Lyman #2 Alloy

[6pt-sika]

I'm thinking of making a harder alloy for hog hunting bullets. In the past all I have cast were straight wheelweights . I've had very good success on deer with the WW bullets but thought I would make some #2 .

I plan on using the old standby Lyman formula of 9 pounds WW's and one pound of 50/50 bar solder.

Has any one tried this particuler mixture and if so what results were obtained ?

:castmine:

[6pt-sika]

This alloy will be used in the larger calibers ; 356 WIN , 375 WIN , 444 Marlin , 450 Marlin and 45-70. Possibly the 35 REM .

[Char-Gar]

I have been using Lyman No. 2 as my main alloy for many years, about 40 years to be exact. I have never found any need for anything harder. It casts very well.

These days I only use three alloys

WW plus 1.25% SN for rifle loads up to 1.9K or so fps and sixgun bullets up to about 1.1K fps.

Lyman No 2 for rifle and sixgun loads beyond the range of WW. Even though harder than necessary for many loads, I still tend to cast rifle bullets from No. 2 because I have them if I want to push the red line. They do just fine for lower velocity/pressure applications as well.

1-20 (tin to lead) for hollow point bullets.

[6pt-sika]

Charger I have one bar of 50/50 on hand . So if the weather stays clear today I think I'll make ten pounds of #2 . Then this weekend cast some bullets , provided the rain stays away .

[BABore]

Why all the fuss. If your already using WW alloy, just WD or OHT them for 23-30 Bhn bullets. If you want them just a bit softer than that you can either oven anneal or boil them to reduce the HT hardness to the desired level. You can also cut your WW alloy with up to 50% Pb then WD or OHT for a 18-22 Bhn bullet that will expand well.

[454PB]

I plan on using the old standby Lyman formula of 9 pounds WW's and one pound of 50/50 bar solder.

Has any one tried this particuler mixture and if so what results were obtained ?

:castmine:

The Lyman recipe for #2 also calls for antimony, not just tin added to wheelweights. I think adding tin to a level higher than 2% is a waste of a relatively expensive component. You need more antimony for alloy hardness, not more tin.

[6pt-sika]

The Lyman recipe for #2 also calls for antimony, not just tin added to wheelweights. I think adding tin to a level higher than 2% is a waste of a relatively expensive component. You need more antimony for alloy hardness, not more tin.


The two recipes that "Lyman" have in "their" manuel call for NO antimony and I quote;

9 pounds wheelweights and one pound 50/50 bar solder,

or

4 pounds linotype , one pound 50/50 bar solder and five pounds pure lead

Those are the two recipes they have listed , and no where does it say anything about adding pure antimony.

When you sit back and look at the mix you will realize the amount of tin being added is only 5% (9lbs WW = 90%, 50/50 is 10% of which 5% is lead and 5% is tin) . And further more I do not want a hardness around twenty . WW's are supposed to be about 9 and #2 is supposed to be about 15 .

[Bass Ackward]

Those are the two recipes they have listed , and no where does it say anything about adding pure antimony.

6pt,

A lot of Lyman information is dated. WW today is only about 2-4% antimony. WW used to be 9% antimony up until the 60s. So only the linotype formula is correct unless you have older WW.

[Leftoverdj]

Lyman has given several formulas for #2 over the years, and they don't all result in the same alloy. Far as I am concerned, Lyman #2 is 95-5-5 any way you can get there.

I used a good bit of it back in the early '70s when lino was cheap and plentiful and plumbers were still running into lead pipe, but those days are long gone. At current prices, WW+2% or WW/Lino at 5 to 1 are good enough for me.

[FISH4BUGS]

I plan on using the old standby Lyman formula of 9 pounds WW's and one pound of 50/50 bar solder.
:castmine:
I have always used the formula of 5lbs ww to 1 lb linotype, which is also allegedly Lyman #2.

[454PB]

The two recipes that "Lyman" have in "their" manuel call for NO antimony and I quote;

9 pounds wheelweights and one pound 50/50 bar solder,

or

4 pounds linotype , one pound 50/50 bar solder and five pounds pure lead

Those are the two recipes they have listed , and no where does it say anything about adding pure antimony.


And I didn't say pure antimony, either. Linotype is typically 12% antimony, 4% tin, and 84% lead. So, the 4 lb. linotype, 1 lb. 50/50 bar solder, and 5 lbs. of pure lead is pretty close to 95/5/5.

[MT Gianni]

BTT, have ww failed for you on hogs? They seem to work fine on everything else. No non pen raised hogs around here and I would like to know.Gianni.

[JudgeBAC]

Gentlemen: I have jumped into this thread to ask a question. I have just returned to casting. I have mixed 50% Lead (not ww) and 50% lintotype. What sort of mix do I have in terms of hardness and would this be suitable for most applications including hollow points?

[454PB]

I use the 50/50 linotype and pure lead, mainly because I have a lot of linotype. It ends up kind of like a wheelweight alloy on steroids. Theoretically it's 92% lead, 6% antimony, and 2% tin. I haven't tested it yet, but it should be around 14 to 15 BHN.

[chunkum]

JudgeBAC,
I wish someone would address the part of your query concerning hollow points. In my admittedly limited experience with these, when they are recovered from a target backstop, they have shown zero expansion. I think the alloy has to be pretty soft for them to work at all. ???
chunkum

[Char-Gar]

Chunkum.. the last sentence of my post did address the issue of hollow points.

For use up to about 1.5K fps:

traditional styled hollow points tend to work best when cast of binary alloys and 1-20 (tin to lead) seem to do the trick for most uses.

The newer Lyman handgun mega hollow points do well when cast from air cooled wheel weight.

there are of course no end of home brew alloys that can approximate the performance of 1-20.

For use in rifles at about 1.5 to 1.8K fps..good old air cooled wheel weight well do just fine.

[Bass Ackward]

A lot of people think that hollow points open from impact. That may or may not be true. But if you want them to open ON CONTACT, then fill the hollow point with some candle wax to start a hydrolic action. That will start expansion in a very rapid way no matter how hard the bullets are.

[txpete]

I have been using 9 lb's ww to 1 lb lino for years.works for me.some may say it is to soft but it works for me.in my 45/70 I can reach 1400 fps with a 340 gr lee pb w/o leading.
pete