Found a little keel lead

[Hammerlane]

I am in the process of cutting up a 1940's sailboat keel and it cuts like butter. Some of the softest lead I come across. I have had a keel that had rebar in it. So anything goes in making a keel. Test it. Test it Test it. or find a sinker maker that will take all your lead ( bad decision) you had to have because it looked to good to pass up. I have a guy. LOL

[masscaster]

Being a Pb caster from the '70's it makes me ill seeing Pure Lead mixed with anything other than Sn.

Jeff

[F_L]

I am in the sailboat business and have to dispose of sailboats. I have processed a lot of keels and have all of them tested. None of them had zinc. As mentioned above, older boats generally have pretty soft keels. Newer boats will usually have some Sb, Sn but usually not more than 2-3%. I had a small (500lb) keel that was retractable via a hydraulic cylinder. I dulled 2 chainsaw blades trying to cut it up. Testing showed it to be 6% Sb, 2% Sn. I have not run into rebar but a lot of keels have SS keel bolts in them. I did run into a keel with bricks in it. That was a big *** moment. Google search on that boat said it was common. I think the designed keel was to heavy so "let's replace some lead with bricks". That ate up quite a few chainsaw blades.

[mkj4him]

My hardness test results shows 7.8 BHn
Any suggestion on what to add for typical handgun loadings? 9mm, 38, 45’s. I suppose I can add tin. I’ll be powder coating. For faster stuff; 44 mag, 35 Remington, 460 Rowland, I can heat treat and then Alox tumble lube

[Winger Ed.]

Any suggestion on what to add for typical handgun loadings? 9mm, 38, 45’s.

If you've got 'em, 1/2 & 1/2 with old school clip on wheel weights is a favorite.
At those speeds, the alloy doesn't really need any more 'goodies' in it other than to make it
easy to cast and fill out the mold.

If you had the tools & such, you could even swag them with what you've got.

[mkj4him]

So what’s a good source for free/cheep tin for adding to the mix?

[lightman]

So what’s a good source for free/cheep tin for adding to the mix?

Free or cheap tin is hard to find. Lots of guys chase Pewter food service ware as a source for tin. Solder is another source. Pure Tin can be bought from places like RotoMetals,which is a site sponsor. Some guys even find it in the lead bin at the scrap yards. Tin ain't cheap!

[P Flados]

A mix at 7.8 is not bad for 38s and 45s. 9mm can be very picky, but it might work. It will also probably work for mid range 44s.

I cast a lot of similar hardness "mystery alloy" with no additives. Give a try as is before paying extra for Sn or Sb additive material.

[mkj4him]

Thanks. I actually found a stash of some tin I had tucked away in the basement I forgot about. Not a big batch but enough to ply with for now. Going to start hunting pewter.
I just blended in my small 5 pound pot 1/2 and 1/2 of the Keel lead and WW’s + 2% tin. Sure made it more manageable real quick, and doesn’t stick to my spoon as easily. I’ll cast some tomorrow and set aside for two weeks before testing hardness. So if i powder coat later, isn’t water quenching from the mold a waste? I plan on powdering and quenching from the oven.

[imashooter2]

I think water quenching is convenient as you don’t have to keep clearing the landing area. But I would probably air cool before powder coating to keep the product clean.

[LabGuy]

I’m in Leon county, Florida.

Hello neighbor!

[mkj4him]

In my experience lead keel ballast from old wooden boats tends to be close to pure lead. When they started making fiberglass boats with solid fin type keels, they needed to start hardening the lead so they wouldn’t get scared or bent if they hit something.

It’s close at 7.8 Bhn

[mkj4him]

I think water quenching is convenient as you don’t have to keep clearing the landing area. But I would probably air cool before powder coating to keep the product clean.

Yes I will probably just air cool since I will be powder coating. I am correct, aren’t I, in my assumption that the powder coat baking would nullify the water quenching?
If I need harder bullets, I can water quench and use Alox tumble lube.

[farmbif]

there is a good chance it is pure lead. sacrificial anodes are attached to stainless, aluminum, brass and bronze. like prop shafts, rudders, trim tabs, ect. stuff that does not get painted.
if it is pure lead, foundry type is a good ally to mix with pure lead it has about the highest concentrations of antimony and tin. in an easy to get alloy from places like rotometals.

[mkj4him]

there is a good chance it is pure lead. sacrificial anodes are attached to stainless, aluminum, brass and bronze. like prop shafts, rudders, trim tabs, ect. stuff that does not get painted.
if it is pure lead, foundry type is a good ally to mix with pure lead it has about the highest concentrations of antimony and tin. in an easy to get alloy from places like rotometals.

Is FOUNDRY TYPE the type of metal alloy I’m supposed to look for?

[farmbif]

this information might be a real big help

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm

[imashooter2]

Yes I will probably just air cool since I will be powder coating. I am correct, aren’t I, in my assumption that the powder coat baking would nullify the water quenching?
If I need harder bullets, I can water quench and use Alox tumble lube.

Baking and then air cooling slowly would, as I understand it, remove any hardness added by water dropping. Baking and then quenching is pretty much the same thing, although more controlled as to temperature of the quench.

[mkj4him]

I tested my Keel alloy just now. It’s been 20 day and I did a sample of air dropped and water quenched.

Air dropped Keel Lead = ~8.7 BHN
Water dropped Keel Lead = ~15.4 BHN

That’s assuming I was holding my mouth right, holding my breath and clenching my sphincter just right to see through that little Lee microscope properly.

So with these results, are there any postulations as to what my Keel Lead might be made off? It’s not pure lead but fairly close I think. Softer than WW’s?

[mkj4him]

Question: if I powder coat my water quenched keel lead bullets, baked at 400 for 20 minutes and water quenched again, do I need to wait another two weeks to test for hardness? Or even if I let them air cool?

[slim1836]

Question: if I powder coat my water quenched keel lead bullets, baked at 400 for 20 minutes and water quenched again, do I need to wait another two weeks to test for hardness? Or even if I let them air cool?

I've not been aware you could get an accurate measurement as powder coat would (IMHO) have a different BHN than the lead below it. Thickness of the coating surely (IMHO) would also have a different BHN, however, I'm following to see what others have experienced. Is there a rule of thumb on this procedure perhaps?

Slim