What to do with it

[Gtrubicon]

Hey all, my father recently gave me about 15lbs of already cast and lubed pistol bullets he was given at an estate sale. A couple of weekends ago I was cleaning up some buckets of range lead and melted these down, as the lot I received them into ingots. I kept them separate so I could test the hardness. Well I did that last night and it is all 22bh. My question is, how much pure added to how much of this hard lead to get me in the 12/13bh? I have plenty of pure and tin in solder form.

[JimB..]

Look for the alloy calculator, it’s around here somewhere

[Bazoo]

Looks like 4 pounds of Lino to 10 pounds of pure will give you 12 BHN.

https://bulletmatch.com/pages/lead-alloy-calculator

[Rickf1985]

That is assuming his 22 BHN is from Linotype. I would think they are commercial bullets and are more than likely a proprietary alloy that the company uses but not linotype. If that is the case you have no idea what the tin/antimony ratio is in those bullets.
Unless he has a very large pot then it is best to cut the bullet lot in half and then mix that with 2 1/2 pounds of pure and test it. If it is still too hard melt it down again and add another 2 1/2 again. At that point you will be at 5 pure and 7.5 22 BHN and you still have room to play with in a 20 lb. pot. Sneak up on it and once you get were you want and if you kept records of how much soft you added each time then the second batch is a one shot deal. Once you get the BHN you want mix the second batch to match the first and cast some boolits and see how the fill out is If it is weak then add a pound if tin to each half of the mix since the whole mix will not fit in one pot.

[Bazoo]

I'm not familiar with any alloys that are 22 other than linotype. What else could it be?

[Gtrubicon]

Thanks for the replies fellas, my question was going to be how would I identify it as linotype in its current form? Because of how hard it is would that be the assumption?

[Dusty Bannister]

Get the sample prep instructions from member BNE and he can do an XRF scan to tell you exactly what you have. Follow the instructions accurately.

[Bazoo]

I tried searching for other alloys that are 22 BHN and couldn't find anything. Stereotype has a BHN of 23 according to the Lyman manual. So... It could be that, if your measurements are a smidge off. Probably much more likely it'd be Linotype though.

I suppose it could just be antimony mixed with ww or soft, but antimony is pretty uncommonly encountered.

I'd like to see what BNE has to say about it.

[poppy42]

Heck that’s no good for anything. Send it to me and I’ll dispose of it for ya! No charge ��

[JimB..]

It could be something other than Linotype, but it doesn’t really matter for our purposes. Melt 2 pounds with 3 pounds of pure and I bet you’ll be close. Rough math, 3x5 + 2x22 = 59, 59/5 = 11.8

If it’s still too hard, add another pound of pure and test again. I like the alloy calculator, but I’d rather work up to the target hardness than overshoot it.

[Rickf1985]

I'm not familiar with any alloys that are 22 other than linotype. What else could it be?

It "Could" be anything. There are many ways to reach the goal of 22 BHN. Bullet companies will have their own favorite formula. You are basing all you know on printers lead. That is not the only hard lead out there. If you go to Rotometals or one of the other foundries and tell them you want lead at 22 BHN and ask how many ways there are to get there I am sure they could give you a spreadsheet worth!!

[Rickf1985]

Thanks for the replies fellas, my question was going to be how would I identify it as linotype in its current form? Because of how hard it is would that be the assumption?

There is a saying I was taught many, many years ago about assuming something. The old gent told me to spell assume, Assume. Then he told me that when you assume you make an ASS of U and ME. Made perfect sense to me 60 years ago and still does to this day because by assuming you are basically just guessing.

[Bazoo]

It "Could" be anything. There are many ways to reach the goal of 22 BHN. Bullet companies will have their own favorite formula. You are basing all you know on printers lead. That is not the only hard lead out there. If you go to Rotometals or one of the other foundries and tell them you want lead at 22 BHN and ask how many ways there are to get there I am sure they could give you a spreadsheet worth!!

True, it could be other alloys but anything is a stretch. It’s for sure not a lead/tin alloy, and thus a safe bet it is primarily a lead/antimony alloy. How much of each and what other metals is the question.

[Gtrubicon]

Hey Bazoo, thanks for showing me the bullet match website. That is pretty useful.

[Bazoo]

Hey Bazoo, thanks for showing me the bullet match website. That is pretty useful.

You’re welcome, and thank you! It’s a heck of a lot of fun cataloging bullets!

[Bigslug]

Since it's still 22BHN after smelting, linotype is a reasonable assumption if it's from an old stash. When printers switched over to more modern methods, the typeface alloys were a cheap and easy source for commercial casters, and it casts a pretty bullet that's hard enough not to deform in shipping. My dad & I found some of those in the recesses of his stash that we purchased back in the '80's or '90's before we started casting. Melted it down, have treated it as lino, and it hasn't bit us in the butt.

Casting pistol bullets out of straight linotype. . .boggles the modern mind, doesn't it?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Hey all, my father recently gave me about 15lbs of already cast and lubed pistol bullets he was given at an estate sale. A couple of weekends ago I was cleaning up some buckets of range lead and melted these down, as the lot I received them into ingots. I kept them separate so I could test the hardness. Well I did that last night and it is all 22bh. My question is, how much pure added to how much of this hard lead to get me in the 12/13bh? I have plenty of pure and tin in solder form.

Thanks for the replies fellas, my question was going to be how would I identify it as linotype in its current form? Because of how hard it is would that be the assumption?

Much like Bazoo points out, and for other reasons, I am willing to guess it's Linotype.
One more trick to verify is to check melt temp. Linotype becomes liquidus at a fairly low temp (460º F).

I find it's easiest to find melt temp by heating up beyond melt temp, so it's all liquid, that watch temp slowly fall to solidification. Some alloys have a slush stage, that can also tell you some hints toward different alloys as Linotype has no slush stage...or very little if the alloy is tainted or low on tin.