Sn35% + Pb63.2% + Sb1.8%???

[DeadWoodDan]

Brother dropped this off today. From what i gather it will be to hard to cast with, so do i just add 99%lead? I believe there 1lb. bars so it may be easy to figure out how much Pb to add.

We really just want to make a small batch of fishing jigs, do you think this will cast ok? or should we add some lead?

thanks

[fryboy]

ummmmm it should cast ok as there's alot of tin in it ...considering that tin is more valuable to boolit casting than to fishing jigs most folks would consider it a waste of a valuable resource ( compare the prices of tin vs. lead ) i do know that sinkers made from 60/40 solder stay shinier much longer than plain lead ( and they cast great ! )

[DeadWoodDan]

ummmmm it should cast ok as there's alot of tin in it ...considering that tin is more valuable to boolit casting than to fishing jigs most folks would consider it a waste of a valuable resource ( compare the prices of tin vs. lead ) i do know that sinkers made from 60/40 solder stay shinier much longer than plain lead ( and they cast great ! )

ok, so we'll save this for the boolits not jigs. Now we need to figure out between this material, WW, and some 99%lead we have what recipe to use to make some jigs.

[Mavrick]

The 99% can be used to cast BP stuff or soften harder alloys. How about using the WW as if there is zinc, it won't matter. How pretty does a sinker have to be?
Have fun,
Gene

[BulletFactory]

sinkers are a waste of good bullet metal, IMO.

[DeadWoodDan]

sinkers are a waste of good bullet metal, IMO.

I would agree, but since my brother was given this material along with 2 coffee cans of WW, it is decision. He also shoots so were trying not to use anything that shouldn't be wasted, and also enjoy making a few jigs at the same time.

[TCLouis]

This is a perfect example where it would be good to have a real location at least down to state in our location block.
That way someone "local" may be willing to help/trade.

[fryboy]

long long ago elmer keith's fav alloy for 44 mag was tin rich with an alloy content of 1/16 ( Sn/Pb ) and elmer liked to run them hot , by our standards mostly anything above 2-3% isnt needed . to be fair lyman's #2 has 5% and cast wonderfully . another consideration is heat treating - do you ? if so then tin is detrimental ,it's generally accepted that the higher tin content to antimony ratio helps the alloy revert to softer faster , alot of guys use straight ww's and only add tin when needed , alot also use 50/50 ww/Pb with great results , true some of this depends upon use ( say pistol vs. rifle , hi-pressure vs. medium/low etc ) with the hi tin content of the described bars cutting it 50/50 with pure would equate to an appox 1 to 16 ratio ( it would also cut the Sb content in half ) while this logic isnt quite correct it's close. alot will depend upon how much alloy you have and how much pure , in theory then and working with one pound ( and ignoring the Sn for now )
35% tin basically equates to 35/65 solder ( altho 33/67 is more common )
so 1# alloy + 1# Pb = 17.5% Sn
and 1# alloy + 2# Pb = 8.75% Sn
and 1# alloy + 4# Pb = 4.25% Sn ( this is heavy on the approximation BTW but close ) it leads me to believe that if you added 1#alloy to 10# ww it should be a sweet alloy ! or even 1 # to 5 # ww and 5 # Pb which is an appox 50/50 ww/Pb with 2% tin (+/- ), an alloy calculator would give better details , as i stated this is an approximate

[Defcon-One]

You have a sweet Tin alloy!

I plugged it into bumpo826's alloy calculator and I got this, but you can make anything you want, just download his excel file and see.

Ad 1 lb. of your Tin alloy to 22 pounds of Clip-on WW and you get this:

Tin = 2.00%
Antimony = 2.95%
Lead = 95.05%

And you will have 23.0 pounds of bullet alloy to play with. Hardness will be about 11.9 BHN.

It would make good fishing tackle too, but I'd use straight WW for that if it fills the mould well enough. It really depends on your mould and jig style/detail required, and casting temp, too.

Also, the program said this (No offense to fryboy!):

1# alloy + 1# Pb = 17.50% Sn
and 1# alloy + 2# Pb = 11.67% Sn
and 1# alloy + 4# Pb = 7.00% Sn

[fishnbob]

Defcon-One, You are so right. Straight W/W's will easily pour the larger jigheads, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits,etc. But for the smaller jigheads like 1/4 oz and lighter, you need to use Pb or tin mixed with W/W's to get good fillout. You also need to run it hotter than Hades in the small jigheads. The tin will lighten the weight of the jigheads and sometimes the fall will be slower than usual and can sometimes give the fish a different look and turn them on!

[fryboy]

no offense taken lolz , i used the number 30% anyways as a rough basis and as stated didnt plug it into an alloy calculator ( but did encourage the use of one -it's the best way to learn to use one ) i also figured it'll still be a lil tin rich

[selmerfan]

I would gladly trade you straight across for your bars to WWs. PM me if you're interested. :grin:

[crabo]

So where is this alloy calculator found?

[white eagle]

if you use sinkers
you are really hitting bottom

[bumpo628]

So where is this alloy calculator found?

I post the latest version in this thread:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105952

The 3/29/11 version is the most recent.


How about using zinc for sinkers? Well, then you'd have to call em zinkers....
At least some good can come from that stuff. Then you can leave the lead alloys downrange in little pieces where it belongs.

[arjacobson]

:kidding:
if you use sinkers
you are really hitting bottom

[runfiverun]

ww's make great jig heads.
pure is great for crimp-on sinkers.
there is no way i'd use the tin stuff for sinkers at 8-12.00 a lb.