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sealer
03-01-2018, 07:41 PM
Does quenching pure lead harden the lead like with alloys ?
I don't think that it does, but I can't remember .
Thanks, Dennis
tradbear55
03-01-2018, 07:59 PM
Nope, won't harden.
lwknight
03-01-2018, 11:27 PM
Complete waste of time. Nothing will happen.
sealer
03-02-2018, 12:00 AM
Great, I just made about 600 Lyman 525 gr. slugs from pure lead and I wanted them to remain dead soft.
Thanks, Dennis
john.k
03-02-2018, 12:23 AM
Dropping into water is good with big bullets,without water a lot of the bullets will end up bent and crumbled unless you slow down to snail pace. .I cast all my bullets into a bucket of water.
lwknight
03-02-2018, 02:45 AM
Great, I just made about 600 Lyman 525 gr. slugs from pure lead and I wanted them to remain dead soft.
Thanks, Dennis

Oh, OK you are using water as a cushion. Good idea.
sealer
03-02-2018, 07:24 AM
Dropping into water is good with big bullets,without water a lot of the bullets will end up bent and crumbled unless you slow down to snail pace. .I cast all my bullets into a bucket of water.

I drop all my bullets regardless of size in water also.
Thanks, Dennis
Wayne Smith
03-02-2018, 09:58 AM
Don't drop them too early, I've ended up with bananna shaped .30 cal. Rifle boolits!
Lloyd Smale
03-02-2018, 10:50 AM
if it truly is PURE lead which is rare today nope. Most of what I have that I call pure has a bit of antimony or tin in it. Pipe lead sheet lead roofing lead ect is all easier to poor originaly if it has a bit of additive. unless your getting your lead right from the foundry chances are its not a 100 percent pure
243winxb
03-02-2018, 11:03 AM
Tiny amounts of antimony, if not pure lead, will just take longer to harden.

From mold to water, may not do anything at all. Poor method , overall.

Oven heat treated to water, may.
BHuij
03-02-2018, 11:55 AM
The action that causes hardening when a lead bullet rapidly cools from near-melted temperatures to room temperature or below is caused by freezing the structures of a lead-antimony alloy in place while they're mixed together well, instead of allowing them to progress towards precipitating out as they air cool slowly.

So unless you have antimony, arsenic, or another ingredient that does the same thing in your alloy mix, water quenching shouldn't touch your hardness at all.