I got a deal on some 40/60 solder

[LoneWolf]

I would like to use 40/60 solder in place of 50/50 solder to make the lyman number 2 mix with my wheel weights. Can anyone give
me the ratio? Like its 9 pounds of wheel weights to 1 pound of 50/50 solder.. What would it be for 40/60 solder? I would like to run it in 44 mag 357 mag 45 auto 9mm 38 special

[William Yanda]

If the 40 in 40/60 is tin, 1 lb. of 40/60 has .4 x 16 ozs. of tin rather than the 8 ozs. of tin in the 50/50.
0.4 x 16 ounces =6.6 ounces.
8- 6.6=1.4 ounces of tin missing. I would add an extra .2 to a quarter lb. of the 40/60 and call it good.
Let us know how it shoots.

[Rich/WIS]

I'm confused by your formula for Lyman #2. Modern wheel weights (read last half century) are about 3% antimony and not the 5% needed for Lyman #2. Did the composition of wheel weight change recently and I missed it?

[mnewcomb59]

Wheel weights and dilute solder can get you about half way to Lyman #2.

You have to keep in mind that the solder dilutes your antimony, so you could probably get 2.5-2.5-95 alloy, but not possible to get 5-5-90 when your wheel weights are 2.5-3% antimony to start with.

Your WW plus solder will still be great bullet metal for what you are wanting to do with it and if you need harder you can water drop the bullets to get hardness close to 5-5-90 alloy.

[super6]

Look around for monotype or foundry type, That should make the math even more interesting, Hurts my head to think about it! Wheel weights+ 40/60 solder+type.

[alamogunr]

I use approx 2% tin with WW for almost all my casting. I admit I don't compete and don't hunt but I do get good boolits with sharp edges and good overall definition. I've never understood why in these days of lead shortages(think WW) Lyman #2 is still chased after.

I get the tin from a large stash of 40/60 solder that I "volunteered" to dispose of before I retired. I tried to sell some of it about 12 years ago and the only response I got was an offer to pay for the lead and take the tin for free. I decided to hold on to all of it except for a little I donated to a good cause. My heirs can decide what to do with it.

[Hanzy4200]

You guys are mathematical. I just add solder until I get proper fill out. I've never weighed it once.

[Jim22]

For the last 40 years or so the best mix of tin and lead for solder has been something like 73% tin and 27% lead because it makes the melting temperature of the solder the lowest. Solder manufacturers have responded by making quality solder 60% tin and 40% lead. It is for that reason I think your solder is prolly heavier in tin than lead. Plumbers used to solder copper pipe with lead base solder until the law changed requiring solder without lead. This doesn't apply to lead free solder. Since the requirement for solder without lead the mix has been different.

Any way, it is abnormal to find solder with more lead than tin.

Jim

[alamogunr]

For the last 40 years or so the best mix of tin and lead for solder has been something like 73% tin and 27% lead because it makes the melting temperature of the solder the lowest. Solder manufacturers have responded by making quality solder 60% tin and 40% lead. It is for that reason I think your solder is prolly heavier in tin than lead. Plumbers used to solder copper pipe with lead base solder until the law changed requiring solder without lead. This doesn't apply to lead free solder. Since the requirement for solder without lead the mix has been different.

Any way, it is abnormal to find solder with more lead than tin.

Jim


I can't argue with your statement since I just don't know. When I acquired my stash of 40/60(several hundred pounds), it was the standard solder for our manufacturing processes. The products were components for large power transformers and the use of solder was established years ago. For some reason research into changing material specifications for these transformers was not taking place.

When it is free, you don't quibble over a few percentage points.

[Echo]

You would have 160 ounces of alloy, of which 6.6 ounces is tin. Six point six divided by 160 is .04+, so you would have a tad over 4% Tin, and that is probably sufficient for good mold fill-out.

[MNruss]

I score my scrounged up bars of solder with marks that have 0.05 pounds of tin between them.
That way if I want to improve fill-out I just dangle it up to the next line in my 10 pound pot to add 1/2% tin.

Because of the price of tin, Lyman #2 is fairly spendy stuff.

Regards

Russ

[LoneWolf]

You would have 160 ounces of alloy, of which 6.6 ounces is tin. Six point six divided by 160 is .04+, so you would have a tad over 4% Tin, and that is probably sufficient for good mold fill-out.

So I would have 144oz of wheel weights and 16 oz of 40/60 solder. How do you know there is 6.6 oz of tin in this?

[alamogunr]

Using the alloy calculator that was posted on this board several years ago, I input 9 lbs pure lead and 1 lb 40/60 solder. this resulted in 4.0% Tin and 96% lead.

If some other base, such as an estimate of COWW(0.5% Sn, 3% Sb, .25 As, 92.6% PB) you get 4.45% Sn, 2.7% Sb, .23% As, 92.6% Pb

I would not be confident in there being 0.5% tin in COWW unless the WW are 20+ years old and maybe not then. Not something to be worried about. Even with my big stash of solder, I try to stay at about 2% tin.

[Winger Ed.]

You guys are mathematical. I just add solder until I get proper fill out. I've never weighed it once.


I thought I was the only one that did that.

[alamogunr]

My previous post may have left the impression that I calculate my alloys down to a fractional percentage. Nothing could be further from the truth. I basically guess at how much solder or "sort of solder" that I salvaged from a pot and hope that I get good boolits. I suspect that I'm overdoing it by a little bit since my calculating in my head is not precise and I compensate.

[bangerjim]

Forget "Lyman #2" and it's math formulas! Powder Coat everything you cast and forget sweating the mixing and math. And greasy lubes and smoke and leading and sticky boolits!

I just dump a bunch of "stuff" (knowing what's in them from XFR) in the pot, test it with my Cabine tester, and if it is 9-12 hardness, I use it ( + PC) for no leading up through 2,300 FPS. Never gone any higher, but there are those that do.

That Lyman #2 thing is old school thinking. Hardness is not nearly as important as fit. "FIT IS KING" today, not hardness. Slug all your barrels to find out the REAL size and cast accordingly.

Happy casting!

banger

ps..............download the FREE alloy calculator on here and it will answer all your "what if I....." questions very easily. I use it all the time, as do many casters on here do. It is not rocket science, but it gets you in the ballpark, which is all we need anyway.

[Outpost75]

I blend one half of a 4 lb, 11 oz. of Bell System #5 wiping solder 63% lead and 37 %:tin to 20 pounds of COWW and use it for everything using smokeless powder.

For BP cartridge use the same ratio with plumber's lead. No brainer.