What To Beware Of When Buying Someone Else's Ingots?

[~JM~]

I have a lead on some ingots that were part of an estate sale. No other info available as to source or composition.

What should I look for & beware of? What type of pricing should I be willing to pay? My previous lead purchase was $1# for yard scrap.

Thank you

[hoodat]

Only way I'd be good with it, is paying no more than half of what Roto-Metals charges for ingots of known composition. jd

[barsik]

take a little muriatic acid and do a zinc test, other than that the lead could be almost any kind of alloy from pure wheelweight to range scrap. buck a pound is fair for unknown alloy.

[Wheelguns 1961]

For a quick easy way to give you an idea of what you have, you can drop the ingots on a concrete floor. If it rings, it is harder. If it thuds, it is soft.

[Dusty Bannister]

If you have a known alloy in ingot form, strike the known sample against a similar edge of the unknown sample. The larger intent will be a softer alloy. If the ingots appear older yet still have some shine to them, they might have a bit more tin content. If new or dark gray, and thud when dropped, you have a soft lead.

[Land Owner]

Take your $15 pencil set with you and test the hardness of the ingots for sale. Compare the pencil "scratch test" to the chart of hardness for one data point about the alloy. You still won't know the composition. Ask what they WANT for the lot. Then count or weigh the lot and offer them what YOU think is appropriate. You might be surprised. They may just want it gone.

[~JM~]

Went & had a look. They were unusual looking to me. Some type of "brownie" sized teflon coated pan was used. The ingots had the pock-marked surface that I experienced when I used a teflon coated loaf pan. The color was odd & the texture was course. They were hard! Wasn't able to scratch them with my hardest (6H) art pencil. Would zinc increase the hardness? I decided not to buy them.

I did buy these though.



Anyone able to properly identify them?

Thank you.

[~JM~]

take a little muriatic acid and do a zinc test, other than that the lead could be almost any kind of alloy from pure wheelweight to range scrap. buck a pound is fair for unknown alloy.

How is this test performed?

[Springfield]

Scrape a clean spot on the ingot and drip some muriatic acid on that spot. If it bubbles it contains zinc. I just use a drop test or stab it with my pocket knife most of the time. After stabbing hundreds of ingots I can certainly tell soft lead from medium from hard. Then I melt them in large batches and send some samples off to BNE if I feel it warrants it.
I bought some scrap last week, and it contained 2 of those brick sized ingots, except one of then seemed just to shiny to be regular lead. Came back from BNE as 65/35 tin/lead. The guy must have had a bunch of 63/37 solder and melted it, with some pewter mixed in maybe.

[fc60]

Greetings,

Since they appear to be cast by RotoMetals, telephone and ask what they are.

https://www.rotometals.com/bullet-casting-alloys/

I can read "Formula"; but, the rest is not readable.

The numbers stamped on the backside will be a valuable clue.

Cheers,

Dave

[farmbif]

those would have gone home with me. zinc has a ring to it kind of like a bell when you bang it. and I think you would be pretty hard pressed to shave it with a pocket knife. another simple test if you can shave it or scratch it good with a pocket knife and its good and heavy you probably will have a good casting alloy. foundry type material or super hard can be mixed with pure lead to make great bullet alloy. and soft lead seems much easier to find these days than harder stuff like Lino or other kinds of printers alloys.

[imashooter2]

From the look of the stuff you bought, I would have left it all. Looks like it was stored poorly. A guy that doesn’t care enough to store expensive store bought virgin metal well isn’t someone I’d want to buy reclaimed scrap from.

[Land Owner]

What? "...guy that doesn't care...isn't someone to buy...scrap from"? The guy is DEAD and it IS scrap! "Stored poorly"? Is there such a thing when the metal is destined to be heated to a temperature that will burn off or float any impurities that will be dipped away? The stuff came from the ground. We recover it, reshape it, shoot it back into the ground, recover it, reshape it, and do that time, and time, and time again. Use the "dirt" on it to negotiate a lower price.

[imashooter2]

What? "...guy that doesn't care...isn't someone to buy...scrap from"? The guy is DEAD and it IS scrap! "Stored poorly"? Is there such a thing when the metal is destined to be heated to a temperature that will burn off or float any impurities that will be dipped away? The stuff came from the ground. We recover it, reshape it, shoot it back into the ground, recover it, reshape it, and do that time, and time, and time again. Use the "dirt" on it to negotiate a lower price.

A person that lackadaisical with storage might well be just as lackadaisical choosing what he melts. You are free to do what you want with your money. Mine would stay in my pocket.

[~JM~]

Greetings,

Since they appear to be cast by RotoMetals, telephone and ask what they are.

https://www.rotometals.com/bullet-casting-alloys/

I can read "Formula"; but, the rest is not readable.

The numbers stamped on the backside will be a valuable clue.

Cheers,

Dave

There isn't anything in the area underneath Formula. There is a #4 stamped into the back side. I sent RotoMetals an e-mail. The reply was: Number 4 Hardware babbitt
https://www.rotometals.com/babbitt-b...e-alloy-ingot/