Lead supply

[Griz44Mag]

Do any of you guys carve intials into lead chunks so you'll know what that ingot is composed of? Its fine and dandy when you can rely on a good memory but after a while they all look alike. Someday they could possibly wind up in someone else's hands and who knows how they'll be used. I use WW for wheel weights, PL for pure lead and FW for fishing weights. I even found one with a #1 scratched into it but don't recall what that means.

I stamp mine with the B.H. at the time I cast the ingot or if already in ingots stamp those.

 

[Troyfairweather]

My dads friend dropped off some lead sheeting the other day. Dad loves more up state but his friend who is a mason has not seen much lead at all. Looks to be 30lbs I have not checked now soft it is get tho.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Like Grizz44mag, I stamp mine with a set of metal stamps. I think I got them years ago from Brownells. I'm sure a cheap set from Harbor Freight would work as well. I don't have a hardness tester, but depending on where I get the lead I have a pretty good idea of the hardness. As an example, plumbing lead or roofing lead gets stamped "soft" where as range lead is stamped "range." I use the soft stuff for muzzleloaders and the harder stuff for other things.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Several years ago I bought a Cabine Tree hardness tester.
One of the best tools for my hobby that I ever bought.
It is easy to use nothing but pure lead - very soft - for almost all muzzle loaders.
For those "others" a custom mix to control hardness is VERY important - based on PRESSURE.
Reference Richard Lee's research (40 years in the making) in the Lee loading Handbook Second Edition.
Page 134 - The old fallacy about velocity and lead hardness is disproved, over and over.
The results are the proof. You will be astounded.
Use the lead hardness that will get you the best bore seal and the least amount of leading.

 

[mooman76]

I marked mine WW for Wheel weights, SL for soft lead, that being not pure but still soft and PL for Plumbers lead. I should get one of those stamp sets. Always wanted one. I need a hardness tester too. You can actually make one of those too.