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Lead Question ( I'm no expert)

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Good evening all.

I recently came upon a considerable amount of sheet lead that came from an X-Ray room ( my doctor gave it too me to haul off)

I melted/ Fluxed it and pored into some ingnots. The final product is beautiful. The problem is I believe it is too soft.

I pore lots of lead but have bought most of my lead in the past from suppliers and there lead seems to be much harder. I can see a difference on my final product. 

Would any of the experts here please give me some guidance as to what I should add to make it harder?   

I guess I should search the forums better and will continue to do so while waiting on answers.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Blades 

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If it were me I would buy tin or antimony. This way you will get bars and you can get the ratios right instead of guessing. The other problem with lead weights, are that many are not lead any more. They are zinc, and if you add zinc to your lead you will screw up the batch. Also many lead weights have water trapped inside. Unless you know for sure that they are completely dry and void of water, do not use them. Any drops or droplets of water will make the lead explode.  I would buy my lead additives from a known and reliable source like Roto-Metals. Be careful and be safe. 

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1 hour ago, cadman said:

If it were me I would buy tin or antimony. This way you will get bars and you can get the ratios right instead of guessing. The other problem with lead weights, are that many are not lead any more. They are zinc, and if you add zinc to your lead you will screw up the batch. Also many lead weights have water trapped inside. Unless you know for sure that they are completely dry and void of water, do not use them. Any drops or droplets of water will make the lead explode.  I would buy my lead additives from a known and reliable source like Roto-Metals. Be careful and be safe. 

10-4 -will do.

I have been reading up on a reloading forum to hopefully get a good starting point for a ratio.

From what I have read, seems this lead I have is very pure and a good find.

On another note..... My Dad always told me there was no excuse for being ignorant if you have access to the internet or a smart phone but I swear sometimes there's too much information. If you think this site is full of different opinions it doesn't hold a candle to these reloading sites.

Thanks again all. Always appreciate the guidance.

Regards,

Blades

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Just now, bigblue2 said:

I  will be checking for lead at a local  glass shop!

 

Many times they have broken pains of lead glass, and the lead separates easily from the broken glass. A little time consuming but the lead is very usable and if they give you the broken pains you then have free lead. If you use a lot of lead like I do, then you will need a bigger source of lead. However, I take all the free lead I can get and mix it in with the real soft lead I have.

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23 hours ago, cadman said:

 

Many times they have broken pains of lead glass, and the lead separates easily from the broken glass. A little time consuming but the lead is very usable and if they give you the broken pains you then have free lead. If you use a lot of lead like I do, then you will need a bigger source of lead. However, I take all the free lead I can get and mix it in with the real soft lead I have.

 

I love free lead, but it's becoming harder and harder to come across. It used to be easy to get lead when I first started pouring about 20 years ago. Seemed like every recycling center and scrap yard had lead, and they were practically giving it away. Paying 10-20 cents a pound was very common. I always used to pick through and get the flashing material used on roofs. It was easy to cut, easy to clean, and easy to store. Would buy 50+ pounds at a time. Now, I can't seem to find lead anywhere for sale locally, only on the internet.

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3 hours ago, BuckeyeFishing said:

 

I love free lead, but it's becoming harder and harder to come across. It used to be easy to get lead when I first started pouring about 20 years ago. Seemed like every recycling center and scrap yard had lead, and they were practically giving it away. Paying 10-20 cents a pound was very common. I always used to pick through and get the flashing material used on roofs. It was easy to cut, easy to clean, and easy to store. Would buy 50+ pounds at a time. Now, I can't seem to find lead anywhere for sale locally, only on the internet.

I guess I should have bummed more lead from the plumbers on my jobsites, way back before ABS.

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13 hours ago, LimpNoodle said:

I just picked up 200 lbs of lead scrap for $0.95 a pound.

 

Ya just gotta find the right scrap yard.

 

Thats a killer deal right there. My wife would be fuming if I showed up with 200 lbs of lead. I do my pouring in the garage and she gets angry if I take up too much space and she has to park outside. I park outside but she is spoiled by the comforts of a garage...LOL! Last time I bought a large quantity and threw it in the middle of the garage to process, that didn't go over to well. I told her if we bought a nice, big shed for my work area, she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore!

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Hard to pour outside when its 35 degrees and raining all the time. I pour outside when its nicer in the spring but, a couple box fan pulling fumes, window and garage door open for ventilation, space heater to keep it from getting too cold is plenty. 

Prior to becoming a teacher, I spent 7 years doing QC testing and R&D work for chemical companies. I handled things far nastier than lead and plastic fumes.  I pretty well versed in proper ventilation.

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