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Post by merdoc357 on Apr 4, 2016 7:49:21 GMT -5
Well, Hello to all castors, I have 265lbs to pure lead. I will need to add tin and antimony to it. Getting a little technical, I need to find out is how many pounds of tin and antimony (to order) and need, in order to get a quality cast bullet. I have a Lee 20lb smelter, so perhaps to reduce it down, how much tin and antimony is needed to be added to a 20lb's of alloy. Ok, well 265lbs of lead =(1lb of lead =7000 grains) So 265x7000=1855000 grains. That being calculated, the tin and antimony will add more lbs (or pounds) to the mix. I do not know the technical formula for this because the is a large scale project) I have used wheel weights for years without any issues, (and they are getting scarce) but working with pure lead, and a lot of it, extra will have to be added. I am open for any data and input anybody can provide on this. (and as usual, happy reloading) Take care, I know someone out there in the reloading world, will know this. |
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Post by hacker54 on Apr 4, 2016 16:39:21 GMT -5
merdoc357, Here is a link from a site that I regard as quite informative on cast, and casting bullets. This is just one of many. Click on where it states in pdf so you can download it. www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htmAs you read over this you will find the alloys that are used and from this you can work out the math for your needs. As most people use Lyman #2 alloy which is in my opinion the standard for cast bullets. Their alloy is 90% Lead 5% Tin 5% Antimony so do the math and go from there. |
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poohzilla
Member
Give me a place to stand and a long-enough lever, and I will invariably break the lever.
Posts: 1,050 
Location: New Hamster
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Post by poohzilla on Apr 4, 2016 16:58:30 GMT -5
Well, Hacker beat me to it, although I have a different link for you-- castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?105952-Lead-alloy-calculatorsAlso, if you're going to goof around with alloying, my suggestion is to pick up a copy of Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook (currently 4th Ed., but 2d or 3d work great, as well) These will give you the ratios, just a matter of doing the math. The bigger a batch you can make, the better, as you'll tend to be more consistent. Obviously, you need to figure out what you want first. Someone on the forum went so far as to suggest mixing batches and then mixing ingots from each to make the lot more uniform. I just try to be careful from batch to batch as I don't make huge runs of alloy, but you may at least wish to consider that technique. Nice score on the lead ! |
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Post by merdoc357 on Apr 4, 2016 20:45:01 GMT -5
Thank you for your input, using to formula from one the useful links. (90lb of lead, 5lb of tin and 5lb of antimony= 100 lbs of alloy, Using a 20lb lee smelter, I'll use 18/1/1 formula, 18 pounds of lead 1 pound of tin and 1 pound of antimony to start off with, but I ran into this: if the lee smelter only goes to 900 degrees, and antimony melts at 1166 degrees, perhaps I should use a gas burner, or invest in another smelter that will have a higher temperature? So witch one would the most cost effective. I am open to all comments, thanks again for your input. |
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Post by hacker54 on Apr 4, 2016 23:22:42 GMT -5
merdoc, Here is a link on said subject of getting antimony to melt down to add into the alloy mix. This link is from the Cast Boolit forum. castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?37734-How-to-melt-antimony As looking over this subject it looks like melting the antimony is going to be somewhat of a hassle. If you downloaded the link I gave it gives a few ratios of 10 to 1; 20 to 1; 30 to 1; and 40 to 1 which is lead to tin mix. Lee molds are calibrated to a 10 to 1 mix which is 91% lead to 9% tin. This according to the chart gives a BHN of 11.5 the Lyman #2 BHN is 15. Maybe someone else can help out here on this subject. Here is a link to Rotometals in San Fran. They have a toll free # Give them a call and ask for advice. I have done business with these folks in the past. I think that they could help you out on this. www.rotometals.com/default.asp |
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SnapShot
Member
Jeep & Mocha "Remembering Patches, always"
Posts: 699
Location: Finally free from the Republic of Kalifornia!
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Post by SnapShot on Apr 5, 2016 9:55:27 GMT -5
merdoc ~
Back in my casting days I used a larger iron kettle with an iron ring that deflected all of the stove flame to the kettle while providing a solid base for it to set on. This provided a way to melt down my materials in about 30+ pound batches and then pour them into ingot moulds to use in my casting pot. I bought this set up from a guy that used to cast fishing sinkers for deep-sea fishing.
I used an old Coleman Camp Stove with liquid Coleman Fuel (it burns very hot) and over the years of full blast use the poor old stove looked rough but lasted for many years.
Just thought I’d through this in . . . I haven’t cast bullets in years but this worked well for me back then. I always used a mix to produce Lyman’s #2 alloy. Be careful and have fun.
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Post by merdoc357 on Apr 5, 2016 19:06:14 GMT -5
thank you for all yalls input, i'll give rotometals a buz in the next day or two, and i'll keep yall posted, thanks again
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My daughter came from Missouri, my son and grand son, my wife and I had a nice dinner of grilled "porter house" pork chops, corn on the cobb, my son, G'son and I share 10/5. G'son is 4 minutes early though @ 10/4.
Pooh I hope you find to right house . 
