Tin addition by weight or by volume?

[eddeb3]

Good morning friends,

I have some pure lead as well as tin that I intend to combine in a 15:1 lead to tin alloy.

Question: Does it matter if the tin content is determined by volume or must the tin be weighted out? I have a triplebeam balance that weighs in grams. :veryconfu

I have scads of 1 ounce lead fishing sinkers. My thought was to cast some "tin sinkers" (they will only weight ~5/8ths ounce) and add 1 for every 15 lead sinkers.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[docone31]

Sounds like it will work.

[high standard 40]

I do a similar thing with my tin which is in the form of 50/50 solder. I use an old T/C 50 cal maxiball mold to cast solder bullets, each weighs about 300 gr. I usually add one of these to each 1 lb of wheel weight alloy which should then give me about 2% tin. Not exact but close. It works for me.

[redneckdan]

I'm pretty sure alloys are mixed by weight.

[largom]

The percentage of tin is not critical, you do not need very much. However, since I like to do things as precise as possible in order to duplicate again in the future I weigh my wheel weights, lead, and tin on a triple beam balance which , like yours, weighs in grams. I add 1% tin by weight.

Larry

[felix]

Molecular weights are the weights to use which make exactly repeatable products. No can do in home practice. The best solution is to ignore these measurements and mix by shooting characteristics of the finished product. That will come only through mucho' practice and paying strict attention to what you are doing and when. ... felix

[runfiverun]

i just weigh stuff out on a 5-10$ kitchen scale.
it weighs close enough and 10 lbs at a time. if i am gonna do a big run i use a bathroom scale.
weigh out 100 lbs of all i need. lead. tin ,whatever, and run it all through the smelter in 2 batches and then add one ingot from each batch at a time as i go.

[Calamity Jake]

Add 1% to 1.5% by weight and call it good

[kywoodwrkr]

I intend to combine in a 15:1 lead to tin alloy.

What are your thoughts?


My thoughts are your mixture will be about 6.25 % tin .
Do you want that high a percentage in your final mix?
Reference Calamity Jakes asnwer.
15#:.25# will be about 1.64% [15#:4oz]
30#:.25# will be about .83% [15#:2oz]
Think the math is correct on above, been abusing my math calculator today!
That is why a piece of solder is used so often in casting mixes.
FWIW

[Echo]

Generally speaking, anything over 3% is wasteful. Tin mainly reduces the surface tension of the alloy. It also makes the alloy a little harder and tougher, but the main function is to reduce the surface tension and therefore allow for more perfect mold fill-out. One pound of tin to 30-60 pounds of pure lead (or WW's) will turn out very well.

[eddeb3]

Friends, thank you for your comments and the valuable insights /information that you've provided. My tin supply is going to last a lot longer than I originally thought! :p

My initial attempt at casting boolits for my 45-70 (H&R Buffalo Classic) was with a 10:1 ratio, 405 hollow-base boolit driven by 40 grains of Reloader 7. The 100 yard accuracy was about as good as I can hold.

My thinking was to shoot something softer (like 15:1) but after reading your comments, I'm considering going to 20 or 25:1 Texas white-tails and feral hogs are on the menu. All shots will be <100 yards.

Thanks again for taking the time to help a new guy get up to speed. :veryconfu

[lylejb]

Is there any reason your using so much tin?

If hardness is what your after, Wheel weight will harden your mix alot faster and less expensively than tin.

I mix half WW/ half pure (stick on ww), and add 2% tin and get BHN 10. That's about the same hardness as 20:1.

At rotometals, tin is $10 - $11 per pound.

On here, you can buy WW ingots for $1/ pound or less on most days.

I know the pure/tin alloys are "classic" old time recipes, but with my budget, i need to NOT spend where i don't have to.

You don't have to either.:mrgreen:

[Recluse]

Molecular weights are the weights to use which make exactly repeatable products. No can do in home practice. The best solution is to ignore these measurements and mix by shooting characteristics of the finished product. That will come only through mucho' practice and paying strict attention to what you are doing and when. ... felix

All so true.

Every shooter I have taught/mentored to reload in the past ten/fifteen years, I have drilled one important caveat into their heads:

Thou shall scribe and keep detailed notes about thoust recipes and formulas and thou shalst review, study and review some more in order for thou to learnest what is holy and consistent. Verily.

If only I had practiced what I preach back some three-plus decades ago when I began reloading without the watchful, stern and guiding eye of my daddy looking over me. [smilie=b: But for the past twenty-plus years, I've faithfully kept detailed notes, suggestions, articles, targets and notecards for all my reloads and data.

So when I began casting, I was determined not to make that mistake again.

I keep fairly detailed notes for each batch of alloy I mix in the furnace, including allow temperature. I'll cast a hundred or so (keeper) boolits, then ladle the rest of that alloy batch into ingots, date and label them, and then set them aside.

Then, I'll load up those boolits with my best and most proven pet loads. If I like the results, I can then cast more from that same batch of alloy. If they are only so-so, then I can cast them for "plinking" rounds or rounds/boolits that I often trade for other gun-related stuff with friends.

I know it's not exactly scientific and what's more, the variables are almost infinite. But it does give me a very good foundation when some years later I want to go back and replicate some of my better loads/boolits.

I do the same thing with my homemade boolits lubes, too.

But, (and this should probably be my signature) I'm at the stage in my "shooting life" where I enjoy the journey as much, if not more, than the destination. I enjoy casting, lube development and reloading more than shooting.

To paraphrase a line from an old Stephen Hunter novel, "It's all just so damn interesting."

:coffee:

[cbrick]

Verily. Really? [smilie=1:

Your right of coarse, I get razed all the time about my "notebooks". Everything goes into the computer AND then printed for the notebook, then the puter gets backed up. I lost about 20 years of chrono & load notes on a couple of dozen calibers including several wildcats several years go when it was ONLY kept in the puter [smilie=b:, will never happen again. D*mn puters anyways.

Rick