Linotype?

[GunnyMack]

I found a water leak in the basement this morning! I keep a fair inventory of plumbing fittings on hand so as I'm waiting for the line to drain I'm looking for something to occupy my brain and I rerun across this ingot. While in skool I bought a bunch of lead, pure tin and 2 of these ingots.

Probably not easily identified but has anyone ever seen ingots like this?
I've had this ingot for 30 odd years. It doesn't look like the pure lead ingots( different shaped)I have from the same time frame.
It's hard, has a bit of tin like shine.

20240614_073501.jpg

[AmBraCol]

Years ago I bought some linotype from a printshop that had closed down that part of their operation in favor of newfangled (for the time) printing. BUT it was all in "wafers" with text on the narrow edge. Never saw any ingots there. I used that for everything for a while, even roundballs for my muzzle loader. Folks say "pure lead only" for front stuffers, but it depends on what you've got for a patch and the patch/ball/bore fit. But I digress. That should make for some nice high velocity (relatively speaking) rifle projectiles.

[marlinman93]

I have linotype bars, but also some ingots that weigh in the 35-40 lb. range. But my ingots are not rounded shape, or marked with any letters. Just weight written in black felt pen on them.

[GunnyMack]

I've never even seen linotype in any form ...that I'm aware of.
Guess I'll melt it at some point and pour a bunch of bullets.

Oh and I got the water leak fixed and then went fishing!

[earlmck]

I haven't seen any ingots looking quite like that, but if it is fairly hard then linotype is a good first guess. If you have a mould with which you've cast some pure lead bullets you might cast some with that mould using the "unknown". If it is linotype it'll run about 94% as heavy as the pure lead. My second "guess" would be Foundry type (used to replenish linotype) which would run about 85% as heavy as a pure lead bullet.

[GunnyMack]

Thanks Earl, not sure I'll melt this any time soon so I'll probably forget your %s by the time I do !

[AmBraCol]

If you've never cast linotype, you're in for a treat. It makes LOVELY bullets. They will be lighter and much harder and larger diameter than wheel weight or pure lead. It's a great source of tin for upgrading wheelweights for rifle bullet casting as well.

[marlinman93]

If it is linotype it will be too hard melted as is for bullets. I mix mine 2 parts pure lead to one part linotype. Could even go 3 to 1 and be hard enough.

[Griff]

Shortly before moving to TX in 1990 I bought a 5 gallon bucket of linotype letters from a print shop that was transitioning all lithographic printing computerized typesetting. I've been mixing it 1:6 parts of wheel weights. I get between 18-20 Bhn depending on how accurate my mixing is. I pour the melt into a muffin tin for about 2 lb ingots to add to my casting pot. The pure linotype bullets I've cast are too brittle, often shattering on impact. The hardest I've gotten without shattering is about 22 Bhn. Bullets of 6:1 ratio with a gascheck I've pushed out of my .30-30 as fast as 2290 fps (150 grain RFN) with no leading and excellent accuracy.

[marlinman93]

What do you think wheel weights are before adding linotype? I used to use straight wheel weights as they seemed to be fairly hard without anything added. Stopped using them when so many wheel weights started being made of zinc or other metals that aren't good for anything but fishing weights.

[earlmck]

Shortly before moving to TX in 1990 I bought a 5 gallon bucket of linotype letters from a print shop that was transitioning all lithographic printing computerized typesetting. I've been mixing it 1:6 parts of wheel weights. I get between 18-20 Bhn depending on how accurate my mixing is. I pour the melt into a muffin tin for about 2 lb ingots to add to my casting pot. The pure linotype bullets I've cast are too brittle, often shattering on impact. The hardest I've gotten without shattering is about 22 Bhn. Bullets of 6:1 ratio with a gascheck I've pushed out of my .30-30 as fast as 2290 fps (150 grain RFN) with no leading and excellent accuracy.

Griff, I would bet that what you've got there in your 5-gallon bucket is not linotype: you've more likely got foundry type metal which is waay richer in tin and antimony than linotype and is wonderful for alloying as you have been doing for many years. Lino is hard but not so hard as to be brittle and it makes a really nice bullet. Foundry is so brittle that some bullets break apart on the way to the target and will shatter if you whack them with a hammer. Linotype in pure form is 4/12/84 of tin/antimony/lead and around 22 BHN where the foundry metal is about 15/23/62 of the tin/antimony/lead and more like 28 BHN.

