Got some foundry type...

[AndyC]

Got 10 lbs of the stuff for $27 off eBay - never used foundrytype before, but I'm planning on smelting this into about 170 lbs of my range lead, so I'm hoping to end up with 180 lbs of some good bullet-casting alloy.

It's sad in a way - the type itself is gorgeous:

http://i50.tinypic.com/34t1ft0.jpg

[clocker]

Very nice! I'm excited to hear what results you get. Do you have a hardness tester to check before and after measurements?

[bobthenailer]

most of the range lead i get is mostley lead with about 20% jacketed pistol bullets and when mixed togeather it usually come out at around 12 to 13 BHN which is hard enough as is .
Save your foundry type for alloying pure lead ! i use about 1 part FT to 9 parts PB

[AndyC]

I don't have a hardness tester, no - one day..... :)

The range lead I have was smelted down from 99.9% jacketed boolits, so it's soft lead.

[birdadly]

It's sad in a way - the type itself is gorgeous:


I bought some type once from a member here, and decided to through a few extra dollars at it in order to have extra letters (the big ones) as a keepsake. I think they're real neat and might not ever be made again. I work in the print industry, although it be on a computer... perhaps when I'm older and less sincere about it I'll melt 'em down :) -Brad

[waynem34]

I bought some stuff just like it off ebay it was labled linotype.I knew it to be monotype.You say its foundrytype.Are the mono and foundry the same?

[AndyC]

I'm far from an expert, so I tend to refer to bumpo's alloy calculator to get an idea of ratios:

Linotype: 4.00% Sn - 12.00% Sb - 84.0% Pb = 19 Bhn

Monotype: 9.00% Sn - 19.00% Sb - 72.0% Pb = 26 Bhn

Foundrytype: 15.00% Sn - 23.00% Sb - 62.0% Pb = 30 Bhn

[Lloyd Smale]

Andy i would say that dumping 10lbs of mono into 170 lbs of range lead is about a waste. you might bump up your alloy one or two bhn numbers but thats abou it. Added to say 50 lbs and your going to see gains. Alot too depends on your range lead. Mine tends to be hard because most of it is mine. At the local range though it tends to be close to pure as most of it is jacketd and .22s.

[AndyC]

Thanks, Lloyd.

I'm not really trying to bump up the Bhn as much as I am interested in adding the tin for good cavity fill-out for .45acp boolits. The 170 lbs is a preliminary figure which I'll definitely be tweaking as I get closer to actually smelting, but it gives me a starting point :mrgreen:

[bumpo628]

AndyC,
I would mix a small batch - say 1 lb of your type and 17 lbs of range lead to see how it casts. If you like it, then release the hounds. I used monotype numbers below to be safe, but if you actually do have foundry type then you'll be in even better shape.

Even if the range lead was totally pure, here is what you would get:
1 lb monotype + 17 lbs pure lead = alloy with 0.5% tin, 1% antimony
I bet that would work just fine for 45acp. If the range lead has any alloys at all then it would just bump the numbers up from there.

The other suggestion was to mix in a 5 to 1 ratio:
1 lb monotype + 5 lbs pure lead = alloy with 1.5% tin, 3.2% antimony
That looks a bit overkill for 45acp.

[AndyC]

Hey, Bumpo - yup, I'm not going to do a mass-smelt all at once; I was just calculating the potential total output ;)

I'l probably go even smaller for a test-batch - half a lb of this metal with 7 or 8 lbs of range lead and see what happens.... darn, I wish I could get this stuff analyzed :D

[btroj]

I am currently using 2 pounds monotype to 18 pounds lead pipe for much of my shooting. If I need harder I will add some magnum shot and water drop.

[popper]

AndyC - which range do you get to mine?

[AndyC]

A DFW range I work at on weekends - they can't give me a pay-increase, so I'm allowed to take a bucketful per shift now ;)

I wish it was something I could share with others - sorry :(

[Lloyd Smale]

like bumpo said to add tin using your foundry type even if you dump 10lbs of foundry in with a 170lbs of lead your only going to increase the tin content by about a half a percent. To get the real benifit from tin you need to add about 2-5 percent. A better use for that mono would be to add it to 30lbs of your lead. that would give you a good alloy that would stand up to mag pistol and even rifle shooting. I would guess that depending on your range lead it would get you close to #2

[AndyC]

#2 is way too rich at 5% tin and 5% Sb for my little .45acp range-loads - the alloy I'm proposing would have 1% tin and 2% Sb, which works fine for that.

http://i50.tinypic.com/f4mh51.jpg

I was simply curious to see what the max was that I could, in theory, stretch out my range-lead with it; in practice, I'll likely be less Scottish ;)

[jeepguy242]

i use 6# of that ebay stuff (foundry or mono) to about 39# of reclaimed range lead (bhn of around 8) to give me a BHN of around 10-12