Alloy question

[Razor]

If I add 6 oz. of tin babbit to 7.5 lbs of WW, will that give me close to Lyman 2 alloy ??

Thanks

Razor

[454PB]

Depends on which Lyman #2 alloy. It used to be that Lyman #2 was 5% tin, 5% antimony, and the 90% lead.

6 OZ. is 5% of 7.5 pounds, but most tin based babbitt maxes out at 90% tin. The average wheelweight is about 2 to 3 percent antimony.

Still, that's close enough to Lyman #2 and should be an excellent alloy.

[Razor]

I wasn't aware there was more than 1 Lyman 2 alloy...but, yes I was refering to the 5-5-90 mix.
I figured that I'd consider the 90% tin Babbitt as 100% tin for my alloy purpose..
Just looking for confirmation that my number crunching was in the ballpark..
Thanks

Razor

[Lloyd Smale]

like 454 said it would be a great alloy but more like ww+2pecent tin then true #2. You will need to use some lineotype with your mix to get the antimony up to #2 and to get the hardness.

[454PB]

Without a lab to analyse an alloy, you just about have to trust various references on line and printed information. Here's one that is very informative and is the work of a forum member here, CBrick:

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

You'll notice they say wheelweights are 1/4 to 1/2 percent tin. On another forum I visit, a guy did a laboratory analysis of his wheelweights, and came up with around 4% tin. This surprised me....but who do you believe?

I still use the Lyman formula 90/5/5, but it seems they are variations abounding.

[felix]

You can assume anything to make weight. If it says 1 ounce on the WW, probably it is very close to that. How they got there is beyond reason. Whatever is cheap and in stock will be alloyed with whatever to bring the weight down. If they are high in tin, via analysis, they would be low in antimony, for example. You should always mix the alloy on hand for the application on hand. ... felix

[crowbeaner]

Be careful using babbitt metal; some contain zinc and will ruin a pot of otherwise good alloy. There are several types of babbitt; and I don't trust any of them. I have 3 or 4 bars of it and the only one that looks like tin based is a chunk I got at a scrap yard that's still harder than plumbers wipe. YMMV. CB.