Cast Lead Thread ?

[JD300]

Hey all I was lucky enough to have a mate give me a bucket of Wheel weights for some casting.
I have a stack of pure lead, flashings /pipe etc and some large counter balances I rescued from a shearing shed we pulled down years ago.
Now it's starting to look like the counter balances are not pure lead as I assumed they would be, Based on no knowledge at all lol, just an assumption that back in the day it would be the cheapest and easiest to get hold of.
Has any one come across them before?
I'm picking they may be just some random mix.
I have done the pencil test and they seem to be 2b same as my wheel weights.
Does anyone else use this method? what is the appropriate technique?
What Brinell hardness is everyone using for there hunting projectiles?
Ill be casting for 45-70, .223, .308, .303
Big clean up the other night getting it all ready and clean for use.

[Tedz50]

Just a word of caution,do not mix large batches unless you know whats in it.I have ruined good lead by mixing in a small amount of 22 bullets,also pipe joints which contained zinc. Good score though and happy casting. If you need any help or advice give me a call.

[Jhon]

Suggest you get you across to these US sites for casting,

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/

https://forum.castbulletassoc.org/

and others

There's decades of info covering everything you could wish to know, plus what is already on this site.

[The bomb]

Pm nzshooter here on the forum,he is the local cast bullet guru

[T.FOYE]

I've just done the same and gotten into casting. Heaps on YouTube and other online sources. The accuracy is great and for the 4570 you won't be losing any mv especially if you crimp.

[shooternz]

Hey all I was lucky enough to have a mate give me a bucket of Wheel weights for some casting.
I have a stack of pure lead, flashings /pipe etc and some large counter balances I rescued from a shearing shed we pulled down years ago.
Now it's starting to look like the counter balances are not pure lead as I assumed they would be, Based on no knowledge at all lol, just an assumption that back in the day it would be the cheapest and easiest to get hold of.
Has any one come across them before?
I'm picking they may be just some random mix.
I have done the pencil test and they seem to be 2b same as my wheel weights.
Does anyone else use this method? what is the appropriate technique?
What Brinell hardness is everyone using for there hunting projectiles?
Ill be casting for 45-70, .223, .308, .303
Big clean up the other night getting it all ready and clean for use.
Attachment 204314

Hi JD, Wellcome to the Cast bullet world you are in for a big learning curve, Like Tedz50 said don't melt it all down together melt each type to see what you have
I have been caught a few times with stuff that looks good but will not form good bullets and have been unable to salvage it, Best advice is buy the Lyman Cast bullet Manual
Don't worry about the hardness the only thing you want for hunting bullets is lead that is as soft as possible and still forms a perfectly filled out bullet,
My hardness tester is my thumb nail if I can mark it easily it is about right, Hardcast bullets are useless for hunting the wildlife in NZ, The hardest I go for hunting bullets
is 50/50 wheel weights and straight lead and add some 50/50 solder, for the tin help it flow
Get in touch if you need any help, robs.reload@gmail.com.

[T.FOYE]

I started with unknown hardness linotype
and thought it wouldn't take long to dilute it /test with a lee tester. It took all day! Next time I'll start with the pure and work up to about 12BHN. There is a good guy in Onehunga that sells bulk lead on trademe and his 18kg bars are worth it.

[Micky Duck]

there is a guide to using lead pencils to test your hardness...but shooternz makes a good projectile..if thumnail is good enough for him....well its good enough for me.

[No.3]

It is possible to rescue some batches when things get outta whack, but it can be a pain in the arse. Powdered tin is available off places like trademe or craft outfits, it's cheaper than 50/50 solder and actually getting real 50/50 solder can be a pain in the bum now as some are actually "low lead" and have other crap in them.

You also can't tell from appearance what a wheel weight is made from now too - theres a heap of weights out there with lots of zinc or made from pure zinc. I'm yet to figure out a reliable way to test them myslef but I've been told about a electrolysis test where a zinc weight or a weight containing a lot of zinc will fizz in an electrolyte when a current is put through it. Slow but effective as a test.

