How much tin to WW?

[cheese1566]

I know from research here and the Lyman Casting Gospel that the typical addition of tin to wheel weights is 20:1 to achieve a hardness of 13-15 and closeness to Lyman #2 (give or take).

I read somewhere on a private casting site that he only adds about 6-8" of 95-5 (95% tin) lead free plumbing solder to his pot when he casts to promote good fill out in the molds.
Would this small addition of tin be worth my while and get results? How much does it take to notice?

I do not want to add the cost of $20+ per 20 pound batch of lead wheel weights to make the formula by adding the pound of 95-5 solder. I am in search of a good and easy fill and not so much increase in hardness. These will be for practice and plinking through pistols and will not be driven at high speed. Plus I am planning on using Lar's Red Lube and using Lee six cavity aluminum molds.

I have everything ready to cast my first ever bullets in the upcoming week.

[Buckshot]

...............If you're having fillout problems and sure it isn't anything else, I'd add 1% tin and then try it. If it helps but doesn't have you where you wanna be add 1/2% more and see. Just 2% should fix ANY problem caused by a lack of tin for fillout issues. If 2% doesn't do it I'd start checking other possibilities.

..................Buckshot

[Calamity Jake]

What Buckshot said, 2% max, anymore is a waste of high $ tin.

[Tom Herman]

What Buckshot said, 2% max, anymore is a waste of high $ tin.

That's all I use... I get GREAT mold fillout! I also use 50/50 wheel weights to scrap lead, plus the Tin of course. It's a wonderful, all purpose alloy that has served me well up to the 850 or so FPS I've tried in in my large bore revolvers.
BTW: I'm very frugal, and wouldn't spend $20 a pound for Tin. Grainger had a sale on 97% Tin solder at a blowout price around $7/#... Check them out, it may still be going on.
Also, when I buy scrap lead, sometimes people will try to "sneak" rolls of solder in. I gladly buy it all day long at 35 cents a pound! I once came up with a five pound roll of the thickest solder I've ever seen that way. I'm STILL using it!
Try radiator shops for solder scrap... You'll be able to do much better than you are now.
Good Luck!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[docone31]

When I first started casting after 30years of vacation from it, I made my wheel weight ingots, loaded my pot, and added 6" of lead free solder to 20lbs.
Today, I add tin only if the casting doesn't "feel" right. Mostly rarely.
I found, and I use Lee molds, heat is good for crisp shoulders and corners.
I believe, the proper mold temp is more important than tin with wheel weights.

[Crass Whackwords]

I HATE tin in wheelweight. Why take a perfectly good alloy like wheelweight, and RUIN it by adding tin ?

The tin-as-god myth dates back over 100 years, before wheelweights were invented, when most casters used simple lead/tin alloys, and a 240 grain 44 was considered humongous.

Admittedly, tin can be helpful in small caliber molds. say 120 grains or less, that run too cool for wheelweights. But most of us cast for the larger calibers where tin only serves to create problems.

#1 problem with casting wheelweights is not enough flow. Bottom pour pots and small sprue holes. Not using the overpour method. Tin is a bandaid because it improves fluidity (is that even a word ?), however, it also increases heat shrink, sometimes dramatically. Plus it costs money. You are PAYING for something that causes problems.

The better solution is to improve flow.

Save your tin for little bullets.

Regarding hardness, straight wheelweight can easily be hardened to 30 BHN for FREE.

More flow, my friend, more flow.

Just my opinion, you are welcome to cast with tin if it makes you happy.

[montana_charlie]

The tin-as-god myth dates back over 100 years, before wheelweights were invented, when most casters used simple lead/tin alloys, and a 240 grain 44 was considered humongous.
I knew that mixing lead and tin to cast into complex shapes was an old technology...but 100 years? My, that IS old! It's truly amazing what one can learn when an historian happens by...

CM

[R.C. Hatter]

In my humble opinion, historians and comics notwithstanding, I would add no more than 1, possibly 2% tin by weight to WW metal to attempt to improve fill-out. The
addition of additional tin more than 2% is a waste of an expensive alloy component.
You may find it beneficial to check the mould for a venting problem, and insure you are casting at an adequate temperature as well.

[TAWILDCATT]

I have never added tin to WW.I have been casting for app 70 yrs.most probles are heat related.and tin for hardness is a waste.WW can be hardened because of
antimony and arsinic.:coffee:[smilie=1:

[Ole]

I use 210 grains of 95/5 tin per lb of WW alloy. It's right around 3%. It's 9 tight wraps around a belted magnum rifle case for 2 lbs. :D

I'm doing .30 caliber bullets and have plenty of tin (got a deal from ebaY). I might try using a little less if I was short on tin.

[KYCaster]

How much tin in Wheel Weights?

I agree with Wildcatt.....NONE.

Jerry

BTW....Crass Whackwords....you look awfully familiar, haven't I seen you around here before????????

[mrbill2]

Try casting your bullets with just wheelweights. If that don't work out then add tin if you need to. Why add tin if it's not needed, just because so and so does. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[vanilla_gorilla]

I'm running straight wheel weights, nothing added but heat. Using my 250 Keith mould, I solved my fillout problem like this: Ladle casting with an RCBS dipper. Tried it with the Lee dipper I had with little luck, rounded corners were normal. I think it has something to do with the extra weight of that other 3-4 ounces of lead forcing the mix into the crevices. However it works, I know that it works.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I am realizing more and more there is a whole lot of casting I can do without agdding any tin.
Two days ago I casted 10 # of lead and added not a drop. This was all old lead pipe with about 5# of range scrap mixed. Very possible the range scrap has enough in it to see through my casting needs... BUT I do not have any tin to add if I wanted to. If there is any fillout problem I turn the heat up on my propane burner.
This casting was done with a Saeco #443 (.429+ 220 gr) A Ideal 386176 (41 Colt 165 grain Heel) and an old Winchester 44WCF mold.
God Bless you

[Larry Gibson]

As always there are numerous opinions based on some experience so let me add mine.

With old WWs there was a higher tin content and they cast well in most any bullet all by themselves. However new WWs have very little tin. And while they do cast well in larger bullets they do not always cast well in the smaller calibers from 8mm on down. This is especially true with bullets of multiple lube grooves like Loverns. You can make them cast well by turning the heat up but quality control becomes iffy. The better solution is to add tin in 1-2% amounts as mentioned by several. I arbitrarily add 2% tin to my new WW alloy because I got real tired of lots of rejects from visual defects and a lack of consistency from casting to casting of the same bullet. The addition of 2% tin to new WWs gives a good alloy that is reproduceable from batch to batch. I also have far fewer rejects with bullet of .22 up through 8mm. They also shoot more accurately with less fouling as the alloy is more maleable. That works for me.

Larry Gibson

[yodar]

What Buckshot said, 2% max, anymore is a waste of high $ tin.

I have some 67/33 bars and I know it's weight. I draw lines every 4 ounces in length along the bar and dip it into the alloy to introduce 4 oz to each pot

I also have 2 1lb bars of pure tin. In a decade of casting i have shortened one of the TIN bars by 1/2 inch and the remaining tin has been un-needed

I think that comes out to a lil more than 1.5%

yodar