Plumbing lead
- Thread starter mercado
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The answer is "that depends". Plumbing lead has different configurations depending on who made it and where it was made. Some has more alloy than others and some is pure lead. A not so accurate hardness test is to take a pure lead pellet and cut off a piece, about the same size, of the lead you are considering. Squeeze both with a pair of pliers or vice grips and if they both squeeze with the same amount of pressure, then use it. If the lead source is more difficult to squeeze, it is probably too hard to shoot accurately out of a PCP or break barrel. Not scientifically accurate but will get you close enough.
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I've usd it. I don't think it is as hard as wheel weights and they do well. I'm using 40-1 lead plus a mix of used pellets I recover. It won't hurt the gun you just have to try it and see
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Thank you let see what price i get..for the hole lot 3,500 pounds. 
Plumbing lead is among the softest of lead. PB shooters can get away with making lower speed bullets out of it (usually for pistol or muzzle loader), but if you try to make pellets out of it, the skirts will likely get quickly deformed just from typical handling and storage. I imagine it would also cause quite a bit of extra fouling in the barrel after many shots. I would plan to harden the alloy a bit, but you will need to experiment. And be prepared to flux it many many times since those pipes will be super dirty, probably covered in lots of unknown greases and oils.
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Hi mercado
Plumbing lead is fine for slugs or pellets as is pure lead.
Just don't use the soldered joints" cut the lead off before the joint.
Best melted in a big pot first not a lee pot due to the amount of dirt and scale.
Use plenty of flux to remove dirt.
You can use a tiny bit of tin to add hardness if lead too soft.
Also make sure lead is completely dry before melting and I mean dry.
I have made thousands of slugs this way with zero problems" cast and swaged.
Plumbing lead is fine for slugs or pellets as is pure lead.
Just don't use the soldered joints" cut the lead off before the joint.
Best melted in a big pot first not a lee pot due to the amount of dirt and scale.
Use plenty of flux to remove dirt.
You can use a tiny bit of tin to add hardness if lead too soft.
Also make sure lead is completely dry before melting and I mean dry.
I have made thousands of slugs this way with zero problems" cast and swaged.
Absolutely dry! I had a pot explode on me once. Knocked me out of my chair and when I got up I couldn't see. The lead had completely covered my glasses, COMPLETELY! I have no idea how water got into it other than I had picked a piece of lead off the floor and threw it in just prior to the blow. Wear goggles.
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Yikes!
A good friend of mine who was an amazing gunsmith and antique firearm restorationist was permanently blinded by a similar incident but it was hot bluing salts, not molten lead. An investigation after the fact found a foreign object inside the tube magazine of the gun. IIRC He had forgotten to put his face guard on when putting a newly polished barreled action into the bath.
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Yup thank you..I don't know why but some pipes tend to have some kind of paper attach to them .. maybe that and being out on the rain .. will be very careful..thanks
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Thank you for the advice..there is to much to learn, I have casted very little just hoarding some lead .. and trying to learn as much I can .. I'm more interested in casting n bullet shooting than any other part of this hobby .. could it be possible to make lead wire .. to sway bullets ..?
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@aroundlocks How can he ensure that the lead is completely dry considering the bulk of it is pipe lead? Is there something that one should do to prepare the pipes before smelting it? Also what is an adequate type of face shield to wear that can withstand hot lead splashing on it without melting or burning through it? Where can one purchase the necessary type of face shield?
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That is a very nice stash of lead.
It is NOT plumbers lead, it is cable sheathing. It has antimony and likely other metals as well.
Right now it will seem soft (thumbnail test) but after melting and cleaning it will become harder, and
over the next couple of weeks, it will continue to get harder. The simple proof would be to melt a bit with
a torch into a couple of small puddles, or better yet, a couple long, thin ingots. Smash or bend one as soon
as it cools. Save one or two more samples and try the same test in a couple of weeks, if it has hardened somewhat, you
know it is not pure lead.
Accurate melt temperature is reliable, but more difficult to achieve.
There is going to be a LOT of smoke when this stuff melts, keep that in mind if you have neighbors. This MUST be done outdoors,
there is a high risk of the smoke igniting, sometimes with force.
The safest way to melt lead is to load the cold pot with lead, then melt it.
Any time you put something into a molten pot of lead you are asking for trouble and very likely to get it.
The easiest way to deal with the sheathing for melting and cleaning is to chop it up with an axe to get sizes that
your pot will handle.
Pine sawdust is an excellent flux. It also smokes, is best put in the pot before the melt begins, again, the smoke is flammable.
One of the benefits of sawdust is the charcoal it forms absorbs a lot of crud from the dross, well stirred, it also helps clean the
leadpot. Many commercial fluxes attract moisture and corrosion is a problem.
Cable sheath should make very good powder burner bullets with only a small amount of tin added, but I think it will be a bit
hard for airgun use if dead soft lead is what you need.
