What type of Lead is this?

[B]

I assume it's some sort of Lead alloy as it's very heavy. It's not pure Lead since it's much harder than the Lead ingots I stumbled upon. Is it suitable for casting?

 

[Papaclaude]

Almost anything is good for casting, depending on its intended use and the velocities you will be looking at. Ideally, if you could get it tested for hardness (I think it's Brinell scale), and based on that, you can decide what it's suitable for. Otherwise, you can do some makeshift hardness testing and compare it to known samples.

 

[phishroy]

How big is it? looks like one side of a dumbbell weight.
looks like a lead alloy
do you have or do any of your friends have a BHN tester? Lee makes them
that would be the sure way to check hardness.

 

[B]

It's pretty small, about 2" from the hole to the outside. Weighs probably 3-4lbs. I am not into casting yet but I have been saving up lead for a while now. I figured this chunk would go a long way if suitable.

 

[sisiphunter]

The only thing to be worried about is if it has zinc in it...some lead alloys. have zinc and you dont want zinc in your lead mix. Zinc will cause an alloy that is harder and lightr but it will also cause bad mild.fill out. U dont want zinc in your mix. As long as that is not an issie im sure it will make some nice boolits.

 

[Andy]

It's tiny, so the way I'd deal with it is to cast a few bullets with it and see how they cast. If all goes well, just toss it into a mix of wheelweight (which is already essentially an alloy of unknown composition) and be done with it.

 

[thebigslide]

Doesn't _look_ like it has much zinc in it, but a little goes a long ways with that contaminant. Dissolve a little in some muriatic acid if you have some and see if it turns green. If it's really hard melt a pinch and let it air cool. See if that's any softer. If so, it may have a fair bit antimony in it which can cause the alloy to quench harden. Again, if so, it would be a really good additive to harden some other softer lead.