Lead wire for bullet cores

[ioon44]

I may be getting some scrap lead wire for bullet cores which I guess is Lead and Antimony, has any one used this and did it mix with tin with out any problems?

[Pipefitter]

The only lead wire I have seen marketed for swaging has been pure lead. Anything above 1% antimony will give you problems when swaging cores for making jacketed bullets.

[ioon44]

I talked to the company that made the lead wire and they said it is 99.9 % PB. I ended up with over a 1000 lb of scrap wire and cores. Now I just need some lino.

[lotech]

I had extruded swaging wire, two types, some years ago; one was soft, the other was called "magnum" (I think). It was available from an Illinois company, perhaps the largest distributor of swaging wire in the '60s when swaging reached it's peak of popularity. I don't know if different BHNs are available now.

[dondiego]

I talked to the company that made the lead wire and they said it is 99.9 % PB. I ended up with over a 1000 lb of scrap wire and cores. Now I just need some lino.

You can get a lot more for that wire and those cores if you contact a bullet swager on this forum.

[ioon44]

Thanks for the tip, I had not thought of that.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The only lead wire I have seen marketed for swaging has been pure lead. Anything above 1% antimony will give you problems when swaging cores for making jacketed bullets.

I bought some vintage boxes of extruded Lead alloy wire for swaging. The boxes were marked 97% PB and 3% SB. As I understand it, 97-3 that's been extruded is work softened and is nearly the same hardness as pure lead, until it is melted or heat treated. I had no issues using it for swaging. SB in the alloy helps the extruding process, helps it flow. I believe that's more of the reason it's added, than any other reason.