Casting wheelweights
- Thread starter kawaliga
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jtscuba02
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72coupe
Member
Be sure to seperate the zinc and steel ones from the lead. If you get the heat high enough to melt the zinc weights it will contaminate the whole batch and riun it for casting.
bigdogpete
Member
I was given information on cast bullets forum to go 50/50 pure lead and wheel weights. That was for my 45-70. They work fine.
bigdog
bigdog
flightsimmer
Member
I've never had any problems with pure wheel weights but I do use gas checks for really stiff loads. Then again, I don't shoot black powder.
10mm, when you care enough to send the very best.
10mm, when you care enough to send the very best.
only problem i think with pure wheel weights i thought was the
loading of cap and ball revolvers may put a little to much pressure on the loading leaver to shave of a ring of lead?
also you will need a hotter lead and good warm moulds to get good castings because the wheel weights will solidify quicker than pure lead which can lead to some poor moulds
loading of cap and ball revolvers may put a little to much pressure on the loading leaver to shave of a ring of lead?
also you will need a hotter lead and good warm moulds to get good castings because the wheel weights will solidify quicker than pure lead which can lead to some poor moulds
thomaslea1
Member
"72coupe, how do you tell the difference in the zinc from the lead wheel weights?"
The Zinc weights will be marked Zn somewhere. They may LOOK like lead weights, or they may be flat rectangular weights with sticky tape on the back. Zinc weights will melt, but you'll have to get the temp up another 400 degrees. Normally any you miss will float to the top.
"Steel" weights are all marked with Fe.
The Zinc weights will be marked Zn somewhere. They may LOOK like lead weights, or they may be flat rectangular weights with sticky tape on the back. Zinc weights will melt, but you'll have to get the temp up another 400 degrees. Normally any you miss will float to the top.
"Steel" weights are all marked with Fe.
Noz
Member
damoc has the right of it. Wheel weights are too hard for round ball casting if the balls are to be used in revolvers. They put unnessary strain on loading levers or loading machines. They also do not swage properly and you can get chain fires from unsealed chambers due to the hard alloy. I'd use the dead soft lead for the revolvers and the wheel weights for rifle projectiles.
MCgunner
Member
Pure wheel weight lead always worked fine for 220 conicals in my ROA. The ROA has a load lever than can handle ANY strain, though, and a conical has a lot more bullet area against the cylinder wall. A lubed conical is safe from chain fires and needs no "swaging".
72coupe
Member
I agree with the above post. I just don't use wheel weights for muzzle loaders of any kind.
I have about 300 pounds of wheel weights in clean ingots but not for cap and ball use.
I have about 300 pounds of wheel weights in clean ingots but not for cap and ball use.
wittzo
Member
The ROA was designed to use regular hardness cast lead bullets as well as soft lead balls.
The iron wheel weights float to the top. The zinc wheelweights are harder than lead, they don't pass the fingernail scratch test. They're really nasty when they're mixed with lead, the zinc coats your lead pot and is really hard to get off.
There are two types of lead wheel weights. The ribbon weights are almost pure lead, the clip-on weights are about 95% pure. The clip-on weights are good for cartridge loads like .45 Cowboy loads with black or smokeless.
You can use any alloy of lead with a patch in a smootbore, but the bullet won't expand as well on game.
The iron wheel weights float to the top. The zinc wheelweights are harder than lead, they don't pass the fingernail scratch test. They're really nasty when they're mixed with lead, the zinc coats your lead pot and is really hard to get off.
There are two types of lead wheel weights. The ribbon weights are almost pure lead, the clip-on weights are about 95% pure. The clip-on weights are good for cartridge loads like .45 Cowboy loads with black or smokeless.
You can use any alloy of lead with a patch in a smootbore, but the bullet won't expand as well on game.
junkman_01
member
The traditional alloy for clip on wheel weights is 86% lead, 10% tin and 4% antimony.
I have used wheel weight alloy for ALL my muzzle loading bullets except minies for the past 34 years or so.
I load my revolver cylinders with a loading press since I loosened an arbor on a 1860 Colt type a few years ago. I have never hurt a loading lever (only my hand
). I chamfer the chamber mouths to ease the entry of the harder round balls, and have never had a chain fire that I could attribute to the front end. Accuracy is no different than using pure lead, but the bullet is a few grains lighter.
As for muzzle loading rifle, the ball never contacts the rifling. That is the job of the patch. So a rifle is no harder to load with a harder round ball than with a pure lead ball. If I were going to use a REAL type bullet, then yes, I would use pure lead just as I do in my minies.
It is an old wives tale (internet myth) that a harder lead ball can not be used in muzzle loading firearms, and I am getting tired of hearing it repeated every couple of days by folks who really haven't even tried it!
