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Thread: Clip-On Wheel Weight XrF Data

  1. #1
    Boolit Master BNE's Avatar
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    Clip-On Wheel Weight XrF Data

    I recently sorted through two, five gallon buckets of wheel weights. I kept a sample of every different type of wheel weight I found.
    I separated them by brand label and then by weight. I wanted to see if the same alloy mix is used on different weights and then see how much variation occurs within an individual weight. (See samples # 6,7,8 below.)
    It will take me several weeks to get the weights measured on the XrF and then posted, so bear with me please. I have at least a dozen different brands or types to measure.

    First Group "AL"
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Name:	Clip On AL 2-14.jpg 
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ID:	97378

    Next Group: "MC"
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Name:	CLIP ON MC 2-14.jpg 
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ID:	97498

    Next Group "Micro"
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Name:	Clip On Micro 3-14.jpg 
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ID:	98716

    Next group: "No Label"
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Name:	Clip On No Label 3-14.jpg 
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ID:	98717

    Next Group "P"
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Name:	Clip On P 3-14.jpg 
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ID:	100282

    Next Group "T"
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Name:	Clip On T 3-14.jpg 
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ID:	100283

    Next Group "AL MC"
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Name:	Clip On AL-MC.jpg 
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ID:	102678

    This is my "To Do" List:
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Name:	Clip On Total 2-14.jpg 
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ID:	97500
    Last edited by BNE; 04-19-2014 at 12:59 AM. Reason: Adding Data again
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    cabezaverde's Avatar
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    I am surprised at how consistent they are.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master


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    Thanks for an informative post. To me, it appears to confirm that + 1% tin, will give a lead allow with nearly even Sb/Sn which if I understand correctly will toughen the lead by forming a bimetallic network of crystals as it cools. Please correct me if I am wrong.
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  4. #4
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    BNE, that little sample assay right there is a is worth a lot.
    Big help good info.
    Thank you for your work.
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  5. #5
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    Great post/info. I agree, there is consistency but it would be nice if they all just used 3% antimony like #5.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Great data analysis. Thanks for sharing

  7. #7
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    These seem to be all newer type of WW's. Do you have any older ones? It would be neet to see the difference of older to the newer ones.

  8. #8
    Boolit Master
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    Somebody already melted all the old WWs into boolits. They are in the berm.
    Sent from my PC with a keyboard and camera on it with internet too.
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    L W Knight

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Good info. Thanks for taking the time to do it and sharing!

    banger

  10. #10
    Boolit Master badbob454's Avatar
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    awesome .... this helps to make a good alloy mix
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  11. #11
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    would strait W/W make a good bullet for my 45 acp?

  12. #12
    Boolit Man
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    Very good information. I wonder if you have any marked "Micro" as these seem to make a large part of what I find and wonder what the composition of these are?

  13. #13
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Good post and great information! They seem to be a little shy of tin, at the price of it I can see why.
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  14. #14
    Boolit Master NewbieDave007's Avatar
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    Very cool. Thanks

  15. #15
    bhn22
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    and I thought I was analytical...

  16. #16
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by lwknight View Post
    Somebody already melted all the old WWs into boolits. They are in the berm.
    Hahahahaha ROFL. Somebody out there probably still has buckets and buckets they collected from the 70s

  17. #17
    Boolit Master BNE's Avatar
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    Thank for the nice comments folks.

    I have added the second group and my "To Do List" so you can see what is coming.

    If it is OK, I will just edit my original post each time I add new data. I think this will make it easier to reference in the future. If tere is a better way, please let me know.

    You will see some variation in the appearance of the different weights. Some look clean and others look old and dirty. I am not sure if this is due to age, or they just belonged to somebody who never cleaned their car. IF SOMEONE has an old stash that they know has been held in reserve for
    10+ years, it would be interesting to get those measured.

    I do have some marked "Micro" and will do those next.

    As for what this data means? I'm going to reserve judgement until I see more.
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  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master

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    This is very interesting and I thank you for the work that is involved. Lightman

  19. #19
    Boolit Bub
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    Howdy Pard

    Thanks for the very detailed research. I, too, was surprised at the relative consistency of the alloy mixes.

    As a side note, I'm curious if you came across many non-lead wheel weights. I recently bot a 5-gal bucket of ww's from my tire dealer (they used to give 'em away free if I made tire purchases but not any more) and am more than a little distressed at the number of non-lead ww's. Now, most are lead but I am checking each ww individually. First I run a magnet over it and that picks out the ones with iron content (the ww itself; not the iron clip). Then I give them the "scratch test" by running a sharp nail over them. The lead ww's take a deep scratch; the non-lead ones either just barely take a scratch or the nail just slides over them. Many show up by visual inspection as they are stamped Fe (symbol for iron), Al (aluminum), or Zn (zinc). Some of the ones with Al must refer to a brand name as they are otherwise obviously lead.

    The tire dealer gave me a good deal on the 5-gal bucket but there's quite a bit more hassle than in previous years to separate out the non-lead ones and , as the pile of non-lead ww's grows, it diminishes the amount of "good" ww's left for bullet casting.

    Years back it seems that a non-lead ww was a comparative rarity ... but sadly not now.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master BNE's Avatar
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    Together both buckets were about 215 pounds. I was able to get ~150 pounds total into ingots from this. ~130 pounds were clip on and ~20 pounds of stick on. The rest were a mix of Zinc and steal. I use the bend or clip test to find the Zinc. I can't bend or clip Zinc. I tried scratching Zinc and was not able to tell a clear difference. By the second bucket, I was able to separate them mostly by the shape and the weight difference.
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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check