Mixing Various Alloys-What Would You Do?

[alamogunr]

I've got ample supplies of various alloys such as COWW, both old and relatively recent and range lead that I've scrounged as well as quite a supply that I purchased from a commercial caster(supplied sheriffs dept). I sent samples to Cliff(typz2slo) for analysis and all are deficient in either tin or antimony or both, tin mostly.

I'm considering making up a custom alloy consisting of equal amounts of the above and then adding solder, monotype or enrichment metal, of which I have plenty, to make just about anything I want. The monotype comes up a little short of the standard composition, mostly tin, I guess because it was well used, but since I know what it is from the analysis, it shouldn't matter.

I suspect that I'm overthinking this but it would simplify things and give me confidence in what I'm using.

What do you folks think of this?

[Mitch]

It sounds like you have a good start with the lead supply and everything you need to make what you need.You have the right idea on the mixing.i am not sure about mixing everything together.being I don't know what alloys you have or what you need to come out with in the end.pick the alloy you want to have.then use the alloys you have that will come closest to what you want and go for it.keep it simple don't worried to much or get lost in the numbers.few few points in BHN wont matter much.Boolit fit is king all else come after.relax have fun.the good part is lead is reuseable and the propain tank can be refilled.you are on the right path you need to get your feet wet lol.
I find 90% of the time I need to add tin seems to be plenty of antimony and not enough tin most of the time.So I get the antimony where I want it and add some tin 2 to 3% tin is all you need to get good fill.have you looked at the free lead calculator here or the formula on the rotometals site?they are a big help in decideing on what you need.
Just have to ask what are you planning to cast for.Right now I cast for handgun only 38/357,45 colt and acp.

[Yodogsandman]

You don't say what you want to shoot with it, pistol/revolver, rifle, HV rifle, ML. Don't know how much of which alloy would best suit your needs without knowing. Best to keep everything separate until you know what you want from it. Consider that purchasing any new gun might change your needs too, in the future.

[alamogunr]

I guess I tried to simplify my OP too much. The four main alloys that I have kept separate are: Old COWW, New(er) COWW, Range Scrap salvaged by me and Range Scrap(purchased from an individual). The tin content of the four ranges from zero to .3% and the antimony content ranges from .91% to 2.50%.

When I do a sample calculation using the alloy calculator I copied from Cast Boolits, using equal quantities of each alloy, I get the following:
Pb 97.8%
Sn .16%
Sb 1.79%
Cu .22%

I can ignore the copper since it only shows up in the range lead I salvaged and I can use a smaller ratio of that alloy in any mix if it becomes a problem. Once I have a base alloy, using the alloy calculator, I can make just about anything I want. I don't intend to mix all my supply since I don't think I will live long enough to use it all up anyway. Not counting solder and enrichment alloy, I've got over 2 tons of COWW and range scrap. I haven't even listed my pure and SOWW. BTW, I've been doing this without worrying about alloy analysis, other than throwing in some solder for tin, for over 20 years and haven't noticed any problems. As I said, I'm probably overthinking this.

It might interest some that what I characterize as Old COWW and New COWW are very similar in composition. Old has .34% Sn and 2.5%Sb. New has .29 Sn and 2.3% Sb. The two are separated by about 10-12 years and the New is at least 5 years old. All compositions were analyzed by a member here.

[runfiverun]

I'd go with your numbers and add a little tin .75-1.0% total will be plenty.
mix it all up unto one big batch of alloy.
this gives you a mostly know and consistent batch of alloy to work with while you source your next bunch of stuff to work with.

[alamogunr]

Yodogsandman: I wasn't looking for specific alloys, just the advisability of mixing up a general purpose alloy that could be modified for the uses you mentioned except for ML and HV rifle. I have pure for ML and I'm not at all interested in high velocity in rifles. If I was going to engage in cast boolits at high velocity in rifles, I should have started long before I hit my 74th year. More work than I can work up any enthusiasm for.

[alamogunr]

r5r: I would mostly agree with that and, since I have all the raw materials, I could even go further than that and play around like I mentioned in the previous post. I didn't mention it but I even have some pulverized antimony that I got from Bill Ferguson years ago. I could mix up a batch for medium rifle use. Never tried it but I've read a lot of information about adding antimony into an alloy. From what I understand the main ingredient is patience and some of Bill's pink flux(which I have).

[runfiverun]

it's easy enough to add in if you have the patience.
you won't need it.
I use an alloy super close to that now [maybe a little higher antimony] and it does what I want it to do.
including higher velocity rifle stuff.
I air cool for pistol and water drop for rifle.
for my 9mm's I add a little lino-type.
I doubt 2-3 bhn would make a bit of difference either way.