Measuring & Using Specific Gravities of Lead Alloys

[texasmac]

If you’ve ever wondered about the purity of the lead/tin casting alloy you’ve mixed or purchased, there is a relatively simple process to determine the percentages. But first, using a good reloading scale, you must determine the specific gravity (SG) of the alloy. I recently received permission from SPG®, Inc. to post, on my website, an article I authored on the subject. It was published in the Summer 2014 edition (Issue #86) of the Black Powder Cartridge magazine. Following is the link to the article titled, Measuring & Using Specific Gravities of Lead Alloys: http://www.texas-mac.com/Measuring_and_Using_Specific_Gravities_of_Lead_All oys.html.

Wayne

[el34]

Good article, easy to set up. I had a bunch of solder given to me but no indication of Sn/Pb ratio so I measured density using water displacement to weight. That science class comes in handy!

[johnnysespresso]

texasmac, a great big thank you for that link. There is a link in that story to an article on specific gravity of lead-tin-antimony alloys.