Alloys with solder

[Dakota954]

Hi all, im new to the forum and casting in general and have a few questions regarding mixing alloys. I got some solder that says it is 38/62 solder but doesnt say what its made of. On the other label it says "caution: contains lead and caution:contains antimony" I thought that the solder would contain tin? What ratio of metals does 38/62 solder have? Also i have some solder of unknown ratio that says "caution: contains lead and caution: contains tin" how would i know the ratio of lead to tin? Also, how much solder should i add to pure lead?

[Rock27]

Typically, solder is identified with a ratio, such as 60/40. Common solder expressed thus would be 60% tin, 40% lead. I have never heard of solder with antimony, unless it is in the newer lead free formulas.

[Dakota954]

Thank you that is what i thought but wasnt sure. What had me scratching my head was that it says it contains antimony and not tin but everywhere ive read i havent heard of solder with antimony in it so why does this say it contains it? Maybe its just a warning for minute traces of antimony?

[Bill*]

Yes, the cautions only list the stuff deemed hazardous, There needn't be much to trigger the caution labeling.

[bumpo628]

There is a lead-free solder that has 95% tin and 5% antimony.

[Dakota954]

Ok so how much of the 38/62 solder should i add to pure lead to be able to shoot it out of a .357 magnum?

[just.don]

How much does the roll of solder weigh?

[John Boy]

It's 38% Sn and 62% Pb



We talked about wiping solder here on CB back in 2010

[Dakota954]

Don, i have like 3 or 4 1lb rolls that are clearly marked 38/62 then i have 3 5lb rolls that are missing the label. They all came from the same place(a phone company) so im assuming the 5lb rolls will be 38/62 too?

[badbob454]

i would go 1 pound to 3 pounds pure lead this would get you approx 10-1 ratio in my head ...or 1 pound to 15 lbs coww lead . the coww is much better for the 357, this would just add tin to help fillout the coww is hard enough , or 1 pound to 7 lbs lead and 8 pounds clip on for a more malleable boolit, these are just estimate done in my head and may not be accurate

[just.don]

Ok so how much of the 38/62 solder should i add to pure lead to be able to shoot it out of a .357 magnum?

I try to do my .357 approx 40/1. 40 lb pot of coww and 1 lb tin.
(pot is about this full so about this much tin)
Works out to about 2.5%.

This is mostly for fill out and not for increasing hardness. Others profess that less is needed for fill out. I use this formula because it is easy for me.
I run these just below max, w/ gc.

3 rolls = 1.14 lb tin and 1.86 lb pb.
40/1 would be approx. 3 rolls to just under 40 lb pb.
Take this w/ a grain of salt.
Search this site and and read!
Do your homework!
Get a calculator and use it!

Some good alloy calculators available at this site.........

here is a table I found somewhere

tin lead melt temp bhn
0 100 618.8 3.9
10 90 577.4 10.1
20 80 532.4 12.2
30 70 491.0 14.5
40 60 446.0 15.8
50 50 401.0 15.0
60 40 368.6 14.6
66 34 356.0 16.7
70 30 365.0 15.8
80 20 388.4 15.2
90 10 419.0 13.3
100 0 466.0 4.1



Anything over 40/1 is not a good return if your intent is to increase hardness and you can get some coww, water drop will way improve hardness, but not necessarily needed for .357.

So much information to impart here and so little idea of where to start!
What is your experience?
What are your resources?
What is your intent w/ the bullets?


Hope I have helped, and good luck!
Thanks in advance for any corrections from the learned ones.
Don't mean to mislead.

[Dakota954]

Don, my experience with casting is very minimal but i am not new to firearms at all, ive been shooting since i was 10, i started reloading at age 14 and have been hooked on it ever since. Ive been reading a ton on here and i feel i have a basic grasp on casting in general its just that all the hardness stuff is kind of confusing but that is getting clearer with my purchase of a hardness tester, i atleast have a baseline for the hardness of some lead my uncle gave me (15bhn) and im pretty much just trying to duplicate that for now. I just want my bullets to shoot good for target practice i cant hunt with a handgun so i dont need the bullets to be very good performing they just have to punch holes in paper and not lead the barrel/cylinder too much

[just.don]

Hope I didn't offend you with my insistence that you read and study.
Perhaps I assume too much. Often I don't have enough information to ask the question in a manner that will get the answer that I am looking for.
I 'lurked" here for about two years before I posted anything and had to go back and change that post because i found I was wrong. Sometimes I think it would be best if I kept my mouth shut!

At any rate, when I started casting back in the 80's everything I was reading at the time indicated that my alloy was too soft. Spent a small fortune (wife still mentions it on occasion) for material from LETS (out of business now) to turn all of my ww into lino. still got leading.

Upon retiring from the Navy and getting a real job I no longer had time for fun and all my casting stuff went into deep storage.


About five yrs ago my son came of age and loved to shoot, on my dime.
In an effort to keep that dime as small as possible I broke out the casting stuff, and MADE TIME for it.
Now everything I read says my alloy is too hard. Got a tester. and A bunch of lead to cut all of that lino with.

I love casting. Just me and a mold and a pot of lead. If anything is going wrong it is my fault. Not shipping, not receiving, not quoting, not the customer, not log in or the salesmen, just me. And if I look long enough in the right places, I'll find the answer. Or at least enough information so that I will know enough to ask the right question.

Hear is something that may help. this can be found in a lot of places, in a lot of variations.

Light target loads (<800 fps and 10,000 psi) BHN 6-12
Standard revolver loads (800-1000 fps, 16,000 psi) BHN 8-14
+P revolver loads (1000-1200 fps, 20,000 psi) BHN 10-16
Magnum revolver loads (1200-1500 fps, 35,000 psi) BHN 12-20
454 Casull (1400-1800 fps, 50,000 psi) BHN 16 and up

The above is a guide, not a law.

I also recommend you check out these guys.
Lots of informative reading.
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

esp. this article
http://www.lasc.us/FryxellCBAlloyObturation.htm


good luck!

[Dakota954]

Thanks a lot Don, you helped a lot. Ive been looking at those sites since i first got the idea to start casting and they are by far the best site to go for information. I still have a lot to learn and trial and error will probably teach me more than just reading about it. Now i just need it to stop raining on the weekends so i can get started on my trial and error!