he used a cone mold and then decided on the composition of the metal by the appearance and weight of the cone. I this a valid method?
Any ideas on how to tell what I have?