Is this pure lead?

[meltleadalot2693]

I melted my lead radiation shielding. I made ingots and this coin shaped weight. It has big crystals like the spangle on zinc, it is glass smooth, VERY SOFT, HEAVY, and you can even see your reflection through it. It also has a slight rainbow color tint to it with a very shiny and silvery color surface. Here is the pic, you can easily see the crystals and the shiny surface.

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[Fatman]

Find out where it came from and ask them for the MSDS sheet and it should tell you for sure. and Even if it's been recycled they SHOULD have a record of it, if they do they're paperwork right.

 

[meltleadalot2693]

It is from lead radiation shielding and the guy I brought it from messaged me and said it is medical grade which is supposed to mean pure lead. Does it look pure just by looking at the pic?

 

[LedHed]

It looks like very clean lead (high 90%) - don't like to use the term "pure".
Did you flux?
Looks like your lead was just hot enough to pour (rings on the bottom).

 

[Fatman]

If you look up lead sheets for xray rooms you'll see some companies use 99.94% but under the standards for even MRI and Nuclear Medicine only require 90%. They'd save some money in the building process by going with the cheaper 90%, that's why I said to get the MSDS sheet on it - if it went through the recycling paperwork "should" have been done and it would identify it.

Only other way I know of is with a BNH (Bin) tester, costly and see what it comes out at pure usually registers if I remember from the guys at Cast Boolits from 5-7 bnh, which is what most use in Muzzle loaders.

 

[meltleadalot2693]

The lead was plenty hot to pour it just casts like that. My pure lead ingots have a texture like that.

 

[Hawnjigs]

I'm with LedHed that "pure" is a misnomer when describing scrap lead.

I would guess that the faceted surface appearance of your ingot MLAL indicates greater purity than the forms of 99+ I've used over the years. I think my softest was 99.7 "chemical lead".

Hey Fatman, your knowledge of lead grades is surprising for one who never bought any.

 

[meltleadalot2693]

That disc I showed in the pic, is starting to turn a gray color and has a rainbow color tint to it. I think the lead is pure as lead can get. What do you think about the purity of this lead?

 

[meltleadalot2693]

One guy on another site said he would get the sample xrf for me for free just send a sample and the machine would tell what metals and compounds are in the lead. I don't know if I should as the lead ingots from this same lead are a straw/purple color with a silvery rainbow color tint to them.

 

[Fatman]

Posted by meltleadalot2693 - Today 05:07 PM
One guy on another site said he would get the sample xrf for me for free just send a sample and the machine would tell what metals and compounds are in the lead. I don't know if I should as the lead ingots from this same lead are a straw/purple color with a silvery rainbow color tint to them.

What does any tint in the ingots have to do with someone who is offering you a free read on what's in the lead you have??? Send it in and get a free read on it!!!!!!!!!! Then you'll know for sure and can quit wondering and worrying!!!!

Hawn - Those figures on the x-ray rooms are from Info I looked up on the internet!!! The only reason I know about the paperwork requirement is I worked at a Hospital right after I got out of the Air Force and they redid the X-ray lab and we had to pull out all the original paperwork for the Contractor to get rid of it. (Trust me alot of folks who worked there got a bunch of lead to take home for tackle making)

The bnh reading level is from tests guys at Cast Boolits did. The % of lead pure, tire weight, linotype I actually learned from Ken Oberetchs book Anglers Guide to Jigs and Jigging!!! Great book and I looked up more on the lead subject.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Hey, I got KO's book, have to dig it out for a read. Those Boolit guys are really particular about their precision alloys, we tackle casters don't have to be. 98, 99, 99.9, doesn't matter as long as the castings are complete.