Getting into casting - question about recycled lead

[mgmorden]

Ok, I've got a basic "starter" kit on the way and am hoping to get into bullet casting. The kit is from Lyman and includes the electric melter, ladle, ingot mold, and books.

I have about 150 lbs of sheet lead that was left over from building x-ray rooms (and may have more on the way - I know some people in the construction industry who do a lot of medical construction and usually the left-over scrap is just tossed in the trash, so I asked if they wouldn't mind saving it in the future).

I plan on throughly reading through the provided literature before lighting up the pot, but as always I'm always reading ahead online and getting ideas .

Anyways, I haven't melted this stuff into ingots yet, but this stuff is SOFT. From my understanding it's mostly pure lead. I'm getting into this to hopefully reduce the costs of shooting, so ideally I don't want to spend too much money buying additional materials to alloy with it.

The local hardware store has some solder available for $28/lb that is 95% tin and 5% antimony. I assume that this would be a good additive to alloy with, but my question is: how much of this stuff do I add? $28/lb ain't exactly cheap, so I'm hoping I don't need to invest in TOO much of the stuff .

Thanks!

 

[snuffy]

The local hardware store has some solder available for $28/lb that is 95% tin and 5% antimony. I assume that this would be a good additive to alloy with, but my question is: how much of this stuff do I add? $28/lb ain't exactly cheap, so I'm hoping I don't need to invest in TOO much of the stuff .

That's a good price for the 95-5 tin antimony solder.BUT it won't do much for hardening that pure lead,(you're right it IS pure). IF you can find some wheel weights, those and the solder in a 50-50 mix would make a good alloy for most handgun boolits. Not magnum handgun but s8's and 45's.

Another great source for both tin and antimony is type metal, specifically linotype. A mix of 4 pounds of lino and 16 pounds of your pure lead would be fine for the above mentioned handgun boolits. 50-50 lino and your lead would be great for magnum handguns, and some rifle boolits.

You've got a great start with all that soft lead. You just need to get it harder to make most boolits. If you have any muzzle loaders, that pure lead is fine for those conical ML bullets, and round ball.

 

[USSR]

The local hardware store has some solder available for $28/lb that is 95% tin and 5% antimony. I assume that this would be a good additive to alloy with, but my question is: how much of this stuff do I add? $28/lb ain't exactly cheap, so I'm hoping I don't need to invest in TOO much of the stuff

Yes, treat your sheet lead as pure. $28 per pound for solder, Yikes! While you don't say what cartridge/load you intend to cast for, if you use 0.5 pound of that solder with about 10 pounds of your lead, you will end up with an alloy with a BHN of about 10, which will suffice for all but the high pressure loads. Hope that helps.

Don

 

[MissouriBullet]

Yep, you have to harden up your pure lead with an antimonial admixture. Linotype would be great for this, being 4% tin, 12% antimony, balance lead. Basic math will get you to the correct proportion.

I know this is self-serving, but I do have type metal for sale, including linotype. 30 pounds will fit comfortably into a flat-rate $13.00 shipping carton. This is real-deal printer's linotype that came off the presses and is not ingotted, because if it were ingotted you wouldn't know for certain what it is.

It's $2.17/lb. and we have a bunch of it.

Brad

 

[dagger dog]

Wait 'till you get the Lyman book and it will give you the alloy "recipies" to concoct your mix of pure lead and tin mix.

Most start out with Lyman" # 2 mix which is standard for their mold designs, other mold makers have their standard mix, but are very similar.

Lyman # 2 alloy is 90% lead, 5% tin ,5% antimony for a brinell hardness of 15.

As mentioned there are many ways to get the correct mixture.

 

[243winxb]

Bullet Casting

The Lyman cast bullet book is the best place to learn, as i did more than 40 years ago. The Lyman #2 is harder than needed for target loads in 38 , 45. Click photo for larger.

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[/URL][/IMG] http://www.rotometals.com/Bullet-Casting-Alloys-s/5.htm

 

[mgmorden]

Thanks for the advice guys. As to calibers I'll be shooting with it - specifically I'm looking at .38 Special and 9mm Luger. I've already been shooting cast semi-wadcutters out of the .38 Special (not cast by myself though) with very, very good results. The 9mm's are mostly just for practice fodder. I'm starting to shoot USPSA and just want something relatively cheap that I can get a lot of practice in with - maybe actually use in a match if they shoot well enough. With that in mind, I'm stingy when it comes to powder. I'll be using no more than needed to make minor power factor + a small safety margin, but other than that I tend to shoot pretty mild loads.

I've already been using plated bullets in that gun, but figured I'd try to knock the costs down even further .

MissouriBullet: Thanks for offer. I think I may take you up on that. I'll likely wait until I read through the manual as well as get most of this processed into ingots first though. I'll likely be in touch within the next week or two.

 

[snuffy]

Most start out with Lyman" # 2 mix which is standard for their mold designs, other mold makers have their standard mix, but are very similar.

Lyman # 2 alloy is 90% lead, 5% tin ,5% antimony for a brinell hardness of 15.

As mentioned there are many ways to get the correct mixture.

Lyman #2 alloy has way too much tin in it. More than 2% tin is wasted IE, not needed. Tin doesn't harden pure lead much, only 3-4 BHN no matter how much you put in it. What tin does do is lower the melting temperature, AND make the lead flow into tight detailed places inside the bullet mold. It's called fill-out. Sharp, square bases and driving bands.


10 BHN is fine for 38 special, but 9mm is a high intensity cartridge, it should be 12-14 BHN. Get some of Brad's linotype, I did, and it's the real McCoy.

 

[dagger dog]

I'm with you snuffy, the Lyman mixture is over kill no doubt.

For hunting bullets, I like clip on wheel weights no other additives ,the minute traces of arsenic found in them helps in water quench hardening.

Turning up the thermostat on the furnace and keeping the mold temp high, fills out the mold with no problems, the bullets drop out frosty into a full 5 gallon bucket of water,24 hours later I run them through the lube sizer with beeswax alox lube, after stabilizing they wind up 14-16 brinell.