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Thread: Lead alloy calculators

  1. #261
    Boolit Mold
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    Why does this calculator have pure lead coming up at a BHN of 8.6? If I put in 10 pounds of pure lead, by itself, the estimated BHN comes up at 8.6, instead of 5 as it should be.

  2. #262
    Boolit Master

    alamogunr's Avatar
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    See the previous post(260).
    John
    W.TN

  3. #263
    Boolit Bub AKholicBubba's Avatar
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    This was helpful

  4. #264
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by white eagle View Post
    no the calculator
    so you can use the thing for what ?
    I can't seem to figure this out
    does it just tell you what certain BHN values are or can
    you figure out mixes and alloys
    I usually mix 40:1 for my shotgun slugs. I use the calculator to determine how much pure lead and how much 63/37 solder bar to use to make 20 lbs of alloy

  5. #265
    Boolit Bub catmasher's Avatar
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    Has anyone tried this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y0raK6_Vbk

    May have to try on the next batch.....

    catmasher

  6. #266
    Boolit Master reloader28's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by catmasher View Post
    Has anyone tried this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y0raK6_Vbk

    May have to try on the next batch.....

    catmasher



    That is a cool simple formula

  7. #267
    Boolit Buddy
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    First of all, thanks to everyone for all the knowledge.
    I've been reloading for some time but haven't cast before. My dad always did, and still does. Mostly black powder and some six-guns.
    Now, me?...well...I like to shoot and I like to play with things that make it possible for me to shoot more...for less dough.
    This, now, led me on a quest for being a cheap-o (cheap-o...er?).

    I've found a great site for bullets. $0.082/rd of .223 FMJ BT...not bad. (have to buy 1,000)
    This brought me down to $0.18/rd, from $0.42/rd...not bad.

    Same place offers defective lead cores at 2.5-3%Sb for about $1.65/lb

    I suspect I have a touch of OCD, like elvis ammo. hehe
    Anyway, I get ahold of a thing and I have to be on top of it before I can let go.

    My dad now, he just melts whatever and shoots it. And that's cool. But, my rifle is high velocity (223) compared to what he loads for.

    So, I had to research a bit more and learned about powder coat.

    Learned that there's some big differences in alloys...

    Seems that stuff needs a little Sn added, so it doesn't pour like a wet dog turd on a cold day.

    Learned a ****-ton of stuff...

    And the majority of my searches lead back to this forum.

    Now, it's been a long time since highschool and my math is rusty, so this took me a while to write.

    I apologize (and feel stupid) if someone already did this...but...

    Here's a formula for mixing two binary alloys.


    N=TOTAL # OF PARTS, WHERE THERE IS ALWAYS 1 PART OF A
    D=DESIRED PERCENT
    C=CURRENT SATURATION% OF THE BASE ALLOY
    A=ADDITIVE%
    N=(A-C)/(D-C)

    Example: (we'll assume the base is 2.5% antimony because we don't want to have more tin than antimony. A titch more antimony than tin won't hurt though.)
    We will approximate lyman#2

    D=5
    C=2.5
    A=30 (super hard alloy)

    N=(30-2.5)/(5-2.5)
    N=(27.5)/(2.5)
    N=11

    So, total number of parts=11
    10 parts base and 1 part additive, in this case gives 5% antimony. (check it out with the calculator)

    Now we need some tin...5%


    Simply remove 5% of the base from the total parts and add 5% tin...that's fairly close.
    Then take 10% of the amount of tin from the base and add that much to the additive...that's **** close. [so, -10%(5)of base and +10%(5) of additive [in this case}]

    But, in reality, you can just figure what 5% of the total mix is, take that much out of the base, and add in the tin, and that's close enough for what we're trying to do here.
    Last edited by sureYnot; 06-02-2018 at 08:59 PM. Reason: grammar

  8. #268
    Boolit Mold darne's Avatar
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    I am having trouble believing my result. I had BNE analyze my alloy as follows: Sn=3.0%, Sb=7.9%, Pb=89.1%. When I run the calculator it takes 36.5 pounds of pure lead to 100 pounds of my alloy to produce 92% Pb alloy or as close to hardball as I can get. Add over 1/3 in weight of pure lead to get a 3% increase in the alloy. Is that correct? What am I doing wrong?

