My Clip On Weight Hardness

[RedRiver]

Everyone here keeps saying they are always getting around 12 bhn for their thardness. I consistently get 14-17. Always. Checked some ingots I cast two weeks ago and they are 16.6. My Lee tester shows Rotometals Lyman 2 at 14.9 bhn, so I know my tester is right on.

Not complaining though.

My 50/50 clip on/pure tests at 10.4 bhn. Makes it easy to stretch out the clip on.

[RedRiver]

My homebrew clip on ingots made of pure, linotype and chilled shot cast 5 days ago is at 11.5 and my homebrew Lyman 2 made with stick on, superhard and tin babbit is at 13, excited to see what they will be in a week from now. Mixtures were exact.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

wait to hear from more experienced people, but your second message doesn't sound right, BHN numbers are too low. interested to see what others have to say

[Krieger82]

I second Oklahoma, that second post should be much harder

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[RedRiver]

They are fresh cast. The number has been going up. I'm not worried at all.

[rancher1913]

I find not all coww are the same hardness, some are way hard and some are way soft. depends on the manufacture.

[runfiverun]

#2 is only 15bhn
same as terracorp mag alloy which is also called hardball or 2/6/92.

weird how BHN works.
cut linotype [22] in half with pure and the BHN drops to 15, cut it in half again and it drops to 12, cut that in half and it drops to 9.

[John Boy]

All of the Bhn calculators list COWW's as Bhn 12 ... this is the hardness of the weights years ago. I've melted over a ton of COWW's and the Bhn's have been either 13.5 or 15.4. Times have changed! The manufacturers are making them with additional alloys. Guess it's the cost of doing business

[Krieger82]

Too bad we dont know what thise alloys are....most likely tin and antimony, but it could be copper.....inquiring minds want to know

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[Dusty Bannister]

[QUOTE=Krieger82;3946157]Too bad we dont know what thise alloys are....most likely tin and antimony, but it could be copper.....inquiring minds want to know


http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?231905-Clip-On-Wheel-Weight-XrF-Data

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Everyone here keeps saying they are always getting around 12 bhn for their thardness. I consistently get 14-17. Always. Checked some ingots I cast two weeks ago and they are 16.6. My Lee tester shows Rotometals Lyman 2 at 14.9 bhn, so I know my tester is right on.

Not complaining though.

My 50/50 clip on/pure tests at 10.4 bhn. Makes it easy to stretch out the clip on.

A trace/small percentage of calcium and/or other impurities in your COWW could cause BHN to read high...it's a false high, BTW. Thorough Fluxing, should remove those impurities and you should be able to measure a BHN closer to expected.

"Fluxing the Melt"
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_4_Fluxing.htm

Also, measuring hardness of ingots can give you a different reading than a Boolit that you cast, due to how the alloy cools, but that difference shouldn't be much more than 1 point, unless you water drop.

another good post (a quote of Geargnasher)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?326921-A-fluxing-question&p=3940424&viewfull=1#post3940424

[Oklahoma Rebel]

good luck with those red river

[Mitch]

coww are about 15bhn give or take here with an LBT tester

[308Jeff]

I find not all coww are the same hardness, some are way hard and some are way soft. depends on the manufacture.

I've yet to test hardness, but this is what I gathered simply from using sidecutters to verify my sorted WWs were lead. They were definitely all lead, but there was also a pretty strong variance in how easy they were to cut. I know this is "seat of the pants", but significant enough for me to learn not all lead COW's are the same.

[RedRiver]

A trace/small percentage of calcium and/or other impurities in your COWW could cause BHN to read high...it's a false high, BTW. Thorough Fluxing, should remove those impurities and you should be able to measure a BHN closer to expected.

"Fluxing the Melt"
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Chapter_4_Fluxing.htm

Also, measuring hardness of ingots can give you a different reading than a Boolit that you cast, due to how the alloy cools, but that difference shouldn't be much more than 1 point, unless you water drop.

another good post (a quote of Geargnasher)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?326921-A-fluxing-question&p=3940424&viewfull=1#post3940424


I am well aware of how to flux. Just did it less than an hour ago with stuff I picked up this morning.

[GrayTech]

#2 is only 15bhn
same as terracorp mag alloy which is also called hardball or 2/6/92.

weird how BHN works.
cut linotype [22] in half with pure and the BHN drops to 15, cut it in half again and it drops to 12, cut that in half and it drops to 9.
Considering pure lead is around 8, that being your lowest possible BHN those numbers don't seem so weird.

[lightman]

I've yet to test hardness, but this is what I gathered simply from using sidecutters to verify my sorted WWs were lead. They were definitely all lead, but there was also a pretty strong variance in how easy they were to cut. I know this is "seat of the pants", but significant enough for me to learn not all lead COW's are the same.

I find one style of weight that is noticeably harder than the others. It is the same shape as some of the zinc weights and causes me to make a test cut every time! The difference in alloys is one of the reasons that I smelt is fairly large batches. Trying to even it out some. Also, for me, wheelweights tend to be the place that I mix in any odd lead that is not soft.

[RedRiver]

I had a butt load of those in my last buckets. Their state banned lead weights so there were hundreds of that type, brand new in there.

[OS OK]

One batch of COWW smelted and tested & stamped w/info. in 2/15 were put into Pb stash @ 11.6 BHN.
Same ingots along with various different batches were re-tested in 10/16 @ 14.? through 16.4 BHN.

interesting . . . huh?

[fredj338]

My clip ww go right in that 12-13bhn range. They are a mix of older & some new though. Haven't had lead ww here in like 5yrs now.

[truckerdave397]

Gaylord t to test hardness, but this is what I gathered simply from using sidecutters to verify my sorted WWs were lead. They were definitely all lead, but there was also a pretty strong variance in how easy they were to cut. I know this is "seat of the pants", but significant enough for me to learn not all lead COW's are the same.

I noticed that in that gaylord box that I have been digging in this week.

[Tenbender]

My clip on's are 8 to 9. ????

[RedRiver]

8 to 9? Dang, that is low. Heck, when I mix 50/50 with pure, I'm getting 10 to 12.

[hermans]

I use a Cabine Tree tester for my measurements of CCOW alloy. Every year when I cast my boolits for the year's shooting I make the measurement....I suppose just because I can.
This year, the same day as being cast the BHN is 9.5. It then takes about 21 days to creep up to 15, where it stays. This was exactly the same as the last 2 years, so I am happy with the consistency. I use this alloy for 45 ACP and 9mm.

[truckerdave397]

I had some clip on wheel weights tested today at work. They tested 96% lead and 4% antimony. No tin.