Out of the same 230 grain mold, I have cast bullets from 211 grains up. If the OP is surprised by the slight variation in bullets weights wait till. However, even the Lyman manual is deficient in data for the most common bullet weights. Did they go out of their way to design odd ball bullet weight designs? 150 and 175 gr.40 S&W instead of 155 and 180?!! I have the Laser Cast manual but it also is skimpy on bullet and especially powder selections. I'd have to say i'm extremely skeptical that you'd find a 1-2 grain variation in the weight of any given box of 22 cal hornady bullets. I grab a handful of my sierra match bullets (69 and 80g) from each new box and weigh them and i can't remember ever having seen even a.1.2 deviation.
BookMarks In ArticleJust about every alloy containing lead has been used to cast bullets atone time or another with varying degrees of success. Many bullet castersuse an alloy simply because it’s what they have available without givingmuch consideration to the type of shooting the bullets are intended for.If competition and the best possible accuracy and velocity, or huntingbullets with a known amount of or lack of expansion are the goals,repeatability from batch to batch of the alloy is mandatory and areliable, consistent source of alloy is needed, more on this further on.Informal plinking or practice ammo and very short ranges can tolerate muchmore variation in bullet alloy.
Accuracy is a relative thing, what isoutstanding accuracy for one person and his type/style of shooting, histype of firearm and his skill level would send another bullet casterrunning back to the drawing board to find out what went terribly wrong.Your type of shooting, your firearms and most important, the level ofaccuracy that you are willing to accept should guide you in selectingbullet alloys.A very common misconception is that cast bullets lead the bore because thealloy is too soft, in reality this is very rarely the case. Poor bulletfit in the firearm is responsible for more leading problems than is thealloy BHN (Brinell hardness number) being too low. Poor or improperchamber and bore dimensions with incorrectly sized bullets and poor orinadequate lubrication rank next in causing leading ahead of bullet BHN.This is not to say that there aren’t soft bullets, its just not the firstthing you should think of. I did extensive BHN testing in my 9” FreedomArms 357 Magnum revolver using maximum long range accuracy loads. Testingwas with air cooled wheel weight alloy at 11 BHN and with heat treatedalloy of varying BHN up to 30. Many hundreds of rounds were fired in 5shot groups at 150 meters scoped from the bench and not a single loadcaused any leading, not 11 BHN, not 30 BHN.
These were top end 357 loadswith a 190 gr. Bullet at 1550 fps proving (in my mind at least) thatbullet fit in a properly dimensioned firearm is far more important thanalloy BHN. The only leading that I have ever been able to cause in thisrevolver is with bullets that did not properly fit the cylinder throats.As an example, the SAECO 35 caliber bullet # 399, 180 gr. TCGC (truncatedcone, gas check) is a two diameter bullet with the front driving band.005” smaller than bullet diameter and there is no way to size this bulletto fit the throats. This bullet leaded the cylinder (fairly badly) anddestroyed long range accuracy.
The 44 Magnum was born with plain basebullets cast of 16/1 Lead/tin alloy at 11 BHN fired at 1400+ fps and ElmerKeith was a happy man. The popular term “Hard Cast” clouds the issue fornew casters and purchasers of commercial cast bullets and causes troublewith both leading and accuracy when the more important issue is bulletfit. Assuming a proper bullet BHN (not too hard) for the loads pressureand firearm the more important issue with bullet BHN is consistency.Shooting groups with bullets of varying BHN opens up long range groups andincreases the velocity extreme spread, consistent alloy is an importantpart of maintaining consistent BHN. For the hunter using cast bullets hisalloy consistency is every bit as important as it is for the competitiveshooter. Consistency of his alloy will determine the amount of bulletexpansion (or lack of) from batch to batch and from hunt to hunt. If thehunters alloy varies from his tested ammo his pre-determined level ofaccuracy, expansion and bullet upset may not be so predictable. The Four Important Metals in CastBullet AlloysLead (Pb)melts at 621.3 o F and has a BHN of 5.
