Old water main gasket content?

[dieselrealtor]

I have run across some "what they are calling" old water main gasket, he stated he was told that it was pure lead.

I presume it is some sort of poured joint sealant, below is a pic.

What is the most likely content? Lead with some tin?

[John Boy]

Buy a hardness tester because some lead pipes are Bhn 8 and others Bhn 5.
You don't have a hardness tester? Go to the scrap yard and have it tested

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Pure lead is better for this purpose than any alloy, and tin is more expensive than lead. There is always the possibility of someone using any kind of scrap that isn't actually brittle, but if it was new metal bought for the purpose it is most unlikely to be other than pure..

[dieselrealtor]

I haven't bought it yet so i don't know exactly what it is, just trying to get an educated guess.
Think it is worth .75 pound?

[carbine]

Grab it

[Idz]

Use the fingernail test. Pure lead is soft enough to easily dent with your fingernail.

[rancher1913]

those look like the seal from a sewer pipe connection. when the pipes were put together a piece of okum was packed in the joint then lead was poured to make the seal. should be soft lead.

[RogerDat]

Soft or fairly soft plain lead BHN of 5 or 8 won't matter much. You smelt it, get it all clean and then you can either hardness test with a real tester or use the art pencil test outlined in the sticky. If it is BHN of 5 you will add more of something to harden than you will if it is BHN of 8. But either way that will be a nice pot of ingots all the same once you are done smelting.

Not bad price either. WW's with all the debris and steel clips are 50 cents a pound around here, when you can find them.

[Frank46]

Company where I used to work had abandoned a huge gas main. As they were filling it in I spied the remains of the lead gasket. Sufficed to say asked the guy with the tractor to hold off so's I could get it. Just at that time my boss caught me in the act. Knowing my habits I got a big "what the heck are you doing now". After I rescued the lead I told him I was going to alloy it with wheel weights and make bullets. He just walked away shaking his head. Pretty sure you'll find it pure lead or close to it. Alloyed with wheel weights just fine. Frank

[irishtoo]

buy it, but smelt it outside. its a bit smelly and smokey irishtoo

[45cal]

I have smelted a couple wheelbarrows of closet flanges from scrap yardsas well as shower pans.
That was all pure lead.
I use it in my coated boolets.
When pure lead is poured into pruff pans like I use from a bakery and dumped to cool it will srink
in the top side [very noticeable]
W/W keep their shape

[Iowa Fox]

I haven't bought it yet so i don't know exactly what it is, just trying to get an educated guess.
Think it is worth .75 pound?

Nope!

[Chill Wills]

I've run across a lot that looked just like it. Rancher 13 has it right and I agree with all the advice above. It is VERY likely old time high grade soft lead. Not junk or scrap but the only way to be sure is hardness test it or better still, have it scanned.

I would just melt a small amount and hardness test it. That will tell you a lot.

Is it worth 75 cents a Lb? Depends on your need. It will make great Pb-Sn alloy for BPCR or use it as is for muzzle loader and those of us that shoot it will pay more than just any old scrap. The pure or basically pure is worth a lot more to some of us. For instances, I can get scrap unknown lead from the berm for free and my time, but it is not near so useful. You can't make it softer.