plumbers lead

[500Linebaughbuck]

i have enough plumber's lead(house water lines, tees...) to do a neighbored. i was wondering, since plumber's lead(almost pure lead) doesn't have any antimony, is it possible to do a 20:1 and coww type if i just use tin? (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...oy-calculators) the alloys will be for deer and possibly black bear. my 44 will be used at 50 yards or less and my rifles(45-70, 444 and multiple 30's) will go 150 yards or less.

[Beagle333]

Pure lead sells for just a little more than coww lead, so you shouldn't have any problem swapping a box of it for a box of coww, or even selling a box of it and buying a box of coww if you didn't want to bother mixing your own. 'Just one idea.

[JMax]

There are a number of loads for Lee bullets using 10 to 1 lead to tin for rifle bullets. Starting out casting with my grandfather decades ago we used alloys that ranged 10 to 1 and 16 to 1 (Keith alloy). Sizing and lube are important. I still use a 10 to 1 alloy with 1-1.5% antimony for my gas checked bulluts up to 1800 ft per sec. Before people tell me to use less tin, I am up to my buns in tin.

[500Linebaughbuck]

There are a number of loads for Lee bullets using 10 to 1 lead to tin for rifle bullets. Starting out casting with my grandfather decades ago we used alloys that ranged 10 to 1 and 16 to 1 (Keith alloy). Sizing and lube are important. I still use a 10 to 1 alloy with 1-1.5% antimony for my gas checked bulluts up to 1800 ft per sec. Before people tell me to use less tin, I am up to my buns in tin.

i've about used up all my coww. i'd really like to use "old" boolits. 1800fps is about my rifles limit. the 30's do around 1700-1800fps and the 444 goes around 1700fps and the 45-70 goes 1100-1300fps. my 44mag/spl does 800-1000fps. i use the 500L in my tc encore(24" barrel) but i buy them from montana bullets. i like lee sizer dies and i pan lube everything.

[lightman]

Your plumbers lead should be nearly pure so when adding the correct amount of tin you should be able to get 20 to 1. For our purpose, the mix does not have to be exact.

[GhostHawk]

I had to replace a broken lead water supply line (under my porch no less) Plumber convinced me with his camera to replace sewer while I was doing it. Certainly makes the job easy.

I got some 20 feet of 3/4 line that I used up the following 2 years. Much of it got alloyed roughly 50/50 with COWW lead, and 1% or so tin.

Some just got the 1% tin.

In pistols and below 1800 fps rifles it all shot well and caused no problems.
Gas check over 1400 fps of course which helps.

I say yes you can do it. Slip in some WW lead or bullets made from WW if you can find it. Even some is better than none, gives you some antimony. Remember antimony hardens roughly 3 times as much as tin does. But a little tin or pewter is always nice too.

[brewer12345]

For the 44 and 45/70 at those speeds, I would be inclined to do a tin/lead alloy (16 or 10 to 1). For the others, I would probably want to toss in some antimony. A really easy way to do so would be to buy some "super hard" from rotometals. If you wanted to end up with a COWW-like alloy of 3% antimony, I pound of super hard to 10 pounds of pure would do it.

[bangerjim]

Plumber's is generally PURE PB. Good for alloying with COWW's and Sn for what you want......10-12 hardness. Black powder guys love your pure!

I have many MANY hundreds of # of pure I use to allow with Sn and SB to get to what I cast for just about everything ( 10-12). Everybody should have a good stash of pure!

Banger

[500Linebaughbuck]

Plumber's is generally PURE PB. Good for alloying with COWW's and Sn for what you want......10-12 hardness. Black powder guys love your pure!

I have many MANY hundreds of # of pure I use to allow with Sn and SB to get to what I cast for just about everything ( 10-12). Everybody should have a good stash of pure!

Banger

bp got me into this!!!! i use a tc hawkins in 50cal flintlock. i do roundballs and maxiballs with plumber's lead.

[Wayne Smith]

If you have that much you have a lot of joins. Those joins are high tin solder and should be separated out when smelting. The rest will be pretty much pure, and the buffalo were killed with either 16-1 (Sharps formula) or 20-1 (Remington formula) mixes.