How to Make Soft Alloy Out of Monotype

[35 Whelen]

I have quite a bit of block type that I assume is monotype. I really shoot nothing harder than wheelweights so I'd to cut this stuff with lead. Anybody know the ratio of monotype to lead to get wheelweight, or softer alloy?

Thanks,
35W

[GLL]

Trade your valuable monotype for WW alloy !

Jerry

[rexherring]

This site has some formulas for mixing.

http://www.lasc.us/castbulletnotes.htm

[badbob454]

seconds .... trade it some one has some soft lead they will trade you ,

[btroj]

I too have lots of monotype. For general handgun shooting I have been using about 15 percent monotype to 85 percent lead pipe. I have gone as high as 20/80 and didn't notice a difference. Is is softer than WW but works quite well for my handgun shooting.

I wouldn't go much higher than 25/75 unless you want some pretty stiff bullets.

See if your local scrapyard has lead pipe or sheathing. Lead sheet is good too. They all work well for diluting monotype into a more useful alloy.

I never trade or sell anything as useful as monotype. Keep it to use, reasonably pure lead is easy enough to find.

[35 Whelen]

I too have lots of monotype. For general handgun shooting I have been using about 15 percent monotype to 85 percent lead pipe. I have gone as high as 20/80 and didn't notice a difference. Is is softer than WW but works quite well for my handgun shooting.

I wouldn't go much higher than 25/75 unless you want some pretty stiff bullets.

See if your local scrapyard has lead pipe or sheathing. Lead sheet is good too. They all work well for diluting monotype into a more useful alloy.

I never trade or sell anything as useful as monotype. Keep it to use, reasonably pure lead is easy enough to find.

Thanks. That was exactly what I wanted to know. Am looking for an alloy sinilar to ACWW.

35W

[btroj]

Because monotype can vary due to how "used up" it is you may need to play a bit with exact proportions. I actually weight mine out. I weigh the pipe first, get it melted, then add the proper amount of type. The type being in blocks is easy to weigh out pretty accurately.
be prepared to flux a bunch as the monotype tends to give a lumpy dross. Add a bunch of sawdust and stir, stir, stir. The dross with to into the melt, it just takes some time.

[bumpo628]

Assuming that the monotype is 9% tin, 19% antimony, 72% lead:
Here are some ratios and you can pick which one you would like to try.
I recommend starting on the low% end and working your way up.

1 lb monotype + 17.00 lbs pure lead = alloy with 0.50% tin, 1.06% antimony
1 lb monotype + 11.00 lbs pure lead = alloy with 0.75% tin, 1.58% antimony
1 lb monotype + 8.00 lbs pure lead = alloy with 1.00% tin, 2.11% antimony
1 lb monotype + 6.20 lbs pure lead = alloy with 1.25% tin, 2.64% antimony
1 lb monotype + 5.00 lbs pure lead = alloy with 1.50% tin, 3.17% antimony
1 lb monotype + 4.15 lbs pure lead = alloy with 1.75% tin, 3.69% antimony
1 lb monotype + 3.50 lbs pure lead = alloy with 2.00% tin, 4.22% antimony

You can also download my alloy calculator in the link below and fiddle around with the numbers if you want to try something else. Let me know if you have any questions.

[rexherring]

Because monotype can vary due to how "used up" it is you may need to play a bit with exact proportions. I actually weight mine out. I weigh the pipe first, get it melted, then add the proper amount of type. The type being in blocks is easy to weigh out pretty accurately.
be prepared to flux a bunch as the monotype tends to give a lumpy dross. Add a bunch of sawdust and stir, stir, stir. The dross with to into the melt, it just takes some time.

Boy are you are right on the lumpy dross, takes a lot of fluxing but it sure does work good to harden up the Pb.

[ShooterAZ]

The one pound monotype to five pounds lead is what I would mix. This BHN I believe would be very similar to WW.

[Tom Myers]

I have quite a bit of block type that I assume is monotype. I really shoot nothing harder than wheelweights so I'd to cut this stuff with lead. Anybody know the ratio of monotype to lead to get wheelweight, or softer alloy?
Thanks, 35W

Mixing pure lead with monotype will not change the ratio of tin to antimony but you can approximate the calculated initial brinell hardness of wheelweights (12.88) by
mixing 5 pounds of monotype with 17 pounds of pure lead for 22 pounds of alloy.
To make a 10 pound batch, mix 2.27 pounds of monotype with 7.73 pounds of pure lead.
Or mix 1 pound of monotype with 3.41 pounds of pure lead for a 4.41 pound mix.

http://www.tmtpages.com/LinkSkyImages/forum_images/Alloys/MonotypeToWW.png

Precision Bullet Casting Alloy Calculator Version 1.1 (http://www.tmtpages.com/Alloy/alloycalc.htm)


Hope this helps