You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Testing ingots?
- Thread starter Chainsaw.
- Start date
I have no problem dropping the ingots on a concreate floor. I suggest reloaders purchases Lee's book on modern reloading. In his book he covered casting and testing. He did share a short story about a friend of his that tested lead with a ball peen hammer. Seems his friend could hit an ingot with a hammer to determine the lead/tin mixture.
When I drop ingots on the floor the lead ingots have a dead sound, lead ongots mized with tin have 'that ring' when dropped.
Lee is the one that suggested reloadrs use weight, area and time when testing hardness.
Claims department: I have a lead melt chart from about 1917, it goes from lead and nothing to something and 10% lead. To determine lead content all I have to do is determine the temperature the melting point of the bars/ingots. And then there are my bars, I thought the manufacturers were so kind for stamping the amount of tin and lead and then they used little dents to certify/guarantee the mix.
I am beginning to think purchasing R. Lee's book on modern reloading is not a good ideal.
F. Guffey
When I drop ingots on the floor the lead ingots have a dead sound, lead ongots mized with tin have 'that ring' when dropped.
Lee is the one that suggested reloadrs use weight, area and time when testing hardness.
Claims department: I have a lead melt chart from about 1917, it goes from lead and nothing to something and 10% lead. To determine lead content all I have to do is determine the temperature the melting point of the bars/ingots. And then there are my bars, I thought the manufacturers were so kind for stamping the amount of tin and lead and then they used little dents to certify/guarantee the mix.
I am beginning to think purchasing R. Lee's book on modern reloading is not a good ideal.
F. Guffey
Last edited:
Hey guys, so I got a bunch of ingots, mostly 1#s, of lead, what alloy I have no idea. My question is can I use my lee hardness tester on the ingot or am I forced to cast into bullets to test the hardness properly?
Looks to me as long as you can get a chunk of lead to fit in the V block, you can measure its hardness. You could melt an edge with a blow torch and cool the molten lead in something. What about scratching a line in the dirt and filling it with hot lead?
With the small 1 lb. ingots just test them in your press, on top of the v-block...
Sometimes I make slugs for slugging a bore by pouring my alloy into an empty case and those are good to test with my Lee tester (leave primer in the case, flare slightly, pour a case full, remove slug with my impact bullet puller).
Sometimes I make slugs for slugging a bore by pouring my alloy into an empty case and those are good to test with my Lee tester (leave primer in the case, flare slightly, pour a case full, remove slug with my impact bullet puller).
FrankenMauser
New member
I generally just try to get a 'ballpark' idea of what an alloy is by:
1. Smacking it with, or dropping it on something hard, and listening to the sound. The more pronounced the ring, the harder it is (generally).
2. Inspecting the grain structure. There's no real science here, just me making a guess about the alloy, based on the different amount of visible dendritic formation from alloy ingredients like antimony and tin. And, luster helps. Linotype makes beautiful, shiny ingots. Lead and lead-tin alloys ... not so much.
3. Grab some known alloys and smack the ingots together. I have pure lead, pure tin, isotope core alloy, COWW, and linotype to compare with. In a smash battle, softer ingots take more damage.
If that doesn't provide enough information for a reasonable guess, I might cast a few bullets and see how they compare to known alloys.
And if that still isn't enough, or I don't feel like casting samples, I just chuck it in the 'scrap' pile that gets combined with range lead.
One of these days, I might try the 'artists' pencil trick (or is it architects' pencils?). But, until then, it's mostly caveman-style.
1. Smacking it with, or dropping it on something hard, and listening to the sound. The more pronounced the ring, the harder it is (generally).
2. Inspecting the grain structure. There's no real science here, just me making a guess about the alloy, based on the different amount of visible dendritic formation from alloy ingredients like antimony and tin. And, luster helps. Linotype makes beautiful, shiny ingots. Lead and lead-tin alloys ... not so much.
3. Grab some known alloys and smack the ingots together. I have pure lead, pure tin, isotope core alloy, COWW, and linotype to compare with. In a smash battle, softer ingots take more damage.
If that doesn't provide enough information for a reasonable guess, I might cast a few bullets and see how they compare to known alloys.
And if that still isn't enough, or I don't feel like casting samples, I just chuck it in the 'scrap' pile that gets combined with range lead.
One of these days, I might try the 'artists' pencil trick (or is it architects' pencils?). But, until then, it's mostly caveman-style.
When I cast my ingots I have a letter stamp set and I stamp what they are at the time of casting them.
If I don't know what I have, I keep a specific mold I use for the task and cast a few bullets from the mix. Then I weigh them to get an idea of where I am at.
With pure lead they drop at 240 grains, wheel weight 232, silver solder will drop 211 and when the mix is just right it drops 230's.
If I don't know what I have, I keep a specific mold I use for the task and cast a few bullets from the mix. Then I weigh them to get an idea of where I am at.
With pure lead they drop at 240 grains, wheel weight 232, silver solder will drop 211 and when the mix is just right it drops 230's.