Adding Antimony

[GregLaROCHE]

I have a good stock of range scrap in ingots. I guess it’s between 10 and 12 BHN. I finally ordered Lee tester. It’s in the mail. It works fine in the big slow slugs of my .45-70, but doesn’t work at all for my higher speed 6.5mm. When I already have a good stock of lead, I hate the idea of buying an alloy that’s almost all lead to get a little antimony to harden up mine.

I can buy an Ingot got of antimony and add five percent to my range scrap and cast away for a long time. I will add some tin too.

I talked to an old timer who has done it and he says it’s not that hard to do. You just have to get the lead red hot for the antimony to melt. I expect that at that temperature, all the tin that might be in the range scrap will be gone.

My idea is to see how high a percentage I can easily add (25%max), cast ingots and and then later remelt them and add more lead and some tin just before I cast.

Has anyone had experience adding pure antimony to lead? What do others think of my idea?

Thanks

[sureYnot]

It'll be way easier to add in some super hard alloy than pure antimony.

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[JSnover]

Get the lead red hot? You'll be using way more fuel or electricity than you need. Buy an ingot with a high antimony content (Babbitt, linotype,) and melt that into your lead. Faster and easier.

[centershot]

You can purchase Super Hard Alloy from Roto-Meals which is 30% antimony, just melt it into your range scrap as needed. Much, much easier than trying to melt elemental antimony! I had a friend, now long gone, who used to make his own linotype alloy. I can still see that big iron pot glowing red hot all night long in his back yard! This was back in the '60's when you could still buy linotype readily; He was convinced it was cheaper to make it himself! He burned a LOT of propane to melt that antimony...........

[centershot]

You can purchase Super Hard Alloy from Roto-Meals which is 30% antimony, just melt it into your range scrap as needed. Much, much easier than trying to melt elemental antimony! I had a friend, now long gone, who used to make his own linotype alloy. I can still see that big iron pot glowing red hot all night long in his back yard! This was back in the '60's when you could still buy linotype readily; He was convinced it was cheaper to make it himself! He burned a LOT of propane to melt that antimony...........

https://www.rotometals.com/super-har...imony-70-lead/

[popper]

Get the superhard from roto, pour boolits with it and then count the required number into your range scrap. 6% is usually way more than needed. You don't need any tin either. Chilled shot has arsenic that is a good hardener for water dropping.

[oso]

Adding elemental antimony has been discussed by those who have done it and those who haven't. Do a search of in the "google custom search" bar of the terms "antimony + KYCaster" and "antimony + oso"

[NyFirefighter357]

[sparkeyu]

I have done it to make the same alloy as linotype add your tin first and then the antimony and stir until disolved at normal pot temps, some say it wont work but i suspect they have not tried

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If I was wanting to add antimony to soft range scrap, I would search for lino-type or Mono-type...if you're lucky, you might find some locally, for the same price as scrap lead. Then use the alloy calculator to figure out the amounts to mix together.

But if you find some pure antimony, it can be 'blended' into your range scrap at about 600º, if properly fluxed.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...-melt-antimony

[Walks]

Isn't the melting temp of antimony close to 1100 degrees. The hottest temp I've ever registered in either of my Electric pots is 970+degrees, certainly never over 1000 degrees. Neither will either of my thermometers read more than 1000 degrees. I have one each LYMAN pot & Thermometer, and RCBS pot & Thermometer.
I sure as heck would'nt wanna stand over a 1100+ degree pot stirring & fluxing.
Linotype, Monotype or even "SuperHard" is a lot easier way to blend pure lead into a harder alloy.

[trapper9260]

I use Super Hard and then tin and I am good it is easy that way and you work with the mix to get what you want then make notes and then you got it all the time.the mix that is. Jut need to give it to sit to get the right BHN that is close to what you looking for.I seen just about a week works.

[Youngtimer]

Adding antimony is not difficult. It took me a while to figure out how to do it though. I measure out the weight of antimony I want to add based on the weight of lead I wish to alloy. I melt the lead and then add the antimony. The antimony will float and what I have found to work for me is to hold the antimony under the surface of the lead melt. If left on top of the melt is does not appear to readily melt or mix with the lead. I get it to dissolve into my melt again by holding it under the surface of the melt. I made a small dome shaped disk out of very fine perforated stainless sheet metal about 4" in diameter. I add the antimony to the top of the melt and set the domed perforated disk upside down on top of the antimony. Then I set a short piece of steel pipe on top of the perf plate to push the antimony under the surface of the melt. The dome shape does not allow the antimony to find its way back out from under the perforated piece. I then go about other casting chores for a while and in 15 to 30 minutes I lift the pipe and perf plate out from the melt and the antimony is gone. I do this on a gas fired pot at a temperature that is higher than casting temperatures. Does it melt or dissolve, I don't know, but it is absorbed into the melt nearly 100% and I have confirmed this with a XRF gun test. I tried to melt the antimony on the surface of the melt with a very hot pot with poor results and was left with some black crusty dross on top.

[kevin c]

No special fluxes or other additions to the pot, Youngtimer?

[fredj338]

Pure antimony is a lot harder to incorporate than an alloy. So I would find some Lino or monotype & add that, water drop for a harder bullet.

[Hotrod99]

How hard are you wanting the final product? The calculator says 20lbs of mono type added to 100lbs of range scrap will give you ~12.8 Brinell and 25lbs will give you 13.4

way way easier to mix.

[Youngtimer]

No fluxes or anything else. If you would want to pm me with a phone number I would take a picture or two and send them to you of my set up. Holding the antimony under the surface with the perf plate allows there to be no air trapped under it. It is not a high tech setup but it works well for me and pure antimony is a less expensive solution, and you know exactly what your getting by purchasing raw antimony. I will agree with fredj338 that if your trying to incorporate the antimony on the surface of the melt I had poor results.

[Leadmelter]

What about lead shot?
Leadmelter
MI