Need a Little help

[Preacher]

Hey folks, it's been a while since I've been on the forum but with the rising price of cast boolits I'm about ready to fire up the pot and run a batch of 44 LSWC's. I have two questions I hope someone can help me with. I just scored on about 50 lbs. of ingots that the seller said was pure lead. Course I doubted him especially when some of them had "WW" in red marker on the bottom. Separating the WW marked ingots revealed that the unmarked ingots did in fact seem to be softer, so maybe I've got some pure lead here. If that's the case and I'm using an old Lee 10 lb. melter I'm thinking that if I put a bar of 50/50 in with a number of lbs. of lead that it'll get me close to wheelweight hardness. Am I on the right track? and if so what would be the ratio of ingots (lbs) of "pure" lead to a bar of 50/50?

Also could someone go step by step on putting a new tube of lube in an old No. 45 Ideal bullet sizer/lubricator? I recall that I had a heck of a time getting the plate to come up so I could put in a new stick of lube. As I recall I had to take the threaded screw out the bottom and use a blow dryer to loosen up the plate. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Preacher

[VTDW]

Perhaps this will help a bit. I refer to it quite a bit myself.
Ney Certified Linotype Bullet Casting Alloy Ingot (4% Tin, 12% Antimony And 84% Lead) Approximately 7 lbs Average Weight

Alloy consists of 4% tin, 12% antimony and 84% lead. This very hard alloy was designed to completely fill the molds used in the printing process prior to the development of computerized typesetting in the late 20th century. It is a bit hard for silhouette shooting or hunting bullets, as it tends to shatter when hitting metal plates or heavy bones. It is very good for higher velocity rifle bullets when target shooting. Often used as a basis for blending special alloys that require a higher percentage of antimony. If you have a good local source of pure lead, blend it 1 to 1 with Linotype alloy to produce Hardball alloy. The Brinell Hardness of this Linotype alloy is about 22. Sold by the ingot, not by weight. Approximate weight is 7 lbs. per ingot.

Ney Certified 20 to 1 Bullet Casting Alloy Ingot (20 Parts Lead to 1 Part Tin) Approximately 7.65 lbs Average Weight

Twenty parts of lead and one part of tin (95% lead, 5% tin). This has been the standard blackpowder cartridge alloy since the 45-70 Government cartridge was first loaded in 1873. It is also popular with many of today's Cowboy Action Shooters. The Brinell Hardness of 20-1 alloy is approximately 10. Sold by the ingot, not by weight.

Ney Certified Hardball Bullet Casting Alloy Ingot (2% Tin, 6% Antimony And 92% Lead) Approximately 7.40 lbs Average Weight.

Alloy consists of 2% tin, 6% antimony and 92% lead. This is an excellent all around alloy for most handgun bullets and many higher velocity rifle cartridges. This is a modern version of the old Lyman #2 alloy. The Brinell Hardness of Hardball alloy is about 16. Sold by the ingot, not by weight. Approximate weight is 7.4 lbs. per ingot.

[Preacher]

Thanks for the great information VTDW. I'll see what I can come up with.

Preacher