What lead do I have ?

[colimr]

I purchased 10lbs of lead in the shape of 2 inch letters. Melted into 5 pucks on an old bbq grill to my surprise it melted 1.5 hrs for the first 20 min for the last. The lead barely scratches with a finger nail but I can scratch it and it tinks when dropped more of a thump with a tink .I've read if is soft it will scratch and thump when dropped. What the heck did I buy? I havent tried to mold any yet .Does any one have a guess? Can I still use it for ..490 balls?

 

[Versanaut]

If you can scratch it with your fingernail you should be OK.

If you can get a set of drafting pencils... an easy way to ballpark it is to try to draw on the lead. If it draws, keep moving up till it scratches or does not draw. The results can be compared to the chart below:

 

[deerstalkert]

you most likely have linotype.
you can cast .490 balls with it but they may be a bugger to ram down the bore. and if you hunt with them they won't expand worth squat.

 

[colimr]

HB draws with very light scratching do I go to H,F or 2 ,B2 ?

 

[colimr]

Yeah I figured I'm in the lino type hardness using the drafting pencil method Well that stinks. Time to save up for some soft lead

 

[deerstalkert]

there are suppository shooting reloaders out there that will gladly trade for that linotype. try 24hourcampfire.com

 

[ohio ramrod]

Lino type lead works for smoothbores.

 

[oldracer]

I bought a hardness tester from Lee many years ago and I use it every time I cast any thing, balls or bullets.
John

 

[jimhallam]

there are suppository shooting reloaders out there that will gladly trade for that linotype. try 24hourcampfire.com

Wh can't people RESPECT other people's shooting interests? You might not LIKE B-L firearms, but surely there is no need for insults ----- don't we all have enough on our plate these days?

 

[deerstalkert]

Wh can't people RESPECT other people's shooting interests? You might not LIKE B-L firearms, but surely there is no need for insults ----- don't we all have enough on our plate these days?

well my friend if i hurt your feelers i apologize. that appellation is a code here that keeps us from being accused of talking about things that are verboten. just so you won't think totally ill of me, i have a collection of over 100 suppository firing guns and enjoy every one. I also have been reloading said suppositories for each and every one for the last 60 years. again i apologize if you took Umbridge at my feeble attempt to stay out of trouble while giving some advice about disposing or utilizing assets.

 

[jimhallam]

Thanks for the response.
I couldn't help being amused by your use of "Umbridge" --- one of the characters in a Harry Potter file (movie!).
I too have a lot of B-L firearms (why do people not say that, instead of "unmentionables" ?) and am fortunate to have a Prohibited Weapon Authority from our Home Office ( = State Department). One REALLY frustrating aspect is that Phil Schreier (NRA Museum in Fairfax, VA) has a serious interest in the British Home Guard. Several years ago I took in a large HG cache found in the back of a garage --- been there since 1944 ! -- and Phil would like the M1928 Thompson, especially as it has the simplified buckhorn mid-sight in front of the ejection port. He cannot get authority to import it as the Powers-That-Be say that the NRA is not a publicly funded body. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !

 

[jimhallam]

Sorry about the typo --- "file" should read "film".

 

[dave951]

You have linotype. It's one of the hardest lead alloys out in common usage and not very good for anything muzzleloading. It's highly desirable to bullet casters shooting modern arms.

 

[user 48702]

One clue to it being linotype is that it was 2" letters, more than likely printing typeface used in the older printing presses. I have several hot stamp printing presses that use the same type of various typeset letters, but on a smaller scale, 10pt up to about 1/2" letters. The metal generally consist of a lead alloy containing 64% lead, 23.88% antimony, and 12.02% tin, with traces of copper. For my larger press I use die plates made from magnesium, which will handle images and impressions up to 6" X 8", and primarily use it for embossing and debossing leather.

 

[colimr]

It's strange you mentioned copper that may explain green dross floating on every melt . My wife commented it looks like the green oxidation on some water lines we replaced .Found some "soft" lead on Ebay. Any questions I should ask to confirm it's the soft lead I've seen wheel weights ,plumbing, printer ,x ray and roof lead I never knew there was so many types

 

[user 48702]

Just keep an eye out in the forum classifieds, or place your own ad for wanting to buy soft lead. There are several members who advertise lead often.

 

[Justin.44]

Just keep an eye out in the forum classifieds, or place your own ad for wanting to buy soft lead. There are several members who advertise lead often.

Yep, I've got a big box of it listed right now and @colimr it's definitely soft stuff. Very heavy box though! Here's a link to my ad below

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/63-lead-ingots.152266/

 

[rmark]

Round balls cast from linotype will be both lighter and oversize compared to soft lead balls. I’ve done it with a .495 mold (about .496 as cast diameter) and thin patch but they were hard to load. A gimmicky experiment I won’t do again.

A .490 mold might have an as cast diameter of .491 and be doable with a thinner patch but you might be better off selling the linotype to a center fire rifle shooter.

 

[deerstalkert]

the problem with linotype cast ball is muzzleloader velocities will not get any expansion. that is one of the primary reasons for dead soft lead.

 

[deerstalkert]

Thanks for the response.
I couldn't help being amused by your use of "Umbridge" --- one of the characters in a Harry Potter file (movie!).
I too have a lot of B-L firearms (why do people not say that, instead of "unmentionables" ?) and am fortunate to have a Prohibited Weapon Authority from our Home Office ( = State Department). One REALLY frustrating aspect is that Phil Schreier (NRA Museum in Fairfax, VA) has a serious interest in the British Home Guard. Several years ago I took in a large HG cache found in the back of a garage --- been there since 1944 ! -- and Phil would like the M1928 Thompson, especially as it has the simplified buckhorn mid-sight in front of the ejection port. He cannot get authority to import it as the Powers-That-Be say that the NRA is not a publicly funded body. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !

dang spell correct! being of the mother tongue speaking group you knew i wasn't referring to any fantasy character!