pure lead same as soft lead

[Gettysburg63]

OK I was wondering if pure lead is same as soft lead?

 

[necchi]

Um, Yup.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Yes, but a lot of guys call lead soft that is not pure at all. Dental lead, lead pipe ends. There are a lot of different sources of lead that a lot of people think is soft but isn't. Ron

 

[Rifleman1776]

Yes, but a lot of guys call lead soft that is not pure at all. Dental lead, lead pipe ends. There are a lot of different sources of lead that a lot of people think is soft but isn't. Ron

Lacking scientific equipment I rely on the thumbnail test. If it is easy to gouge deeply with my thumbnail it passes muster for me.

 

[wattlebuster]

+1 :thumbsup:

 

[Idaho Ron]

Yes, but a lot of guys call lead soft that is not pure at all. Dental lead, lead pipe ends. There are a lot of different sources of lead that a lot of people think is soft but isn't. Ron

Lacking scientific equipment I rely on the thumbnail test. If it is easy to gouge deeply with my thumbnail it passes muster for me.

I can scratch 18 BHN with my thumb. That is WAY too hard for me to buy. Ron

 

[Stumpkiller]

But you are relying on obturation and not a lubed cloth patch to seal the bore. The thumbnail test works for cast round balls and cloth patching.

And, if lead is scarce, you'd be surprised what you can scratch with your thumbnail if you really work at it. I haven't bought lead in the 25+ years I have been casting. I'm pretty keen on scavenging my casting lead; or seeing what I can get in exchange for a six-pack or case of beer. Part of the fun. ;-)

 

[Idaho Ron]

Scrounging can be fun. I have a lot of it that is scrounged. But when it comes down to my bullets I make for hunting I use virgin pure lead. I alloy to my hardness that I have found is, in my opinion, perfect.
If I were just poking holes in paper for fun. I would not be using virgin lead.
18BHN hard lead is in my opinion too hard for a lot of centerfire pistols.
Ron

 

[hanshi]

Zackly the same, for all practical purposes.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I can scratch 18 BHN with my thumb. That is WAY too hard for me to buy.

I can too, but with difficulty, and I can just barely scratch linotype. In contrast, it is easy for me to put a much deeper gouge in pure lead with a thumb nail, and to identify a range of ease-of-scratching in various alloys in between with a bit of experience. I have found a "calibrated [strike]eyeball[/strike] thumbnail" to be sufficiently accurate for most of my purposes, with a couple of representative samples available for comparison if needed.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Joel/Calgary]

But you are relying on obturation and not a lubed cloth patch to seal the bore.

With respect, that should be "But you are relying on deformation and not a lubed cloth patch to obturate the bore." Obturate is a technical term used in several fields besides internal ballistics, a transitive verb specifically meaning to seal, block, or stop-up something without regard for the mechanism. The common but inconsistent informal conflation of one particular cause (deformation of a projectile) with one particular instance of the effect (sealing the bore of a firearm behind that projectile) is irritating to some and a potentially misleading disservice to newcomers to the field. I've never seen the term (mis)used this way in any technical writings in internal ballistics, or similarly in any other field, for that matter.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Rifleman1776]

I did say "easy" to gouge.
When I had my ml shop I would buy large quantities of lead ingots and resell to other dealers and customers in my shop.
I know how 'soft' soft lead is. It is a matter of having a bit of experience for me.
And, I spent a big part of my youth setting linotype and know it too can be scratched with a thumbnail. But "easy" to gouge? No.

 

[Billnpatti]

Rifleman1776 is right about the thumbnail test being a good way of checking the purity of lead as far as bullet making goes. You can scratch most lead with your thumbnail but soft lead is easily gouged with just a good strong thumbnail. Once you have tried the thumbnail on some known soft lead, you will then be able to recognize soft lead when you run across it and know when it is soft lead or a lead alloy that is hard.

Pure lead is soft enough that you can bite it and leave deep tooth marks on it. but for crying out loud, DON'T DO IT!!! Don't ever put the stuff in your mouth. I just mention that to help you understand just how soft pure lead is. Many of the Civil War battlefields had medical facilities set up near by where wounds were treated. Quite often, no anesthetic was available and the soldier was given a bullet to bite on while a limb was being sawed off. Many of these soft lead "anesthetic bullets" have been found at these medical sites with the deep tooth marks on them from being bitten. Having said this, let me reinterate...DO NOT PUT LEAD IN YOUR MOUTH!! to see if it soft enough....or for any other reason.

I have found that some lead from wheel weights is actually hard enough that when you drop an ingot of it on concrete, it will have a dull ring to it. Pure lead just goes "THUNK!" when it hits the concrete.