If you mix 3 to 1 with pure lead you will get 1.33% tin 3% antimony. But I can. Friction (air resistance) eats away at that energy, slowing the bullet as it goes down range. A bit or reasearch shows that while silver is less dense, the difference is only about 7.5%. Prepping to get into casting bullets. That's real independence and that's really my message. If a man has nothing greater to believe in than himself, he is a very lonely man. Duane Mellenbruch wrote: Dicko wrote: Wheelweights are a good and convenient material but it is not a good idea to rely on them or their content. The appeal of using ww alloy isgrowing dim but not because of the weak amount of antimony. I don't use it in my BPC rifles preferring instead a 25-1, lead/tin alloy. If a metal bar is extruded through a hole of exactly 0.5 inch, you won't actually get a 0.5 inch bar, you'll produce something a few thousandths of an inch bigger. At that point you have a hot bullet in the mold, which is going to shrink a little bit as it cools down to room temperature. I prefer not to work with the temperatures required to melt Antimony (1149 F) because of the toxic exposure to antimony and lead fumes. I still have three or four hundred pounds of the ingots I made out of the wheel weights I got from there. Nothing wrong with that, its 5 or 6%. Everyone who's ever used a thermometer knows that things expand when heated and shrink when cooled. I used to cast a lot of 500 grain bullets for my 1886 Winchester. Both have higher resale values than wheel weights. First, when the bullet is being loaded, it's run through a sizing die, which insures the bullet is no larger in diameter than it should be. In many werewolf books, the hero or heroine melts down an old silver coin or piece of jewelry (usually with appropriate sentimental value) to make the bullet that ultimately kills the werewolf. I often blend 12% and it does not take disproportionately longer than weaker mixes. While lead may be soft, many of the alloys commonly used are considerably harder. I can't guarantee exact uniformity batch to batch but I get very close, within half a grain bullet weight, and I can get closer with some extra work. as cast, hardness tested 18 BHN. A BHN of 100 would require chamber pressures of over 140,000 psi to obturate, which is far higher than any handheld firearm is designed for. Linotype runs 21-22 BHN and pure lead is around 6. Of course the only result is that you'll get damn hard bullets which is OK. But the best approach is to use it when you can get it but be prepared to use other forms of lead when you need to. If I cast a .444 Marlin bullet from lead, I want a final diameter of exactly .430 inches.
The amount of rebound is different for different metals, and needs to be taken into account when building the molds and dies. Believe me, I'd be using it if I could get it. I also use it in all my smokeless powder rifles with gas checked bullets. Have a question? As a very rough rule of thumb, the mold should be at least a third of the molten material's temperature to perform well. Thanks for the input. In South Africa scrap lead costs 50 cents/lb. I have been working with antimony ingots and find that they will disolve into soft lead alloy given enough time and the proper conditions. There is, however, a line, beyond which tolerance ceases to be a virtue, The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?168373-simple-lube, Outdoor Hub, LLC (d/b/a Carbon Media Group), 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. That would have the benefit of consistent supply because, as far as I can gather, wheelweights are generally available in the US but linotype is scarce everywhere because of the demise of traditional typesetting. Dicko, when we shoot military rifles the velocity usually doesn't exceed 1600 fps and wheelweights are satisfactory for that. Offhand I forget the antimony content but it is a lot more than linotype. Perhaps I enjoy the use of WW alloy because I can tailor the loads to the alloy and am not depending upon someone else to make a hard bullet that I can not screw up by poorpowder or pressure selections. Won't know until it warms up this spring since all the work will be done in an unheated garage. I use 50/50 lino and pure to get 7.5% antimony shot. I am beginning to think that if a bullet caster does not understand a little about the metallurgy of his materials he is going to be out of the hobby as sources and availability of materials either drys up or becomes restricted. Because there was enough linotype lead around me I always casted rifle bullets out of 100% pure lino, handgun bullets out of 50% lino and 50% pure lead. Can't tell you the Brinell hardness, but I used a mixture of one pound of Lino to two pounds of WW for many years for my high velocity magnum pistol loads, Up to 1500 FPS. It is the presence of thezinc that adversely affects the casting quality of the alloy. This has required that many of us hobby shooters work a little harder at alternative lead sources. Both have higher resale values than wheel weights. It does nothing useful for bullets and is not needed. For sure. JavaScript is disabled. Knowledge is power. 5 parts PB to 1 part Lino (12% Sb) boolit's water dropped will give you about 12 Bhn, same as air cooler WW's. I'm planning to make a 50/50 mixture. I'm I to assume that the linotype is lighter than soft lead? I thought wheel weights were generally a little harder than lino? Before you can pour metal in a mold, you have to melt it. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, http://castboolits.gunloads.com/forum.php, http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?43011-BHN-of-lead-tin-antimony, The Ask the Pros & What's It Worth? I can do that anytime. One could make a sizing die that's a little smaller than one designed for lead bullets, mount it in a press that's been modified to handle the higher pressures needed to form silver, and get good results. Search on the CBA alloy calculator. So, old coins are out, we're working with pure silver! One has to hunt for lino and pure lead and when found it's not free. Cast 200 RCBS 35-200 FN, they weigh 202 gr. One has to hunt for lino and pure lead and when found it's not free. Sothe 9% antimony you have to buy, and thus your entire alloy cost is $0.60, only half what you are cheerfully paying for linotype. A three pound block takes about twenty minutes to dissolve in lead at about 750F.
