50/50 solder

[cheeseheadtab]

1st time posting on this site. I have a question on 1/8" rosin core solder. I have been using 5 lbs. ww & 5 lbs. range lead with about a 1/2 pound of solder mixed in with it. I flux with candle wax. Have no way to test the hardness except by using a ballpeen hammer to put a dimple in ingots. compared to pure lead I can tell the mix I make is harder. I read on another site to take a 3 pound hammer & a anvil & smack my bullet & smack a store bought bullet {I have some missouri cast bullets} they both looked about the same after smashing. They are shooting good out of my ruger super blackhawk 44 mag. No leading at all with 8 grains of Unique. 240 grain swc. It took me a while to work out my leading problems I had but with the info from this site it worked out good. The only problem is I spend more time looking for lead at the range then I do shooting.
cheeseheadtab

[454PB]

So what is the question?

[bumpo628]

Welcome to the site!

First off, your alloy is somewhere around the following:
10 lbs Clip-on WW + 10 lbs Range lead + 0.5 lbs 50/50 solder = alloy with 1.5% tin, 2% antimony. The hardness should be about 11 bhn.

I don't have a hardness tester either, but I have found that a spring-loaded punch works pretty consistently. Like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/spring-loaded-center-punch-621.html
If you want a nice flat surface to make a test mark, you can put a thin sheet of metal between the mold halves. Then you'll end up with two semi-boolits.

Another simple hardness test is to put two boolits in a vise, tip to tip. Then smash them together and you can compare which one is harder based on the deformation.

If they're shooting good, then you're doing something right. Keep up the good work.

[cheeseheadtab]

my question is about the solder I am using. The 50/50 stuff I have is I think acid core not rosin as I wrote. Sorry about that might be my age. I picked up about 20 lbs. of it at a garage sale awhile back & thought I would try it to see how the bullets would turn out. Will it affect the lead in the long run? I was watching the Packers while I was typing the question.

[Springfield]

The acid and rosin burn off, in my experience. The rosin core smokes like the dickens too!