Hello to you all,
I am contemplating trying a more mathematical way of hitting a particular mix hardness, but I'm sure my idea has been tried before and either embraced or abandoned, but I have searched and found nothing...
I have a CabineTree lead tester and I believe I have reached the point where my repeatability is consistent, meaning that I have a technique which gives me consistent Brinell numbers. With that consistency in mind, my question is this...
Let's say I want to create a mix, and end up with a Brinell number of 10. Could I mix 5 pounds of Lyman No.2 (Brinell number of 15), and 5 pounds of pure lead (Brinell number of 5) and then end up with something very close to a Brinell number of 10?
I know I can try this and just test the results, but I did want to go through lots of mixing if the end result was going to be inconsistent, and I'm sure that someone here has tried the same thing.
What I have done in the past was to keep the tester bolted down to the end of my melt bench and simply pour off a few ingots, toss them on the floor to cool and then test them. At the same time, I would throw a couple of them into a bucket of water and test them as well. I have never been as consistent as I wanted to be, so I am looking for alternatives.
When I am smelting down scrap lead or whatever lead I have scrounged from other sources, I keep a set of numerical, metal stamps nearby and I test a few ingots and then mark the entire lot/mix with the correct Brinell number. I have accumulated several thousand pounds of smelted lead in various hardness's, so I am trying to find a simpler and more consistent way of mixing.
Your opinions please... And thank you!