I, like you, acquired a bucket (mine was only a 2-gallon one) of what I assumed was linotype because it was full of those little "letters on sticks". It cast up real nice into good looking bullets that I shoot out of my 22 Hornet at over 2500 fps (the only rifle that gets fed with linotype bullets). First off I noticed I wasn't even hitting the target every time and second I noticed my new "lino" bullets were a lot lighter than my old lino bullets from the same mould. Only then did I research and find out about foundry type which seems to have been a real common commodity around print shops and was used (I have read) to "sweeten" up the linotype mixture that had lost some of its tin/antimony after many re-melts.

[earlmck]

What do you think wheel weights are before adding linotype? I used to use straight wheel weights as they seemed to be fairly hard without anything added. Stopped using them when so many wheel weights started being made of zinc or other metals that aren't good for anything but fishing weights.

A fellow who posted over on "Castboolits" at one time tested a number of different batches of wheelweights and although there was some variation in composition they averaged pretty close to 3% antimony, 0.5% tin so I have been assuming that composition when I am alloying something up for higher velocity/gas checked bullets for some of the rifles. (Yeah, over the years I've happily shot a jillion pounds of straight wheelweight bullets, mostly through handguns).

The last time I got a bunch of wheelweights the separation of the zinc and the steel and other mysteries out of the mess was a significant amount of work as I recall. I know after that experience I decided I would gladly pay a couple bucks per pound for wheelweights melted into little ingots. And even those seem to have pretty much dried up.

[Bullard4075]

"A fellow who posted over on "Castboolits" at one time tested a number of different batches of wheelweights and although there was some variation in composition they pretty close to 3% antimony, 0.5% tin " I'm curious how would such a test work? I'm not being a smart aleck, just curious.

[Griff]

Griff, I would bet that what you've got there in your 5-gallon bucket is not linotype: you've more likely got foundry type metal which is waay richer in tin and antimony than linotype and is wonderful for alloying as you have been doing for many years. Lino is hard but not so hard as to be brittle and it makes a really nice bullet. Foundry is so brittle that some bullets break apart on the way to the target and will shatter if you whack them with a hammer. Linotype in pure form is 4/12/84 of tin/antimony/lead and around 22 BHN where the foundry metal is about 15/23/62 of the tin/antimony/lead and more like 28 BHN.

I, like you, acquired a bucket (mine was only a 2-gallon one) of what I assumed was linotype because it was full of those little "letters on sticks". It cast up real nice into good looking bullets that I shoot out of my 22 Hornet at over 2500 fps (the only rifle that gets fed with linotype bullets). First off I noticed I wasn't even hitting the target every time and second I noticed my new "lino" bullets were a lot lighter than my old lino bullets from the same mould. Only then did I research and find out about foundry type which seems to have been a real common commodity around print shops and was used (I have read) to "sweeten" up the linotype mixture that had lost some of its tin/antimony after many re-melts.

Yeah, there's numerous blocks of a much harder material, which I knew from a class I took on printing back in the '70s was used for fill space, etc. I've probably still got a gallon or so of that original full bucket. I too, shoot a LOT of straight wheel weight bullets. I certainly don't need to add any linotype to make steel targets ring @ less than 20 yards! If a plain base bullet, I don't bother adding any of the linotype. And buying more from someplace like Roto Metals can get expensive! Although when my supply is finally used up, I'll probably buy some 5 lb. ingots from Roto Metals.

[earlmck]

"A fellow who posted over on "Castboolits" at one time tested a number of different batches of wheelweights and although there was some variation in composition they pretty close to 3% antimony, 0.5% tin " I'm curious how would such a test work? I'm not being a smart aleck, just curious.

I don't really know Bullard but in the last few years there have been folks who got access to some sort of test equipment used at their work that gives out these nifty composition readings. There has been one fellow on the site who will run your alloy for you if you give him an ingot to keep for himself. Don't know if he's still advertising but apparently the wonders of modern science have wandered into the bullet-casting world to give us more information than we quite know how to use.

[GunnyMack]

That might be one of those sample guns, you hold it up to the material and it analyzes the composition of the material. It's used in archeology, seen it on a few different tv shows.

https://elvatech.com/applications/pmi/