Linotype was great except it's crap in terms of weight and density - it has a lot of tin and flow stuff in it for a clean reliable cast which also means any holes or cracks in your mold and it goes straight through and out the other side and makes a mess on the ground. Not ideal... I made up some dive weights out of some lead I got given and worked out it was 'linotype' after the 1kg weight arrived in at 900grams thereabouts. Bugger...

[JD300]

Just a word of caution,do not mix large batches unless you know whats in it.I have ruined good lead by mixing in a small amount of 22 bullets,also pipe joints which contained zinc. Good score though and happy casting. If you need any help or advice give me a call.

Cheers @Tedz50 yes I have made sure to keep everything separate for alloying later.
Thanks a lot for the offer mate.

[JD300]

I've just done the same and gotten into casting. Heaps on YouTube and other online sources. The accuracy is great and for the 4570 you won't be losing any mv especially if you crimp.

Thanks @T.FOYE yes have been watching heaps of you tube and googling and the cast forums trying to learn as much a possible.
I run mostly subsonic with the leads (Bought a few) and instead of crimping I have started jamming the lands and am getting a lot better consistency same hole at 20m and touching at 50m.
A 1" group with a 45-70 is 2-3 shots so that make's it a 1 MOA gun .5 in the same hole Haha .

[JD300]

Hi JD, Wellcome to the Cast bullet world you are in for a big learning curve, Like Tedz50 said don't melt it all down together melt each type to see what you have
I have been caught a few times with stuff that looks good but will not form good bullets and have been unable to salvage it, Best advice is buy the Lyman Cast bullet Manual
Don't worry about the hardness the only thing you want for hunting bullets is lead that is as soft as possible and still forms a perfectly filled out bullet,
My hardness tester is my thumb nail if I can mark it easily it is about right, Hardcast bullets are useless for hunting the wildlife in NZ, The hardest I go for hunting bullets
is 50/50 wheel weights and straight lead and add some 50/50 solder, for the tin help it flow
Get in touch if you need any help, robs.reload@gmail.com.

Thanks @shooternz I think it is a great Mistake to make Haha. I am an engineer by trade so have this silly urge to make everything myself, Cant find molds I want so they be next on the list.
Thanks for the insights and the offer yes I am only interested in the hunting aspects of it the first Pure lead I cast all deformed upon seating so that did not work so well lol.
But have since learned to expand necks more for cast I will try pushing some fast but will mostly be slow shooting and muzzle loader

[JD300]

It is possible to rescue some batches when things get outta whack, but it can be a pain in the arse. Powdered tin is available off places like trademe or craft outfits, it's cheaper than 50/50 solder and actually getting real 50/50 solder can be a pain in the bum now as some are actually "low lead" and have other crap in them.

You also can't tell from appearance what a wheel weight is made from now too - theres a heap of weights out there with lots of zinc or made from pure zinc. I'm yet to figure out a reliable way to test them myslef but I've been told about a electrolysis test where a zinc weight or a weight containing a lot of zinc will fizz in an electrolyte when a current is put through it. Slow but effective as a test.

Linotype was great except it's crap in terms of weight and density - it has a lot of tin and flow stuff in it for a clean reliable cast which also means any holes or cracks in your mold and it goes straight through and out the other side and makes a mess on the ground. Not ideal... I made up some dive weights out of some lead I got given and worked out it was 'linotype' after the 1kg weight arrived in at 900grams thereabouts. Bugger...

Nice cheers for the Info. If you monitor the temperature of your melt zink melts 419.5 °C degrees hotter than lead at 327.46 °C so it will just float to the top with all the other crud then you don't have to worry about sorting it out. guess all I need now is maybe some tin and more pure lead to alloy all the rest of the stuff lol.

[Jhon]

Nice cheers for the Info. If you monitor the temperature of your melt zink melts 419.5 °C degrees hotter than lead at 327.46 °C so it will just float to the top with all the other crud then you don't have to worry about sorting it out. guess all I need now is maybe some tin and more pure lead to alloy all the rest of the stuff lol.

So what thermometer do you use and where do you get them?

[T.FOYE]

Check Amazon eh. I got a lyman electronic one with a probe and it does the job well. Really cheap too considering what it does