Lead alloys with somemetals very well, not so easily with other metals. Lead is a very heavy,ductile or if you prefer malleable metal. Its weight is what carries thebullets momentum to the target and being malleable is what allows it toconform to the bores dimensions (obturation) and seal off the rising gaspressure. Alloying lead beyond what is needed for the lowest practicalstrengthening can have consequences in reducing the sectional density ofthe bullets and this could have consequences for match loads on long rangeaccuracy, velocity and momentum.Unlike mosttypes of steel alloy’s that become more brittle when heat treated, leadalloy can be heat treated and made harder without adding any brittleness.Unlike most types of steel alloy’s (or your brass cartridge cases) thatbecome harder and brittle when worked, lead when worked becomes softer andmore malleable. Heat treated lead, unlike steel, does NOT surface hardenbut achieves the same BHN all the way through.It is a common misconception that because they are less dense than lead,antimony and tin may undergo gravity separation from the melt. Nothingcould be further from the truth.
In the absence of oxygen or oxidizingmaterials, melted lead alloys will remain stable and mixed virtuallyforever. And from Lyman, Perhapsthe single most significant error in all the bullet casting literature isthe misconception that lead-tin-antimony alloy melts gravity segregate.Lead conductsheat slowly and contrary to the belief of some, lead does not melt fromthe base of plain base bullets when fired causing leading.
If it could whydon’t paper and plastic wads burn in shotgun shells? The millisecond thebullet is subjected to this heat simply could not melt lead. Pressureforcing the bullet against the sides of the bore could and far more likelythan this is a lack of obturation (bullet too hard) allowing gas leakagedown the sides of the bullet. This has the same effect as an acetylenetorch cutting steel and leading would begin on the trailing edge of therifling.Molten lead alloy exposed to air soon oxidizes (this is NOTgravity separation ). This oxidation affects all the constituents,including the lead. (The chemistry of tin and antimony dictates thatthey oxidize at a higher rate, which accounts for their gradualdepletion from the melt.) Thus, the scum which forms on the surfaceof the melt is a mixture of metal oxides, not tin or tin oxide only.Fluxing returns much of the oxidized metal to the melt. Oxidation occurs only at the surface of the melt (andin the flow stream from bottom pour pots), however, within the potof melted alloy there are thermal currents, the coolest alloy at thesurface sinks and hotter alloy (mostly from near the sides of thepot where the heating element is) rises to the surface.
The entirevolume of alloy in the pot is subject to oxidation. (Tin helps reduce, not eliminateoxidation up to a max of 750 o.) The bottom line,oxidation occurs wherever, whenever the molten alloy is in contactwith air and thus the need for fluxing (fluxing returns metal oxidesto the alloy). (bottom of page)Antimony (Sb)melts at 1167 o F. It is the current metal used tostrengthen/harden lead alloys for bullet casters and for numerousapplications in the metals industry.
It is an extremely brittlemetal but has unique characteristics in a lead alloy in addition toits basic hardening, such as the ability to heat treat a lead alloybringing the final hardness up far more than what the percentage ofantimony would suggest. Alloys such as monotype (19% Sb) andstereotype (23% Sb) are so brittle that bullets cast of them canactually break in two by simply chambering a round or dropping it onthe floor. Antimony is a valuable part of the bullet casters alloybut too much of a good thing is clearly not a good thing. The typemetals, linotype, monotype and stereotype, if you can still findthem, are valuable to the bullet caster for their antimony and tincontent when blending (alloying) with other lead alloys.Antimony is a silver white metal, very hard and brittle. It has nocharacteristic crystallographic surfaces when sheared. Meltingtemperature is 1167°F and even when melted at or above thattemperature it is not easy to get a homogeneous alloy with lead. Assoon as the pour is started the rapid cooling causes an increasingamount of antimony to solidify while pouring.The addition of tin does help by providing some protection againstoxidation of the melt.Decreasing the antimony percentage much below 4% has a dramatic effect onthe time curve of heat treated bullets.
