What's Linotype Worth?

JJB2 · November 19, 2006, 10:11 PM

got a long bar of linotype quite awhile ago and i was wondering what say about 20# of the stuff is worth....... anyone know? thanks

JJB

Pointer · November 19, 2006, 10:15 PM

Scrap prices...
Contact the local metal recycler or a foundery for current quotes...

To someone who has a linotype printer... A whole lot more than scrap...

Rubber stamp makers used to use the old linotypes for making molds for their stamps...

pumpkinheaver · November 20, 2006, 12:35 AM

It's worth nothing, send it to me and I'll dispose of it. I won't even charge you!!!

Check with your local scrap metal place or recycler, they should be able to tell you.

snuffy · November 20, 2006, 01:20 AM

It's worth a lot more to a lead bullet caster than you'll get from a scrap dealer. AND you would be doing him a hugh favour, he can use it to harden wheel weight metal to make very hard cast bullets. Linotype by itself is almost too hard for hangun bullets, even too hard for rifles bullets.

Pointer · November 20, 2006, 05:55 PM

I don't know what a "caster" will pay you...

So after you get a scrap quote... multiply it by 6 and see if it sells!

snuffy · November 20, 2006, 06:50 PM

I just gave 20 bucks to a guy at a flea market for a 20 pound bar of lino. If you can get more than that from a scrap dealer,(highly unlikely), then sell it to him!

JJB2 · November 20, 2006, 10:18 PM

i cast my own bullets but i took a couple of weeks two years ago and cast probably more bullets than i'll ever use..... i was going to use this linotype but it did seem too hard to make bullets with so i used recycled range lead instead... made great bullets as it was bullets before! i'll keep checking with folks to see what it might bring as bullet making material..................

HSMITH · November 20, 2006, 11:43 PM

75 cents to a dollar a pound around here.

If you want to make some money list it on ebay, there are fools on there that pay astronomical amounts for linotype.

JJB2 · November 21, 2006, 12:59 AM

good idea hsmith!! i saw where some folks were paying thousands of $$$$$ for those new playstations................... i just don't get it i guess.............

LIFE IS SHORT..............

VaFisher · November 21, 2006, 04:34 AM

Don't think you will get surprized as mush as you would like. My guess is it would cost more to ship then most would want to pay.

MADISON · November 21, 2006, 09:10 AM

Back in 1980 a printer had 6 HOT TYPE set ups that used linotype. He had converted to cold type and wanted some one to take them out of his shop.
I don't know if anyone ever did. Yoou would need a 1 1/2 truck to carry just one unit...

snuffy · November 21, 2006, 10:12 AM

"Back in 1980 a printer had 6 HOT TYPE set ups that used linotype. He had converted to cold type and wanted some one to take them out of his shop.
I don't know if anyone ever did. Yoou would need a 1 1/2 truck to carry just one unit..."

That's why lino is getting hard to find. Most newspapers and others that used linotype are converting to other simpler forms of printing. What we are finding now is left over from newspapers that have gone out of business.

I heard through a local gunshop that someone had 20 tons of lino he wanted to sell. But it was 500 miles from here, it would need to be shipped and the price was already nearly 1$ a pound! Finding a local market was the only way to make any money, it was too large of a quanity/investment. Shipping a few bars would kill you because of the weight.

HSMITH · November 22, 2006, 08:02 AM

USPS flat rate boxes. Up to 70 pounds in that little box for about $8.....

Rico567 · November 24, 2006, 08:10 PM

Linotype is lead + tin + antimony. I don't know the proportions, you can look it up. It would be worth the going reprocessor (junkyard) price for that proportion of metals. Lino has to be getting pretty rare, since I can't imagine that many linotype machines are still in operation. My Dad's print shop had two Mergenthaler linotype setting machines sitting side-by-side, cranking out those slugs of type while the chain lowered the pig of metal into the pot. Almost inconceivable in today's digital age. I cast & shot up a lot of that metal. Eventually I went to Lawrence Magnum bullet metal when lino got too hard to find. Then I gave up casting, when I understood enough about heavy metals and their insidious progress in the human body. That was twenty years ago. Linotype is about the best bullet casting alloy available. It's about as good when mixed half-and-half with wheelweights.

November 19, 2006, 10:11 PM	#1
JJB2 Junior member Join Date: December 14, 2005 Posts: 558	What's Linotype Worth? got a long bar of linotype quite awhile ago and i was wondering what say about 20# of the stuff is worth....... anyone know? thanks JJB

November 19, 2006, 10:15 PM	#2
Pointer Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 2,559	Scrap prices... Contact the local metal recycler or a foundery for current quotes... To someone who has a linotype printer... A whole lot more than scrap... Rubber stamp makers used to use the old linotypes for making molds for their stamps... __________________ . "Political correctness is tyranny with a happy face." Charlton Heston 30-06 FOREVER

November 20, 2006, 12:35 AM	#3
pumpkinheaver Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2006 Location: Missouri Posts: 294	It's worth nothing, send it to me and I'll dispose of it. I won't even charge you!!! Check with your local scrap metal place or recycler, they should be able to tell you. __________________ Just because your paranoid don't mean they aint out to get ya.