OK for handgun and light rifle loads.As long as the bullet is sufficiently hard to handle the pressures, I care little about the excessive hardness of the alloy. I would think this is a waste of good linotype and pure lead. And that's for good wheel weights. With a silver bullet, the riflings are going to be a little harder to engrave, and the bullet isn't going to deform as easiy. Silver shrinks quite a bit more than lead. I have two bars of lynotype and a couple of hundred pounds of fluxed wheel weight ingots from years ago when I was making shot on a Littleton shot maker. So is plumber's lead considered pure lead? But the problem with that is, weak solutions form easily (up to about 4%) As you work toward strongersolutions,it takes a lot longer for this to occur. Still haven't decided on the lube, will probably try some of each from other casters and see how they work. In recent times the specs have gotten slack in my part of the world and my tests show that 2 - 3% antimony can be expected. I'm not sure what mixture it is. I found that if I use 4 parts WW to 1 part linotype, the leading is down to a minimum, they drive a bit deeper into the target, and they dont splatter. I'd go down to the local salvage yard and buy wheelweights if it was me. The home made lube known as "Felix Lube" on cast Boolits seems to be great, but I was never willing to go to through the hassle of making it. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to do this? And for a long time blended one part linotype with 3 parts WW which was fine for my revolver shooting, and light to moderate loads in center fire rifles like the 30-06. I prefer not to work with the temperatures required to melt Antimony (1149 F) because of the toxic exposure to antimony and lead fumes. Some of the shooters believe a softer bullet is better for that disciplin than one with lino added. The problem is that what you're really doing is bringing the mold up to a reasonable fraction of the temperature of the molten metal. I am fortunate to have collected various lead and alloys over the years. When you pour a bullet, the material initially forms to the mold cavity then freezes when it drops below the melting point. But it does take some time.
Actually, in metallurgy, there are several possible definitions of hardness. WW is .5% tin, 2% antimony, 97.5% lead. With lead, the old timers just started pouring and figured that the first few rounds of bullets would be junk, but they'd warm the mold up enough for it to work well. Silver, on the other hand, melts at a scorching 1761F. But my point about blending your own alloy is not just cost, it is the flexibility of being able to blend any alloy from any scrap lead source, anytime. Your post begs the question: Why?
A forum community dedicated to all firearm owners and enthusiasts. Since I do a lot of indoor shooting, I don't use it anymore, but if you shoot outdoors most of the time, it works well and it's less expensive than Blue Angel. Made some bullets from them but the consistency wasnt good. All things being equal, harder bullets tend to consume more energy than soft ones, and show correspondingly lower muzzle velocities. That's part of the enjoyment. I consider that too soft but then I consider wheelweights too soft. I had long wondered about the apparent love affair with wheelweights. I agree that it is not advisable to work with lead at more than 800F. Lead is a very soft metal, and has a BHN of 5, silver is much harder, with a BHN of 24.5. Us cheapos try to get lino for no more than $1.25 per pound, preferrably $1. You don't need to worry too much about the content of scrap. 50/50 Wheel weights are generally soft, but contain Arsenic and Antimony which allows them to be heat treated to nearly the harness of Linotype. I am considering going to a softer alloy to test out some of the other shooters ideas. I use linotype in my match bullets and pay over $1 per pound. I used linotype for several decades because I was in the printing business from 1972 onwards. puts you right about 1% tin and 3% antimony. The most obvious problem with silver is that it's not as dense as lead. So a 50/50 alloy will be around 14 BHN which should be good for any handgun bullet. Since silver's melting point is much higher, the mold needs to be considerably hotter. I see that one reply mentions monotype. The energy of a bullet after it leaves the barrel is directly related to its mass. I just got a new electronic scale and had some new cast 500 gr 459 cal, so I started wieghing some of my handy work. Works fine for magnum bullets and slower rifle calibers like 30-30, 30-40, 35, and 32 Spl.