In my heat treating experimentsalloy with less than the typical 3-4% antimony in wheel weight alloydidn’t result in softer heat treated bullets but rather, bullets that tookconsiderably longer to age harden and reach their final hardness, up totwo weeks longer. I found this test fascinating, reduced antimony didn’treduce the final heat treated BHN but rather increased the agehardening time about 8 fold.Lead/antimonyalloy drosses considerably. As your melt reaches liquidus temperature thatsilvery, lumpy, oatmeal looking stuff floating on top is antimony.Skimming it off seriously depletes the alloy; it needs to be fluxed backinto the melt.Key factors ofantimony in lead alloys: Adds strength as well as hardness. Like tin ithelps pick up fine details of the mould and allows the alloy to floweasier.
It lowers the solidification temperature and raises the moltentemperature. It is extremely brittle and terminal ballistics should beconsidered when choosing an alloy with a high percentage of antimony.Permits hardening by quenching or heat treating.Antimony canbe purchased online from the “Antimony Man” but with its high meltingpoint it is a somewhat arduous task trying to alloy it with lead.
TheAntimony Man supplies instructions on alloying antimony with the purchasethat include the warning that the instructions must be followed preciselyto be successful. In addition, antimony is extremely toxic, when handlingit in a powdered form proper breathing protection and proper clean-uptechniques of surrounding surfaces should be used. Casting alloys & tools: tools, antimony, Super Hard, tin, lead & custom alloys.Tin (Sn)Tin melts at 449 o and alloys very easily with lead. Tin wasused for many years as the hardening agent in lead. In the years oflarge caliber, big bore black powder cartridges the minimal hardeningeffects of tin was sufficient.
With the advent of smokeless powders andmuch higher pressures and velocities and far sharper pressure/time curvesof the faster smokeless powders tin’s limited hardening/strengtheningeffect on lead left alloys too soft for many cartridges.Lead/tinalloy’s age soften quickly and the higher the percentage of tin the fasterthe age softening. If your lead/antimony/tin bullets are to be quenched orheat treated (lead/tin alloy does not respond to heat treatment) thepercentage of tin will affect the final amount of hardening that can beachieved, the higher the percentage of tin the lower the final BHN inaddition to faster age softening. Lead/tin alloy should age soften at afairly steady rate for 25 or 30 days and then soften very slowly afterthat. Be that as it is, tin is still a very valuable addition to thebullet casters alloy.
The true value of tin for today’s bullet caster isthat it helps reduce dross during casting which enables it to reduce thesurface tension of the melt. It does this by inhibiting the oxidation ofthe metal entering the mould and enabling a more complete fill-out of themoulds intricate details. NOTE: It is notonly the surface of the melt in the pot subject to oxidation, the streamof alloy from a bottom pour pot or casting ladle is also in contact withoxygen and this is where tin has it's largest benefit in reducingoxidation and aiding better mold fill-out, from the spigot to inside themold. Tin does add some hardening/strengthening to lead alloys but at thepercentages in most bullet alloys it is minimal.Maximumhardness of lead/tin alloys is 17 BHN at 63% tin and 37% lead(commonly known as 60/40 solder).
Tin lowers the melting point of leadalloys, eutectic60/40 solder melts at 361 o F. Loss of tin from the alloy fromoxidation is low as long as the melt is not overheated. Tinprovides dross protection up to about 750 o and also improvescastability. Casting temperatures with alloys containing tin should beheld to about 700 o so that tin’s ability to reduce dross won’tbe lost. 99.9%tin can be purchased online fromArsenic (As)Melting point, 1,503 o F.
Arsenic is a catalyst to heattreating Pb/Sb alloys and only a trace is required (¼ to ½ of 1%),adding more than this will do nothing to further harden the alloy.Arsenic in itself does little to harden the alloy; its value is as acatalyst in heat treating (or quenching from the mould) lead/ antimonyalloys. Arsenic is of coarse very toxic but at the percentage in andtemperature of bullet alloys the risk is nearly non-existent.However, the bullet caster should never attempt to alloy elementalarsenic into his alloy (if he could even get it).
