WCWW Question

[Uncle Grinch]

Are WCWW tempered the same hardness through-out? I know they gradually get harder over a short period of time, but is this a surface hardness, ie... case hardened, or is it the same on the inside as the outside?

I have read that sizing WCWW removes some of the hardness.

[JohnH]

Yes, the bullet hardens completely through. What makes water dropping harden bullets is that it freezes the molecular matrix of the alloy with the lead "encased" by the antimony. This is time related, but generally occurs within 24-48 hours of the chilling. How hard the bullet gets will depend on the temperature when they hit the water. The closer to a slush stage the alloy is the better, but at that point we are prolly talking about the semantics of the operation. I heat bullets in my oven for an hour at 425 dF and get 21 BHN in 24 hours and 28-32 BHN in 48 or so depending on the alloy. WW will almost always give 30-32. But you have to get them from the oven into the water NOW! Simply water dropping gives me an average of 18 BHN, occasionally I'll test a bullet that makes 20-21 BHN but not so often that I'd say I get that number.

Lead alloy does work soften, but only the metal that has been moved would show this. Since the metal worked in sizing would only amount to a few thousandths of surface depth, how could we reliably test that hardness? The real test is that water cooled bullets, be they dropped from the mold or from the oven, not only test harder but behave like harder bullets when fired. The great advantage of water dropping is that it allows us to get linotype like performace from a much cheaper alloy.

[Wayne Smith]

Using Bullplate lube on a Lee Oldfeller 8mm Karabiner mold I was dropping ww bullets into the water so fast that the side that hit the water had dimples on it. That lube really works!