medical isotope lead

[45shooter]

I'm new to this, and trying to sort out what to use to cast 200gr SWC 45s. I have lead used to ship medical isotopes available to me. Some is very soft and probably pure. I also get some tubes that are harder. Any one use with this stuff?

[jaguarxk120]

Had some years ago, mixed with wheel weights, shot well.

[jr81452]

PM Muddy Creek Sam. He is well versed in isotope containers.

[runfiverun]

some are near pure,
some are more in the 1.5/1.5/97 range.
and others are like 1.5/2.5/96
all usefull and excellent alloys.

[454PB]

The ones I've used are nearly identical to wheelweight alloy in both hardness and castibility.

Here's what mine look like:


http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1066&d=1141243534

[lwknight]

And they are not radioactive cause lead is dead.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

That's a new one on me, I picked up over 2000# today and have more to get yet. was real confused when I found 2 50/50 Lead Solder bars in the barrel's today. Gift I would guess.

Sam :D

[leadman]

I've been using these too. I don't know what the alloys are but there are several different ones.
When I melt it there is a large amount of an "oatmeal" slush on the top. In the #100 pot there is probably at least #10 of this. I now skim this off and the alloy seems to fill the molds better without it.
When I was stirring it back in the boolits had a white powdery residue on the edges and did not want to fill out well. Could it be zinc?

Anyway, when I skim this slush off and add about 1% or 2% tin it is a superb alloy.

[runfiverun]

oxides.
when lead oxidizes it turns white.
try re-melting the skims and do a carbon flux then check the hardness of that.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

These are what I get

Sam :D[smilie=w:

[45shooter]

Thank you to everyone and Muddy Creek, I have some of those big lead shields that are in the back of your truck. Do you have to add any thing to those, or can I cast boolits from that lead as it is?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

You can cast them as is up to about 1300 fps without quenching.

Sam :D

[The Double D]

Has anyone encountered these containers. Anyone know the compostion. They seem hard and do ring.

http://www.fototime.com/997AD1315E9FB6A/standard.jpg

2 5/8 diameter x 3 1/2 inches high. 1460 grams (51.5 oz.) average weight

http://www.fototime.com/61C84502B4A3DCF/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/58548A2A8E96A28/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/D77FA35092D3D08/standard.jpg

[Muddy Creek Sam]

DoubleD,

Should be 96Pb-3Sb-1Sn

Sam :D

[sqlbullet]

Concur with Sam. My experience says that should be treated just like WW but with a little extra tin.

Should make great bullets. I spent Saturday morning using my Garand to 'dispose' of some isotope lead.

[The Double D]

Thanks guys, been working on getting these for about a month.

What a trial. First the source told me they were considered a commodity and asked me to make an offer. I offered the same price the local salvage offered-fob.

Board of directors looked into selling them to me and warning flags went up. EPA warning--hazardous material. Board became alarmed and said that they had to be removed by a proper hazardous material handler. Directed my contact to find such a handler and get them removed.

My contact contacted state DEQ to find a handler.

DEQ said "What? Just take them to the salvage yard and sell them"

My contact called me and told if I will scrape all the patient labels off on site and remove them I can have them. About 200 of them.

[AJH]

My contact called me and told if I will scrape all the patient labels off on site and remove them I can have them. About 200 of them.

Goo-Gone is your friend for removing lables like that quickly.

[sqlbullet]

My contact called me and told if I will scrape all the patient labels off on site and remove them I can have them. About 200 of them.

Does that mean you can have them for free, or you can buy them at the price you originally offered.

Cause they would have to remove that label if they were going to sell them to a scrapper.

So, if you are getting them for free, but you remove the label, not a bad deal. Paying....May still be a good deal for you, but the guys I work with remove all that stuff to their satisfaction and to legal requirement before I get it.

[The Double D]

That's the deal, I have to remove the labels and I get them for free.

The source has figured that to pay one of their employees to remove the label, load, haul to salvage and unload would cost them more than what the salvage yard will pay for them.

They have approved my method for removing labels.

Here's what I came up with.

My friend southpaw the farmer has a 1 Ton arbor press. He welded up this pin punch to fit the arbor.

I made an anvil out of a scrap of pipe. The open anvil center is larger than the lead core. There is a recessed lip in the anvil to catch the plastic cover.

Lower the arbor and the punch goes through the plastic cover and punches out the lead core. The plastic cover with the label goes in a trash bag and the source disposes of the plastic cover.

http://www.fototime.com/0479433ABE05E59/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/5E18E00AEC475EF/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/C94A4024C5D9EB8/standard.jpg

Sure a lot easier than scraping.

[The Double D]

We went and picked the containers up this morning

Here they all are.

http://www.fototime.com/2208D621DF16B3E/standard.jpg
http://www.fototime.com/3C073CEDE0D4A3F/standard.jpg

The arbor press worked very well to remove the covers.

http://www.fototime.com/4673FDF75280BB6/orig.jpg


http://www.fototime.com/FA1BD4FA387DF96/standard.jpg

End result about about 934 lbs of lead. At an average of 300 480 grain bullets a year, I have increased my life expectancy by about 45 years.

http://www.fototime.com/A5F2FF467D36BAA/standard.jpg

[kawalekm]

I've been treating my containers as dead soft lead and have use mine for the cast cores of swaged bullets. For regular cast bullets I add 5% tin to this lead to make 1:20 alloy.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r55/kawalekm/380Autocaseto357bullet.jpg

[The Double D]

These things I got are sure not dead soft, they ring like a bell when dropped. They will mark with a finger nail but they don't dent or gouge

[sqlbullet]

Only about 20% of the now 7 tons (yes, 14,000 lbs) of isotope lead I have processed to date was soft/pure. The rest was WW or harder. Usually it has 3% antimony, 1% tin based on the samples I have had tested.

[Markbo]

Man.... I gotta start mining those contacts with doctors, dentists and hospitals, eh?

[jmh54738]

Kawalekm, I processed over 600# of cans that look like yours. About 20% bigger than a 35mm film can. They appeared to be dead soft. After processing, I made a couple hundred .457 round balls for the Old Army. When I tried to use them, I could not force them into the cylinder. Bill Furgeson told me that alloys with antimony will work soften, as apparently happened when these containers were being made. Once processed, the antimony did its thing to harden the lead.
John

[Armorer]

Markbo- That might not be a bad idea since most of the tire shops around here have gotten awful stingy lately. Up here on the North side anyway. I wonder with everything down in the medical center if there is any way to start getting these things. Hmmm...