Atthe temperatures required arsenic sublimes, that is, ittransforms directly from the solid to a gaseous state, emittinghighly toxic smoke. Leave this to the experts.In addition to arsenic sublimingother forms of extremely toxic gases, such arsine are formed andthis should be left to the professionals. Wheel weights, chilledshot and magnum shot are excellent sources of arsenical alloys forthe bullet caster to enrich his alloy for quenching or heattreating. Arsenicin combination with antimony, improves the strength. In the as castcondition arsenic raises the hardness about 1 or 2 BHN.Arsenic’s true value is in heat treating lead/ antimonyalloys. With a trace of arsenic a much higher BHN can be achievedwhile using a much smaller percentage of very brittle antimony. Common BulletAlloys,Compositionand HardnessAlloyTin%Antimony%Lead%BHNArsenic(Trace)Foundry Type152362?NoMonotype9197228NoStereotype6148023NoLinotype4128 42 2NoLyman # 2559015NoElectrotype32.594.512No1 to 10 tin/lead9-9111.5No1 to 20 tin/lead5-9510No1 to 30 tin/lead3-978No1 to 40 tin/lead2.5-97.56-7NoHard Ball269216NoClip-on.5297.511Yeswheel weight12Stick-on.99.56Nowheel weight# 8 Magnum-2-3%97-98.YesPlumbers Lead-.
100NoLead-1005No. Notknown, presumably.5 to.75% tin. Stick-on weights are nearlypure lead with a BHN of 6. Notknown, presumably there is no Sb in stick-on weights. #8 Chilled Shot + 3% tin and cast into bullets tested 8 BHN.
Plumberslead should be nearly pure lead as is cable sheathing, leadsalvaged from X-ray rooms and roofing sheets. It may not bepure enough for the purist front stuffers but it’s pretty softand valuable for alloying with the type metals.Salvaged leadfrom sail boat ballasts could be and probably is almost anything. It wouldbe made up of anything each boat manufacturer could scrounge up and pourinto a mould to fit his hull. Wheel Weight Alloy: Metallurgicallyor otherwise, there is no justifiable disadvantage to using wheel weightsfor cast bullets.
Bullet Weight Grain Definition
The wheel weight composition of 9% antimony in oldereditions of the Lyman Reloading Handbook is very much out of date.Recently obtained wheel weights average about 3% antimony. There’s not muchdoubt this is where the conventional wisdom comes from that wheel weightalloy isn’t a good bullet alloy because the composition keeps changing. Itwas changing 25-30 years ago, it has been reasonably stable sincethen with minor changes from manufacturer to manufacturer as theprice of raw materials fluctuates. Ihave used, heat treated and tested wheel weight alloy almost exclusivelyfor well over 15 years and haven’t found a difference significant enoughto effect the alloy ballistically.
There can’t be any doubt that there areminor differences from manufacturer to manufacturer and year to yearas the cost of raw materials fluctuates, but the simple truth isthat there hasn’t been a difference significant enough to affectgroups, velocity or final heat treated BHN during this 15 year period. My notesindicate that the wheel weight alloy I have recently heat treatedachieved the same final BHN as bullets heat treated 15 years ago.Pre-heat treated, as cast wheel weight alloy has fluctuated from 10 to 12 BHN during this time and my currentbatch (about 500 pounds) is 11 BHN. Pre 1970’s wheel weights averaged 9%antimony and during the 70’s this average was reduced, since the early1980’s there appears to be little fluctuation in the percentage of antimonyin wheel weight alloy and currently seems to be about 3%, maybe, maybe. Remember in the first paragraph I said consistencyin alloy from batch to batch is important? Wheel weight alloy has donethis for me for the last 15 years.It's analloy that is readily available all across the country and anywhere fromfree to fairly cheap. At 10-11 BHN air cooled with a couple percent of tinadded it is a good alloy for most non-magnum handgun loads and many lightto medium rifle loads.
As an example, my 308 rifle shoots 11 BHN aircooled wheel weight with 185 grain bullets at 1900 fps into surprisinggroups at 100 and 150 yards with no leading. Wheel weight alloy is anideal bullet alloy for heat treating because of its percentage of antimonyand a trace of arsenic.
