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Thread: Lead alloy calculators

  1. #61
    Boolit Master Stick_man's Avatar
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    Due to the differences inherent in most alloys, most people aren't going to be able to distinguish between 3.85% and 4%. Although you are correct, aren't we kind of splitting hairs here? So you have a difference of maybe a .1 on the bhn scale with your alloy. Most people probably don't even get exact measurements when adding solder to a pot. And, unless you are completely draining your casting pot before adding any additional alloy, your exact percentages are going to be off a little anyway. How close to exact same weights are your ingots when you process wheelweights?
    "We the people are the rightful masters of both
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  2. #62
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Defcon-One View Post
    I have an issue with the % values in the upper section for 10:1, 20:1, 25:1, 30:1 etc.
    Thanks,
    DC-1
    Thanks for the correction. The previous formulas were used since they matched the values published by midwayusa and rotometals. I understand now that they must have been rounding off since it is basically "close enough". However, I like everything to be as accurate as possible in the beginning and then you can round off at the end if you want.

    I also added a feature to the cost module that tells you how many boolits you can make with the recipe.

    Here is the updated calculator:
    Lead Alloy Calculators 070612.zip
    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

  3. #63
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    Defcon-One's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stick_man View Post
    .....How close to exact same weights are your ingots when you process wheelweights?
    Stick_man: You probably asked the wrong guy!

    I cast my ingots on a scale so all are a nominal 5 pounds (actual weight 5.04-5.06 lbs. each) so the answer is +- 0.02 pounds. Get it now!

    My alloys are as close to perfect as I can get. Good in = Good out! You should see my bullets and my on target performance. Every little difference matters, so I strive to eliminate as many variables as I can. I shoot a lot of long range rifle (600-1000) yards. Everything matters at that distance and the philosophy has flowed over into my casting, even for hangun loads.

    And YES, I do completely draining my casting pot after every casting session. Doesn't everybody? I never know what I might be casting next. I gotta be ready for something new.

    Sounds like work, but I like it!

    I know that nothing is PERFECT, but it doesn't hurt to strive for it!

    Bumpo628 has updated his program to reflect my findings. He was aware of the issue but needed confirmation before making the changes. The info. from Lyman's new book and Glen Fryxell's recipe that I found was what he needed for confirmation!

  4. #64
    Boolit Master
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    I don't know why the term 25-1 is considered rounding off instead if just flat misleading.
    The so called 25-1 is actually precisely 24-1 and we do not round off 16-1 to something smooth like calling it 15-1.

    Its just an old understood thing that when they say 25 to 1 they really mean 25+1 thus using the word " to " for the word " and or plus " because it rolls off the tongue easier.

    For the more technically advanced casters alloys are spoken of in terms of percentages rather than ratios anyway. A 50/50 alloy to me means 50% tin and 50% lead but the other half think it means half COWW and half SOWW
    Sent from my PC with a keyboard and camera on it with internet too.
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  5. #65
    Boolit Master

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    Great calculator... I unlocked the input cells and protected everything else so I won't accidently enter data in the formula cells.
    Shoot Safe,
    Mike

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  6. #66
    Boolit Master
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    I did that on the version I posted above also. Keeps me from dumb-thumbing the thing after I got a bunch of numbers punched in.

  7. #67
    Boolit Man

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    Ohhh! What a great little tool for calculating alloy mix!

    That is just what a newbie like me needs...

    Thanks for sharing this!

  8. #68
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    I have downloded a number of these 'calculators'. I shoot only lead and tin. so those did little for me, and the calculations always came out wrong.

    This one works.

    I have an issue with the Brinell Hardness Numbers, but I can live with the discrepancy.
    CM
    Retired...TWICE. Now just raisin' cows and livin' on borrowed time.

  9. #69
    Boolit Master
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    MC:
    If there are any errors in the Brinell numbers, let me know.

    I am always trying to improve the data. What is in there right now is the best I could find so far. Some of the info came from published sources and others from various websites.
    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. #70
    Boolit Master KYCaster's Avatar
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    OK, I have questions.............lots of questions.

    I suppose your calculator makes sense to those who are computer literate, but I'm not one of them.

    I have pure lead.....lots of pure lead, some mono type and various sources of Sn....40/60, 60/40, 50/50, 95/5, pewter, etc.

    What I want is 100 lbs. of 92-6-2 alloy.

    How do I use the calculator to select the proper amounts of the various metals in my stash to produce the desired alloy?

    Can somebody help me out here?

    Jerry (Just an analog guy tryin' to get by in a digital world)
    Buzzard's luck!! Can't kill nothin', nothin'll die!!

  11. #71
    Boolit Bub MARCORVET's Avatar
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    Not quite sure that I understand how to use it!!
    ONE SHOT, ONE KILL! SEMPER FI

  12. #72
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by KYCaster View Post
    I have pure lead.....lots of pure lead, some mono type and various sources of Sn....40/60, 60/40, 50/50, 95/5, pewter, etc.
    What I want is 100 lbs. of 92-6-2 alloy.
    How do I use the calculator to select the proper amounts of the various metals in my stash to produce the desired alloy?
    It can take a bit of trial and error to find the mix you're looking for. Sometimes it is just is not possible to get the exact percentages with the ingredients you have.

