Has anyone tryed Rotometals Super hard alloy ?

[Johnch]

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/30_antimony_70_lead.htm

70% lead and 30 % Antimony

I am considering buying some

As I have a fair amount of softer than WW alloys and tin if needed

So I figured I would fire up the big smelting pot after it cools off
Add some of the Super hard alloy to Range lead and a little tin

I could make up 200 lb at a crack and have a fair amount of a alloy

Your thoughts

John

[SmuvBoGa]

I have Roto's Lyman #2 - fine stuff. Had thought about the Hardball to mix in with the 100% lead - rather than the #2.

[lwknight]

I use the R.M Superhard. The bars are about 4 pounds.
I got the bright idea to melt them into smaller ingots and discovered that with that much antimony , its very hard to keep the mix together.
The antimony floated up and made slush on top and liquid below. I stirred vigorously and poured it quickly into 1 pound ingots.
I later learned that if I alloyed tin with it as well the slushy float would stop.
You do not have to recast the bars and they will break with a sharp smack with a light hammer of 10-16 oz or so. You will learn how and where to smack them to get the desired result.
Also if you recast the bars you will think that they are set up and only the shell will be set up. Kinda like linotype , it's decieving.

I like to mix 1 pound tin to 10 pounds S.H. to get 9.08/27.27/63.65 sn/sb/pb
And then later mix 11pounds of the custom mix with 39 pounds of lead to get "Hardball"
2-6-92 perzactly.

[dualsport]

Yep, went to their shop for a day trip/holiday. I just stick the SH ingot into the pot of molten whatever and melt off a bit. A little simple math will give you an aprox. weight per inch or so. Easy smeasy. It's the easiest way I know of to add antimony. It's easy to get carried away though, I made up some pretty rich alloys before I got a grip.

[Mal Paso]

I use the R.M Superhard. The bars are about 4 pounds.
I got the bright idea to melt them into smaller ingots and discovered that with that much antimony , its very hard to keep the mix together.
The antimony floated up and made slush on top and liquid below. I stirred vigorously and poured it quickly into 1 pound ingots.
I later learned that if I alloyed tin with it as well the slushy float would stop.
You do not have to recast the bars and they will break with a sharp smack with a light hammer of 10-16 oz or so. You will learn how and where to smack them to get the desired result.
Also if you recast the bars you will think that they are set up and only the shell will be set up. Kinda like linotype , it's decieving.

I like to mix 1 pound tin to 10 pounds S.H. to get 9.08/27.27/63.65 sn/sb/pb
And then later mix 11pounds of the custom mix with 39 pounds of lead to get "Hardball"
2-6-92 perzactly.

Very Cool! I've been blending 1 part RM Lino, 1 part RM Lyman's #2 to 2 parts Scrap Lead with great results. The Superhard is on my shopping list next time I order. You just saved me some grief.

[lwknight]

Thats a pretty good mix Mal Paso
93.50% PB 4.25%SB and 2.25%SN as I figger it.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I cast with straight WW's and water quench them.. Run them up to 1800 FPS with paper patch and Carnuba Red lube with no leading.

I bought some Rotometals 40-1 for my 50-90 Sharps and it worked just fine...kinda pricy I am going to have make a bullet trap for that beast as I cannot abide wasting such a precious resource by leaving it lying on the ground.

For my uses I have not any need for a harder alloy.

[cbrick]

John, check this out . . .

Roto Metals Super Hard (http://www.lasc.us/SuperHard.htm)

For me, I wouldn't make up 200 pound batches. Ya never know what the future may bring and if needs change you won't have all your alloy tied up in one alloy. It's very easy to make up as you go and you can change the alloy if needed.

Rick

[Frank]

dualsport said
I just stick the SH ingot into the pot of molten whatever and melt off a bit. A little simple math will give you an aprox. weight per inch or so. Easy smeasy. It's the easiest way I know of to add antimony. It's easy to get carried away though, I made up some pretty rich alloys before I got a grip.
Exactly. I tried to do the math, but it got too confusing. How do you put a 30/70 bar into a formula? But now I know how much to add.

[casterofboolits]

I haven't used RM's Super hard alloy yet, but it is on the shopping list for my next order of linotype and tin. Right now I have several pounds of babit that has a high antimony content, that I add to a 90% Lino, 10% tin alloy and pour into one pound and half pound ingots. I smelt range lead and wheel weights into a 50/50 base alloy and pour into muffin pan for ingots that weigh 2.3/2.4 pounds.

I mix my final alloy in my RCBS ten kilo pots by adding the .5 to 1.5 pound ingots as needed depending on the boolits I am casting. That way I do not have a large amount of alloy that needs to be reworked. I like my boolits to be plus/minus one grain of the stated mould weight.

Fred

[Mal Paso]

Thats a pretty good mix Mal Paso
93.50% PB 4.25%SB and 2.25%SN as I figger it.

I had been blending Hardball Alloy but after reading posts here I began thinking that may be too hard and a waste of alloy. Last month I shot some 429421s made from the 93.50% PB 4.25%SB and 2.25%SN Alloy into a Cedar Log. The top end loads were 22g of 2400, about 1300 fps and penetrated over 11 inches of wood. I split the log and recovered the boolits. The rifling marks were replaced with scratch marks but the spin looked good. They retained their shape and only lost 9g of their 240g unfired weight. I'll post pictures as soon as I get some camera equipment together.

[lwknight]

True , Mal Paso
I mostly like to use hardball because it casts just a little larger and is easy to cast wit hand keep up with whats what. I just aim all the alloys in very few directions so I won't get too scatter brained trying to remember what I have.

[leadman]

Rotomatels also is selling reclaimed lead shot melted down for just ove $1.00 per pound in 1,000 pound lots.
They have an interesting babbit, formula 0, 74-76% lead, 9.3-10.3% tin, 14-16% antimony. Might be everything needed to harden up those sticky wheel-weights.

I also and really like the super hard for alloying lead.

[101VooDoo]

Just ordered 60lbs to play with.

With the Labor day weekend sale and the discount for buying 60lbs, it came out to $142.29, or $2.37 a pound.

Using 15lbs of Sam's isotope lead, 10.5oz of 63/37, and a pound and a half of Super Hard, I'm figuring its just about Lyman #2 at: 90.6/4.8/4.6 for $1.23 a pound.

Jim

[101VooDoo]

Super Hard alloy arrived today - has an interesting Gold-Tint on the bottom of the ingots.

Jim

[lwknight]

They probably use a water and pressure air jet to quick cool them at the foundry.
I never got my recasts to resemble that.

[Yosemite Sam]

I add Rotometals SH and tin to soft lead to get desired alloys because WW are difficult to get, but I have a source for soft lead. I made up a spreadsheet that calculates how much lead, SH, and tin to put in for a desired alloy. It works best to weigh a few Pb ingots, put the weight into the spreadsheet and then it tells you how much SH and tin to add. Having a balance and a laptop near the smelting/casting bench is convenient. If anyone wants a copy of the spreadsheet, I am happy to share it.

[9.3X62AL]

Opposite problem here, I have a good quantity of Monotype, foundry type, and Linotype laying around--but am getting light on unalloyed lead and WW metal. I need to locate some unalloyed metal for blending, and fairly soon. RM looks like the easiest route, if not the cheapest.