1:30 = 1 in 30 or 1 to 30?

[broken-mold]

I’m a bit confused how the 1:30 alloy should be made. Should the tin be 1 part in 30 parts lead for a total of 30 parts or should the 1 part of tin be added to 30 parts of lead for a total of 31 parts (or does it matter)? Is this 3% tin to 97% lead?

Also, is the 1:30 alloy hard enough to help prevent leading of my .45 1911 barrel at low velocities if the lubrication is adequate?

[Nueces]

Mathematically, 1:30 means 1 part added to 30 parts, for a 31 part total. Here's a thought experiment: what does 1:2 mean? I say it means the second quantity is mixed at twice the amount of the first. If otherwise, if 1:2 meant one part in 2 parts total, then it would be an equal mixture, which we denote as 1:1.

However, many folks are a bit careless in their language, so an author must expect questions.

[rwadley]

30:1 reads as ''30 to 1'' (31 parts total). I am not sure it matters, though. I don't know for sure if it is hard enough, but I would be willing to try it.

[Outpost75]

I buy 97-lead, 3-tin from Roto Metals because I can do so cheaper than buying certified pure lead and tin and mixing my own. It is quite hard enough for the great majority of my shooting which is either plainbased bullets in blackpowder rifle calibers or smokeless gallery loads in military boltguns to 1300 fps, gas-checked rifle bullets in smokeless, classic lever rifles in .30 to .35 cal. up to 1800 fps and for non-magnum pistol and revolver loads in .38 Special +P, .357, .44 Magnum and .44-40 at subsonic velocities not exceeding 1080+/- 30 fps. Actually you can go a bit more if the bullet "fits" and the lube is correct, SPG or Confederate Army Lube with black powder or 1:5 ATF and beeswax with smokeless.

My .44 Magnum revolver hunting loads run about 1250 fps from a 5-1/2" barrel and do not lead. The same load with Accurate 43-230G in .44 Magnum or .44-40 does about 1500 fps in my Marlin 1894S with Microgroove barrel, shoots accurately and is a stone killer on game.

https://rotometals.com/1-to-30-bullet-alloy-ingot-97-lead-3-tin/

[runfiverun]

30 lbs of lead and 1 lb of Tin.

Jeez Outpost.
that's like 32.333 to 1.
I dunno if that'll ever shoot as well as 30-1, you might have to adjust your load .2grs or so to make up the difference.
:kidding:

[country gent]

If this helps read as 30lbs lead to 1 lb tin so 100lbs lead would have roughly 3.33 lbs tin for 103.33 lb total.

[Cowboy_Dan]

I run 30:1 in my .45 Colt and hollowpoint .44 Spl loads. Works fine without leading with NRA 50/50.

[Bird]

I’m a bit confused how the 1:30 alloy should be made. Should the tin be 1 part in 30 parts lead for a total of 30 parts or should the 1 part of tin be added to 30 parts of lead for a total of 31 parts (or does it matter)? Is this 3% tin to 97% lead?

Also, is the 1:30 alloy hard enough to help prevent leading of my .45 1911 barrel at low velocities if the lubrication is adequate?

It does not matter.
1:30, 1:20, 1:10 etc, are just easy starting points for mixes of lead alloys. There is no guarantee of accuracy or performance from any specific firearm. If we saw blends of 1:28.375 mentioned for a specific cartridge and firearm, then it would appear that the mix would have some importance, but we do not. Near enough is good enough, so long as you record your mix to duplicate at a later date. You will probably end up changing your mix to suit your needs anyway.

[44man]

From Bill Ferguson (The metal man.)
For 10# of 30 to 1, divide 10 by 31 (total parts of alloy), That gives the tin amount= .322#. Multiply by the 30 parts of lead=9.66# of lead.
Total weight is 9.982. Small error of .02% or how many decimal points you work with.
For 20#, it takes .645# of tin and 19.35# of lead.
Anyway it is near the same as using 30# of lead and 1# of tin for a total of 31#.
The formula makes it easier to figure for our smaller pots.

[Green Frog]

Just as a matter of practice, when I "need" my specific 25:1 alloy I use 1# ingots of lead and smaller ones of tin, generally mixing 12.5# of lead with 0.5# of tin, then casting it up into ingots of my desired alloy. After making 50 or so of these alloy ingots I mix them from the several batches to even out any small variations that might have been made during my process. This gave me accurate enough consistency to be competitive for the ASSRA Benchrest matches.

Froggie

[44man]

Small variations have no affect. Even with my harder alloys for revolvers, close enough is good enough.
Some things are so important but others call for you to relax.