All that is required is a known temperature in the oven, a consistanttemperature in that oven and attention to the time.I'd find the extra operation of heat treatment too much bother, but if you can get the required hardness from free wheelweights, it makes sense.
Silver is dense enough to make an acceptable bullet. My point about cost was that you can blend it for the same cost or less. Not too surprisingly, different materials expand and contract at different rates. As you say, it will dissolve in lead at half its own melting temp. Nevertheless, if you add enough "plumbers lead" to your Linotype, it will result in a softer alloythat is the only way to soften it. That is not helpful, unless we're talking money not bullets. The riflings also etch into the bullet, and begin rotating it. Free and easy to use. The molds are actually a cut couple of thousandths bigger than the desired bullet size, so that the cooled bullets work out to be the right size. Many would be happy to trade wheel weights or plumbers lead for your Linotype. Twenty years ago their scrap value was 6 US cents a pound, so I could get them from gas stations for that price. Furthermore, the lead/tin alloys frequently used to cast bullets are also a few percent less dense than pure lead. More importantly, when a gun is fired a pressure wave slams into the bullet, deforming its base and sealing it against the bore. Someone mentioned proper sizing and that is probably the most important part of casting.
Look for your answers in our Forum and in our bi-monthly publication the Fouling Shot. Silver coins and old jewelry are too hard, but pure silver (bullion) isn't much harder than commonly used bullets, and should work nicely. Meeting that standard is exactly my point. In fact, some of the lead alloys being used are very nearly as hard as pure silver. Only leading problems I have is in a couple of the old rifles with pitted bores.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why both the MythBusters and Jack Lewis noticed that the silver bullets were smaller than they should be. Silver probably won't make a great choice for small-caliber pistols with lower chamber pressures, but for large-caliber hunting rifles this pressure is easily obtainable. For proper performance, a silver bullet needs to be cast to higher tolerances than lead. Hardness is not just a problem for silver, it's also a problem for standard bullets. Straight WW seemed to lead a bit. I don't know the exact ratio you should use, I can tell you what I do and it might not be the proper mixture. Why Choose Us? 
Well, maybe you can't in the US because of the costs of various materials. Three pounds of pure lead for each pound of linotypeshould make a real nice alloy. Here's what we learned from looking at the physical properties of silver: Casting silver bullets won't be as easy as I'd hoped, but I haven't found any reason why it can't work. So is plumber's lead considered pure lead? JavaScript is disabled. I am perfectly happy to keep using WW type alloys and then when a harder alloy is required, I can heat treat to reach max hardness and anneal to bring that hardness back down to whatever is needed. or to put it another way 50-50 then cut that 12% Antimonial alloy therefore costs $1.19 a lb, more or less what you expect to pay for linotype. In any case the diff can't be significant unless the quantity is quite high. It's going to be a learning curve just to find the best lube, not to mention the best mixture of lead alloy. Make sense? Yes Lino is lighter and it throws a bigger bullet. They also form sharper edges from the mold. Lets be real here , Swiss cheese is only better on a burger when cheddar is not available. Jeez, the mould itself is older than I am, and I'm 63! Getting the mold up to 207F for lead isn't too tough, but the silver mold needs to be nearly 600F. Now its plumbers lead and superhard alloy for me. You can ignore tin in your calcs. Even worse, a slightly oversize lead bullet will be extruded into the barrel when fired. Thanks for the advice on the lube. During the last several years, the available linotype seems to be getting harder to find. However, that's a lot of money -- I'm going to try to accomplish the same thing by casting the bullet to the right size (or really, really close), and eliminiating the need for the resizing die to do much of anything. If I manage to overcome the casting difficulties, it should be possible to get ballistic performance on par with hard lead bullets. So why is hardness a problem? It may have been a bit costly but was rewarding and certainly cheaper as FMJ's. What you need to watch is that your linotype is not something else. As it turns out, lead melts at a relatively cool 621F. If I wanted it easy I would just buy the bullets. I mixed equal portions of pure lead and monotype. Lead does not give off fumes below 900F, but above 900 it does, and the fumes are odourless and colourless.I am perfectly happy to keep using WW type alloys and then when a harder alloy is required, I can heat treat to reach max hardness and anneal to bring that hardness back down to whatever is needed. Yesterday I blended assorted scrap sheet, pipe and wheelweights into a uniform200 pounds of ingots of known antimony content and hardness.