This alloy can be heat treated to 30+ BHN. Mostloads do not generate nearly enough pressure to cause obturation at 30 BHNand yes, obturation is a good thing. Very top end 454 Casull loads at65,000 PSI should work well with 30 BHN bullets.Whenprocessing your wheel weights into ingots you should always separate theclip-on weight from the stick-on weights (the ones with foam tape on theback). Stick-on weights are nearly pure lead and by including them in youralloy you are softening the entire batch by diluting the antimony content.In addition, if your goal is to achieve consistency of your alloy, thequantity and the size of stick-on weights in each batch will varyconsiderably makingit impossible to duplicate the alloy the next time.
Plus, it seems such awaste of a good source of soft alloy.Moreand more wheel weight manufacturers are using zinc, steel, alloy andeven plasticweights in place of lead. Zinc weights can be difficult to detect whenprocessing into ingots (some are painted to match tire rim color) and zincin your alloy will cause all sorts of casting problems. Wheel weight alloymelting point is under 600 oF and zinc melts at 787.15 oF. When processing your weights into ingots keep the pot temperature at oronly a little above 650 o and no hotter, the zinc weights will float beforethey melt. If you see anything floating, remove it immediately. An AdditionalConsideration for Alloys: In addition tobullet base obturation additional considerations concerning alloystrength and hardness in higher pressure/velocity rifle loads arevelocity, free-bore jump to the rifling and the rifling rate oftwist. The alloy must have the strength to make the free-bore jumpand take the rifling without stripping.
A faster twist rate orlonger free-bore jump could possibly require a bit harder alloy;cast bullets could suffer more from a longer free-bore jump and asharper twist rate than their jacketed counter parts. Additionally,unsupported bullet noses (bore riders) can slump to one side under the stress ofacceleration; bullet design can play a role here as well as alloystrength. It can be a balancing act that requires testing todetermine the minimum hardness (strength) of the alloy for these conditionsand yet not be too hard for that all important obturation.Alloy Maintenance:It’s not quite as simple as turning on the electric pot and pouring.A basic knowledge of caring for your alloy is required and there area few tips that once understood makes this fairly simple. If theserules are violated the percentages of metals and quality of thealloy in your pot may not be what you thought it is.Oneof the most critical yet least understood casting factors is temperature.When a bullet caster refers to the melting temperature of the alloy, whathe means is the solidus or the temperature at which the alloy begins tomelt.
More important is the liquidus temperature of the alloy, the pointat which the alloy is completely molten. An alloy may appear to becompletely melted in the pot when in actuality it is not, since crystalformations of some of the important constituents of the alloy, such as tinand lead or lead and antimony, still exist. What this means forthe bullet caster is do not flux or add alloy (sprues, rejects ornew ingots) to the pot until the alloy has reached the liquidustemperature. After adding alloy to the pot wait for the liquidustemperature to be reached before fluxing. Every time metal is added to thepot the alloy should be well fluxed. Once the liquidus temperature isreached stir the melt before fluxing to assure even heat throughout themelt.
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Add alloy to the pot slowly to aid in keeping the melt as close tothe liquidus temperature as possible.Drossforms in a pot of molten metal by oxidation of the metal from exposure toheat, air, impurities, and dirt, and from running the alloy belowits liquidus. As the metals melt, dross's (oxides of the metals) appear onthe surface of the molten metal. They must be returned to the melt byfluxing, or else their removal as dross seriously depletes some of theimportant constituents of the alloy.Additionally, running the alloy too hot causes metal loss throughoxidation and more frequent fluxing to return dross to the melt.Do notallow the level of alloy in the pot to get below about half full so thatproper temperature can be maintained, the temperature of many electric pots will rise as the level ofalloy in the pot falls. Be cautious of the temperature falling below the liquidus point. Do not run the pot temperature any higher above itsliquidus temperature than necessary, about 50 o - 75 o F.Solidusand liquidus temperature. The solidus temperature is easy to determine (the alloy begins to melt)but what is the liquidus temperature, the point where there are nocrystalline structures and all of the constituents of the alloy arecompletely melted?
To be honest I don't know, it would depend on themetals in your alloy and the percentages of them. To play it safe mypractice has always been simply to wait until casting temperature isreached before fluxing or adding alloy. I cast wheel weight alloy at 700 oand this is the temperature that I add alloy (even rejects or sprues) andflux. Once I have fluxed I do not add anything to the pot through theentire casting session, not even rejects or sprues.
