Zinc boolits

[Beekeeper]

Alright I did look,really I did!
What temps are needed to melt zinc wheel weights?
What type molds can be used to cast boolits with zinc?
What is the diference in weight between WW and zinc?

Brother in Texas owns a machine shop. Says they are not using much babbit or lead anymore for pumpjack bearings ( using some kind of nylon and abs plastic combination) so have lost the ability to get babbit from him.
Just looking ahead for here in the Nanny State.


beekeeper

[Old Dawg]

Most common zinc casting alloys melt around 715-730 F. Density of zinc casting alloys is about .588 % of pure lead. Probably about 2% more compared to #2 lead. Moulds should probably be steel/iron because of the temperatures involved. Most commercial zinc die casting is pressure type which depends on high head or pressurized injection.

[captaint]

Dawg - I wouldn't be launching any zinc boolits out of my guns !!! Way too hard and probably abrasive as all get out !! I'd just be buying some lead .... When is California going to secede, anyway ??? Mike

[Beekeeper]

I was thinking about paper patch to spare rifiling as I knew it would tear it up do to hardness.
Thanks for the info on temp and weight.


beekeeper

[nhrifle]

I did some experimentation with zinc a few years ago, mostly to satisfy the "what if?" curiosity, and wasn't real happy with the results I got. Maybe you can make them work. Zinc will melt in a standard lead pot and will cast in regular moulds, but the sprues are quite a bit harder to cut. My zinc boolits had rounded edges no matter what I did. I sized them with a Lee push through die and lubed in the Lyman 450. They ended up very light, but did load and fire fine. Accuracy was not great, more of a pattern at 200 yards than a group.