Picked up a 5lb-4oz ingot of lead yesterday (cheap). It had a big "L" in a diamond, cast into the surface. Seemed soft. I tested it for hardness today. It is softer than my Bhn list starts at (Bhn 5). Near as I can tell from the size of the indent, it is about Bhn 4.0 to 4.2. From what I have read, that is what chemically pure lead tests at. I plan to use it for some black powder bullets.
Most of the old ingots I have are MUCH harder than that. I have some that I believe are babbit material, but there was a wide range of babbit materials with very different compositions. I have not used them yet. As far as I know, they did not use any zinc, but they did use a lot of other materials (in addition to lead, they had antimony, tin, copper, etc). Anyone have any information on old ingot ID's?
Most of the old ingots I have are MUCH harder than that. I have some that I believe are babbit material, but there was a wide range of babbit materials with very different compositions. I have not used them yet. As far as I know, they did not use any zinc, but they did use a lot of other materials (in addition to lead, they had antimony, tin, copper, etc). Anyone have any information on old ingot ID's?
