Author Topic: Newbie lead ? (Read 940 times)

Plumbrich · « **on:** February 20, 2003, 05:43:01 PM »

I have been reloading for around 18 years now.I just started shooting cast bullets in the last several years.I have used cast bullets i ordered i love shooting these.I plan to start making my own by this summer.I'am a plumber and throw away alot of lead.I want to start saving this lead to us for loading.I will buy a lee pot but will use my big plumbers pot to melt the old lead into ingots.The ? is how much tin do i use per pound for hard cast bullets the lead i deal with is very soft and i have plenty of 95/5 solder lying around.Also do i add the tin when making my melts in the big pot or when i am at home in the small pot.Thanks in advance as i go i will have many more ?'s

Lloyd Smale · « **Reply #1 on:** February 21, 2003, 12:44:33 AM »

15-1 will get you close to wheelweight hardness but its pretty tough to get any harder unless you add some antimony to the mix.

hubbard · « **Reply #2 on:** February 21, 2003, 12:48:55 AM »

the plumbing lead i used was pure and was very soft. mixing 95/5 will improve the castibility of the mix but won't do much for hardness. adding wheelweights will help harden the mix and adding antimony will harden the mix a lot. i use ww's for handguns and find it to be hard enough as is.

HBL · « **Reply #3 on:** February 21, 2003, 02:18:25 AM »

In order get plumbers lead to the same hardness as WW's you will have to add all the trace elements found in Wheel weights. That is what give this type lead the ability to be heat treated to adjust the required hardness for your type of shooting.

It would probably be less work to find a tire shop that gives the wheel weights away and start from there and leave the plumbers lead for when you decide to get in to black powder shooting.

Good Luck,

HBL

Ka6otm · « **Reply #4 on:** February 21, 2003, 05:18:25 AM »

According to the RCBS cast bullet handbook, all you really need present to heat treat is Antimony and Tin. The hardness is determined by three things:

1. The percentage of tin.
2. The percentage of antimony.
3. The temperature at which you heat treat.

Ka6otm

Plumbrich · « **Reply #5 on:** February 21, 2003, 03:51:52 PM »

Thanks for all the input i will abandon the plumbers lead and go with the wheel weights.I have to friends that manage a firestone and goodyear i will hit them up.Stupid ? but,what is antimony?