All that is required is a known temperature in the oven, a consistanttemperature in that oven and attention to the time. Will try that mix and look at the results and go from there. 4/12 Linotype is good material for rifle bullets, but if we are talking cost, you could probably get the same alloy cheaper by adding antimony to wheelweights. Those items are built from alloys engineered to make the silver harder and more durable, with typical BHN values between 100 and 150.
2 to 1 ratio will give you 4%. Old wheel weights were fairly hard, not much different than linotype. Well the 500 gr. You can melt lead in an old soup can over a camp fire. Can any of you guys give me a basic ratio for mixing linotype with straight lead to make something similar to ww lead? The comments so far are not far off but it depends what you think linotype is and what wheelweight alloy is.
They are supposed to be 0.50% tin 4% antimony. And they are not available except in small quantities and sporadically at that. You can't beat simple lube for it's simplicity. The old Lyman #457125HP (hollow point). The harder the metal, the more energy is required to deform it. I just did some today. There are calculations showing the minimum pressure needed to properly obturate a bullet of a given hardness, and silver needs about 35,00 psi (242,000 kilopascals). Any ideas. This has required that many of us hobby shooters work a little harder at alternative lead sources.Sure, as long as its hard enough for the job and consistent lot to lot. Us cheapos try to get lino for no more than $1.25 per pound, preferrably $1. Enter Our Dog Days of Summer BBQ Giveaway Now! I use 7 ingots of WW and 3 ingots of LT.. Works well for me. In order to fire safely in an unmodified gun, and engage the riflings properly, a silver bullet needs to be fit to a much higher precision than a lead bullet. Both its melting point and it's coefficient of thermal expansion are higher. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
Tapping them on a hard object gave a tinny sound compared to lead.
Its high melting point requires better furnaces and technique than is needed for lead. Duane Mellenbruch Topeka, KS. Learn from CBA members that have been casting their entire life. What we think of as linotype is 4% tin 12% antimony. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. billwnr wrote: Wheelweights are still available locally for free at local gas stations. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:22. There are a number of problems that can occur when pouring hot metal into a cold mold. Antimony costs $6.25 a lb. It would consume some energy, so the bullet may not fly as far or as fast, but nobody's going to get hurt. That works out at about 6% antimony which is a good mix for handgun but soft for rifle above 1600FPS. I am not acompetition shooter, and I am not a hunter, but I do like to hit the mark I am shooting at. The appeal of using ww alloy isgrowing dim but not because of the weak amount of antimony. billwnr wrote: I would think this is a waste of good linotype and pure lead. The ideal bullet, therefore, packs a lot of mass in a small volume -- which is the definition of density. BTW, Tamarack lube worked well for me, but it's smoky. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo, Second Media Corp., 30800 Telegraph Rd, Suite 1921, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 USA. When a metal is plasticly deformed (molded like play dough), it tends to "rebound" a bit. I have about 50lbs. Soon after that they started refitting them to cars and the supply dried up. This process is called obturation, and is critical to accuracy. Never had leading problems. I learned on this forum that they are mostly free in the US. I am beginning to think that if a bullet caster does not understand a little about the metallurgy of his materials he is going to be out of the hobby as sources and availability of materials either drys up or becomes restricted. The CBA is a international organization of shooters who enjoy casting and shooting lead alloy bullets for competition, hunting, experimenting, and casual shooting. I use linotype in my match bullets and pay over $1 per pound. But I dunno why you think it gets more difficult at percentages higher than 4%. There is controversy over the BHN results it produces but it does basic math for you in calculating percentages of compounds perfectly and a lot faster that I can on paper. I have ~100# of linotype that came out of an old printing plant. For the sake of not boring you or others, I put the answer in bold. vBulletin v3.8.7, Copyright 2000-2022, vBulletin Solutions, Inc. Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting. It gets cheaper with freewheelweights.
- What Machine Is Used To Make Banners
- Ceramic Coating Near San Jose, Ca
- Blendtec Wildside+ Jar Replacement Parts
- Architectural Mailboxes Oasis Drop Box
- Commercial Vacuum Cleaner Backpack
- Insulated Floor Tiles