  9. #269
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by darne View Post
    I am having trouble believing my result. I had BNE analyze my alloy as follows: Sn=3.0%, Sb=7.9%, Pb=89.1%. When I run the calculator it takes 36.5 pounds of pure lead to 100 pounds of my alloy to produce 92% Pb alloy or as close to hardball as I can get. Add over 1/3 in weight of pure lead to get a 3% increase in the (lead content of the) alloy. Is that correct? What am I doing wrong?
    The results you are seeing are correct.

    If you add 100 lbs of your custom alloy (3% tin, 7.9% antimony, 89.1% lead) and 36.5 lbs of pure lead, you get the following alloy:
    - - - - 136.5 lbs of an alloy with 2.2% Tin, 5.8% Antimony, 92% lead

    It sounds funny that if you add that much pure lead that it only raises the lead content by 3%, but think about it like this: In 100 lbs of your custom alloy, there is 3 lbs of tin, 7.9 lbs of antimony, and 89.1 lbs of pure lead. When you add 36.5 lbs of pure lead, there is now 136.5 lbs of the mixed alloy. However, there is still only 3 lbs of tin and 7.9 lbs of antimony.

    Here are the calculations.
    Tin: 3 / 136.5 * 100% = 2.2%
    Antimony: 7.9 / 136.5 * 100% = 5.8%
    Lead: 89.1 + 36.5 = 125.6 lbs. 125.6 / 136.5 * 100% = 92%
    The lead percentage doesn't jump too high because the custom alloy was already mostly lead.

    Let me know if you have any other questions.

    Thanks,
    - Bumpo628
    Ronald Reagan once said that the most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".
    Download my alloy calculator here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105952

  10. #270
    Boolit Man
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    Does anyone know of a company that will test your alloy and give you a ratio exactly of what you have to begin with.
    I have some really good old alloy mix that was passed down to me but not really sure what content it is.
    KW
    Lifetime Reloader
    Veteran
    NRA- Benefactor

  11. #271
    Boolit Master
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    One of the members here (BNE) can do that for you
    Ronald Reagan once said that the most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".
    Download my alloy calculator here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105952

  12. #272
    Boolit Mold
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    There is an error in the 070612 Calculator. "Estimated hardness calculated by Rotometals formula: Brinell = 8.60 + ( 0.29 * %Tin ) + ( 0.92 * %Antimony )"

    It should be noted that the 8.60 figure comes from Antimonial Lead "Brinell = 8.60 (Antimonial Lead) + ( 0.29 * Tin ) + ( 0.92 * Antimony )" If you plug pure 99.9% lead into the formula, you get a BHN for essentially pure lead of 8.6, rather than 5.0.This needs to be corrected.

  13. #273
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by bumpo628 View Post
    I made a spreadsheet that will let you calculate the properties you get when mixing two or more types of lead. Let me know if there is anything that is incorrect or needs improvement.

    EDIT (2/6/11): Added Brinell hardness estimate.
    EDIT (2/14/11): Expanded calculator to mix up to 10 alloys.
    EDIT (3/10/11): Simplified the form down to just the mixed alloy calculator. Now you can mix all of the alloys in the table.
    EDIT (3/15/11): Added more alloys and updated the notes.
    EDIT (3/16/11): Added a column for arsenic data, two rows for custom alloy data, and updated the alloy specs.
    EDIT (3/25/11): Added a column for copper% so that pewter could be added to the table.
    EDIT (3/26/11): Added some data for lead free solder (Sn-Cu & Sn-Sb).
    EDIT (3/29/11): Easier to read the weights and added a link to Glen Fryxell's online book on casting "From Ingot to Target: A Cast Bullet Guide for Handgunners".
    EDIT (6/28/11): Separated magnum shot into two categories by pellet size - 4% & 6% antimony.
    EDIT (8/23/11): Added 40/60 solder and reference link.
    EDIT (1/15/12): Added a column for silver% so that silver solder could be added to the table.
    EDIT (5/26/12): Added alloy and boolit cost calculator.


