Lyman #2 recipes for casting bullets

[NW Tradegunner]

I have found a number of recipes for Lyman #2 alloys:

1/2 pure lead and 1/2 Linotype

9 lbs. Wheel weights and 1 lb. 50/50 solder

4 lbs. Linotype and 1 lb. 50/50 solder and 5 lbs. Lead

5.5 lbs. Wheel weights and 1 lb. 50/50 solder and 3.5 lbs. Lead

A few questions here: Where would a person find Linotype?
Are wheel weights these days that precise an alloy?
Are there any other formulations that work for 45/70?

[silver]

Originally Posted by NW Tradegunner

I have found a number of recipes for Lyman #2 alloys:

1/2 pure lead and 1/2 Linotype

9 lbs. Wheel weights and 1 lb. 50/50 solder

4 lbs. Linotype and 1 lb. 50/50 solder and 5 lbs. Lead

5.5 lbs. Wheel weights and 1 lb. 50/50 solder and 3.5 lbs. Lead

A few questions here: Where would a person find Linotype?
Are wheel weights these days that precise an alloy?
Are there any other formulations that work for 45/70?

Actual linotype has been extinct for 30 or 40 years, but you can still find new linotype, I am sure there are suppliers out there.
There are three types of wheel weights. There is the flexible stick on kind and it is pure lead. There is the kind with the clip that fits on a steel rim, this is the one you want. If you melt in large enough quantities you should be able to standardize your alloy. There is also a type of wheel weight that has zinc in it and it is to be avoided, sorry I can't tell you how to identify it.
I use straight wheel weight in my casting, without any additives. I find it helps to melt and remelt wheel weights when it comes to cleaning them up.

[benamen]

9 lbs. Wheel weights and 1 lb. 50/50 solder

This is the formula I used when I used to cast for my 357 and 44 handguns. Used to drop a bit of wax on top of the melted lead to help clean it up. Just be careful when melting the wheel weights as any moisture can cause the lead to spatter.

[32-40win]

I hand sorted the last couple of pails (20L) of weights I picked up. Had a mix of good ones, zinc and steel and stick-ons. Doesn't hurt to have a magnet for the steel ones, although, bouncing them on the ground will get most of them, they sound & bounce different. As far as I could tell the zinc ones were all marked with ZN. For the most part, I could tell by looking at them, what was what, in the ones I checked. The clips were different ,too. I suppose that is a "brand " ID. I didn't keep anything under 1oz.
You can buy linotype, probably Western Metals, never have myself, never did a blend that needed it.
As to where to source scrap linotype around here, no clue.

[qwert]

Originally Posted by 32-40win

I hand sorted the last couple of pails (20L) of weights I picked up. Had a mix of good ones, zinc and steel and stick-ons. Doesn't hurt to have a magnet for the steel ones, although, bouncing them on the ground will get most of them, they sound & bounce different. As far as I could tell the zinc ones were all marked with ZN. For the most part, I could tell by looking at them, what was what, in the ones I checked. The clips were different ,too. I suppose that is a "brand " ID. I didn't keep anything under 1oz.
You can buy linotype, probably Western Metals, never have myself, never did a blend that needed it.
As to where to source scrap linotype around here, no clue.

It seems 32-40 has done this before.

IMHE sorting out the steel wheel weights is relatively easy as they look quite different. Separating out the zinc is a little harder but it does get easier with practice. Sometimes they say Zn, they sound different when bounced on smooth concrete or a heavy steel table top and they are much harder. I suggest using a pair of large side cutting pliers to do a hardness test on each weight, you will get a feel for the different types once you have worked through a couple of pails and then it gets a lot easier. You can safely do this task while watching TV, but it is tiring and time consuming.

I never attempt to smelt the dirty weights in my pouring pot. I use a large stainless steel pot from a thrift store and a solid grate to hold the pot over a tiger torch. I suspect that a turkey fryer setup would be ideal but do not use an aluminum pot as it can fail from heat & weight. A cast iron Dutch oven would be ideal but also a lot more $$$. IMPORTANT, once a pot has been used to melt lead it must NEVER AGAIN be used for food.

