what do i have?

[moto357]

got a few ingots from a friend, and they are obviously not pure lead.  there are the numbers 35 65 stamped on the top as you will see in the picture.  is this a ratio of lead / tin or something else perhaps?  any help would be greatly appreciated!

[stimpylu32]

I can't think of any reason why someone would want a mix with that much Tin , my guess and only a guess is that its a mix of 65% pure or soft lead and 35% wheelweights .

That would make for a decent alloy for most pistol bullets at normal speeds .

stimpy

[moto357]

well im not sure what these ingots were intended for, but im sure it wasn't bullets.  my thought was lead/tin or vice versa.  figuring it is a tin mix, i can do some math and make up smaller ingots, of usable size in my pot and in the long run make an accurate mix of a harder alloy than wheelweights, which is all i've ever used prior to having these given to me.  we'll see i suppose.....

[Land_Owner]

One of Stimpylu's suggested links (to me) recommends to remould and recombine ingots with other ingots such that a consistent "lot" is produced.  

Their example was pouring an ingot (or set of ingots) from the pot.  Starting the pot again. Pouring a 2nd ingot (or set) from the pot.  Starting the pot for the third (and subsequent) time(s) using one ingot from the first pour and one from the 2nd pour as the "starter" alloys.  This "mixing" should provide consistency across all ingots.

[bilmac]

It looks like some ingots my dad had long ago. He said they were babbit. I remember they were suspiciously light to have much lead in them so I never tried to make bullets from them. Also they were shinier than lead would have been.

[Lloyd Smale]

i would guess its tin lead solder. The stuff they use for soldering radiators is about that composition. that would be 35percent tin and 65 percent pure lead. Best way to tell is to cast a bullet out of it and then compare it to a bullet cast out of ww. If its lighter its probably solder.

[Dezynco]

If you had a bunch of them, you might invest in a lead hardness tester.  That should let you know about what you're dealing with to start with.  Then you could blend some pure lead into the mix until you get the right compostion.  A little math will tell you how much pure lead you'll need.

Since you said you were given a few of them, it might not be worth the expense or time to get a hardness tester.  I bet the markings are 35% tin and 65% lead, which would be solder hardness.

[gray-wolf]

i would guess its tin lead solder. The stuff they use for soldering radiators is about that composition. that would be 35percent tin and 65 percent pure lead. Best way to tell is to cast a bullet out of it and then compare it to a bullet cast out of ww. If its lighter its probably solder.

Thank you Lloyd Smale,

Solder gets my vote.  Use it to sweeten up some WW metal or to help with fill out in your mold.

[Anduril]

Bar solder for some industrial application sounds like a good bet.
A hardness tester will only tell you how hard it is, not what it's made of.
..
 

[45-70.gov]

just ship them to  me
i will ship you an equal amount of pure/soft lead
then you will know what you have

cast a bullet of known  weight  with pure  or wheel weights
then compare that to the weights  of this alloy

35%  or 65%  tin.....which  i  ''assume'' it has a lot  of....it doesn't really matter to me
i would just add a pound or 2  to every  future 20 pound batch  of bullets
just to insure  i increase the tin content to make it flow better

[res45]

Not long ago the discussion of bullet casting came up and one of my friends said he had a five gal. bucket of  lead he would drop off that I could have.  Well turns out it was a bucket full of bars of plumbers 60/40 bar solder it also comes in a 50/50 Lead/Tin stick as well.

[moto357]

im getting more and more of the impression that its just ingots of bar solder and my vote is 35 tin and 65 lead.  i'll break it down to usable ingots i believe and see where i can make use of it

[kbstenberg]

  Not to disagree BUT.  All the above suggestions are just ideas. I don't want to step on anyones toes.  The only true way to see what the composition is to find a scrap dealer who has a gun that can Analise your lead an see what it is made of. Then go from there. I don't know what they would charge, but it mite be worth it to see.
  Kevin

[moto357]

interesting suggestion kevin..  sometimes theres a simple route that isn't always so obvious.  i'll give them a call and see what they might be able to do for me

[Lloyd Smale]

weve only got 2 big salvage yards around here and niether has the ablity to test metal composition. You need to find a lab to do it. The local paper mill here has one and theyve tested things for me occasionaly. if you have a local steel mill paper mill or even a large colege around you they possibly will have a lab and will do it for you. Other then that just melt some of it into an ingot mold and melt some pure lead into the same mold or even cast a bullet out of each and if its substantialy lighter then the pure you can about bet that its going to be a solder alloy by the weight. Nothing wrote in stone though as it also could be type lead if its lighter. But being marked like it is the solder alloy would be my best guess

[SHOOTALL]

In plumbing there is 95-5 , 60-40 , 40-60 ,50-50 and others seldom seen. Tin-lead is the correct way to read it . The only use for 35-65 that I have heard of is wiping joints for water and waste lines back when both were lead. Also for wiping on ferrels and closet flanges.