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View Full Version : Wanting to cast; Will this lead work?



Stray Round
05-28-2005, 10:56 PM
Wanting to get into casting and have been lurking on this forum for some time.

I have about 300lbs of lead used for stained glass that could turn into a steady supply.

From what I can find out on line it may have about .75% tin and about the same in antimony. It seems to be about as hard as .22rf lead.

Could adding solder make this a usable lead for casting? I don't have a supply of wheel weights? What lube would you suggest?

I mostly interested in light rifle loads. I don't need much speed but would like to be able to have accuracy.

Thanks for any and all help!!!!!!!!!!

felix
05-28-2005, 11:21 PM
Yes, it will work as pure lead. In your situation, I would obtain some linotype metal, and use that as 1/4 to 1/5 of your final mix. ... felix

Buckshot
05-29-2005, 06:47 AM
...............Stray Round, welcome to the board! This casting stuff is a heck'uva way to spend your time. Your stained glass lead is a wee bit soft for most rifle loads. However that doesn't have to be a bad thing, as this is a golden opportunity to go get that nice 38 Special you've been wanting! You have the prime makings for really nice target-plinking 38 Special ammo. And a muzzle loader too, come to think of it.

See, now wasn't that problem easy to take of? See now that's the way most of us operate here. Pretty soon you'll be like us. You stop at a garage sale and pick up a rusty ole tackle box full of snarled together lures and rusty hooks etc and in the bottom, rolling around and God knows how it got there is a 30-30 size die. Right! You go get yourself a nice 30-30 levergun. Can't have that die go to waste...........can ya?

They drive cars where you live? If so, you have access to wheel weights. WW metal will let you do exactly what you said you were wanting to do with your rifle. Walk into a tire place and ask the guy behind the counter if he could part with old wheel weights, and you'd be happy to pay him something for them.

Or when you take your car in for an oil change (if you don't do it yourself) while you're waiting say, "Hey, what's the possibility of buying some of your old wheel weights?" Some of the guys here will place a plastic 5 gallon bucket at their gold mine with their phone number on it. If you pick it up in the morning bring a dozen donuts. Maybe a 12 pack in the afternoon. Make it easy and worthwhile for the tire shop.

..............Buckshot

Bass Ackward
05-29-2005, 09:03 AM
I have about 300lbs of lead used for stained glass that could turn into a steady supply.

From what I can find out on line it may have about .75% tin and about the same in antimony. It seems to be about as hard as .22rf lead.

Could adding solder make this a usable lead for casting? What lube would you suggest?

I mostly interested in light rifle loads. I don't need much speed but would like to be able to have accuracy.



Stray,

Never look a gift horse in the mouth. Take everything you can get. As the other guys mentioned, this is pretty soft. Solder will harden your mix to a point, but that is too little bang for the buck. You never want to add more tin than antimony content to avoid soft spot formation if you are going to heat treat.

But you can take this mix and add two, spray can cap of Magnum grade shot to your pot. The smaller the size shot, the better. This will enable your mix to be either heat treated or water dropped which should net you some amount harder than the origional. If you mix pure lead with WW to a 50/50 ratio and heat treat that, you get around 15 BHN. My guess is that the combo I suggested would be close to air cooled WW hardness, which is my favorite for rifle work.

The disadvantage here (there always seems to be at least one) besides cost of the shot, is that all molds will throw bullets that are undersize for the size they are supposed to be. So then you have to have larger molds. No free lunch.

I would be glad to test some of your experimental efforts. Takes no time for me really. If you PM me, I will give you my address that I can run some of your samples in a hardness tester. This way you will know what is what.

Many will tell you a hardness tester is a waste. Well, I am an American, and it is my right to be wasteful. :grin:

Willbird
05-29-2005, 09:13 AM
WE were at the gunstore yesterday, small store that caters to reloaders and trapshooters, I saw that magnum shot was up to 17.00 a bag.

I would haunt the tire shops til you found a nice 100-150 lb bucket of weights for 5-10 dollars, it will be easier than you think it would be. then your all set. 50-50 of your lead and that will be tough enough for about anything heat treated (or not depending on your wishes). you can experiment with the mix to suit the bullet your making

Bill

Stray Round
05-30-2005, 04:51 PM
Thanks fellas for all the information and offers of help!

I haven't been able to find any "Castbullet Mentors" around here and glad to find people who will take me under thier wing.

Buckshot, I like your way of thinking and somehow felt that a new gun was required for this lead supply. It's funny how that need arises.