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Thread: Lead mix.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Lead mix.

    I have some lead bars I purchased from Midway that are 70% lead-24% antimony- & 6% tin. They are 1#. Can any one tell me the mix with pure lead to come out at approximately 12 hardness. Anything I come up withwould be just a guess. I appreciate any answer.

  2. #2
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    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
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    just plug your alloys into the calculator.

    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...oy-calculators
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    About 6 lbs of pure lead and 1 lb of your Midaway alloy. The calculator says should be 12 hardness.

    If you added .2 lb of tin to your 1 lb Midway alloy you could go to 7.4 lbs of pure lead and still get 12 hardness. The calculator is fun to play with once you get the hang of it.
    Last edited by Paper Puncher; 03-16-2021 at 04:25 PM.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paper Puncher View Post
    About 6 lbs of pure lead and 1 lb of your Midaway alloy. The calculator says should be 12 hardness.

    If you added .2 lb of tin to your 1 lb Midway alloy you could go to 7.4 lbs of pure lead and still get 12 hardness. The calculator is fun to play with once you get the hang of it.
    That is as accurate an answer as I could hope for,thank you.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master Jim22's Avatar
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    A question about alloys: I just finished smelting some stuff into ingots. I have been collecting wheel weight alloy. I used to use it almost exclusively for boolit casting. That was 25-30 years ago - for handguns only. Never had any trouble. The boolits always came out nice. Now I can find some wheel weights but I am also trying an alloy I got from RMR bullets. Their alloy is lead and antimony so I added about 2% tin to it. It produced an alloy that is about as hard as COWW. My question is this: The makeup of this alloy is different from that of COWW. Can I use it as I would COWW? Is the hardness all that matters? I am using the pencil test which seems to work pretty well.

    Edit: For what it's worth I bought twenty lbs of alloy from RMR. I added a half lb of tin and I wound up with 21.5 one lb ingots after skimming, fluxing, and skimming. Haven't weighed the results but my Lee ingot mould often casts heavy lbs.
    Last edited by Jim22; 03-17-2021 at 06:39 PM.

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Always remember the alloy calculator on here...................your 1st and only stop for good reliable "what if" mixing of alloys.

    I use it anytime I need to mix something.


    banger

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim22 View Post
    A question about alloys: I just finished smelting some stuff into ingots. I have been collecting wheel weight alloy. I used to use it almost exclusively for boolit casting. That was 25-30 years ago - for handguns only. Never had any trouble. The boolits always came out nice. Now I can find some wheel weights but I am also trying an alloy I got from RMR bullets. Their alloy is lead and antimony so I added about 2% tin to it. It produced an alloy that is about as hard as COWW. My question is this: The makeup of this alloy is different from that of COWW. Can I use it as I would COWW? Is the hardness all that matters? I am using the pencil test which seems to work pretty well.

    Edit: For what it's worth I bought twenty lbs of alloy from RMR. I added a half lb of tin and I wound up with 21.5 one lb ingots after skimming, fluxing, and skimming. Haven't weighed the results but my Lee ingot mould often casts heavy lbs.
    I could not find any details on RMR’s alloy, but it should be fine if the hardness is similar. It should cast well with the added tin.

  8. #8
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    Been casting for decades, but a question remains: How does one distinguish between Monotype and Foundry Type?
    Echo
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    One of the most endearing sights in the world is the vision of a naked good-looking woman leaving the bedroom to make breakfast. Bolivar Shagnasty (I believe that Lazarus Long also said it, but I can't find any record of it.)

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echo View Post
    Been casting for decades, but a question remains: How does one distinguish between Monotype and Foundry Type?
    Per archives.

    https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...+type+monotype

    Post # 18.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dusty Bannister View Post
    Best I could find was the notch in the bottom. Is that the only/main distinguishing factor?
    Echo
    USAF Ret
    DPS, 2600
    NRA Benefactor
    O&U
    One of the most endearing sights in the world is the vision of a naked good-looking woman leaving the bedroom to make breakfast. Bolivar Shagnasty (I believe that Lazarus Long also said it, but I can't find any record of it.)

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Echo View Post
    Best I could find was the notch in the bottom. Is that the only/main distinguishing factor?
    Pretty much, unless you do a scan. That is about the only post I found on the subject.

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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