Silly newbie question re: alloys

[pps]

Hello, I am new to this forum and have never cast bullets (boolits) I'm just in the earliest stages of researching the forums. Casting looks like a very nice way to keep ammo costs down, once the initial investment in equipment has been made.

In the Lyman manual I see, for example, alloys of 16:1 Pb/Sn. I am assuming that this is a volumetric ratio rather than by mass. It would seem to me that counting ingots of material is more convenient and makes more sense than weighing out partial ingots. Initially I'm sure it will be a moot point, as I'll probably start with wheel weights, as I tend to subscribe to the KISS philosophy. However, as I get rolling along with casting, I could see experimenting with various alloys.

On this same note, when I see alloys expressed as %lead or tin, is this % in mass or volume?

[Dale53]

My alloying is by weight, on a scale, next to my casting pot. Ingots vary entirely too much in weight to get any sort of consistency. I stack up my ingots on the scale, using large and small to get the weight I have in mind (I have ½ pound ingots, one pound ingots, and five pound ingots). In addition to this mix, no two ingots of NEARLY the same size are the same weight. I have a small pocket calculator next to my pot to figure alloy percentages (really helpful when you are dealing in partial pounds, etc). It is quick accurate and an easy method to use. Pocket calculators can be bought for a couple of dollars. My particular pocket calculator is dedicated to bullet casting.

I use a kitchen scale to weigh my lead (has the capacity to weight all of the lead I'll need in a pot load) and a small, inexpensive, but accurate postal scale to weigh my tin. My tin comes in extruded bars that weigh APPROXIMATELY .8 lb (8 tenths of a pound). I weigh the bar, or partical bar, then "melt off" the required amount.

This method is quick and accurate enough to give me repeatability. However, I do NOT mix bullets from one batch to the other. I normally cast a pot full at a sitting. I keep those bullets in a separate container. When I do another pot full, do the same thing. The bullets are close enough that I don't have to use different data, I just don't want to shoot bullets from different pots in the same group.

Dale53

[felix]

Another method, which results CLOSE to what Dale's does, is to carefully mix the alloys according to a KNOWN boolit weight from an alloy all ready made up. In other words, compare boolit weights. If the new is heavier than the control, add tin. If lighter, add WW or something more laden with pure lead. ... felix

[floodgate]

pps:

NOT a silly question at all! The issue of % by weight or by volume has come up before, and will no doubt come up again. Several of us have researched the subject - I contacted the Kester solder company - and it is clear that the percentages used in our casting references are by WEIGHT, not volume. Most of us keep a kitchen or postal scale handy, and weight is a lot faster to measure than volume. For those who get their tin in sticks, or in the form of solder, it is easy to check weight per inch, note down the length / weight factor, and use that from then on. It is also customary - but not mandatory - to list the alloy components in the order "tin - antimony - lead", just so we're all on the same page.

Never hesitate to ask, however "dumb" the question seems; if it saves a "newbie" from wasting precious material, or prevents an accident, we all win!

floodgate