I have used wheel weight alloy for ALL my muzzle loading bullets except minies for the past 34 years or so.
I load my revolver cylinders with a loading press since I loosened an arbor on a 1860 Colt type a few years ago. I have never hurt a loading lever (only my hand
). I chamfer the chamber mouths to ease the entry of the harder round balls, and have never had a chain fire that I could attribute to the front end. Accuracy is no different than using pure lead, but the bullet is a few grains lighter.As for muzzle loading rifle, the ball never contacts the rifling. That is the job of the patch. So a rifle is no harder to load with a harder round ball than with a pure lead ball. If I were going to use a REAL type bullet, then yes, I would use pure lead just as I do in my minies.
It is an old wives tale (internet myth) that a harder lead ball can not be used in muzzle loading firearms, and I am getting tired of hearing it repeated every couple of days by folks who really haven't even tried it!
dprice3844444
member
http://www.theantimonyman.com/furnace.htm here is the large plumbers pot plus tin etc
I've been casting .610 round balls for my Pedersoli Howdah Pistol (20 ga) from wheelweights.
They work fine in it and penetrate very well.
Haven't tried anything but pure lead in my C&B revolvers. Haven't needed to yet.
I like pure lead in my revolvers because it expands better on impact.
I could always mix my pure lead and ww on a basis of 1/1 or 2/1 to make my pure lead go a lot farther, I suppose.
They work fine in it and penetrate very well.
Haven't tried anything but pure lead in my C&B revolvers. Haven't needed to yet.
I like pure lead in my revolvers because it expands better on impact.
I could always mix my pure lead and ww on a basis of 1/1 or 2/1 to make my pure lead go a lot farther, I suppose.
wittzo
Member
My numbers were a tad off , my minie balls and roundballs cast from ribbon weights are soft and expand really well with good weight retention. I hit a 4" diameter branch of pecan in my burn pile backstop and a .54" minie ball cut it in half. I found the mushroomed bullet laying behind it. I weighed it and it had retained 90% of it's weight.
The bullets I cast from wheel weights to use in .45 Colt and .45 ACP are accurate, but so far I've just been shooting them at paper and steel plates where expansion doesn't matter.
One of my friends is getting a lead hardness tester, I'll do some tests then.
, my minie balls and roundballs cast from ribbon weights are soft and expand really well with good weight retention. I hit a 4" diameter branch of pecan in my burn pile backstop and a .54" minie ball cut it in half. I found the mushroomed bullet laying behind it. I weighed it and it had retained 90% of it's weight.The bullets I cast from wheel weights to use in .45 Colt and .45 ACP are accurate, but so far I've just been shooting them at paper and steel plates where expansion doesn't matter.
One of my friends is getting a lead hardness tester, I'll do some tests then.
thomaslea1
Member
If you want soft lead, find yourself a roofer or two. Preferably one that does commercial work. Soft lead was used for roof flashings, and most roofers throw it away when replacing the roof.
junkman_01
member
+1
Curator
Member
While pure lead is preferred over wheel weight alloy for round balls used in Cap & Ball revolvers you can probably get away with using WW alloy if that is all you have. Keep in mind that WW alloy age hardens considerably over a two week period after casting. I have used WW alloy round balls to win several C&B revolver shooting matches, so don't believe everything you read online. WW alloy will cast a bit crisper and slightly larger than pure lead (a plus actually) They will also be a tiny bit lighter. When first cast they will be about Brinell hardness 6 or only slightly harder than pure lead which is a 5. After one week the balls will be about BHN 9 and after 2 weeks about BHN 12 (actually 4 times harder than when first cast) So--the trick is to shoot them within a couple of days of casting. If this is impossible, bake them in the oven at 425-450 degrees for an hour the night before and let them cool slowly by simply turning off the heat. This will anneal them back to their original as cast softness. If your gun is set up with proper chamber diameters to match your revolver's groove diameter you may find better accuracy using the slightly harder metal. The better "castability" of WW alloy over lead makes for more perfect balls and fewer voids or inclusions.
Good information, Curator! I used to cast wheelweights for a Marlin 1895 45-70 waaay back in the 70's when they first came out. At that time,the barrels had "micro-groove" rifling, and I never did get good accuracy with pure wheelweight castings for some strange reason. Now that I'm interested in percussion revolvers, and have all these wheelweights, I thought I would use them. When I started this thread, I was thinking about when seating the ball, shaving off the ring of metal insures a good seal in the cylinder. With wheelweights being much harder, I wondered if you would get the same result when seating the ball. All of ya'lls replies have been most helpful.
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