Age hardening

[timkelley]

I am confused again. How long does age hardening (acww) take? I must have missed the part about waiting after I cast. If I load a batch and shoot within a day or two I get pretty severe leading (this is with more than one handgun) but if I wait to shoot for a couple weeks (all else the same) little or no leading.

I want to play now!

[curator]

My Air-cooled wheel weight alloy (plus 1% tin) takes almost two weeks to fully harden. It tests about BHN 6 or 7 as soon as cool enough to touch but gradually hardens to about BHN 12-14 in 2 weeks. If you need harder boolits why not simply drop them hot from the mould into cold water? This will give you BHN 8-10 right after casting and about BHN 20-24 in two days. Do any sizing imediately after casting while they are still somewhat soft. IF your bullet diameter is correct for your gun, harder is better if expansion for hunting is not an issue.

[timkelley]

Curator, thankyou, turns out I had it right by accident once more.