Range scrap and wheel weights

[Dunross]

While I'm waiting on Accurate to make a mold for me I have started cleaning lead in anticipation. I have on-again off-again collected lead over the years so I have a fair amount on hand already. About twenty five years ago we had an operation in town that made fishing sinkers that went out of the business and sold off their raw material and equipment. I ended up with a forty mil can about three quarters full of mixed lead. It looks to be about 80% range scrap to 20% clip on wheel weights.

It seems to me this might be a fair casting alloy as is without having to add anything? We'll be powder coating and for the rifle bullets gas checking.

What say you?

[454PB]

The only way to tell is to melt a sample and cast some boolits. I'd guess you may need some Sn for good casting properties. I PC and use gas checks on selected boolits, but neither of those processes overcome poorly cast and wrinkled boolits.

[Mk42gunner]

Try it before you start adding extra money to it. It may work fine as it is, may not either.

One thing is for sure; if you like casting, that amount of lead won't last long.

Robert

[Forrest r]

95%+ of my casting needs are done with 8/9bhn range scrap when air cooled and 12/13bhn when water dropped. I use this type of alloy for loads up to 25,000psi.

The only time I really need a harder alloy is when I cast for hv/high pressure loads.

[tazman]

I use range scrap for all my handgun casting.
Clip on wheelweights will water harden quite nicely for rifle use.

[Dunross]

I've got some Linotype that I bought years ago that I'll melt a pot full of in case the first batch is too soft. I'm going to try water quenching first to see if that will work before I start blending in the good stuff.

[Soundguy]

Try it before you start adding extra money to it. It may work fine as it is, may not either.

One thing is for sure; if you like casting, that amount of lead won't last long.

Robert

Agreed. Try it.

I'm casting using straight range scrap right now. Once I get a good melt temp and warmed molds.its fine..no extra tin needed..and bhn is running about 10... Great for handgun stuff, though I gas check some self defense up 357's If I do rifle I move up to Lyman #2 and gas check.

[Soundguy]

I use range scrap for all my handgun casting.
Clip on wheelweights will water harden quite nicely for rifle use.


Yup.. Range scrap is generally decent for plain handgun.

[mdi]

I do a lot of casting with my "Mystery Metal", a mix of just about any lead I've used for boolits. Wheel weights (Co, So), range lead, and scrap accumulated over the years. A few years ago I got my ingots mixed up so I melted them all together and got a decent casting BHN 11 alloy. Works in all my handgun bullets, but sometimes leads in my Tokerev 9mm. I keep my linotype, #5 and pure separate, but mostly cast with my "MM"...

[tazman]

I've got some Linotype that I bought years ago that I'll melt a pot full of in case the first batch is too soft. I'm going to try water quenching first to see if that will work before I start blending in the good stuff.

Pour the lino into small ingots. When mixing with range scrap, all it takes to make a good hardenable alloy is no more than one pound to a 20lb pot of range scrap. By water quenching from the mold, a sweetened range scrap boolit will get up near 20bhn. Plenty hard for gas checked rifle boolits.
The range scrap already has most of what you need in it and will usually water quench to around 15-18 bhn.