mystery lead

[Mattog22]

I just started collecting lead for casting last weekend. Going to smelt my first batch tomorrow. A friend of mine had 2 "lead" bricks he gave me, I don't know if it's pure or not. It seems a bit hard. What can I do to make this into boolits?

[454PB]

Cast with it.

There are ways to analyse lead alloys, but for a small amount it's best to just try it and see.

Once your "bitten", you'll probably have a hardness tester, micrometer, and scales to compare alloys. Until then it's trial and error.

[CiDirkona]

If you have some known pure lead, you can try the NRA hardness test for little to no cost. Won't give you exact content, but will give you basic hardness.

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=7984

[Mattog22]

Are there any dangers with trying it, given that I can melt it and pour into into bullets ok? I know I should weigh the bullet and adjust my powder charge accordingly.

[docone31]

I cast zinc, I cast lead, I cast WWs.
No differences with the charge. Being lead, I stick with start loads anyway.
Cast them.

[Mattog22]

Ok, so sounds reasonably safe, I just won't mix it with any known lead yet.

[docone31]

When in doubt, go find some roofers and grab some of the old roof boots.
Pure lead sweetens everything.

[lwknight]

I guess , if it don't melt , then its not lead LOL
If lead is anything at all other than pure , it will seem hard by simple comparison.
Might have some tin and it might be WWs or even solder.

[Mattog22]

So if I can melt it, it is probably soft enough to shoot? Sorry if this sounds stupid but I haven't melted any lead yet.

[BulletGeek]

Yeah. They could be solid tin or even lead-free pewter and they'd make a perfectly good bullet. If you can melt the alloy, you won't hurt anything by loading and shooting it.

[lwknight]

A specific gravity test will help you determine the likely content and a melting temperature test will help to verify or disprove what the SG test indicated.

[Mattog22]

Well, since it's not a constant source of lead I probably don't need to waste my time trying to figure it out if I can get them cast and they shoot OK.

[Echo]

If possible, compare the weight of boolits cast w/pure Pb to booloits cast w/Mystery Metal.. That will give you a clue (more qualitative than quantitative!) re what thee boolit is made of.

[kennisondan]

glad I found this before posting my question.. I have some ingots of lead I bought a few years ago and have no idea what they are but know they are not as soft as what I would like them to be.
I also have fifty pound belt that divers wear.. pretty sure it is not pure lead either.. biut it is fiffty pounds lol..
dk

[Suo Gan]

Clamp it in a vise and see if it breaks clean when you smack it with a hammer...if it does it ain't pure...or even ww, probably good stuff like babbit.

[Mattog22]

Well, I made ingots out of some wheelweights last night. I got tired of trying to sort so I just kept throwing them in by the handfuls. Kept temp around 600 and all the steel and zinc floated. It was pretty easy this way.

[shagg]

Do the bricks have P.S Co inscribed in them? I found one in a scrap yard that seemed very hard and had that cast in it. Can't figure what it means? I read somewhere that no lead alloy is too hard for bullets?

[Mattog22]

No writing on them at all

[Bloodman14]

Give the ingots the 'drop' test; on a concrete floor, drop them from shoulder height; if they make a ringing, tinkling sound, they are hard enough to use as is. If they go 'thud', they are pure or close to it (close enough for our purposes, anyway). I separate my ingots with that test, cast boolits from each type for different loads (hunting, plinking, etc.) or use them as blending alloy. If it works for you,...

[Mattog22]

I can already tell they are harder than pure, since Im using them for pistol, mainly .45, I don't think I should have any issues.