IMHO, a proper thermometer is almost essential, both for smelting and casting. When smelting you want to keep the smelt temp above the lead melting point (which will vary with alloy) and below the zinc melting point (check your Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook). The zinc weights that you missed in the first sort will float on the melted lead with any steel weights and the steel clips, but do NOT allow any zinc weights to melt in the lead. I melt the small weights as well as old and fired bullets. I smelt the pure lead stick on weights, and all other scrap lead separately from the harder alloy clip on weights. Use the pure lead for muzzle loading and for soft lead boolits for slugging your barrel bore to measure bore size.

I have tried lots of different fluxes but the dirt and oxide that floats on the surface seems to work as well as anything else. Many suggest stirring with a DRY wooden stick and parafin or candle wax or bees wax or bullet lube or Marvelux or used motor oil or other wonder fluxes, but a good cover of ???dirt seems to work just as well as any, experiment for yourself. I use thrift shop SS spoons and ladles for stirring and pouring the smelted lead into an aluminum muffin tin, the lead muffins weight 1kg, YMMV. Weigh your muffins to calculate casting alloy additions.

The clip on lead has some (~5%) antimony and a small amount of tin. You will need to add some tin to improve the flow of the lead into your mold, the amount needed will depend on the type of boolit you are making. Most traditional recipes call for 50/50 solder but IMHO this is a waste of good lead solder and an expensive source of tin. I suggest you purchase new 95-5 plumbing solder as it is 95% tin and 5% antimony. I add about 8" of 95-5 solder to each muffin I add to my bottom pour pot and this seems to work well for pistol boolits. It also works for rifle boolits as long as the speed (<2000-2200 fps) and pressure are low, for more speed and pressure rifle boolits I add some Linotype (Western Metals $$$) to get the antimony content up for a harder boolit. A Lee Hardness tester is a very useful tool for measuring alloy hardness.

For your 45/70, I suggest you start with clip-on wheel weights alloyed with 95-5 solder. Mold at the correct temperature and harden by drop quenching the hot boolits in water. I suggest you use a mold designed to allow you to install a crimp on gas check to the base and size the boolit .001-.002” larger than your bore measures by slugging with a pure lead boolit. Sizing and lubing are another area of discussion. I suggest the Lee Universal Case Expanding die (or a 45acp expander may work well) to stop lead shaving when seating followed by the Lee Factory Crimp die to finish.

ALWAYS follow standard welding safety rules, wear good safety glasses, leather gloves and protective clothing, melt lead only outdoors and stand upwind, keep your face out of the smoke. Beware of moisture as it WILL turn to steam explosively when it contacts molten lead. Dispose of lead oxide dirt properly as it is very harmful and keep children and pregnant women away from lead, lead oxide, and smoke.

Good Luck, YMMV, lead boolit shooting is interesting and addictive. Like all reloading, you will not save money but it will allow you to shoot a lot more for the same money and the tools last almost forever.

[duceman]

thanks for sharing good first hand knowledge qwert, lee

[qwert]

Originally Posted by qwert

ALWAYS follow standard welding safety rules, wear good safety glasses, leather gloves and protective clothing, melt lead only outdoors and stand upwind, keep your face out of the smoke. Beware of moisture as it WILL turn to steam explosively when it contacts molten lead. Dispose of lead oxide dirt properly as it is very harmful and keep children and pregnant women away from lead, lead oxide, and smoke.

I would like to add

Keep your hands away from your face (particularly mouth eyes or nose), and wash hands thoroughly before eating or smoking or drinking.

[32-40win]

One note on the melt on wheelweights. If you miss a few zinc or steel ones in the sort, they will float along with the clips when the lead is melted. Just keep the pot temp reasonable. I forget what temp the zinc will melt at, but, it is a lot higher than lead, and steel, well, you'll melt the pot first. Just don't do it in your usual casting pot.
Everything you ever, or never, wanted to know about blends and components and etc involved in casting is here, it's like a bible for casting;

http://www.lasc.us/castbulletnotes.htm