Ratio please

[MSgtUSMC]

I've got ingots made from a Lyman ingot mold. Some are pure lead, some are linotype, some are wheel weights. I have an almost unlimited supply of tin babbit. What ratio should I use when casting for rifle and when casting for handgun? The number of ingots is substantial. I just need to know the correct formula.

[John Boy]

Sgt - calculate any ratio that you want. Babbitt not on the program though. If I remember correctly, tin babbitt runs about 87% SN. Lead babbitt is much lower

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/downloads/alloycalculator.zip

[jhalcott]

http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm
here is another site you can read. I use straight wheel weights for a lot of casting ,rifle and handgun. I use a Lyman #2 alloy for rifles and Linotype for some target/varmint shooting. I never add tin to a mix UNLESS it is really needed. I will mix lead/lino in a 3 parts lino to 6 parts lead then see what the brinnel # is. add more lino to make it harder IF needed.

[jhalcott]

I was wondering what other metals are in your tin babbit. We had tin babbit bearings at work .They were huge ,weighing several tons, I tried to make bullets from some of the scraps.
What ever they alloyed them with was NOT good to make bullets with. I ruined a LOT of lead trying though!

[MSgtUSMC]

Thanks for the info. Anybody know the composition of lead-free solder? I've got a good quantity of that too.

[2muchstuf]

Hi Msgt, 95-5 is 95% tin 5% antimony. Some is marked "silver" ,I don't know the make up , but I know that it is lead-free. I don't think that I would use the silver for boolits myself. Maybe others will chime in about it.

[MSgtUSMC]

2muchstuf: Thanks for info on lead- free solder. None of it states a silver content. But then again it doesn't state any content at all, just lead-free.

jhalcot: I don't know what other metals are in my babbit . The guys who make it available only said it is mostly tin. A Wikipedia search showed three types of babbit and their composition. First 90% tin, 10% copper. Second 89% tin, 7% antimony, 4% copper. Third 80% lead, 15% antimony, 5% tin. Obviously the third would be best for casting bullets. With the other two having copper I don't know if I would try to use either one. But then again I read on one of the forums that if it is melted at a low temperature the lead and tin will melt and the copper will float to the top and can be skimmed off. I'm wondering if anyone has done that.

[JSnover]

I asked The Antimony Man about copper content a few months ago. His answer was that by the time you mix your alloy, you'll have less than 1% copper. It won't do any harm and it is easily skimmed off, since it solidifies at a higher temperature.