Heat treated WW and age softening?

[yobohadi]

If I were to cast a bunch of boolits out of WWs and heat treat them by dropping them in a bucket of water would they age soften over time?

If so how long would I have to load them up and shoot them before they soften back down to a normal air treated WW?

[Greg in Malad]

I tested some bullets last week that I water dropped 2 years ago, and they only lost a couple BHN points.

[needcoffee]

Arsenic and it effects on lead strengthening. I found the following website to have a lot of information re: this topic. A couple of the guys writing arcticles are chemists and seem to know a bit about metallurgy.

http://www.lasc.us/WiljenArsenic.htm

[yobohadi]

I tested some bullets last week that I water dropped 2 years ago, and they only lost a couple BHN points.

May I ask what the BHN is now?

[yobohadi]

Arsenic and it effects on lead strengthening. I found the following website to have a lot of information re: this topic. A couple of the guys writing arcticles are chemists and seem to know a bit about metallurgy.

http://www.lasc.us/WiljenArsenic.htm

That is a good article but it does not cover age softening after the age hardening tests. Most of the articles I have found mention it but don't give numbers or a graph.

Greg's post suggests a loss of 1 BHN a year after 2 years, hopefully a few more people will chime in with some tests on older boolits.

[Greg in Malad]

Beerloaf,
The bullets were cast from 80% WW 20% Lino cast at 800* and water dropped. My notes said BHN 27 after age hardening a month. Last week they tested BHN 25. As a test I cut one in half and tested the core hardness, it was around BHN 20. I didn't write it down and can't remember the exact number. I am using a LBT tester, your results may vary. I try to use heat treated bullets within a year. Also, I've been curious about how different alloys soften over time, do some age soften quicker than others.

[canyon-ghost]

The direct answer to that question is : The bullets will begin to soften after 2 years and lose their hardness at a very slow rate over the next 5-10 years.

I find a lot of the hardening discussion misleading because most of us don't need really hard bullets until we get into high velocity rifle rounds. I generally use water quenching for one caliber that runs 1900-2000 fps, and this one I shoot to 200 meters. The rest of my pistol bullets (everything) are air-cooled wheelweight and sometimes that's a tad too hard.

Pistol loads with air cooled wheelweight:
22 Hornet, 32-20WCF, 32 Magnum, 9mm

High velocity water quenched:
7mmTCU @ 1900 fps, 7mm-08 rifle

Hope that helps some,
Ron

[Greg in Malad]

Canyon-Ghost,
I agree, the only bullets I water drop are for the .223 and full power 30-06. Anything that is loaded to less than 35,000 psi gets air cooled bullets.

[Bass Ackward]

The correct answer: there is no definate time or hardness.

I have WDWW bullets that were molded in 1991 and subjected to 140 heat in the summer and well below freezing in the winter. Today they are 20 BHN down from 28 BHN.

I have WDWW bullets that went to 32 BHN just two years ago and they are back to 18 BHN today.

So the rule is that there is no rule on time or finished hardness no matter how hard they got.