22 cal velocity?

[Bret4207]

I guess that I have 30# or so which I just rechecked at 14.3 bhn. Have ya ever notice how the hard ingots kinda make a 'tink' sound as opposed to a thud from soft lead. I should cast a few bullets and WC to see what I get.

AC at anything between around 10 and 15 is usable in everything from the 38S+W at 650 FPS to the 308 at 2200+ if you get the fit right and a friendly rifle. I'll tell you what I do- I gather as much alloy as possible together and melt it all in big batches of 150-200 lbs. Then I work with what I've got instead of trying to make it do what I want. Not the only way to do things, but it works for me. If it all averages out to 13 Bhn that's dandy, if it's 10 Bhn that's dandy to and if it's 18 Bhn I'm still happy. Work with what you have!

[Tinbullet]

There's something wrong here. Air cooled takes 2-3 weeks to harden. WQ reaches it's "final" hardness in a day or two at most from what I've seen. Are you sure your alloys weren't "worn out"? What are you using to measure Bhn?

My 'linotype' may not be 'linotype' becaue i've never gotten 19~22 bhn readings. I checked scale with 40 # wt. then checked Lee and got consistant 60.4. The .4 being the steel plate that I push against.

[Bret4207]

Do you have access to a real hardness tester like a Cabine Tree or LBT, even a SAECO? If everything you test comes out within a certain range then either your alloy isn't what you think or your tester is flawed/improperly operated. In the end Bhn matters little, but your numbers don't make sense to me.

To be clear, I adore my Lee equipment, I own a lot of it. But their tester and BP pots are trash AFAIC.

[runfiverun]

you need a grain modifier to help the water dropping.
arsenic or sulpher will do fine.

[Tinbullet]

Thanks for all of the input fellows. For now i'm gonna work with materials that I have available. As they say 'works for me'! Lets all move on to something else. Tinbullet