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View Full Version : softening wheeel weights



Harpman
06-20-2007, 12:50 AM
I checked some weights out, started at 14.5 on this batch, oven treated at 450 for one hour, let cool, two hours later they are 7.0...question is, when will they settle to a certain bhn, and how long at room temps will they stay at that bhn.

buck1
06-20-2007, 06:21 PM
They will start hardening up fairly soon and slowly become 14 again. UNLESS you store them in the freezer. Wile in there they dont age much.
I like a good supply of bullets and heat treating didnt work out too well for storage....Buck

Nrut
06-21-2007, 09:49 PM
Hello Harpman
I have a "Lyman Bullet Making Guide" that came with a Lyman mold that I bought some years ago...Under "Composition and Hardness (BHN) of Useful Bullet Alloys" they list wheelweights as to having a BHN of "9".........I have some boolits that were annealed about 15 months ago........They were 9BHN then and I just measured them 5 minutes ago and they are still 9BHN, having been stored at room temp all this time...
AnnealedWW come out 9BHN
ACWW come out around 13BHN
WDWW come out around 17BHN
I use a LBT tester
I don't know if the word "annealing" is the correct term for what we are doing but thats what I use....

Harpman
06-21-2007, 11:26 PM
thanks for the replies. All mine been coming out at 10.4 immediately, then harden to somewhere around 13-14.......I'm gonna set some aside and check every couple weeks and keep notes, just see what they are doing, so far the last ones at a few days old are still under 8, and they shoot extremely well..I am assuming my lee tester is pretty close, the pure lead I measured come at at 5, so I think its ok.