casting bullets

[J_Hensley]

I will soon be acquiring some old lead waterline pipe. I have a bullet mold, but that is it.

Where do I start? I am aware that I need a way to melt down the lead and clean all of the trash out of it. How can I measure the quality of the lead to know what (if any) other ingredients I may need to add before pouring?

I'm just looking to take advantage of an inexpensive resource.

 

[BKA]

Saeco lead hardness tester is what I use to determine if tin or antimony need to be added.
Plethora of data regarding your future endeavor can be found in the link below.

Cast Bullet Association
https://castbulletassoc.org

 

[J_Hensley]

This seems like a lot of bullets.

 

[jds holler]

A good start would be to hang around or even join the Cast Boolits Forum.
Casting is another part of the hobby, and you might like it - or not. jd

 

[Webster]

I will soon be acquiring some old lead waterline pipe. I have a bullet mold, but that is it.

Where do I start? I am aware that I need a way to melt down the lead and clean all of the trash out of it. How can I measure the quality of the lead to know what (if any) other ingredients I may need to add before pouring?

I'm just looking to take advantage of an inexpensive resource.

I made a lot of cast bullets years ago and I know a lot about the metallurgy. Lead pipe should't be alloyed with with tin or antimony. That's a real problem. Tin is expensive to buy. I used wheel weights io get antimony and I could get a few pure tin igotts from work. I had x-ray equipment to analyse for exact composition.

I would look locally for a company that sells lead alloys for casting bearings. There was one near me I told them I wanted something close to linotype. They blended it and cast it into small ingots while I waited. It cost to much to buy 50/50 soldier as a source of tin. A bearingg co. could sell you tin and antomony to blend with your pipe lead. A hardness tester won't relate to the tin content. Animony cntributes most of the hardness. You can judge if you have enough tin by how sharp the edges are that should be square like grease groves or the back end. Tin improves the fluidity so the lead fills the mold properly. Grease groves get square edges and not big rounded edges. You must size them to match your rifle bore. You shouldn't try to shoot them as cast. You need to run them thru a sizer to get the gas ckecks attached to the back end.

You can actualy heat treat lead alloys to increase the hardness. t's been about 50 years since I did it. The NRA Cast Bullet Manual is on E-Bay for about $50 covers the process. Basically you put them in an oven about 50F below the melting temp. Maybe try 350F for an hour and I think they were air cooled. The process has something to do with putting the antimony into solution. I'll try to find a write-up.

Wheel weights are now made from zinc, no longer a lead antimony alloy.

I don't know if it's worth bothering with cast bullets unless you plan I shooting them for many years. Don't know currant prices but I think your looking at $300-$400 or more. Plus the tin and antimony.

Melting pot
ladel
molds
sizing lubricating press
sizing dies
gas checks
bullet lube


Good explanation for heat treating Pb alloys. Doesn't give times and temp. Will look for more info.

heat treating of lead and lead alloys | Total Materia

Explore the methods of strengthening lead and lead alloys for various applications, including battery components. Learn about the challenges and successes in solid-solution hardening, solution treating and aging, and dispersion hardening of lead alloys.

www.totalmateria.com

 

[J_Hensley]

I made a lot of cast bullets years ago and I know a lot about the metallurgy. Lead pipe should't be alloyed with with tin or antimony. That's a real problem. Tin is expensive to buy. I used wheel weights io get antimony and I could get a few pure tin igotts from work. I had x-ray equipment to analyse for exact composition.

I would look locally for a company that sells lead alloys for casting bearings. There was one near me I told them I wanted something close to linotype. They blended it and cast it into small ingots while I waited. It cost to much to buy 50/50 soldier as a source of tin. A bearingg co. could sell you tin and antomony to blend with your pipe lead. A hardness tester won't relate to the tin content. Animony cntributes most of the hardness. You can judge if you have enough tin by how sharp adges are that should be square like grease groves or the back end. Tin improves the fluidity so the lead fills the mold properly. Grease groves get square edges and not big rounded edges. You must size them to match your rifle bore. You shouldn't try to shoot them as cast. You need to run them thru a sizer to get the gas ckecks attached to the back end.

You can actualy heat treat lead alloys to increase the hardness. t's been about 50 years since I did it. The NRA Cast Bullet Manual is on E-Bay for about $50 covers the process. Basically you put them in an oven about 50F below the melting temp. Maybe try 350F for an hour and I think they were aair cooled. The process has something to do with putting the antimony into solution. I'll try to find a write-up.

Wheel weights are now made from zinc, no longer a lead antimony alloy.

I don't know if it's worth bothering with cast bullets unless you plan I shooting them for many years. Don't know currant prices but I think your looking at $300-$400 or more. Plus the tin and antimony.

Melting pot
ladel
molds
sizing lubricating press
sizing dies
gas checks
bullet lube


Good explanation for heat treating Pb alloys. Doesn't give imes and temp. Will look for more info.

heat treating of lead and lead alloys | Total Materia

Explore the methods of strengthening lead and lead alloys for various applications, including battery components. Learn about the challenges and successes in solid-solution hardening, solution treating and aging, and dispersion hardening of lead alloys.

www.totalmateria.com

A lot of very helpful information!
Thank you so much for the input. I love to tinker, so I will likely find this to be an enjoyable process.

I don't mind the expense, I can purchase components a little at a time. I'll probably start by melting this down, cleaning it up and pouring lead ingots to store until I am ready to go further.

