I was scrounging for some soft lead to use in my Lee 405gr. H B mould. I came across a scrap yard that has the lead used in making modern stained glass objects. it seems very soft and pliable, and I was wondering if any one knows the type of aloy used in manufacturing this stuff. My greatest concern woudl be if zinc was added to it. Any replies would be appreciated

I don't believe zinc would be a problem for you in this lead. It should be pretty pure. You will probably have to add more expensive ingredients to it to get it to the hardness you really need.

Dirty little secret kept from you from lead suppliers. Wheel weights will work for most any application. When first cast, they will test at near pure lead hardness. As they age, they will get harder, up to the finish hardness of WW's. This will usually be from 8-11 Brinell. The thing is to cast ahead at the proper time to have the hardness you require. If you pay premium for BPCR lead, and shoot a lot, this is something that can save you big bucks in a short time.

If you need harder bullets, water quench the bullets as you cast them, and they will end up from 17-22 Bn after aging, and this hardness will be reached within twenty four hours, with gradual softenng for a period until they stabilize at a pretty reliable hardness.

If you need harder yet, drop in a tablespoon of high antimony shot to your casting pot when water quenching. This can bring up hardness to Bn 35 or so. This is only for high velocity use, and is no good for hunting.

A few years back I'd pick up lead came for a glass shop in our plant. The man who made it told me it was pure lead. Hope that helps