Bar Solder

[MtJerry]

I found some at a local hardware store ... about a foot long, 1/4 inch thick ... feels to weight about 2-3 pounds.

It has stamped on it "50/50." What's the composition of this? I suspect 50% tin and 50% antinomy?

What ration should I add this to my plain WW to help with mould fill-out and to harden the bullets to about 16-18 BHN?

[fecmech]

MT--Sounds like you have a 1 lb stick of 50%tin and 50% lead solder. Many moons ago those were used in auto body shops and other places for general soldering. Nick

[w30wcf]

MTGerry,

As fecmech indicated, it is 50/50 lead tin. Had some of those awhile back and that's what they were.

Have fun.

w30wcf

[NVcurmudgeon]

Jerry, 50/50 means half lead and half tin. Casters who add tin to their WW alloy all seem to use 1% to 2% tin to improve castability. I use 2% tin and believe it increases the number of keeper bullets per casting session. My tin source is lead-free solder, which is usually 95% tin and 5% copper or antimony. For simplicity, c I call it pure tin and add 140 gr. each time I add a 1 lb. ingot of WW to the pot. With wire solder it is easy to find out how long a piece weighs 140 gr. and make a couple of marks on the casting bench so I can cut a number of pieces that length, for adding as needed. The bar solder you describe can be handled the same way, though you might want to use greater proportions, say five lb. WW alloy and 700 gr. solder. Tin is not a good material to harden alloy with, because tin is expensive and after adding 10% tin, the alloy gets no harder no matter how much tin you add, according to Lyman. (Their cast bullet handbook has a lot of information on alloys.) To make a harder alloy, an antimony rich alloy is the best way to get there. Also, sorry to say, I am clueless about BHN. I use a an alloy of 2% tin added to pure WW, and NRA formula Javelina Alox lube. This combination does not lead up to 1800 fps, which is as fast as I go.