30 to 1 and 40 to 1 using Pure lead and monotype letters

[Ohio Rusty]

I would like to know how much monotype you should add to pure lead to get the same hardness of 30 to 1 Pure to Tin, and 40 to 1 Pure to tin.

I have very little tin, and I'm not opposed to buying more, but I have about 20 pounds of monotype, (the individual letters) and quite a bit of pure lead. I was really impressed with the hollow point expansion another poster got using 40 lbs. of Pure lead to 1 lb. of Tin.

I'd like to duplicate that hardness, or softness in this case, of that alloy trying to use what I already have on hand. (money is running pretty tight). I'll be shooting a 358439 HP boolit, 155 grain from my Ruger LCR as a self defense round.

Thanks ....
Ohio Rusty ><>

[fecmech]

Rusty--The antimony in the monotype may be a problem, possibly inducing brittleness and fragmentation in your HP's. I would be more inclined to buy 1 lb. roll of 95/5 solder. That would make you about 35 lbs. of 40/1. Another option would be to try you mono and shoot a gallon jug of water with piece of cardboard a couple feet behind it. The hole or holes would show how much expansion or fragmentation took place.

[runfiverun]

antimony and tin do not harden the alloy the same.
nor do they affect the castability of the alloy the same.
or react the same under shear or stress of the alloy.
you are going to have to experiment some with what you have.
i'd suggest an antimonial content of around 1- 1.5% with some tin content maybe 1/2-3/4%
but you'd be right near ww's and pure at those numbers.
maybe .5% tin and 1% antimony water dropped would fit the bill.
either way you may have to buy some tin to get the numbers correct.
and i think i'd just get the tin and make up 20 lbs worth of the alloy i wanted.
that's gonna make about 600-800 or so boolits should be plenty for testing and carrying.

[454PB]

Theoretically, monotype is 9% Sn, 19% Sb, and 72% Pb. You can calculate to find the alloy mix you desire from there.

As an example, 2 parts pure lead and one part monotype should equal: 3% Sn, 6% Sb, and 91% Pb. But, as R5R has said, adding hardness by the use of antimony complicates the equation by reducing ductility. You gain hardness and lose ductility as part of the compromise.

30 to 1 is about 9BHN, 40 to 1 is about 8 BHN. To attain that hardness, I'd try 10 pounds pure lead and 2 pounds of monotype. I'm guessing here.....you would have to do a hardness test to confirm.

[Ohio Rusty]

Thanks for the replies all. I really didn't think about how the antimony would change the alloy. I have a rebate coupon for Menards. Maybe I'll use that for a roll of tin solder and just use that with pure lead and get the type of alloy I am looking for.
Thanks all .....
Ohio Rusty ><>

[220swiftfn]

Or you could probably trade for what you need.... (trade some mono for some bar solder and you'd be good to go....)

Dan