Approximate composition on isotope lead

[Brother_Love]

I have a. Hence to get several of these but I can't find the composition of the lead used in them.

Anyone have that info. The guy has about 30 of them he said I could have.

 

[RicinYakima]

There are no standards for composition. There is a performance standard from a sample: X thickness will absorb X amount of gamma radiation. The two I have had sampled were both 98%+ lead with traces of tin, antimony, copper and zinc. WFIW, Ric

 

[Brother_Love]

I may get them and smelt at a lower temp and just get the lead. I hate to turn down free lead but I do not want zinc either.
Thank you

 

[Dusty Bannister]

Maybe this will help you figure out what there is.

http://www.fellingfamily.net/isolead/

 

[KHornet]

Have melted down a brick or two of the stuff.
Just considered it to be lead. BH between 5-6.
Would like a ton or more of it!

Paul

 

[Brother_Love]

Well, I am picking them up tomorrow, he has come up with 44 of them.

 

[KHornet]

At 25 lbs a brick, that is a real whoop of lead Brother!

Paul

 

[Brad]

He is speaking of isotope containers, not shielding blocks. These are the shipping containers used for transportation of radioisotopes like used in nuclear medicine.
I tried to get a line on some locally but they refused to give them to anyone but a licensed recycler.

 

[Ian]

I may get them and smelt at a lower temp and just get the lead. I hate to turn down free lead but I do not want zinc either.
Thank you

I'd go RIGHT NOW if I were you. He'll talk about it before the end of the day and someone else who knows the worth will beat you out of $2000 worth of free, clean lead alloy.

BTW, you're totally confused about getting zinc out of alloy.

 

[Brother_Love]

Already got them. This stuff was less than 3 miles from me and been there for several years. Enlighten me about removing the zinc or is it enough to be concerned over.

 

[Brad]

I bet the zinc isn't worth fretting over. Zinc is a common contaminant in lead alloys. Unless it gets to a significant concentration it just doesn't matter.

 

[KHornet]

You can probably find trace zinc in just about all metal alloys.

Paul

 

[Rick]

I agree also, shouldn't be enough zinc to even know it's there. With good enough testing you would probably find there is gold in it as well but nope, your not suddenly rich.

 

[fiver]

the bigger ones are usually 1% tin and 3% antimony. [they can/will have a brass thiingy in them depending on the shape]
the smaller ones are usually 2.5 Tin and 2.5 Antimony. [they are about 2-2.5" across and 6-8" high with a little lid]
the big usually melt at about 575-f and the little ones at about 550-f.

 

[Ian]

There's probably way more zinc in typical WW metal, without melting in the Zamak ones, than in nuclear medicine containers.

Congrats on your score, Malcolm, that's quite a haul. For the kind of shooting you do most of the time, they'll be perfect as-is.

 

[RicinYakima]

Zinc entered the WW / scrap cycle in the late 1990's when Korean and Japanese cars can to the west coast with WW's attached. Zinc white metal fuel pumps and engine parts just got added to the lead pots over there. Ian is right, everything in the US scrap system now has some zinc, but not generally an issue. Living in the NW, we sorted out Asian WW's from about 1995 on, just because some had 25% zinc, but that is no longer the case. My casting friends on the east coast where there are lots of European imports say it was never a problem there.

 

[Brother_Love]

I cast with some of the isotope lead today and I don't like it. Some bases and noses cracked or chipped when the exited the mold. They have a frosted look at normal temps. Just to check I turned to another pot and theWW lead cast
much, much better.

I used my new NOE Saeco 315 mold today and it was great. All had to do is open for bullets to fall out, not even a tap was needed! It was great.

 

[Ian]

They're definitely bad. I'll be happy to take them off your hands since they're just in your way now

 

[JWFilips]

I know I came into a few 25 lb blocks of shielding lead and one big bar of what I was told was medical lead
I smelted that last year and added some tin
When I cast with it it cast ok how ever on casting it tested bhn 9
After one month it was only bhn 10!
However after 1 year it was 12 which was my target hardness.
I think the folks here said it was lacking proper amounts of Sb

 

[fiver]

the bricks are only about 1% antimony.
I got a bunch of the thin [1" thick] interlocking bricks over on boolits because nobody else wanted them, they are about 1% antimony and nothing else.
pretty darn good casting them as is for bullet cores, or black powder balls.
or for cutting with lino-type at 8-1 for pressure pouring the old ideal single cavity molds and water dropping.
I wish I would have got all of them instead of just 250 lbs, but that is a lot of 40-50gr and 115gr cores.