alloys

[willys2a]

Just getting into casting..... I have pure lead from medical shielding and do no know how much linotype or wheel weights to add to every ten pounds to make it hard enough to cast 200 grain 45ACP rounds....any help would be great

[Stick_man]

Willys2a, first off, welcome to the forum! You have come to THE BEST place for answers on the net. Great bunch of guys here, always willing to help out.

Your .45ACP rounds don't need to be very hard to be good. You could probably get away with going 3:1 (pure to WW) plus a tiny bit of tin with the .45s. I don't shoot the .45s (yet), so others will need to chime in about what works best for them. What are you shooting them out of? What powder are you using? What velocity are you aiming for? They can all affect the alloy choice.

A lot of people mix wheel weights (clip on type) 50/50 with pure for most all handguns running up to around 1200 fps. Some people even go with that for much of their rifle shooting, especially if using a gas check.

Do lots of reading here. Most, if not all, of your questions have undoubtedlly already been asked and answered. Bumpo has a good alloy calculator that will help you with your mixing once you have determined the hardness you desire.

Now, on another note... your name "willys2a", it is not, by chance, in reference to the CJ2a is it? Lots of fun there. :)

Welcome to the addiction!

[220swiftfn]

Well, if you want to make something like Teracorp "Hardball" (Bhn 16) you'd mix pure and Lino 1:1. If you want to stretch out your WW's you could go with 1:1 WW and pure, but you might have to add a pinch of tin for fillout. Personally, I'd be going a little thinner than the hardball mix, say something like 1 lb lino to 2 lbs pure, should give you 3 lbs at 94% lead, 4.5% antimony, and 1.5% tin.


Dan

[southpaw]

If you mix 3-1 (pure-lino) you will have 1%tin and 3% antimony. That is pretty close to ww with a little more tin and would be plenty hard for the 45. You could go even softer, say in the 50/50 ww-pure range and still be good. But remember, fit is king.

Jerry Jr.

[madsenshooter]

How do I get hold of Fit? I been wanting to talk to the guy in charge!

[willys2a]

thanks for the info helpfull...and yes Stick man I have a 48 Willys as well....need to someday find a cheep hobby haha

[letsmeltlead2693]

Melting lead is a cheap hobby! You must have the gold plated lead that got by... :)