    In your example, you said you want to make 2% tin, 6% antimony, 92% lead (aka Hardball). If your only source of antimony is Monotype, then the best you can do is:
    13 lbs Pure Lead + 6 lbs Monotype = alloy with 2.84% tin, 6% antimony, 91.2% lead

    Here's how I did it:
    Clear the numbers out of the yellow input column.
    Add 10 lbs to the pure lead box.
    Add 5 lbs to the monotype box. (The alloy so far is 3% tin, 6.33% antimony)
    There is twice as much lead as mono and the antimony is too high, so I tried some combinations where the pure lead was a little more than 2:1.
    Pretty soon I found a mix (13:6) that had the antimony exactly at 6%.
    Since the tin is over the goal of 2%, you don't need to add some solder.

    If you had some linotype or some magnum shot, you could adjust the numbers until you found a better match. When you find a mix that you like, you can always save a copy and rename it or print it out and add them to a recipe book.

    Let me know if this answers your questions.
    (and MARCORVET too)
    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

  13. #73
    Boolit Master KYCaster's Avatar
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    Thanks for the reply Bumpo. That's exactly what I've been doing with a calculator. I was hoping I could find an easy way to "reverse engineer" it without the guess work.

    Jerry
    Buzzard's luck!! Can't kill nothin', nothin'll die!!

  14. #74
    Boolit Master
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    Spreadsheets! I keep throwing garlic and holy water at them, but they don't die!

    Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, I *think* I understand how the SS at the beginning of this thread works.

    Assuming I have COWW, linotype, and 63/37 bar solder, to make 20 pounds of an alloy approaching Lyman #2, I would use 1 pound of the solder, 7 pounds of virgin linotype, and 12 pounds of wheel weights.

    Antimony (6%) and arsenic (0.5%) would be a bit over the Lyman #2, and tin (4.85%) and lead (89%) would be a hair less. I'm assuming this would not noticeably affect the performance of the boolit.

    Is all this correct?

    Thank you,
    Richard

  15. #75
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    RG,
    you numbers are correct.

    BUT, I have changed my copy of the spread sheet so Sb content of COWW is 2%. My COWW does not measure 12 BHN, so I don't think it's 3% as Bumpo has put on the original Spread sheet.
    SO, when I run your numbers through my copy of the spread sheet I get less Sb...like 5.4%
    and arsenic is 0.15%

    end result...does it matter ?
    For most of our use, I don't think so.
    Jon
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
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  16. #76
    Boolit Master
    bumpo628's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RG1911 View Post
    Assuming I have COWW, linotype, and 63/37 bar solder, to make 20 pounds of an alloy approaching Lyman #2, I would use 1 pound of the solder, 7 pounds of virgin linotype, and 12 pounds of wheel weights.
    Is all this correct?
    Yep, you got it.
    1 lb 63/37 solder
    7 lbs linotype
    12 lbs clip-on WW (assuming 0.5% sn/3% sb)
    = alloy with 4.85% tin, 6% antimony, 0.15% arsenic, 89% lead.

    However, if you want to make Lyman #2, a better mix would be:
    1 lb 63/37 solder
    4 lbs linotype
    12 lbs clip-on WW (assuming 0.5% sn/3% sb)
    = alloy with 5% tin, 4.94% antimony, 0.18% arsenic, 89.9% lead.

    As mentioned above, it would be a good idea to lower the antimony percentage on the WW column from 3% to 2% since there is a lot of evidence to support that lately. Next time I release an update, I will change that too.

    If we change the WW to 2% sb, then use:
    1 lb 63/37 solder
    5.5 lbs linotype
    11.5 lbs clip-on WW (assuming 0.5% sn/2% sb)
    = alloy with 5.04% tin, 4.94% antimony, 0.16% arsenic, 89.9% lead.
    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

  17. #77
    Boolit Master

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    Bumpo, thanks again for creating/updating this.

  18. #78
    Boolit Bub
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    bumpo628 - thanks for the calculator.
    As a newbie looking into casting is a bit overwhelming.
    Thanks again, this helps!
    Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway - John Wayne
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  19. #79
    Boolit Bub
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    Thanks for the calculator from me too! A few questions, I mixed pure lead 100 lbs and linotype 20 lbs. The chart shows 10.6 Brinell. I already have this smelted and in ingots.Is that hard enough for 357 or 44,45 colt? I find that if I mix 15 lbs of 38 % tin and 20 lbs super hard to the mix I get 15.2 Brinell or basically Lyman #2. Would you water quench it or will it get too hard?
    Is there a place here that shows the different brinell hardness for different bullets and fps wanted?

  20. #80
    Boolit Buddy Nocturnal Stumblebutt's Avatar
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    I've been meaning to say this for a while, but thank you very much for this Bumpo, I used it frequently, and I don't know if you remember this, but it was VERY helpful when I bought that merit babbitt and wanted to turn it into 1-3-96.

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