Lead alloy calculators

[tmc-okc]

Bumpo628,I thank youfor all the work you have put into this spreadsheet and all the variables you have included.I am a new castor - yet to cast my firstboolit. In fact I haven't even started smelting the 300 + Lbs of WW's I have accumulatedthus far.
I fully understandthat the information you have provided is to be taken with a grain of salt. Asyou have stated repeatedly the values you are using have been obtained frommany different sources and as such are not presented as "Gospel".Therefore I intend to use the chart as a damn good starting point and progressfrom there.
Being a beginner I intend to segregate all the differenttypes I have into 1 Lb ingots of "Pure"ingots - Pure COWW, Pure SOWW, Pure Lead, Pure sheet lead, Pure 50/50 ingots,etc..My casting pot is only a 5 Lb potand adding product to the pot as I cast will require small known quantities ofknown types as I use from the pot to maintain a proper mixture . Therefore Iwill smelt everything into 1 Lb ingots and then smelt SOME of each type intosmaller 8 Oz, and 4 Oz ingots. That way, as i cast, and I need to add 2 Lbs ofCOWW to my pot I will have smaller ingots of 50/50, SOWW, Pure Lead, etc. I canadd to maintain the approximate mixture I am trying to achieve as dictated bythe spreadsheet.
If when casting I amnot getting good fill or boolits will not fall properly from the mould I can use the smaller quantitiesof 50/50 etc and see what happens without screwing up the whole pot and havingto start all over. I can then record the actual mixture for future casting sessions.
BUT in the end, I will allow the results of what is happeningas I cast and what happens with the boolits going down range to dictate futuremixtures that fit the requirements of my pot, moulds and firearms.
Your spreadsheet is a damn good tool to be used as astarting point to get me in the ballpark right off the bat.
THANK YOU

[mac1911]

I stuck a copy out on Google docs so people without Excel can access it and fiddle around with their own calculations:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

OK so I cant get the other version to work to save my life on my PC, so I tried the google doc one but now I cant input my data ? What am I doing wrong

[bumpo628]

OK so I cant get the other version to work to save my life on my PC, so I tried the google doc one but now I cant input my data ? What am I doing wrong

Send me your email address by PM and I'll send you a copy. I don't know why some ppl have issues with getting it to run. You should be able to just unzip the file you downloaded with WinZip or WinRar and run it with MS Office or Open Office.

[wquiles]

Thank you all for all of the work - this is an extremely handy Excel calculator

[Beagle333]

I use it at least every other week. I just mix up my batches by how much I need to refill the pot and this makes it so easy to use different total amounts to get the same ratio.
I love the calculator!

[Mike W1]

Just spotted this stickie so I'm having fun playing with your program. Thanks for your work!

On an aside note that Roto Metals formula is supposed to be X not necessarily 8.6 You put the BHN of your particular mix in place of X and calculate and add the other figures to get BHN. Surprised someone hadn't pointed that out before.

[shootzemm58]

Thanks for posting this, i sat down to post a few questions about just this subject. And the cost adjuster is a bonus.

[firefly1957]

I know this question is probably going to start a storm but i have seen nothing here on Mercury which is naturally in lead?
The reason i ask is because a few years ago i scraped the back off a old silver backed mirror the compound it supposed to be silver and mercury rather than toss it in a landfill i added it to my wheel weight pot . Those bullets turned out quite hard there was 8 lbs. of wheel weight lead in it and i may have added a 5 or 6 ounces of backing material. Those bullets have been all shot up most from the 45 acp and some recycled by now again.
Some old timers may remember at one time 1-2% mercury was used to harden lead alloys more of us probably remember using it to remove lead from badly leaded bores.

[bangerjim]

Mercury (Hg) is used today to keep hazmat teams busy cleaning up spills of broken thermometers in school labs!!!!!!!

Hg was used in just about everything back in the day! Watch works were "plated" with gold using a Hg/Au amalgam that was heated up until the Hg fumed off. Not good for breathing but they did not know. Hg was used in blocking felt hats in some way and hence the saying "Mad as a Hatter"...the fumes drove them crazy (called mad hatter syndrome). And I am sure all of you "elders" out there have sliver filling in your mouth just like me. Made of Hg/Ag amalgam pressed into your teeth as a filling. Heaven knows WHERE the Hg went to!!!!!!!!! But we are still here.

banger
(still crazy after all these years!)

