[aerod1]

I have an older "Lyman Reloading Handbook" 46th edition and in it they refer to a bullet as Linotype. Is this another name for a lead bullet or what?
Thanks

[brickeyee]

A lead alloy used in Linotype machines for making lead slugs for printing.
It is VERY hard, almost brittle.

Nominally 4% Tin, 12% Antimony & 84% Lead.
The actual alloy wandered in the machine and had to have tin added back in sometimes.

[SlamFire1]

The trick is finding the stuff. The people at the scrap yard never heard of it.

[243winxb]

Nominally 4% Tin, 12% Antimony & 84% Lead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linotype_machine I just love Google, more people should use it. I found some at a printers years ago, bought it cheap as it was not used anymore. Always tell people you want the Linotype/wheel weight/scrap lead to make sinkers for fishing, they are just to happy to give it to you. If you say u want it to make bullets, not so good.

[Griz44]

There is usually several hundred pounds at a time on sale on Ebay. Not cheap, but it is still around.

[wally]

If you find Linotype, its probably worth more as an antique than for making bullets :)

25-30 years ago Linotype was dying, replaced by newer printing technology, hence large amounts of the material was available for surplus sale. Those days are gone.

--wally.

[NCsmitty]

Linotype is a harder alloy of lead containing a small percentage of antimony and tin compared to pure lead. Mixing linotype with pure lead increases what's called the Brinell scale, the bullets resistance to deform, and are able to be driven at higher velocity without leading the barrel, as a rule. Pure linotype bullets are quite hard, depending on the percentage of added antimony and tin and can reach a point of fracturing on impact instead of mushrooming. I'm sure there are people here who are more knowledgeable on this subject.

NCsmitty

[RugerBob]

Here is some I have not melted into ingots yet.http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii260/rrmaynard/linotype029.jpg

[CBS220]

I've always wanted to see how Linotype was used in a printing press.

Too late now, I suppose :)

[Griz44]

When I was a teen, I would work cleanup some at a local rag sheet in the small town close to our farm. They had a machine there. Sometimes they would let me cast type when they were doing flyers and small non time critical stuff. It was a fascinating process. If you mistyped something, you just reached into the catcher and pulled the brass key letter back out. To proofread, you had to learn to read backwards letters.

[snuffy]

This is what linotype pigs look like.

http://photos.imageevent.com/jptowns/arrow/websize/P1160030.JPG

That's how they looked before being lowered into the big pot. The hooks on the end were fastened to a chain so they could be lowered into the molten lead supply pot.

The shiny, smaller chunks, were bought on e-bay.

[Handgunr]

Nice read......

Lino runs at a given, or standard 21-22BHN as far as (brinell) hardness is concerned. Pure lead is rated at 5BHN.
Wheelweights, which are most commonly used for bullets, run at 8-9BHN.

Water quenching (dropping bullets straight from the mould into cold water) regular WW cast bullets, and letting them set, or stabilize for a few days, can raise their BHN numbers to 14-15BHN.

I have several hundred pounds of those lino pig's shown. Since I have no bullet requirements that would call for them right now, I'm holding onto them if the time arises someday. Very hard to come by. I mainly have them around for alloying, if need be.

Take care,
Bob

[Jim Watson]

Linotype has several characteristics that make it good for both printing and bullets.

It is relatively hard, as lead alloy goes, so it doesn't get mashed out of shape in the printing press or the gun barrel.

It is a eutectic alloy, which means it melts at a relatively low temperature and it melts and solidifies sharply at one temperature with no sludgy phase over a temperature range. This was important in the Line-O-Type machine which ran fast to turn out the newspaper every day.

Note that the common bulk bullet alloy of 92% lead, 6% antimony, and 2% tin is half of the linotype alloying metals content. I suspect it was originally made by cutting linotype with lead until it got to the minimum of antimony for hardness and the least lead for well filled out casting.

[brickeyee]

I have a couple of large pigs and a few smaller pieces cut from others.
I mostly use it as a soft anvil for metal work.

Pigs from melted down printing slugs usually have a sort of layered look to them on the outside.
Keeping the heat to the minimum was preferred to avoid messing up the alloy.

[highlander 5]

i get lino from my local scarp dealer,mixed 50/50 with wheel weights makes a very nice bullet. BTW straight lino cast a very nice bullet and about 3% lighter than Lyman no 2 alloy.

[okeybug]

I've got 900 lbs of straight lynotype that I havn't touched yet. I love to cast with it. I mix it 50/50 with WW metal. This mixture is close to hard cast. No I wouldn't sell any of it.