Out of the oven and into the water

[Petander]

So far it looks like water dropping from the PC oven even with up to an hour soaking at 400* is not goin to appreciably harden more than air cooled and aged COWW. At least that's my takeaway so far.

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I just checked: my soft alloy hardened from 8 to 14 BHN with 30 min/400°F. It was the same with a full hour bake. My WW has 10% mono mixed in, trying to save it by adding pure.

Seems to work.

[OS OK]

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I just checked: my soft alloy hardened from 8 to 14 BHN with 30 min/400°F. It was the same with a full hour bake. My WW has 10% mono mixed in, trying to save it by adding pure.

Seems to work.

Be careful of the oven time with the PC...do the hammer test also and make sure that the PC stays put and doesn't flake off, otherwise you may defeat the lube quality of the PC and start to lead up the barrel.

[Petander]

Be careful of the oven time with the PC...do the hammer test also and make sure that the PC stays put and doesn't flake off, otherwise you may defeat the lube quality of the PC and start to lead up the barrel.

Absolutely. Tested and confirmed many times.

I Hi Tek coat, even full hour is no problem except the colours turn very dark.

I was suspicious about coating and hardening at the same time but there is no harm done. I'm sizing a batch right now,I then swirl a third coat,bake and drop.

They will be 14-16 BHN next week. For how long,that remains to be seen.

[res45]

Well awhile back I started using 50/50 PB / WW's with a pinch of Tin as my go-to alloy. I've been water quenching after powder coating and using this alloy in all my magnum handgun and standard loads and rifle loads with excellent results, for bullets that I want some expansion I just let those air cool such as my 45 ACP and 38/357 HP's. I shoot a 170 gr. 50/50 gas check, quenched bullets up to 2300 fps. using 35.0 grs. of H-4198 in my 30-06 with excellent accuracy and not a trace of leading even after putting fifty rds. downrange in one setting, handgun loads give equal results. Leading was never an issue powder coating had to solve, so I figure it actually helps when using the softer alloy.

I have some bullets cast from 50/50 and quenched that I'm going to do a hardness test on that have been setting for over a month, but for my current applications and results using the 50/50 using it either air cooled or quenched and using a gas check when needed I seen no reason to do anything differently.

[Petander]

Ecxellent info res45,thank you.

You are doing exactly what I'm planning/trying to do. Now that the boolits go in the oven anyway, heat treating is no big deal at all. Saving WW is becoming important. I don't need superhard for anything either. My full 500 S&W is BHN 15 about. I use no gas checks any more.

And I think that with right size good quality molds we can skip sizing,too. I have a 358 mold coming for that reason.

[Petander]

My 15 min/ 200F 8 BHN alloy has gone to 10 in two days now.

[Petander]

Four days,still 10.

15 min isn't doing much like someone already said. I baked 30 min again just now to confirm 14 BHN,hopefully. All this is 400°F to keep things simple for now.

[bmortell]

I dont know if this adds much but i cook pc 20min after melted then make sure the surface temp up to 425 with laser thermometer, the drop into 40-50f water bucket. I use heavy duty aluminum foil shiny side up, not non stick so they stick a bit, enough to not fall off the tray in water but still can be peeled off easy enough. I dont hardness test only expand test in paper mush, these are 250gr 44 mags at 1500fps.


1st is unfired for reference. 2nd ACWW. 3 WW cooked. 4 50-50 cooked FRESH. 5 50-50 cooked aged few months.

[Petander]

Bmortell,good info,thank you.

My 30 min cooked stayed in ice water overnight. They are 12-14 BHN already. I'll load some tomorrow.

[res45]

Ecxellent info res45,thank you.

You are doing exactly what I'm planning/trying to do. Now that the boolits go in the oven anyway, heat treating is no big deal at all. Saving WW is becoming important. I don't need superhard for anything either. My full 500 S&W is BHN 15 about. I use no gas checks any more.

And I think that with right size good quality molds we can skip sizing,too. I have a 358 mold coming for that reason.

So far all my recovered 50/50 quenched bullet are either bent or slightly deformed if they hit something hard but none are shattered into multiple fragments in rifle or pistol. The air cooled HP 38/357 and 45 ACP bullet expand nicely without loosing any significant weight loss if any.

Not sure exactly how many molds I have these days but it a mix of mostly Lee, a couple old Lyman/Ideal, Accurate, NOE and Arsenal.

NOE 360-165-SWC which is basically a clone of the Lyman 358156. I just leave the HP pins in this mold all the time since I have plenty of (FN) Lee molds for 158 gr. SWC bullets. I bought this mold a couple years before I stated powder coating.


NOE TL452-234-RF this mold will cast HP,FN or Cup Point bullets.


I know some don't always size there bullets but most all my molds cast oversized bullets an being that I PC them and fit individual bullet to my handguns and rifles I size them all.

[Petander]

Yeah,I was surprised to see a shattered 14 BHN bullet. They may be more fragile right after the oven,though? Until they settle down. I measured 36 BHN in one batch (440°F/One hour) but they went down to 20 after a few days.

And maybe there's more antimony than I think in this batch.


Anyway,this Mihec 180 NLG shot well and clean full power VV N110 load. Size was .359, throats are .3583. I have room to adjust and tweak the size for accuracy.



I'll put some on a shelf in a well marked box and check BHN/size next summer. I'd also like to know the exact alloy,time to send for XRF again I guess.

[Petander]

An update:

Those heat treated .359 bullets grew to .360 in a few weeks. I sized them all again yesterday.

This makes me think... size them to .358 before HT if I want .359.

I didn't expect them grow so fast.

[Taterhead]

Yeah,I was surprised to see a shattered 14 BHN bullet. They may be more fragile right after the oven,though? Until they settle down. I measured 36 BHN in one batch (440°F/One hour) but they went down to 20 after a few days.

And maybe there's more antimony than I think in this batch.


Anyway,this Mihec 180 NLG shot well and clean full power VV N110 load. Size was .359, throats are .3583. I have room to adjust and tweak the size for accuracy.



I'll put some on a shelf in a well marked box and check BHN/size next summer. I'd also like to know the exact alloy,time to send for XRF again I guess.

That's a beautiful revolver, Petander. Thank you for the pic!