Scored 152 pounds of lead for $45.00

[Jay29]

A plumber is retiring and he is selling a skid full of lead ingots, roofing materials, and the like. I tested the lead ingots with my fingernail. It is not dead soft lead. However, I could scratch my fingernail into it, not as deep a pure soft lead. He said it might have some tin or aluminum in it which "would burn off" if I choose to melt it.

This would be used for my .50 cal Flintlock Great Plains rifle. I estimate around 6,000 balls I could cast or so.

Opinions and advice??????

 

[4v50 Gary]

Bullet hardness tester. Good score BTW.

 

[StrawHat]

Go for it. As for the alloy, it is not going to be aluminum. And if it is tin, it will not burn off. That is a myth from who knows when.

Muzzleloaders have been alloying lead to make them harder for centuries. The Whitworth rifle used a lead alloy bullet and was tested with an iron bullet. Round balls were hardened with mercury by the elephant hunters so using that alloy in your rifle would not be as blasphemous as the coonskin cap crowd would have you believe.

If you need help, I would be willing to split the deal with you!

 

[Jay29]

I guess as long as I am able to drive it home and accuracy remains good, I am not worried about the composition.

 

[sonier]

this thread is making me want to buy a flintlock 50 cal to replace my 50 cal percussion, makes me want to make my own black powder and cast my own lead i have access and a deal worked out and have about 1000 pounds of various plumbing, and wheel weight lead at my disposal,,,,,, now to just get off my lazy arse and cast them lol no i will not tell you where all the lead is lol, lets just say if i cast the guy a few thousand 45 cal bullets i got 1000 pounds for me lol

 

[Jay29]

I will put it to you this way: I HAVE ONLY SHOT MY FLINTLOCK ALL THIS YEAR! I have over 30 guns to shoot! The only gripe I have is cleaning which only takes 20 minutes anyway. I also have learned to make my own patches and lube as well.

For fun, I will always pick a flinter over a caplock.

 

[blackpowder bob]

Casting your own bullets, cutting your own patches, and the making smoke is one of the great pleasures to shooting a flintlock.
Same as Jay29, lots of guns in the cabinet, but prefer BP above anything else.

 

[Hellgate]

Subject: Testing lead hardness w/ artists pencils

To lead scroungers everywhere,
I think I got this info off the black powder or mlml list 12-13 years ago. I
would like to thank whoever originally posted it and offer my apology for
losing the original credits.
You can go to an art supply store and get a set or select individual pencils
whose core varies from [softest] 9B,>>>1B, HB, F, 1H, >>>9H[hardest]. Lead
will run about 4B or 5B, depending on purity, and linotype will run about HB,
or F. The hardest pencils will test aluminum alloys and are too hard for
lead. About 6 to 8 pencils will cover the range needed for informal casting. Make sure they are all made by the same company as the graphite can vary in hardness from company to company.
To use, shave the wood away to expose the "lead" core without cutting into it
with the knife exposing 1/8-1/4". Hold the pencil vertical and sand the end
flat on fine (about) 400 grit sandpaper. Hold the pencil in a normal writing
position, and try to push the lower edge into the lead surface. If the
graphite core is harder than the alloy, it will cut into the metal or at
least seriously scratch it. If the metal is as hard or harder than the
graphite core, it will not be able to gouge. The hardness is ranked as the
hardest graphite core that will NOT cut in. If your bullet is resistant to
pencils from 6B through 2B, but B scratches it or peels up a small shaving,
the hardness is 2B.
This isn't as exact as a Brinnel tester but cost effective enough for me. You
can reproduce your hardness but not necessarily the same cost, or castability
but all I want to know is whether it is REAL HARD, sorta hard, somewhere in
between, soft, and REAL SOFT (i.e. Smokeless rifle lead, smokeless pistol, 38
special lead, and 2 grades of black powder lead). I bought 8 pencils: H, HB,
B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, & 6B. I found that my various ingots of lead were not
sorted so well once I pencil tested them. Wheelweights and MY BLEND of #2
alloy are about 2B and my soft cap&ball lead is 4B&5B. Be sure to use a fresh
surface as some of the heavier grey corrosion will resist the pencil core but
the underlying lead will scratch.

 

[mykeal]

The other compound in the lead is probably antimony. And like StrawHat said about tin, it won't 'burn off' when you melt the lead. The only way to 'soften' it is to add pure lead to the pot.