Roofing lead and linotype

[Moparformances]

i picked up a few hundred lbs of roofing lead.. I currently have access to more linotype then i can shoot in my lifetime, but i have to buy it..

the roof lead was dirt cheap..

can i should i just add tin to the roof lead if so how much, or can i should i mix it with the lino type?? what ratio would be recomended??

[ShooterAZ]

Depends on what you are using it for. You could just add tin and be fine. If it's for handgun use I'd mix the lino in a ratio of 1/3. For rifle, a 1/1 ratio will give you "hardball" alloy.

[Moparformances]

Depends on what you are using it for. You could just add tin and be fine. If it's for handgun use I'd mix the lino in a ratio of 1/3. For rifle, a 1/1 ratio will give you "hardball" alloy.

thank you

[Moparformances]

how much tin would i should i add?

mostly pistol calibers

[bangerjim]

Download the FREE alloy calcuator on here........and this and all future questions on mixing alloys will be answered for you!

Good tool everybody that melts lead should have Avaialble. I use it all the time.

Bangerjim

[P Flados]

Even for handguns, there are a range of "optimum" blends.

Most of my handguns are happy with my range lead that is on the soft side, around 8.5 bhn. Even though I can get some range lead, I also have also been buying some at the local scrap yard at around $1 per pound.

With wheelweights & the various printing alloys rapidly becoming unobtainium at most locations, you hard lead is worth more than your soft lead.

Unlike hard, I exect reasonable volumes of lead from roofing vents, sheet lead & other forms of near pure will be around in the scrap market for decades to come.

Unless you need a harder than average lead for your handguns, I would probably try a batch of 4 soft to one hard & see of it works. If so you will be able to "horde" your hard stuff a bit longer.

If you really have more hard than you can use, try to find someone to do a FTF swap with. I would be willing to chip in 15% extra if someone local had a stash of hard & was willing to trade for soft. Right now the only hard I can reliably get would be through the mail and shipping costs are what they are.

[Moparformances]

Download the FREE alloy calcuator on here........and this and all future questions on mixing alloys will be answered for you!

Good tool everybody that melts lead should have Avaialble. I use it all the time.

Bangerjim

thank you

[Moparformances]

Even for handguns, there are a range of "optimum" blends.
:quote:
Most of my handguns are happy with my range lead that is on the soft side, around 8.5 bhn. Even though I can get some range lead, I also have also been buying some at the local scrap yard at around $1 per pound.

With wheelweights & the various printing alloys rapidly becoming unobtainium at most locations, you hard lead is worth more than your soft lead.

Unlike hard, I exect reasonable volumes of lead from roofing vents, sheet lead & other forms of near pure will be around in the scrap market for decades to come.
quote:
Unless you need a harder than average lead for your handguns, I would probably try a batch of 4 soft to one hard & see of it works. If so you will be able to "horde" your hard stuff a bit longer.

If you really have more hard than you can use, try to find someone to do a FTF swap with. I would be willing to chip in 15% extra if someone local had a stash of hard & was willing to trade for soft. Right now the only hard I can reliably get would be through the mail and shipping costs are what they are.:/quote:

good advice

thank you

[brewer12345]

mopar, if you are shooting low pressure cartridges (38 special, 45 ACP, etc.), I would say you could get away with just sweetening up your pure with some lino, perhaps 1 part lino to 3 or 4 parts pure. 3:1 would give you 3% antimony, 1% tin. If you just want to add tin to your pure, 2 to 3% would give you a very usable alloy for low pressure. I haven't experimented with much harder alloys for rifle (will pour some this Fall), but my experience is that COWW plus 2 to 3% tin (roughly 3% antimony, 3% tin) is good for gas checked rifle loads up to 1900 or so FPS. When I pour more 30 cal rifle boolits (which have to put up with a relatively fast twist of 11" in my rifle) I will try a 1:1 mix of pure and lino. That should give me 6% antimony and 2% tin for about 18 BHN air cooled. If you look at Missouri Bullet's site, they sell this stuff as their "magic alloy" and offer all kinds of plain based boolits cast out of this alloy for quite high pressure cartridges. The downside is that it is probably a lot more brittle than a tin alloy, so for big game hunting something like Lyman #2 (5% tin, 5% antimony) might be a better choice unless you are willing to go rather soft.

[Moparformances]

mopar, if you are shooting low pressure cartridges (38 special, 45 ACP, etc.), I would say you could get away with just sweetening up your pure with some lino, perhaps 1 part lino to 3 or 4 parts pure. 3:1 would give you 3% antimony, 1% tin. If you just want to add tin to your pure, 2 to 3% would give you a very usable alloy for low pressure. I haven't experimented with much harder alloys for rifle (will pour some this Fall), but my experience is that COWW plus 2 to 3% tin (roughly 3% antimony, 3% tin) is good for gas checked rifle loads up to 1900 or so FPS. When I pour more 30 cal rifle boolits (which have to put up with a relatively fast twist of 11" in my rifle) I will try a 1:1 mix of pure and lino. That should give me 6% antimony and 2% tin for about 18 BHN air cooled. If you look at Missouri Bullet's site, they sell this stuff as their "magic alloy" and offer all kinds of plain based boolits cast out of this alloy for quite high pressure cartridges. The downside is that it is probably a lot more brittle than a tin alloy, so for big game hunting something like Lyman #2 (5% tin, 5% antimony) might be a better choice unless you are willing to go rather soft.

great info... thank you

[MaryB]

3.7 of pure lead to 1 pound lino approximates Lyman #2... 1% low on the tin but close enough. I use that mix for everything when I have it.

[lightman]

I would buy all of both that I could afford if the price was reasonable. Depending on the intended use you can mix them anywhere from 1 to 1 up to 10 to 1. Linotype is becoming a thing of the past and lead of any kind is getting harder to find at affordable prices.

[Moparformances]

3.7 of pure lead to 1 pound lino approximates Lyman #2... 1% low on the tin but close enough. I use that mix for everything when I have it.

good advice.. thank you

[Moparformances]

I would buy all of both that I could afford if the price was reasonable.

i buy a couple hundred lbs of Linotype each year while on vacation...



Linotype is becoming a thing of the past and lead of any kind is getting harder to find at affordable prices.

i have a few customers that bring me lead from time to time.. mystery metal for .50 a lb.. its a matter of always looking and talking to every one i know... If i can find in in the great state of Komifornia, its available..