Most Universal Lead Alloy

[detox]

If you could pick only one alloy for all your shooting needs (black powder, smokeless powder, target shooting or hunting), what would it be? I am thinking soft Wheel Weights because it contains some arsenic which allows it to also be hardened by quenching in water. Can any other soft alloy be hardened the same way as wheel weights?

[wallenba]

Well, I understand that muzzle loaders require pure lead, correct me if I'm wrong. I use Lyman #2 for rifle and pistol though. I sometimes add a little lino for some rifle.

[ShooterAZ]

I like 1/3/96 for most all my handgun uses, can always WD if need be, but I never do. Pure for BP. WW is near impossible to find anymore in my neck if the woods.

[btroj]

Any alloy with Sb can be hardened. A bit, and it doesn't take much, As helps.

[dverna]

I recently bought a ton of 2/6/92. But I only shoot smokeless.

I can mix it with range lead to get a softer bullet.

[troutman]

I am a noobie also and am trying to learn the lingo. What is Sb? and 2/6/92? If I get lead from old pipe joints what sort of makeup should i expect it to be? This seems to be a common scrap at my recycling yard. I came across a couple of bars of something that I think had Zinc in it. It was slightly shiny. This place doesn't have any way to test and tell what excatly it is so I didn't buy. Will zinc attract a magnet?

[williamwaco]

If I could have only one alloy for everything I shoot, I would pick clip on wheel weights.


.

[GlocksareGood]

Sb is Antimony. 2/6/92 is 2% Tin/ 6% Anitmony and 92% Lead. Commonly known as hardball alloy. Old water pipe will be almost pure lead with a little bit more tin content in joints that are soldered. Stay away from Zinc. It will ruin just about any lead alloy for your casting. You can use HCL to test for it in unknown lead alloy but as general rule i try to avaiod mystery metal at the scrap yard anyway.
You really should start your reading here! http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[runfiverun]

Sb is antimony.
2/6/92 is 2% tin 6% antimony and 92% lead.
all tin/antimony/lead alloys are expressed this way.
zinc is non magnetic.

[454PB]

I am a noobie also and am trying to learn the lingo. What is Sb? and 2/6/92? If I get lead from old pipe joints what sort of makeup should i expect it to be? This seems to be a common scrap at my recycling yard. I came across a couple of bars of something that I think had Zinc in it. It was slightly shiny. This place doesn't have any way to test and tell what excatly it is so I didn't buy. Will zinc attract a magnet?

Sb is the elemental symbol for antimony, Sn is tin, and Pb is lead. 2/6/92 is 2% tin, 6% antimony, and 92% lead.....more commonly called "hard ball". Lead pipe joints are usually a combination of pure lead and the solder that holds the joints together...good stuff for a base metal. Avoid zinc, it is not caster friendly, and it is not magnetic.

[454PB]

Sorry.....three of us all typing at the same time

[rbertalotto]

20-1 for everything from 36cal cap and ball to 535g Postell bullets in the 45-70......both black powder and smokeless.....just about the perfect AllAroundAlloy

[detox]

Stannum is the Latin word for Tin and the source of its chemical symbol Sn.
Stibium is the Latin word for Antimony and the source of its chemical symbal Sb

[btroj]

And As is arsenic, a wonderful grain refiner that speeds the hardening effect of water dropping.

Something in the 1/3/96 range would be fine for me. I don't shoot much really high velocity rifle so I don't much harder.

[Gtek]

Mr. troutman- First, welcome aboard- great place. Please google up element table. 2/6/92 is the supposed or certified if purchased that way and states percentage mix of alloy. 2-Sn#50/6-Sb#51/96-Pb#82. The pipe should be pure with a very small kiss of Sn from solder if still there, if the price is right- jump if you need. The big # is Pb and you can take that where you want or need. Zinc is non ferrous to your magnet question, you can save probably if melt skimmed or chemically worked. IMHO I would side step that one unless it was free and tackle down the road. Read the stickies and be a sponge, there are some really great guy's that have pretty much layed it all out for you. When something happens (will) you at least can make educated adjustments/changes. Hope I did not come off as a Troll. Gtek

[detox]

20-1 for everything from 36cal cap and ball to 535g Postell bullets in the 45-70......both black powder and smokeless.....just about the perfect AllAroundAlloy

I know that 20/1 mushrooms nicely in my 45/70 RCBS 405 grain gas checked loads. WW will not mushroom, only break

[MtGun44]

Wheel weight alloy will suit me for anything except muzzle loaders.

Bill

[Pilgrim]

Detox -1 !! WW alloy won't break. If you load it up with antimony and tin (in proper percentages) you can approximate/duplicate linotype/monotype metal like the printers used to use. For the printers it needed to be hard and needed to last thru many "print cycles" without deforming. The alloy needed to fill out the moulds to give good print results. This last feature makes it great for casting, but...both tin and antimony are expensive when compared with lead, so linotype and monotype metals are better used to alloy with pure lead to make good usable casting and shooting lead alloys. Linotype and monotype are not only hard, they are brittle and of not much use to shooters except for target work. Although not often mentioned, they also have to be darn near perfect for the gun (fit) or you can run into gas cutting issues (leading) since the boolits don't easily deform/obturate. COWW (clip on wheel weights) have a smidgeon of tin, antimony, and a trace of arsenic as found. The addition of a small amount of tin in the 1% - 2% range help with casting (mould fill out) and if air cooled will give you a nice shooting alloy around 14-15 BHN (good for rifles, OK for autos, not necessarily good for revolters(too hard)). Depending on the casters experience some drop the COWW +tin boolit directly from the mould into water quenching it and it will age harden to a BHN around 22 or so. 22 BHN replicates the hardness of linotype but doesn't have the brittleness of lino. COWW + tin makes a great boolit because it casts well, is ductile, obturates, and isn't brittle (e.g. doesn't break). FWIW - IMO Pilgrim

[Iowa Fox]

WW- you can always doctor it up a little if needed but for the most part it works fine for me. I do have plenty of pure tin, mono, copper railroad babbit, pure lead, solder, and others if need be but the WW work for 99% of my loads.

[MikeS]

I generally use an alloy close to Lyman #2 for most of my casting, I've even cast boolits for my 45-70 shot with BP out of #2 and didn't have a problem. Of course I wasn't shooting the 45-70 at long ranges, or for match grade accuracy, for that you might want to use a softer alloy. Lately I've been using range scrap from the range at the club I'm a member of, and it's been working pretty good for pistol, and 45-70, I haven't tried it for any of my 30 cal rifles, but I'm pretty sure it would work fine, as most of those loads are gas checked. The nice thing about casting your own boolits is the fact that you're not limited to only one alloy. You can have one alloy that's your 'base' metal, that you can add either pure lead to soften it, or linotype to harden it.