I recently acquired about 600# of lead ingots. They are all cast in "Lyman" bars. They are various colors from bright shiney to dull grey. Some have "pure" scratched on them. Is there a reliable way to identify the alloy or shoud I just cast em and see what happens?
John

A hardness tester was one of the best investments I ever made in my bullet casting operation. It won't help you ID alloy, other than pure lead, but at you'll know what you're working with. I have on from Cabine Tree but the one made by LBT is supposed to be a great quality.

35WN

I don't know about reliable, but it sounds like the previous owner did some of that work for you already. You can set aside the" pure" lead ingots and just use the rest as cast. Sort any others that are marked. Try to sort the rest for hardness. If the bullets look good you're done. If the shiny ones are harder they may have more tin and could be added to rifle bullets. Water drop them out of the mold and see what you get. That's a good find so have fun.