Imadman's post #14 is solid advise.
It is NOT plumbers lead, it is cable sheathing. It has antimony and likely other metals as well.
Right now it will seem soft (thumbnail test) but after melting and cleaning it will become harder, and
over the next couple of weeks, it will continue to get harder. The simple proof would be to melt a bit with
a torch into a couple of small puddles, or better yet, a couple long, thin ingots. Smash or bend one as soon
as it cools. Save one or two more samples and try the same test in a couple of weeks, if it has hardened somewhat, you
know it is not pure lead.
Accurate melt temperature is reliable, but more difficult to achieve.
There is going to be a LOT of smoke when this stuff melts, keep that in mind if you have neighbors. This MUST be done outdoors,
there is a high risk of the smoke igniting, sometimes with force.
The safest way to melt lead is to load the cold pot with lead, then melt it.
Any time you put something into a molten pot of lead you are asking for trouble and very likely to get it.
The easiest way to deal with the sheathing for melting and cleaning is to chop it up with an axe to get sizes that
your pot will handle.
Pine sawdust is an excellent flux. It also smokes, is best put in the pot before the melt begins, again, the smoke is flammable.
One of the benefits of sawdust is the charcoal it forms absorbs a lot of crud from the dross, well stirred, it also helps clean the
leadpot. Many commercial fluxes attract moisture and corrosion is a problem.
Cable sheath should make very good powder burner bullets with only a small amount of tin added, but I think it will be a bit
hard for airgun use if dead soft lead is what you need.
Imadman's post #14 is solid advise.
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Thank you .. is Christmas the owner is out I have not paid yet .. I asked for a sample first to melt n test .. Question..? It will be used to cast. 224 - 257 - 308 . Will Not be used for low power guns ... this lead being a bit harder .. would it work ? .. in my firsts castings sessions molds driving bands didn't fill up correctly .. som airguners suggest 2% tin for a better fill up..
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There may be several reasons your early casting sessions were not turning out perfect bullets. Bullet casting is a hobby all in itself.
Frankly I have never cast for airguns, but have a bit of experience casting for powder burners.
If you add tin to the cable sheath lead, you will have a very good alloy for handgun cartridges, but maybe way too hard for airguns.
Antimony is used in lead alloy for extrusions. When this alloy is worked, it softens it, and somehow makes a better extrusion than pure lead.
Lead that seems soft in its cable sheath form, will change when it is melted, allowing the antimony to reform and harden the lead again. Adding tin
to it will make it even harder when it combines with the antimony. The interesting part is it will continue to harden over the next month or so.
The other thing to be aware of is the size of the pellet or slug.
Lyman bullet molds, for example. were designed to cast a specific size bullet with a particular alloy, rifle and pistol molds sized with a Lyman #2 alloy,
muzzleloader balls and bullets size correctly with pure lead.
Lead/tin/antimony alloys shrink less than a pure lead pour.
If you have a mold that is designed to drop a bullet measuring (for example) .308, using a lead tin antimony alloy, if you used pure lead, that mold may drop a bullet of (for example) .305
It works both ways, if your airgun mold is designed to size correctly with pure lead, using an alloy will make a hard bullet that is oversize.
That is a shadetree explanation as best as I recall, anyone that can correct it is welcome.
Frankly I have never cast for airguns, but have a bit of experience casting for powder burners.
If you add tin to the cable sheath lead, you will have a very good alloy for handgun cartridges, but maybe way too hard for airguns.
Antimony is used in lead alloy for extrusions. When this alloy is worked, it softens it, and somehow makes a better extrusion than pure lead.
Lead that seems soft in its cable sheath form, will change when it is melted, allowing the antimony to reform and harden the lead again. Adding tin
to it will make it even harder when it combines with the antimony. The interesting part is it will continue to harden over the next month or so.
The other thing to be aware of is the size of the pellet or slug.
Lyman bullet molds, for example. were designed to cast a specific size bullet with a particular alloy, rifle and pistol molds sized with a Lyman #2 alloy,
muzzleloader balls and bullets size correctly with pure lead.
Lead/tin/antimony alloys shrink less than a pure lead pour.
If you have a mold that is designed to drop a bullet measuring (for example) .308, using a lead tin antimony alloy, if you used pure lead, that mold may drop a bullet of (for example) .305
It works both ways, if your airgun mold is designed to size correctly with pure lead, using an alloy will make a hard bullet that is oversize.
That is a shadetree explanation as best as I recall, anyone that can correct it is welcome.
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Thanks..the guy will bring me 2 pounds next week to test n cast .. hope it works.. lead in bulk is difficult to come by .. the casting I tried first was will pure lead of wish i find 2,800 pounds .. so if I manage to get the temp right is supposed to do great bullets with only pure lead..?
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