What kind of lead did I get?

[LFC]

I stopped in at a scrap-metal seller's today and got about 19 pounds of lead for 60 cents a pound. It seemed dead soft--was easily scratched with a fingernail--but the form was something I'd not seen before. It was in long, rectangular strips about, oh, I'm guessing 3/4 of an inch wide, and each strip was dented or scored so that you could break off little rectangles about one inch by 3/4 inch from the strip. Each rectangle had what I figure was a weight amount on it--each said "7 grams / 1/4 ounce" on it. There seems to have been some kind of sticky stuff on the back of the strips. I was told by the seller that it was pure lead, and nothing I saw indicated that it was otherwise--it was dull gray, mostly, and, once again, scratched readily with a fingernail.

I'm hoping it's not wheel weights (or at least the kind of wheel weight lead that makes oversized and hard castings). Some months ago I ran some balls from lead recovered from a shooting range, and, though it started out seeming somewhat soft, the other night I checked and all the balls were still a bright, silvery color, and so hard I couldn't scratch them with a fingernail at all. My conclusion is that the recovered shooting-range lead had too high a percentage of wheel-weight in it.

The new stuff I got today, however, seems more promising--maybe. Any ideas what it is?

Thanks, guys!

 

[Hawkeye]

Sounds like the weights we use to ballance airplane wheels.

 

[LFC]

If they are airplane wheel lead, do you think they're pure enough to use for muzzleloading?

 

[Robert Egler]

Pure lead has a density of 11.34 grams per cubic centimeter. Determine the exact volume of a reasonable size sample, and carefully weigh the sample. The closer the density comes to 11.34 g/cc, the more pure the lead.

For odd-shaped samples the easiest way to get the volume is to completely fill up (to the very edge) a cup with water, set the cup in a pan, and carefully place the sample in the cup. The sample will displace a water volume equal to its own volume, so measure the volume of water that overflows into the pan.

 

[Zonie]

Most of the lead bullets found at a shooting range are the "hard cast" type that are designed for cartridges. Some of them are cast wheel weights but very few if any of them are pure lead.

If you can easily indent the lead you bought with your fingernail it is probably good enough for casting roundballs.

zonie

 

[david50]

they are sticky wieghts for balancing aluminum car wheels,they come with double sided tape on them.i work in the Wal-Mart tire and lube and i have buckets of them,have yet to mold any roundballs with them but i read somewhere (maybe here) that they only contain 2% tin and tyhey seem pretty soft.i think they should work fine for roundballs

 

[mbw907]

The stick-on type wheel weights are very good lead for casting muzzleloading projectiles. It is softer than the pinch-type wheelweights because they don't have to add anything to prevent it from deflecting on the rim. I'd use that lead without a second thought.

 

[DNICK]

I have used those stick on wheelweights for casting round balls for some time now the work great they are soft lead so dont worry about that and the strips they come in make them easy to work with without casting into managable sized bars beforehand

 

[gerick75]

I had a car w/ rims that would not hold a regular clipped wheel weight so they put adhesive backed lead squares on the flat/inside surface of the wheel to balance the tires. Sounds like this is what these are. I have no idea the lead purity.

 

[redwing]

The flat tire weights are very close to dead lead. They cast very nice balls. :thumbsup:

 

[LFC]

Okay--sounds like these strips will work for patched round balls. Two more questions: (1) would the soft stick-on-strip-lead work for the more-purity-required conicals? (2) How pure (and usable for conicals) is the kind of lead they use (or used to use) in sheets for roofing?

 

[paulvallandigham]

Pure lead is something like 99.+ % lead, but all lead has some trace minerals. If you can mark it with your thumbnail, its soft enough for conicals.

 

[arquebus]

Sheet lead & lead flashing is about all I've ever used for casting my RBs, conicals & Minies. It's about as close to pure lead as you'll find without buying it in virgin ingots, although you should cut out the joints, if you want to keep it real soft, as they do contain alloy. As Paul V. said, almost all lead has a trace of alloy in it, though keep in mind that conicals will often cast better with some alloy content (ie 1:30 or 1:40).

 

[Gus]

This is my first post to this group, and I'm glad I've joined. I have been going round and round with this "pure lead" issue. Coming from a scientific background, knowing what reagent grade metals are, I have a hard time believing my local recycler when he claims to sell pure lead. My thoughts are, "How pure is pure?, How the he_ _ does he know?"

Thanks for posting the density formula. grams per volume is the only hint I have found on determining purity - so far.

I can't wait to read the rest of the topic. I am trying to cast RB's for my .69 cal Charleville FL rifle.

gus, Florida

 

[FPDoc]

Couldn't you cast a RB from the new stuff and compare the wgt to one you've cast from pure lead? Lighter isn't pure lead.

 

[LFC]

Good general idea--but I don't have a scale that weighs that accurately. My office postal scale can't tell wheel weights from the pure stuff, for example. That's true even if I put three Maxi-Balls on the scale and divide the total by three.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Comus: You can buy a simple balance beam scale for measuring powder for about $30.00 from Midway, or RCBS, and other suppliers( If you get a Cabela's catalogue, you can check out the scales there. You can buy them cheaper than from cabelas, but since you are most likely to get their catalogue without asking for it anyway, you can at least use it as a wish book.) These measures weight up to about 500 grains, more than enough to allow you to weigh most round ball. Lyman makes such a scale, as do other reloading equipment companies. The electronic scales are going to set you back a couple of C-notes, and I can see why that might not fit your budget. They are wonderful tools to have when you are sorting a lot of cast balls or bullets.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

plumbers lead ingot were (are, they are still in use but rarely) near as pure lead as possible so's it could be tamped down onto the oakum and expand to seal the joint, I have found it occasionaly at scrap yards and plumber shops that wished to get rid of it. another good source of pure lead is X-ray facilities and sheilding for organs (musical) pipes.