November 20, 2006, 01:20 AM	#4
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	It's worth a lot more to a lead bullet caster than you'll get from a scrap dealer. AND you would be doing him a hugh favour, he can use it to harden wheel weight metal to make very hard cast bullets. Linotype by itself is almost too hard for hangun bullets, even too hard for rifles bullets. __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

November 20, 2006, 05:55 PM	#5
Pointer Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 2,559	I don't know what a "caster" will pay you... So after you get a scrap quote... multiply it by 6 and see if it sells! __________________ . "Political correctness is tyranny with a happy face." Charlton Heston 30-06 FOREVER

November 20, 2006, 06:50 PM	#6
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	20 bucks I just gave 20 bucks to a guy at a flea market for a 20 pound bar of lino. If you can get more than that from a scrap dealer,(highly unlikely), then sell it to him! __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

November 20, 2006, 10:18 PM	#7
JJB2 Junior member Join Date: December 14, 2005 Posts: 558	i cast my own bullets but i took a couple of weeks two years ago and cast probably more bullets than i'll ever use..... i was going to use this linotype but it did seem too hard to make bullets with so i used recycled range lead instead... made great bullets as it was bullets before! i'll keep checking with folks to see what it might bring as bullet making material..................

November 20, 2006, 11:43 PM	#8
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2002 Posts: 2,019	75 cents to a dollar a pound around here. If you want to make some money list it on ebay, there are fools on there that pay astronomical amounts for linotype.

November 21, 2006, 12:59 AM	#9
JJB2 Junior member Join Date: December 14, 2005 Posts: 558	good idea hsmith!! i saw where some folks were paying thousands of $$$$$ for those new playstations................... i just don't get it i guess............. LIFE IS SHORT..............

November 21, 2006, 04:34 AM	#10
VaFisher Senior Member Join Date: January 24, 2006 Posts: 596	Don't think you will get surprized as mush as you would like. My guess is it would cost more to ship then most would want to pay.

November 21, 2006, 09:10 AM	#11
MADISON Senior Member Join Date: January 1, 2000 Location: Roanoke, Virginia Posts: 2,678	Linotype Back in 1980 a printer had 6 HOT TYPE set ups that used linotype. He had converted to cold type and wanted some one to take them out of his shop. I don't know if anyone ever did. Yoou would need a 1 1/2 truck to carry just one unit...

November 21, 2006, 10:12 AM	#12
snuffy Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 2001 Location: Oshkosh wi. Posts: 3,055	"Back in 1980 a printer had 6 HOT TYPE set ups that used linotype. He had converted to cold type and wanted some one to take them out of his shop. I don't know if anyone ever did. Yoou would need a 1 1/2 truck to carry just one unit..." That's why lino is getting hard to find. Most newspapers and others that used linotype are converting to other simpler forms of printing. What we are finding now is left over from newspapers that have gone out of business. I heard through a local gunshop that someone had 20 tons of lino he wanted to sell. But it was 500 miles from here, it would need to be shipped and the price was already nearly 1$ a pound! Finding a local market was the only way to make any money, it was too large of a quanity/investment. Shipping a few bars would kill you because of the weight. __________________ The more people I meet, the more I love my dog They're going to get their butts kicked over there this election. How come people can't spell and use words correctly?

November 22, 2006, 08:02 AM	#13
HSMITH Senior Member Join Date: June 21, 2002 Posts: 2,019	USPS flat rate boxes. Up to 70 pounds in that little box for about $8.....

November 24, 2006, 08:10 PM	#14
Rico567 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Posts: 162	Linotype is lead + tin + antimony. I don't know the proportions, you can look it up. It would be worth the going reprocessor (junkyard) price for that proportion of metals. Lino has to be getting pretty rare, since I can't imagine that many linotype machines are still in operation. My Dad's print shop had two Mergenthaler linotype setting machines sitting side-by-side, cranking out those slugs of type while the chain lowered the pig of metal into the pot. Almost inconceivable in today's digital age. I cast & shot up a lot of that metal. Eventually I went to Lawrence Magnum bullet metal when lino got too hard to find. Then I gave up casting, when I understood enough about heavy metals and their insidious progress in the human body. That was twenty years ago. Linotype is about the best bullet casting alloy available. It's about as good when mixed half-and-half with wheelweights. __________________ "Dear reader, suppose you are a member of Congress. Now, further suppose you are an idiot. But I repeat myself." - Mark Twain