Lyman Lead

[akhawkeye]

Hey all: I was at a local gunshop yesterday, and buried in the back of the store, they had a box full of small lead ingots with "Lyman" stamped in them. They were going for $1.00 apiece. I didn't get a good look at them because I was busy keeping my 2 year old out of the spent brass, but they looked to be about 2 pounds or so each. Is this a good price, and would it be worth stocking up even if I am not casting my own round balls... yet?

Colin

 

[bwhoffman]

considering freight to Alaska and todays going rate on lead, not a bad price on 2# ingots.
Lyman makes an ingot mold, thats what you are seeing. dont think they ever sold lead.
The unknown to you is...what is the composition of the ingots? pure soft lead or wheel weight material ect.
Wheel wt shoots OK in a rifle,but tends to load a tad stiffer,usually a need for a thinner patch.

again, shipping cost to wasilla plays a big factor!

 

[merdean]

It is probably #2 alloy of 90%lead, 5%tin and 5%antimony for a BHN of around 15. Would be OK for RB but a little too hard to use in other types of projectiles. Of course, if you have modern firearms, it would be great for .357 or .44. I would suggest you grab while you can!! Good Luck :thumbsup:

Merdean

 

[BrownBear]

Hey all: I was at a local gunshop yesterday, and buried in the back of the store, they had a box full of small lead ingots with "Lyman" stamped in them. They were going for $1.00 apiece. I didn't get a good look at them because I was busy keeping my 2 year old out of the spent brass, but they looked to be about 2 pounds or so each. Is this a good price, and would it be worth stocking up even if I am not casting my own round balls... yet?

Colin

Who knows what alloy it is? Sounds like they're simply ingots someone whipped out in a standard cast iron Lyman ingot mould, which leaves Lyman cast into every one. I've got a couple of them, plus one from Saeco (imprints Saeco on ingot) and another with no name. All throw four one-pound ingots at a time.

I'm not aware of a Lyman ingot mould that throws 2-pounders, but there's lots I'm not aware of. For a better guess on the weight of the ingots you were looking at, my one-pounders are approx. 2 3/4" x 1 3/8" x 3/4".

Check the alloy by scratching with your thumbnail. If it's nearly pure or better you can scratch it easily. At $1 each, that's a steal in Alaska if they're pure and in fact 2-pounders. Even at 1-pound it aint bad. I winced and bit the bullet last year when a friend picked up 100 pounds of pure lead ingots from an Anchorage plumbers supply at my request and hauled them back to me on the ferry. They were $2/pound! Ouch, but I never specified a price limit and I didn't want to stick him with them.

Felt like some alchemist finally managed to convert lead into gold. If silver bullets are good for shooting vampires, are gold bullets better? :surrender:

 

[BrownBear]

Here is the Lyman ingot mould showing how the name gets cast in. This one tosses four 1-pounders like mine.

 

[arquebus]

Like the others have said, I've only ever seen ingot molds with 1lb cavities in either Lyman, RCBS, or Saeco. I believe Lee makes one that has four cavities (2x big, 2x small), but they have 'LEE' cast into the bottom of each.
If you can mark the lead with your thumbnail it'll be at least close to pure lead & suitable for RB or BP conicals. I'd grab them at that price if they are soft enough.

 

[jtmattison]

$1.00 per pound is not a terrible price. Do the scratch test on them. If you can easily scratch the lead with a thumbnail it is plenty soft enough for muzzleloaders.

HD

 

[akhawkeye]

Good Stuff! Thanks, guys!

 

[10 gauge]

Pick up an ingot and drop it on the concrete floor
from chest level. When it hits the floor and makes a dull thud sound its pure lead if it makes a ting or ring sound its #2 alloy or wheel weights.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Pick up an ingot and drop it on the concrete floor
from chest level. When it hits the floor and makes a dull thud sound its pure lead if it makes a ting or ring sound its #2 alloy or wheel weights.

10 is dead on with his method. I have lead that is very hard and I can scratch it. If you drop it on concrete it will ring if it is hard.It will make a thud sound if it is soft. This is the best way if you don't have a tester. Ron