newbie question

[brickmanDan]

Im looking to getting into casting boolits for my .45ACP. I have a good supply of lead that im getting from some roofers who get the old lead plumbing boots off of roofs when the put new ones on. Is this lead useable for casting bullets? It seems to me that it is very soft so i was wondering what to mix with it if anything to make it harder? And what ratio do i mix it? I apologize if this is the wrong place to post this thread and i know this question has been beaten to death but can any of you help?

[Murphy]

Welcome aboard brickmanDan,

Not to worry if you've posted in the wrong place being it is your first post. You'll find this the most friendly and helpful place anywhere on the net. Also, don't hesitate to ask questions. That is the purpose of this site, to share knowledge and experiences in the art of casting boolits. When you are totally new to working with molten lead, there is no such thing as a 'dumb question'.

In regards to your question. Yes, the lead can be used indeed. You will more than likely want to add a bit of tin to the lead to help get a better fillout of the mold you choose to use. Or, you may be able to find some wheel weights to mix with the lead, which already has a certain amount of tin in it, and the wheel weights (WW'S) also contain antimony. Antimony helps to add a bit of hardness to the mixture.

The type of lead you're getting is pretty much one of the more sought after alloys due to the high price of 'soft' lead in todays current market place. Soft (nearly pure) lead is the base for all cast boolit alloy's.

I'll let others chime in now and give you some pointers and their knowledge on the subject. I'm sure they'll give you several recipes for mixing the soft lead with other alloys.


One again, WELCOME ABOARD!

Murphy

[Bigjohn]

Welcome to the board, brickmanDan,

Take all of what you can get with this material, if you can not use it you can trade it off for something you can.

I agree with what Murphy said; you will need to harden it up a bit. Another option would be it buy 50/50 (lead/tin) solder. Each 1 pound stick would contain 1/2 pound of tin. 10 to 1 was what Elmer Keith used for his revolvers so to one stick (1lb) of solder, you need to add approximately 4 & 1/2 pounds of lead flashing.

Wheelweights are almost the prefect hardness for the boolits you need. Check out your options on range salvage as well; another good source.

As you learn more you may want to experiment with mixes a little.

John

[dromia]

Welcome to Cast Boolits brickmanDan, thanks for dropping in. :drinks:

[9.3X62AL]

Another "Welcome Aboard" from the Left Coast!

By all means, get all of that roof flashing that you can acquire. It can be alloyed with tin and antimony of other existing alloys to get where you want to go hardness-wise, and is GREAT trade material for wheelweight metal, which makes a fine alloy for 45 ACP or 38 Special boolits as it sits.

[copdills]

Welcome to the forum ,I'm new to casting also but these guys & gals are great about sharing information

[44man]

The ideal for the ACP would be to harden them with half WW metal and water drop them. The boolit has to take a beating on the transition from the mag into the chamber on some guns. Too soft and it can snag somewhere on the ramp.
Too soft can lead the bore fast too. Tin has almost zero hardening effect but make pure cast easier.
Look for guys in your area that shoot muzzle loaders, they will climb over each other to trade WW's for some pure.
Get all the pure you can! :drinks:

[NSP64]

Welcome BrickmanDan,
That stuff is horrible for 45acp, Pack it up and send it to me[smilie=1: Really though, I load for 45 acp and I use WW water dropped. Most 45acp pistols have shallow rifling and hard is better than soft. You can harden it yourself or (better) trade some to muzzleloaders for WW. What are you shootin, and what load you goining to use. I shoot the Lee 200gr SWC over 5.4gr unique.
P.S. You might list some on the Swapin&tradin section here.

[dubber123]

I recently shot a match using a mix of 75% pure to 25% WW's, and at least as far as bore leading was concerned, it was as clean, if not cleaner than with straight WW's.

I won both revolver and auto class with these, so I guess they shot OK too. I have very little pure, or I would be tempted to use this alloy more.

[TexasJeff]

Howdy,

Like you, I have a pretty good source for "pure lead," which in my case is old lead plumbers pipe.

What I do is smelt it separately, then pour it into a Lee ingot mould (any ingot type mould will work) as I pour my WW smelts into Lyman moulds. This way I can keep the alloys separate.

Then, in the casting pot I can start mixing them, along with some lead-free solder to get some really nice, usable alloy. Also like you, I like shooting 45 ACP--so I water quench the boolits right out of the moulds to help increase the hardness.

This helps my supply of WW go further, while still allowing me to cast and shoot to my heart's desire.

Welcome to this corner of the shooting and reloading world.

Jeff

[Boerrancher]

Welcome aboard Dan,

If you are going to be shooting mostly 45 acp loads, you can add a bit of tin solder to help in fill out if you have problems with that, other wise for most 45 acp velocities pure lead should work. Look at a 22 Long rifle. The high velocity rounds run about 1200 fps. It is made of pure lead, and uses a wax type lube that coats the entire bullet. Most 45 acp loads don't exceed this velocity. Also pure lead will allow the cast boolit to deliver a nice mushroom and perfect expansion. The only reason I know this is I use to run pure lead in my 1911 for years just target practicing. If I didn't get the fill out that I wanted in the mold, I would keep adding tin and mixing until I did.

Best Wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[runfiverun]

20 to 1 would be plenty..
i would start at 30-1 and try a few..

[brickmanDan]

20 to 1 would be plenty..
i would start at 30-1 and try a few..


youll have to forgive me but 20 "what" to one part "what". im really green at this and have no experiance at all. I got everything i need to do cast my own(i think)
from a widow whose husband used to do it years ago and i have no teacher to show me

[Murphy]

brickmanDan,

(Mind if I just call ya' Dan?)

The terms used in mixing alloys are pretty simple once you've been shown what they mean.

Example: 20 to 1 means to mix an alloy you're wanting to make at a ratio of 20 Lbs of lead to 1 Lb. of tin. Or it could mean 20 Lbs of wheel weights (most commonly refered to here as WW's) to 1 Lb. of tin.

Another example: 94/2/4 ..this usually means a mixture of 94% Lead, 2% tin and 4% antimony.

When we speak of tin, we are refering to the type of tin found in lead solder wire. You can find it at various places. Plumbing supply houses & hardware stores. You can also find it for sale on the board here by some members. Most tin in roll form will have it on the roll as to the amount of tin & lead. How to decipher it? The symbol will look like this 50/50, 60/40...all the way up to 95/5. The first number is your tin content, the second represents what it is alloyed with. This will either be lead or antimony.

Good luck and hope this was of some help.

Murphy

P.S. No need to ask forgiveness here when learning. A more patient, kind and understanding group would be a rare find. Many here have walked the path you're walking, all alone. So keep those questions coming and let's make boolits!

[runfiveswife]

welcome from idaho I have learned alot from all the guys on here and gals what there is of usl and good luck on casting

[DLCTEX]

Welcome brickman Dan, don't hesitate to ask questions.
Welcome also to #1 wife, first time I've noticed you posting.
DALE