Is it lead?

Hey all,

I picked up some odds and ends from my usual location. Normally it's a lot of steel and not much else, but this weekend I found some unusual stuff.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-s...125_150615.jpg

(220v cord is in the picture for size reference)

These are all non-magnetic. I'm thinking it might be lead, or some lead alloy. The long square bar, especially, is heavy as sin. The pipe and endcaps feel less dense, and the square blocks seem the least dense.

Is there some way I can verify what these guys are made of before I tote them in to my yard?

Also, does anybody have any idea what these might be for? Could they have some resale value beyond scrap?

(closeups of the square bar)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3...125_150627.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...125_150644.jpg

see if your yard has an XRF gun. They can tell you what they are.

if its not lead it may have more value than they will give you, as most scrapyards don't deal in odd metales.

Eric

You can easily scratch lead or shave it off with a knife. Could be diecast al, that is pretty dense. I've mixed it up with lead before.

whats on the tag on the pipe?

The tag is just a UPS overgoods label... nothing to identify it, unfortunately.

I tried digging into a couple of the pieces with a knife, but I wasn't able to do much more than scratch the surface some. It rings really pretty when you hit it just right, though. :)

I'll take it with me next time I head to the yard, and see if they can figure out what it is.

Let us know what you find. I'm sure a lot of us have our curiosity up now, including me!

Here's my guesses, on a couple of them at least: The thing with the hex shape in it: Zinc or aluminium. The heavy-walled pipe looks like "bushing stock" and the courier label on it suggests it was pretty short when it was shipped, so it might be the "zinc-aluminium" bushing material that is used in industry. Not sure of the exact mix of the two. The square and rectangular pieces could be any of the metals.

Jon