This is a simplifiedmethod of how the metals industry maintains quality when blending alloys.In the industry, metals are added to an alloy at a very specifictemperature that is based on the metal being added and the metals alreadyin the alloy. This would be quite an excessive degree to take bulletcasting, as long as metal is added and fluxing is done afterliquidus temperature (casting temperature) is reached we can maintain theintegrity of our alloy.
Key Points: All of this mightsound complicated but in reality as bullet casters we don’t need tobe metallurgists but we do need an understanding of the basics. Inthe above paragraphs you have learned what the basic metals andbullet casting alloys are, some of their important characteristicsand how to care for them. Here is a review. When accuracy, velocity orexpansion arethe prime concerns, consistency of the alloy from casting session tocasting session and batch to batch is important. Consistency of thealloy BHN is important to both grouping and velocity extreme spread. Too hard can beworse than too soft. If your cast bullets are leading don’tautomatically assume the alloy is too soft, the problem could very wellbe poor bullet fit or too hard of an alloy.
Lead absorbs heat slowly andit is extremely doubtful that bullet bases melt. Far more likely causesof leading are bullet fit, lack of obturation, firearm dimensions orlubrication.Don’t blame the alloy for something that it didn’t cause. Antimony hardens / strengthens lead. It helps the alloy flow and fill out the mouldwith better, sharper detail. It is extremely brittle and if the bulletis for other than paper punching the antimony should be held to about 6%of the alloy.
Cast Bullet Weight Variations 2017
Antimony is what enables the heat treating of lead alloys. Tin adds bothminor strength and minor hardening to bullet alloys. It reduces thesurface tension of the melt allowing the metal to flow and betterfill-out the fine details of the mould. Tin provides drossprotection up to about 750 o. Tin reduces the melting point oflead alloys plus the higher the percentage the more it limits the amountof heat treating that’s possible.
Higher percentages of tin cause fasterage softening. Arsenic is a' catalyst' in lead/ antimony alloys enabling hardening(strengthening) by heat treatmentfar above what the percentage of antimony would suggest. Only a trace isneeded and adding more will not further harden the alloy. Arsenic itselfadds very little to the hardness of lead alloys. Wheel weights, chilledshot and magnum shot are excellent sources of arsenical lead alloys forthe bullet caster to enrich his antimony alloy for quenching or heat treating. The type metalsare an excellent source of antimony and tin (but not of arsenic) foralloying with soft salvaged lead alloys and an unlimited variety ofdifferent alloys can be made.
Clip-on wheel weights and stick-onweights should be separated when processing wheel weight into ingots.Clip-on wheel weights are an excellent bullet casting alloy with itspercentages of lead/antimony and arsenic. 2% tin can be added for betterdross control and thus mould fill out. This alloy runs 10-11 BHN aircooled and can be heat treated to 30+ BHN. Proper fitting bullets of 11BHN in a properly dimensioned firearm are adequate for all but magnumhandgun loads, water quenching or heat treating wheelweight alloy will easily extend its use to magnum handgun loads andmid-range rifle loads.
When processingwheel weights into ingots the melt temperature should not be much over650 o and keep a watchful eye for zinc weights. Stick-on WW,45 ACP 200 gr. HP @ 800-850 fps fired into water.
Stick-on wheelweights are an excellent source of very soft alloy (about 6 BHN). Thisalloy makes very effective HP bullets for light and medium pressure 45ACP loads and expansion is dramatic. It is fairly close to a pure leadand can be used to alloy with the type metals. The alloy shouldnever be fluxed or metal added until it reaches its liquidus ( casting temperature.) After alloy is added wait for the temperature to return toits liquidus before fluxing. Don’t skim off the metal oxides,flux them back in. Keep the alloy well fluxed. Don’t run the pottemperature any higher above its liquidus than necessary (about 50 oF is fine) to keep oxidation to a minimum.