[Errokk]

Wish there was an android app of this.

[bumpo628]

Wish there was an android app of this.

I use it on my phone with an app called "docs to go". I'm sure there are other apps that can open excel files too.

[Tenbender]

I'm new to casting so don't laugh at my stupid questions ! lol
Almost every post on casting with WW your adding tin to the mix. Where do you get the tin ?
I have been told that WW material was already hard enough . Like I said, I'm new here and new to casting.
Another thing. I have a good supply of wheel weights. Some are soft and some are pretty hard. I pulled all the steel and zink. Don't understand why some are so much harder than others. They are lead . I cut them with wire pliers.
I will try not to bother you guys much. I'm getting a good education just reading your post.

[JWFilips]

I'm new to casting so don't laugh at my stupid questions ! lol
Almost every post on casting with WW your adding tin to the mix. Where do you get the tin ?
I have been told that WW material was already hard enough . Like I said, I'm new here and new to casting.
Another thing. I have a good supply of wheel weights. Some are soft and some are pretty hard. I pulled all the steel and zink. Don't understand why some are so much harder than others. They are lead . I cut them with wire pliers.
I will try not to bother you guys much. I'm getting a good education just reading your post.

While tin adds a bit of hardness it is not the reason for adding it. It aids in mould fill out. Give you nice crisp grease grooves.
Solves a good bit of new casters problems. You can get tin by using lead free plumbers solder I usually buy wafers of it on e-bay from a reliable vendor. They are usually market price Also Rotometals one of our sponsors here

[largom]

The stick-on wheel weights are almost pure lead. The clip on's are an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony. I have picked up a lot of solder at yard sales for next to nothing.

Larry

[DeadWoodDan]

I gave up, I know I'm feeling like such an underdog for not being able to use something so easy, but am unable to get the results.

I have two specific alloys that were analyzed so I choose the closest description that best fit each alloy. Alloy one was pb 94.82% and bi 2.34%, so I choose "Isotope Lead(ingots)" under the description and placed "1" for one pound in the yellow column for weight. Alloy two was sb 13.42%, sn 5.01%, and pb 80.68". Again I choose best description "Stereotype" and placed "1" in the weight column.

Now assuming I understand ( clearly I'm a goof and want to learn ) the Row "Mixed Alloy" should give me my information? Only number it gave was weight at 2lbs.

So what am I doing wrong and THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the help and making this sheet. I'm finally at a point were if its needed I can really say I know what alloy I have without a doubt.
DWD

[bumpo628]

I have two specific alloys that were analyzed so I choose the closest description that best fit each alloy. Alloy one was pb 94.82% and bi 2.34%, so I choose "Isotope Lead(ingots)" under the description and placed "1" for one pound in the yellow column for weight. Alloy two was sb 13.42%, sn 5.01%, and pb 80.68". Again I choose best description "Stereotype" and placed "1" in the weight column.

Now assuming I understand, the Row "Mixed Alloy" should give me my information? Only number it gave was weight at 2lbs.
DWD

I took some screen shots that might help you. First, I did what you did to see if I could recreate the problem.


Then I entered your actual data into the yellow "custom alloy" lines. The numbers didn't add up to 100% (never do), so I figured out the amount of unknown in each alloy. Alloy one had 2.84% unknown and alloy two had 0.89% unknown.

1. For the first alloy, enter "2.84" in the "copper%" box (we'll use that for unknown for now), enter "2.34" in the "silver%" box (we'll use that for Bi for now), and the lead% will calculate itself.
2. For the second alloy, enter "5.01" in the "tin%" box, "13.42" in the antimony box, ".0089" in the "copper%" box (note the extra zeros needed for excel to enter the number correctly), and the lead% will calculate itself.

You should have an alloy that matches the following attachment:


Let me know if it doesn't work properly or if you have any questions.

Thanks,
- bumpo628

[bottomline]

I spent several hours playing with this thing - love it - Thank you Bumpo628

[rockrat]

Been using this for a long time, but for some reason this morning, I cannot open the file. Just used it last night!!

[bangerjim]

Been using this for a long time, but for some reason this morning, I cannot open the file. Just used it last night!!

What platform are you running?

What software are you using to open the spreadsheet?

I would suggest re-downloading the current file and try the fresh version.

banger

[rockrat]

Tried it on my laptop, works fine. This computer is running xp me IIRC. Did have problems exiting last night, so something happened. About time to replace this thing.