What the heck is this thing?

S

Skyhawk

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A friend of mine just dropped a bunch of these off (free) today because he brother wants to clean out his shed. He apparently has a couple thousand pounds buried in the snow as well that I can also have in the spring.

Each one weighs about 26 pounds, and I'll obviously have to cut them up in order to fit them into even my big WW pot. For scale, I put one of my finished .45 ACP rounds beside it, and the tupperwear container has about 500 of my cast boolits ready for reloading - about half of what I cast last Sunday after getting home from the range.

The lead is a "mystery" alloy, and I've yet to test it. It's fairly hard cause my finger nail doesn't do anything to it. Does anyone know what these things are, or what they're for?

leadthing.jpg
 
It's TOXIC, so best to just ship it out to me & I'll dispose of it for you!

Seriously, you SCORED BIG TIME. That is printer's lino-type, THE ABSOLUTE BEST alloy for making cast bullets to shoot at jacketed rifle bullet velocity.

It is, however, almost useless for handgun bullers, as you will be unable to get the velocities to where they need to be.

But for .308, .375 or .458 Winchester Magnum bullets, it's great.

If you want to sell it, I'd be interested as my stash is dwindling.

HTH

Jim
 
To me it looks like a window weight. They were used in old windows to counter weight the window when open... I have seen many of them as my father and i used to replace windows in old houses from time to time.. Usually used on large windows...

Thats my best guess..

Maybe NOT!!! LOL

RDG
 
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Well that hole looks like a rope or something was attached. I'm stumped. My friend doesn't know, and he doesn't know if he brother knows what it is.

And jamesharrison, the only way you're getting my lead is from my cold dead hands! :p
 
It appears to be a Margash bar and could be nearly any alloy. Unless you have buffed it up it appears to be pretty shiny for salvage lead. Hopefully it isn't some type of zinc alloy.
 
Skyhawk said:
Well that hole looks like a rope or something was attached. I'm stumped. My friend doesn't know, and he doesn't know if he brother knows what it is.

And jamesharrison, the only way you're getting my lead is from my cold dead hands! :p
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That eye is for the hook they used to lower the bar in the linotype machine's reservoir. If that bar sounds like a bell when struck, it's linotype alloy.
It is not a window counterweight although many linotype bars have been lost as garage door weights :(
PP.
 
Yup, Linotype. I have several bars exactly like that that I bought years ago from a local print shop that was shutting down their linotype machine because they went to computer typesetting and laser printers. I saw the old machine while still in operation and it worked just as PP says above.
that is some valuable alloy! Lucky you!
 
I believe its called a "Pig" and yes it is from a print machine.

Some of the more experienced casters on here or Cast Boolits could give you an idea as to how much to mix with other types of lead to get the best alloy/ratio for your purpose.
 
I have one and a half left, from a printer friend who died a few years back. Yes, it's Linotype, or at the very least, it's lead cast in a Linotype mold. But judging by your fingernail test, it's Linotype alright.
Excellent alloy for high speed. But do some experimenting, you may find that it's too hard, and use it to alloy softer melts instead. I do.
 
if you dont want it ill gladly take it off your hands but looks like you did score big time.
yes, it is the classical look of a Linotype bar.
i use some of it to alloy into my WW to make 22 ,6mm and even 30 cal' cast bullets and drive them just as fast as jacketed bullets.
 
Cool, thanks guys. So that is the famous linotype stuff I've read so much about but have never seen. So that gives me a BHN of well over 20. Obviously not great to waste away nor likely accurate in an 800fps .45 ACP application, even if I slowly air cool them. Darn. And here I though jamesharrison was pulling my chain!

I found this on Wikipedia:

"Lead was supplied in "pigs" which were long ingots of lead weighing about 22 pounds each. They had an eye in one end from which they were suspended by a hook and chain above the melting pot. As the level in the pot went down, the pig would be lowered a bit by the chain to keep the level of molten lead constant. The eyes had a gap in them. When the pig went all the way into the lead and the eye melted at the bottom, the two sides would fall into the pot and the chain would rapidly zip up to the top on a counterweight letting the operator know it was time to hang another pig."
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Considering the one I weighed was on my bathroom scale, I figure 22 lbs is close enough to 26 lbs each.

So what to do... this is way harder than what I need considering water quenched WW lead seems to be a great balance for my purpose of casting .45 ACP boolits. If I can find pure lead, lead pipe, or enough stick-ons, I could mix it 50/50 and be good. Canada post would likely charge a fortune for shipping even a couple of these, so non-local sells would be silly for the amount coming to me.

I think I'll keep them in reserve and put an ad on our club bulletin board (EOHC) for a trade of clean little WW ingots - pound for pound for these suckers. Sound more than fair? I'll try EE too if that doesn't work. I've also got a couple 5 gallon pails of WWs accumulated in there, and my neighbors would be really happy if I skipped melting them in our suburban backyard this summer.
 
I would keep the Lyno to mix for myself, checking some of the known "formulas" for popular alloys on Cast Boolits.

If I was trading or selling, I think the value of the Lyno would be higher than an equal weight of WW.

Here is an idea of what shipped known alloys can commercially sell for, hopefully you can work something fair out for you and another shooter both if you don't keep the lead.

http://www.alchemycastings.com/lead-products/Pricing/203/CDNZone203-Bullet.pdf
 
Thanks hk33ka1, I was wondering what a fair trade might be. One way or another, I'm really hoping this is my ticket to not having to burn up a big pot of raw WW lead in the backyard to make ingots ever again! :D
 
Another ID needed...

Thanks for the positive ID guys!

That wasn't the only thing my friend gave me yesterday. There are also some ingots that look to be of the same alloy - very hard, each weighing about 5 pounds.

He also gave me some "mystery" metal - metal strips just over two feet long and just under an inch in width. It doesn't seem anywhere near heavy enough to be lead, but it's a lot softer than the Linotype lead or the bars. I can gouge it pretty good even with the dull corner of the bar, but the sharp corner of the metal strip can't even scratch the lead bar. I can bend the strip into any shape I like, and like lead it holds its position without any noticeable spring-back. It seems rather stiffer to bend than its softness would indicate (compared to a lead).

Here's a pic of both together, including a strip I bent up:

IngotAndStrip.jpg


The closest thing I could find to the lead bars on the Internet is this photo.

Any ideas?
 
<sigh>

Always the stuff shows up so far away....

I want some lino for casting some .22 cal with for the .223.

Straight up trading for WW, is a bloody great deal for the guy getting the Lino.

My suggestion. Hold the Lino. Use a small amount of it to sweeten up your WW alloy. The tin content makes for a bit nicer fillout. Use it straight for hard rifle bullets to be driven fast. A Lino .22 hollow point does a grand job on a gopher or pigeon!

Wish we had the flat rate boxes that the US have! Dead bloody simple, then.

Cheers
Trev
 
trevj said:
<sigh>

Always the stuff shows up so far away....

I want some lino for casting some .22 cal with for the .223.

Straight up trading for WW, is a bloody great deal for the guy getting the Lino.

My suggestion. Hold the Lino. Use a small amount of it to sweeten up your WW alloy. The tin content makes for a bit nicer fillout. Use it straight for hard rifle bullets to be driven fast. A Lino .22 hollow point does a grand job on a gopher or pigeon!

Wish we had the flat rate boxes that the US have! Dead bloody simple, then.

Cheers
Trev
Click to expand...



X - 2 Trev
 
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