A tip on reducing oxidationof the melt, using a flux that doesn’t burn off (such as sawdust) and leaving it on top of the melt after fluxing and whilebottom pourcasting and will help keep air off the surface and reduce oxidation. Tryand avoid air flow (an electric fan for example) across the top of themelt. It should beobvious by now that a critical piece of casting equipment formaintaining consistent alloy from batch to batch, maintaining theintegrity of the alloy and casting bullets of consistent, repeatablequality is a quality lead thermometer. Stereotype metal fornewspaper use is the most sensitive of all the metals, requiringpurity and perfection of alloy, due to the large volumes of metalused. An inferior metal may show sinks, hot streaks, cold halftonesand porous plates. The correct casting temperature varies fordifferent equipment, and therefore must be determined.
It usuallyfalls within the range 560-610F. It is imperative to eliminateimpurities such as copper, zinc, arsenic, aluminum, nickel and ironand oxides formed during the melting and handling process.Sources:The AustralianPrinters' Handbook, E.C. Bernett 1950Type Metals, EngelhardWallace Pty, Ltd, 1970Note five differentgrades of linotype.
The most common and the recipe best known as 'lino'is 4/12/84, Tin/antimony/lead. Unified Numbering System - (UNS) designations for various pure lead gradesand lead-base alloys.
If you acquire ingots with any of thesenumbers, this what you have.Pure leads L50000- L50099.Lead - silveralloys L50100 - L50199.Lead - arsenicalloys L50300 - L50399.Lead - bariumalloys L50500 - L50599.Lead - calciumalloys L50700 - L50899.Lead - cadmiumalloys L50900 - L50999.Lead - copperalloys L51100 - L51199.Lead - indiumalloys L51500 - L51599.Lead - lithiumalloys L51700 - L51799.Lead - antimonyalloys L52500 - L53799.Lead - tin alloysL54000 - L55099.Lead - strontiumalloys L55200 - L55299Compositionsand Grades of lead. Malleability, softness, lubricityand coefficient of thermal expansion, all of which are quite high;and elastic modulus, elastic limit, strength, hardness, andmelting point, all of which are quite low are related propertiesthat account for the extensive use of lead in many applications.Grades of lead Grades are pure lead (also called corrodinglead) and common lead (both containing 99.94% min lead), andchemical lead and acid-copper lead (both containing 99.90%min lead). Lead of higher specified purity (99.99%) is alsoavailable in commercial quantities.
Specifications otherthan ASTM B 29 for grades of pig lead include federalspecification QQ-L-171, Canadian Standard CSA-HP2, andAustralian Standard 1812.Corroding Lead.Most lead produced in the United States is pure (or corroding)lead (99.94% min Pb). Warning: Alltechnical data mentioned, especiallyhandloading and bullet casting,reflect the limited experience ofindividuals using specific tools,products, equipment and componentsunder specific conditions andcircumstances not necessarily reportedin the article or on this web site and over which TheLosAngelesSilhouetteClub (LASC),this web site or the author has nocontrol. Theabove has no control over thecondition of your firearms / equipmentor your methods, components, tools,techniques or circumstances anddisclaims all and any responsibilityfor any person using any datamentioned.Lead,antimony, arsenic and other bullet casting alloys aretoxic. Make use of all approved lead handlingpractices - Be safeA lwaysconsult recognized reloading manuals.
Lee Bullet Molds. Feature trochioidal venting on the mold face and sprue plate mating surface.
Unique venting allows consistent and effortless fill out. All Lee Mold Blocks are made from aluminum because of the exceptional molding qualities. The mold cavities are CNC machined for unmatched roundness and size control. Most bullets from Lee molds can be used as cast without sizingDouble Cavity MoldsAll molds for pistol calibers are double cavity to speed casting. Handles and sprue plate are included.Hollow Base MoldsThese are available in single cavity only. They all have self centering automatic core pins for the fastest possible molding.
Handles and sprue plate included.Six Cavity Commercial Quality MoldsThese are made for heavy duty volume production. The mold and blocks have steel bushing and alignment pins for lasting precision. Price includes a cam operated sprue plate to eliminate the pounding common to ordinary molds. The sprue plate is hard anodized and held down with wave washers at each end. No finer mold can be purchased at any price. Extra, but priced low enough so you can have a set for every pair of blocks.