Can WQ boolits be softened?

[zomby woof]

I mixed up a batch of unknown alloy and thought it was going to be softer than it is. It's for my .45acp. My sizer won't be here for a while and these things are hard. I need to size off .003. If I heat them up in a toaster oven and let them cool, will that soften them?

[MtGun44]

I have not tried it, but it should.

Bill

[imashooter2]

It does soften them. I've done that very thing.

[runfiverun]

yes it will.
get them to about 400 for about 15 minutes and then let them just sit and cool.

[zomby woof]

I put them in my toaster oven for 30 minutes on 400 degrees and let them cool. They soften up.

[williamwaco]

Ditto.

Next time, check for hardness after getting a dozen or so bullets from the pot.


.

[btroj]

What happens if you boil them for a bit?

[Dennis Eugene]

Just don't boil them to long. Wouldn't them HARD boiled.:kidding: Dennis

[afish4570]

If you load 3 samples up with a moderate charge of powder (so a tight boolit doesn't cause an overly high pressure load). They might cycle thru your gun and perform ok......If they don't chamber, just break down. ;);)afish4570

[RobS]

Yes, putting water quenched WW boolits into an oven at 400 degrees will bring the hardness down to whatever the alloys hardness was to be as aircooled. It will also take the boolits time to age harden to the alloys potential just as if they had come from the mold. The amount of time to place the boolits in the oven can vary.

I have actually waterquenched boolits and then anneal them back down to whatever hardness I wanted by simply adjusting the temps in the oven. This can be useful if you are shooting a range of pressures (CUP/PSI) in a variety of guns or just a picky gun or two. Cast up a bunch and then later cook them to your liking. :mrgreen:

[Wayne Smith]

Guys, the sticker here is "unknown alloy". Granted, most likely all of you are right. Remember, though, that water quenching does not harden alloy that is already hard, or doesn't harden it much. If that "unknown alloy" is Linotype will tempering it soften it much?

[imashooter2]

What happens if you boil them for a bit?

They get hot and wet and the hardness doesn't change.

[Wolfer]

I always had better luck leaving them in the oven after I turned it off so they cooled off as slow as possible.

[imashooter2]

I always had better luck leaving them in the oven after I turned it off so they cooled off as slow as possible.

That's the way I did it as well.

[MBTcustom]

If you heat 'em up to 700 degrees, they get real soft! Runny even!
(sorry, couldn't resist!)

[trk]

You can anneal them to different hardnesses.

Heat them up to a specific temperature, let the bullets soak at that temperature and turn off the heat. When cool measure the hardness and record the temps and times.
Then try a higher or lower temperature. Repeat.

You will find that you can bring the hardness to a predictable level.

But then, that will change over time...