Using Foundry Type?

[mkj4him]

I have Foundry type as well as pure lead, WW, tin and Keel Lead (Bh between WW and pure).
What is most appropriate alloy percentage recipe for magnum pistol rounds(357, 44 and 460 Rowland) as well as hi-velocity rifle (6.5 swede, 7.5 Swiss, 308, 30-06, etc…)
I plan on using powder coat and gas checks (when appropriate) or possibly ALOX tumble lube.
Trying to keep it simple.

I have a Lee 4-20 bottom pour if that matters

[jsizemore]

WW alloy all the way to Lyman #2 will work depending on the powder you use. You can strengthen the WW alloy by adding 1-2% tin.

[farmbif]

here is some info that you should find very useful in mixing your alloys for the bullets you desire to cast.

http://www.lasc.us/Kelter_Cast_Bullet_Alloys2.pdf

[mkj4him]

Thank you for the link. I have sixty pounds of foundry type I would like to use for said purposes. Looking for recipes using the various leads I have on hand. I have MUCH more of the keel lead than the others.

[dtknowles]

3 keel lead to 1 foundry type should be good maybe even go 4 to 1. You might need or want to add tin to 4 to 1 to make if flow better but probably not necessary but would be a more balanced alloy.

Tim

[dtknowles]

4 to 1 assuming the keel lead is almost all lead and the foundry type is really 18/28/54 would give you 3.6% tin 5.6% antimony and 90.8% lead. That will perform like Lyman #2 good for Rifles and Magnum handguns and would water drop harden but unhardened would have a BHN of higher than 15.
Tim

[mkj4him]

Beautiful info. Thanks. The keel is a little harder than pie at two weeks post casting. Not quite like WW.

[Gobeyond]

Yeah, I concur with 15lbs pure to 5 lbs foundry. Even if 12.5-23- 64.5. It would be hard enough for powder coat. Maybe use the boat keel for a little extra hardness. I always shot bullets that we’re 12-18 from stores in 44 magnum. But powder coat doesn’t need that expensive, does it? 15 seems fine in everything.

God bless ya
, OP

[NObamain2012]

My foundy type was analyzed at 25.3 antimony, 13.9 tin, and 0.63 copper

[Gobeyond]

My foundy type was analyzed at 25.3 antimony, 13.9 tin, and 0.63 copper

I got mine at Roto metals, only one I know. You are saying there are others that vary a little? The finished product would vary a little. Where’d you get it, out of curiosity. I used mine to harden alloy and to make hardball down the line for rifle, possibly high speed. But Lyman #2 is tougher.

I had no copper which makes for some extra hardness.

[NObamain2012]

I got mine at Roto metals, only one I know. You are saying there are others that vary a little? The finished product would vary a little. Where’d you get it, out of curiosity. I used mine to harden alloy and to make hardball down the line for rifle, possibly high speed. But Lyman #2 is tougher.

I had no copper which makes for some extra hardness.
Mine was purchased as scrap 10 years ago.If you purchased it from rotometals, then the analysis should be golden. I

[mkj4him]

I went back and dug up my old order info from Rotometals.
My Foundry Type is 12%-Tin, 26%-Antimony, balance-Lead trace of CU and FE, as listed by Roto.
With this in mind, would I still do a 3:1 mix Keel to Foundry for hard cast magnum or rifle rounds?
Or maybe the 4:1 with 2% tin added?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Maybe do a small sample of the 4:1 without adding tin, cast a boolit, then measure hardness in a couple weeks.

[mkj4him]

Sounds like a plan.

So foundry alloy can cause bullets to grow over time? How much are we talking?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Sounds like a plan.

So foundry alloy can cause bullets to grow over time? How much are we talking?
a couple years

[fredj338]

I use range scrap with lino 4-1 & it does fine with magnum revo or full 10mm pressures. I do powder coat. For foundry I bet 5-1 should work fine with something close to ww, especially PC & water dropped from the PC oven.

[405grain]

Last November Rotometals was having a sale on foundry metal. If I remember correctly they were selling 34 pound boxes of foundry type for $106 (with free shipping). I bought two of those. The basic, (and kind of rough), formula for foundry metal is that if you cut it 50/50 with lead you've got Linotype. Then if you cut that again 50/50 with lead you've got hardball. If you cut this an even further 50/50 amount of lead you'll get soft pistol bullet allow. Theoretically a 34 pound box of foundry metal could be used to sweeten just over 100 pounds of lead to make 135 pounds of hardball. That's enough to cast over 4,700 boolits at 200 grains each.