Quench or treat?

[Lead melter]

Well, another weekend has come and gone and now we all need something to chew on all week. So, here is the $64,000 question.......which is best for general, all around boolit making...heat treating, or water quenching? I know each of you has an opinion, it's kind of like that other thing everyone has. Which one works best for you? Water quenching has so very few variables it can't really get that in depth. But heat treating, on the other hand, can be complicated enough to make a wizard sigh. This is your opportunity to get it all out in the open. How you do it, and why it is best. Gentlemen, start your engines!!!!!

"Ignorance is the parent of fear."-Herman Melville

[smilie=b:

[versifier]

Why bother with either? It's a lot easier just to up the percentage of linotype in the mix if you want a harder boolit for target work. ACWW is fine for hunting boolits as is. Some barrels do like harder boolits, and if you want to push the velocity for longer distances you are less apt to have to deal with leading than you are with softer alloys. Not that it isn't fun to try out different techniques to see how they work, but for my shooting, I just don't think hardening by either WC or heat treating is necessary.

[454PB]

OK, I'll bite....

I'm mostly in versifier's camp. Yes, I've done my share of both heat treating and water quenching, and it works if you have a need for a harder boolit using sparce alloy.

Heat treating is more precise, and also lasts longer because the boolits can be sized before heat treating and thus not resoftened by the sizing process. If you plan to shoot the boolits unsized, that's not a consideration. I've also found that heat treated boolits retain their hardness longer than quenched boolits. One of my recent experiments revealed that quenched WW boolits will resoften to the original alloy hardness in about 8 months. Heat treated boolits will stay above the original alloy hardness for several years.

Although I have a good supply of linotype and monotype, I very rarely use it undiluted. My favorite alloy for use in magnum handguns is 75% WW and 25% linotype. For rifle loads above 1700 fps, I use 50/50 WW and lino. Using these alloys, there is no additional messing around with buckets of water, toaster ovens, and timing the sizing so the hardness is not lost. I can also guarantee the hardness of these will be the same 20 years from now.

[Bass Ackward]

So, here is the $64,000 question.......which is best for general, all around boolit making...heat treating, or water quenching?
[smilie=b:


LM,

Water dropping is the most convenient. So let's call it general.

But HT will give you the most flexibility and control. So let's call this specialized. By changing temperature variables and you mix, you can control final hardness. I mold in the winter and store unsized and unlubed for use all year since I size all over the place. I heat treat so that I have what I want when I want it. Much easier to harden than to soften and then re-harden again.

[MT Gianni]

I have played with both and find air cooled will do 90% of what I need. i don't even remember what the other 10% is but it is written somewhere. Gianni

[454PB]

I was digging around deep under my casting bench today and found a can of 452424 boolits from WW alloy that were water dropped in 1983! I didn't take the time to do a hardness test, but I will soon.

[shotstring]

My view is why put in expensive alloy to achieve what quenching or heat treating will accomplish for free if your bullets are to be shot fairly soon? Linotype will not be with us much longer, and then good luck finding sources to enrich one's alloy at a reasonable price. For handgun rounds, quenching is super easy as it doesn't require any extra steps. Unless you are actually loading for competitive shooting, the small variences between quenching and heat treating won't even be noticed.

[pdgraham]

Has anyone ever done any studies on whether or not quenching produces a smaller bullet?

I bought a vernier caliper about 6 months ago... and I've been ******* around with it.. I'm seeing about 5/10,000 difference in diameter between quenching and not quenching..

It could be me not knowing how to operate this thing.... it could be different alloys in the different batches.. or????

Anyone else ever look into this?

[bobthenailer]

i have been water dropping all of my bullets for all velocities , for at least 20 years and probely well over 100,000 made , with excellent accuracy in rifles and hand guns ! but you must size the bullets right after casting !!!!!!. bob

[454PB]

Has anyone ever done any studies on whether or not quenching produces a smaller bullet?

I bought a vernier caliper about 6 months ago... and I've been ******* around with it.. I'm seeing about 5/10,000 difference in diameter between quenching and not quenching..

It could be me not knowing how to operate this thing.... it could be different alloys in the different batches.. or????

Anyone else ever look into this?

.0005" difference is a really, really small difference and I don't think I'd worry about it. If you have a mould that casts round within .0005" you have a jewel!

I've done some comparisons, and the results were statistically inconclusive in my moulds.