Scored 100 Lbs Lead

[StarMetal]

I scored 100 pounds of pure lead today. It's in nice flat thin sheets and clean. My neighbor runs the town garbage center.

[imashooter2]

Good find. Congrats!

[docone31]

Way to go!!!!

[dragonrider]

Good neighbor.

[mold maker]

Get that neighbor a XL Pizza and a tankard to say thanks.
It proves one mans trash is another's pleasure.

[StarMetal]

Well I went through some of my booty and seems I got over half a five gallon bucket full of tin!!![smilie=w:

[imashooter2]

Now you're just bragging...

[Rock]

Tin from a garbage center? Wow, somebody sure screwed up, but I'm glad that you are
'recycling' it properly :)

[StarMetal]

Tin from a garbage center? Wow, somebody sure screwed up, but I'm glad that you are
'recycling' it properly :)

These garbage centers in TN sure are something. They take everything and the contractors that run the centers get to keep the money from salvaged metals and everything they can sell.....like say a lawnmower is brought in and it only needs something minor, but yet is thrown away, they sell it. So with that said the garbage centers are little flea markets too. Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure. I've gotten a lot of good stuff there. I've see brand new tools still in the wrapper thrown out. One woman threw out quite a few brand new pair of designer jeans with the tags and everything. I picked me up a 20 ga shotgun only needed a safety lever.

Yup the guy that threw the tin out told my friend it was lead too.

[StarMetal]

I got this other stuff too, the best way to describe it is it looks like lead wool, but it's not in pads it's in like a rope. Smells oily a little. What is it? Some kind of plumbers product?

[sljacob]

it (the lead wool) was used to seal the joints of the old cast iron sewer pipe

[StarMetal]

it (the lead wool) was used to seal the joints of the old cast iron sewer pipe

I thought they used oakum and lead for that. Anyways this stuff is way harder then lead, I think it has lots of arsenic in it and antimony.

[StarMetal]

Well sagacious figured out what I have. I'll tell you fellows, that man knows his alloys. Here's what he said:

Sounds like you've been doing some productive lead scavenging. I have seen that lead rope. If it's what I have seen, it's similar to the 'cable-joining' lead alloy. If I recall correctly, it's a lead/antimony/zinc alloy. Lots of antimony. Melting it down requires very generous fluxing, and you get a black dross or sometimes a crumbly black ash. A fair amount of the zinc will burn off while rendering, and that's what's responisble for the greenish-to-black color you saw. I had to melt down a bunch of it a few years back, and I did it in a separate pot. What worked best was to run the melt at a constant high heat and flux and stir repeatedly until the black ash appeared, and then pour into ingots. It definitely poured very well when used for casting.

As far as I know, it is/was used for lots of things on construction sites, like filling or sealing gaps in steelwork. Similar to the uses for caulking lead rope and lead wool, but caulking lead is chemical lead-- pretty much pure lead.

I have never seen the seed packets you describe. My guess is that since metallic tin is not biologically reactive, that the seeds are stored in air/light/water-tight tin packets to maintain long-term viability of germination. The packets are probably 100% pure tin.

The vinyl "Kodak" envelopes are film/negative pouches. The black paper is to protect the film from light and scuffs/scratches, and the foil is to protect from infrared and various types of low-level radiation. The foil is probably lead-- either pure lead or lead with some tin and maybe a bit of antimony.

....and I add Thanks sagacious!!!

Joe