    EDIT (7/6/12): Corrected tin-lead alloy formulas and updated cost calculator.
    Attachment 45784

    EDIT (2/28/20): Corrected tin-lead alloy formulas and updated cost calculator (with 17 custom alloy lines) originally uploaded on post #147
    Attachment 257614


    Use MS Office, Apache OpenOffice, or LibreOffice to view the spreadsheet
    For Windows & English: http://sourceforge.net/projects/open...S.exe/download
    or select your OS & language: http://www.openoffice.org/download/
    For 32 bit Windows & English: https://www.libreoffice.org/donate/d....1_Win_x86.msi
    or select your OS & language: www.libreoffice.org/download/download/
    Is there a way to get calculated BHN when entering data in the custom alloy section?

  14. #274
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by mac1911 View Post
    Is there a way to get calculated BHN when entering data in the custom alloy section?
    The rotometals formula should calculate the hardness of each custom alloy line off to the right of each line. Then the total mixture hardness is displayed at the bottom right.
    Ronald Reagan once said that the most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".
    Download my alloy calculator here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105952

  15. #275
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by bumpo628 View Post
    The rotometals formula should calculate the hardness of each custom alloy line off to the right of each line. Then the total mixture hardness is displayed at the bottom right.
    it was not working last go around, works now thank you.

  16. #276
    Boolit Buddy
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    Can not get this to load on my new iPad. How do you install it? Had it on my phone and old iPad but the site isn’t carried by the App Store anymore so wouldn’t load.

  17. #277
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by sfcairborne View Post
    Can not get this to load on my new iPad. How do you install it? Had it on my phone and old iPad but the site isn’t carried by the App Store anymore so wouldn’t load.
    It isn't a program, but it's just an Excel spreadsheet. So you should be able to open it with any program that opens microsoft office files. Try Apple's program called "Numbers".
    Ronald Reagan once said that the most terrifying words in the English language are: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".
    Download my alloy calculator here: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105952

  18. #278
    Boolit Master

    alamogunr's Avatar
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    I've been playing around with the spreadsheet recently. I've got some, quite a bit actually, lead of various analysis that I want to be able to mix up my own alloy. I've input several of the alloys that I've acquired from various sources over the years. For instance, I've got quite a bit of COWW from the 90's and the 2000's. It doesn't vary much so I just averaged the analysis and called it good enough. I've also got about a ton of "range scrap" that I got from a fellow that furnished boolits to metropolitan police and sheriff's departments. It was quite depleted of any Sn or Sb. I've also got about 60 lbs "monotype" that was also depleted of alloying elements but not so severely. In addition I've got a couple of hundred lbs of solder that I salvaged from a pot before I retired. I don't know what it was originally, but it ended up less than 24% tin, the rest lead. Luckily, I also have many spools(25#) of 40/60 solder.

    All that to say that when I play around with trying to build up the tin content of some of the stuff I mentioned above. While it sounds like I've got a lot of tin in the solder and monotype, by the time I get a reasonable content of tin, I've exceeded the antimony content. This is not good.

    I've never tried to add antimony to alloy but I guess I will have to at some point. I do have several pounds of Bill Ferguson's pulverized antimony and some of his "pink" flux. Glad I saved his instructions. At least the spreadsheet will tell me how much to add so I don't waste it.

    The availability of the spreadsheet is a great resource even for those of us who are just trying to get in the ball park. Thanks bumpo628!
    John
    W.TN

  19. #279
    Boolit Master

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    How does one handle alloys that have more than trace values of other elements? For example cadmium, chromium. Total other percentages totaling 1 to 2%. It prevents having a source that is 100%.

  20. #280
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    Quote Originally Posted by mattw View Post
    How does one handle alloys that have more than trace values of other elements? For example cadmium, chromium. Total other percentages totaling 1 to 2%. It prevents having a source that is 100%.
    I cast boolits and shootem'!

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
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