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Author Topic: unknown alloy?  (Read 702 times)

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Offline adirondacker

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unknown alloy?
« on: February 01, 2005, 03:24:24 PM »
i have about 25 or so ingots of a lead type allow that are about 14 inches long 2 1/2 wide ant 1 1/5 thick.i bet they weigh 7 or 8 pounds each.all real clean but seemed like is was poured in layers.i don't know what in heck its made of its quite shiny and seems to be on the harder side.i do not have a hardness tester yet.is there any way to tell what it is?
 here in ny we can't even have lead sinkers shipped in i don't know about lead ingots.for plumbing you need to use lead-free solder,no lead shot for birds.jeez ya know most of the people that think up this stuff probably grew up chewin' lead paint chips.lol
 anyone got any ideer's i'd appreciate it.thanks
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Offline jh45gun

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unknown alloy?
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2005, 08:00:41 PM »
If you can scratch it with your finger nail chances are it is pure lead. If it still scratches with some thing sharp like a knife or a nail and it does that easy it should be fine for bullets. One way to find out is melt a small batch and cast a few to see.
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Said I never had much use for one, never said I didn't know how to use it.

Offline joeb33050

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unknown alloy?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2005, 01:30:34 AM »
On sports.groups.yahoo.com/bulletcasting in files there is an article on finding the specific gravity of a sample of your alloy, and estimating the composition.
Greybeard, did you remopve the last message on this that I sent?
joe b.
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Offline Leftoverdj

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unknown alloy?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2005, 10:41:50 AM »
If they have some age on them and are still shiny, they are not likely to be a high lead alloy. Maybe tin. The weight suggests tin. Lead bars of those dimensions are gonna weigh more than 7-8 pounds. Maybe some kind of babbit or solder.

Establish the melting point of your alloy and the weight of a chunk together with the exact amount of water that chunk displaces and we'll have something to go on.
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Offline savageT

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unknown alloy?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2005, 10:55:30 AM »
adirondacker,
If you want to get spectrographic analysis done on a coin-sized sample of this material, you can call IMR Test Labs outside of Ithaca, NY.  Their phone number is 888.464.8422 Email: imr@imrtest.com to find out what the cost of this procedure would be.

Jim
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savageT........Have you hugged a '99 lately?

Of all the things I've lost in my life, I miss my mind the most.

Offline adirondacker

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unknown alloy?
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2005, 04:06:56 PM »
hey you guys are alright.i appeciate the info.i brought a chunk of this to a freind of mine who has been casting bullets for years.he said that he beleived it was linotype.when wacked together it has a clank,doesn't ring but does clank.besides that it's been outside in front of a shed since i got it like 6 or eight months ago,still shines like a new nickel.looks like i'm going to need alot of pure lead to go with it.i may follow up on savage t's utica spectrograph test.i live in upstate ny i could drive to utica in a couple hours.thanks guys.
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