Heat treating

[melloairman]

I might be wrong but it seams that I found a article about oven heat treating bullets that stated . That when lead is heat treated it is not like steel . It hardens through out not just the surface . Any one know were I might find this article . Or does any one know for sure .Marvin

[454PB]

In my testing, I found that the hardness is NOT just on the surface. I can't say it goes all the way through, but I tested in one third of the diameter, and it was basically the same hardness as the surface.

[pls1911]

Lyman cast bullet handbook has extensive technical discussions on the metallurgy of lead and it's alloys, and including het treatment.

[armyrat1970]

http://www.lasc.us/HeatTreat.htm

[Fly]

A Rat are you at work again using there computer?

Fly

[Calamity Jake]

The center will always be softer than the outside because you cannot quinch the center fast enough to get it as hard, 22-25 cal., maybe, but anything larger will be softer in the center.

[melloairman]

That makes since Jake .Thanks Marvin

[RICKLANDES]

http://www.lasc.us/HeatTreat.htm

I have used this heat treating and it works very well. I did not have access to a convection oven so I place thermometer that I could read thru the oven window to double check the oven temps.

Since I do not own a Brinell tester I tried treated vs untreated thru some 44 cal and 500 cal. rounds. The treated bullets when fired into the dry oak had little more than rifling grooves, the untreated bullets had flatted out in the nose area.

Not real scientific, but some good empirical data.

As a practical consideration...I found it best to set by sheeting upon which the bullets set upon some creamic risers so I could get a safe grip on the sheeting to lift and transfer the hot bullets from oven to water quench. A few hundred that are hot seem much more than a few hundred at room temp.

[armyrat1970]

A Rat are you at work again using there computer?

Fly

Ahh Grasshoppa'. Good to see you here.