RCBS lead ingots

M

mrappe

New member
I bought some of these 15yrs ago when I bought my LEE Production Pot IV. I have never used any of this equipment and Today I just pulled it out of my shed. Does anyone know anything about the lead? It says RCBS on it but I don't know if it is soft lead or not.
 
Being branded like that it is likely to be #2 metal. Cast for anything other than muzzle loaders. Or send it to me. :) Just kidding.:cool:
 
>Having that logo on it means it was cast in an RCBS ingot mold nothing more.​
Yep, and I have an old ingot mold from LYMAN; but the N comes out backwards in the lead.

In the past, I stored my ingots in labeled boxes; however, when old boxes dump their loads, you don't know what your have. This year, I took some proactive action and stamped every ingot with an identifier: WW = wheel weights, A2 = #2 alloy, PB = pure lead. Harbor Freight has stamp sets in 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8-inch that are frequently on sale.
 
I just read your posts - important to keep the pure lead separated from the "other" for sure. I label mine so I know which is the pure lead that I like to use in my revolvers. Sometimes enough time has elapsed between "molding runs" that I'm glad I did label it as I probably would end up scratching my head over it. I also try to store the different leads in separate boxes on the shelf. I've had folks give me lead at times that know I cast bullets. I use a sophisticated "gouge" test to test the softness of it - i.e. - I take a chisel to the ignot or piece and I can pretty much tell how soft it is. Well . . not very scientific but it's cheap and usually failry accurate. I've never owned an ingot mold. If I have a batch of scrap lead I usually will have a "melting session" where I melt it down and then I use an old "muffin tin" as an ingot mold. I picked it up at a flea market quite a few years ago and it works great for making ingots for future casting - easily stored. I suppose that I could probably stamp them with a numbering system or similiar but as long as I don't get lazy and not label them with a felt marker and get them in the right box, it works out o.k. I haven't bought lead for a few years - I used to buy lead from lead sheathed cable at a scrap yard in a nearby city. It was about as pure and soft as you could get but was in longer pieces from salvage - thus it was easier in the long run to melt it all down, do the muffin tin thing and then store it on the shelf as it took up less room. I haven't checked on whether I can get it anymore or not - maybe it's a thing of the past. When I could get it, I'd buy 3 to 5 hundred pounds of it.
 
When I do my initial lead "clean up" smelting I pour the results into muffin tins. Cheap teflon coated ones from Wally World. All of the soft lead is marked with a big S on the top of the muffin ingot after cooling.
It's either dead soft (S) or rifle bullets. Close enough for government work.
 
I have tested these ingots with my new Cabine Tree tester and they show between .08 - .09 on the dial which is about 15-22 BNH accordint to the translation. That is between Lyman #2 and Linotype. Would these be good for .45ACP?
 
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