This stuff seems to be almost 100% lead it bends incredibly easily without kinking or cracking.

 

[fayettefatts]

Be careful when melting. Any trapped moisture in the lead pipe could lead to a steam explosion throwing molten lead out if the pot. Never add cold lead to molten lead. Start out with the pipe in an empty pot so temperature can raise gradually letting the moisture evaporate.

 

[J_Hensley]

Be careful when melting. Any trapped moisture in the lead pipe could lead to a steam explosion throwing molten lead out if the pot. Never add cold lead to molten lead. Start out with the pipe in an empty pot so temperature can raise gradually letting the moisture evaporate.

Thank you for the tip.

 

[Webster]

A lot of very helpful information!
Thank you so much for the input. I love to tinker, so I will likely find this to be an enjoyable process.

I don't mind the expense, I can purchase components a little at a time. I'll probably start by melting this down, cleaning it up and pouring lead ingots to store until I am ready to go further.

This stuff seems to be almost 100% lead it bends incredibly easily without kinking or cracking.

A better article on heat treating bullets. He used 420F for 1 hour. I think they quenched in water. Cannot hurt if the quench isn't needed. The bullets are the hardest afer quenching. The hardness drops off a little in hours and days.

I think the articles say you need a water quech.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.artfulbullet.com/documents/Kelter_Heat_Treat.pdf

 

[J_Hensley]

A better article on heat treating bullets. He used 420F for 1 hour. I think they quenched in water. Cannot hurt if the quench isn't needed. The bullets are the hardest afer quenching. The hardness drops off a little in hours and days.

I think the articles say you need a water quech.

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.artfulbullet.com/documents/Kelter_Heat_Treat.pdf

I'll be saving this information.

Thank you.

 

[PhilC]

A good start would be to hang around or even join the Cast Boolits Forum.
Casting is another part of the hobby, and you might like it - or not. jd

I agree, there is lots to learn before jumping in with both feet.

You're going to need a lot of things to make what you have, essentially pure lead, into usable bullets. It's too soft for any modern firearm use and will need tin and/or antimony to mix with your lead.

Cost and learning curve are fairly steep. If you really want to get into casting, IMHO, it's best to start out with known alloy ingots vs smelting/fluxing/alloying your own. Rotometals is an excellent source for quality casting alloys and where I got mine before acquiring the skills and knowledge to make my own alloys.

 

[jds holler]

AND/OR -- If ya already have, or feel the urge to shoot a traditional black power muzzle loader, your pure lead pipe will serve perfectly well. Also not a bad way to get your feet wet with casting. I did it on my Moms stove when I was a sprout, and when I had money to spend on actual equipment, I already knew the basics. jd

 

[Syncrowave]

Old Linotype is a good source of tin. I would second the suggestion to register for, and read, castboolits.com

 

[Webster]

Old Linotype is a good source of tin. I would second the suggestion to register for, and read, castboolits.com

Linotype is no longer used in the printing business. You would have to have someone alloy it for you.

 

[BKA]

1. I had x-ray equipment to analyze for exact composition.

2. Antimony contributes most of the hardness. You can judge if you have enough tin by how sharp the edges are that should be square like grease groves or the back end. Tin improves the fluidity so the lead fills the mold properly. Grease groves get square edges and not big rounded edges.

3. You must size them to match your rifle bore. You shouldn't try to shoot them as cast. You need to run them thru a sizer to get the gas checks attached to the back end.

Comment #1 - is total BS. Lead is used in x-ray vaults to block x-rays, x-rays can't penetrate lead. Must be confused with a mass spectrometer, that's what you need to determine metal chemistry.

Comment #2 - I agree with this in general, a hardness tester lets you know if you have enough antimony.

Comment #3 - Yes, you have to run them through a sizer but not all bullets require gas checks, most pistol bullets are good examples. Velocity and hardness will dictate the need for gas checks.

 

[Webster]

Comment #1 - is total BS. Lead is used in x-ray vaults to block x-rays, x-rays can't penetrate lead. Must be confused with a mass spectrometer, that's what you need to determine metal chemistry.

Comment #2 - I agree with this in general, a hardness tester lets you know if you have enough antimony.

Comment #3 - Yes, you have to run them through a sizer but not all bullets require gas checks, most pistol bullets are good examples. Velocity and hardness will dictate the need for gas checks.

Are you telling me that I lied about determining the composison of lead alloys. I doubt lead blocks x_rays penetrating a few microns. I used the term X-ray for simplicity. It was actually EDS Spectoscopy in a scanning electron microscope. I didn't need to know the hardness since I knew the composition and they shot well.

 

[243winxb]

Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook. Link.

For otherS, search "Lyman Cast Bullets" on site. https://archive.org/

My casting photos link.

Short method- If bullet diameter is large enough, as bullet drops from mold, lube with Lee Liquid Alox. Load and shoot.

 

[Syncrowave]

Linotype is no longer used in the printing business. You would have to have someone alloy it for you.

Plenty of old Linotype on the metals market. I recently bought a bunch of it.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Im no casting expert but I have cast and shot a lot of them. If these are just plinking bullets you can get away with bad alloy by hunning the mold hot. I used to use straight wheel weights and if I got the mold hot enough it would fill out and make good bulllets. They were frosted, but shot good.

 

[243winxb]

I have a bullet mold

Would help to know what mold & firearm you will be loading for?