Thread: Casting.....lead, tin and Antimony supply?

Where are you based?

Originally Posted by ihmsakiwi

Where are you based?

Hi ihmsakiwi, I’m in Pukekohe.

I'm in 'kura!!

Happy to meet and give you some nice clean wheelweight ingots for free. As Marty mentioned it may need a little sweetening with some tin for better mold fillout. I used to fill the 10lb Lee pot with ingots, throw in some solder for tin, maybe a small stick 3" long of 50% tin solder or somethimes just about 2 TBSP of lead shot which also gave you a bit of arsenic. The wheelweights by default have the antimony in them.

it isn't a pure science because even wheelweights are not created equal.

The bigger the initial melt the better. I used to fill a cast iron camp oven with my mix, probably 20 litres of molten lead, clean the hell out of it, add some pure lead, a little linotype and call it a day.
I would then use my Lee hardness tester to ensure it was within cooey of my previous batch harness wise ( around Lyman #2) and shoot it.
I shot this same mix in 357, 357 SuperMag, 44Mag, 7mmBR, 22 Hornet, 30/30, 7mmTCU, 30BR and others. Never had any leading.
Then you can start on the black art of making your own bullet lube. I shot my own lube for years and never had leading up to 2200 fps ( Ithink; I'd need to check my data when I get home).

Beware the Zinc wheelweights, they will totally ruin your day.

Originally Posted by ihmsakiwi

I'm in 'kura!!

Happy to meet and give you some nice clean wheelweight ingots for free. As Marty mentioned it may need a little sweetening with some tin for better mold fillout. I used to fill the 10lb Lee pot with ingots, throw in some solder for tin, maybe a small stick 3" long of 50% tin solder or somethimes just about 2 TBSP of lead shot which also gave you a bit of arsenic. The wheelweights by default have the antimony in them.

it isn't a pure science because even wheelweights are not created equal.

The bigger the initial melt the better. I used to fill a cast iron camp oven with my mix, probably 20 litres of molten lead, clean the hell out of it, add some pure lead, a little linotype and call it a day.
I would then use my Lee hardness tester to ensure it was within cooey of my previous batch harness wise ( around Lyman #2) and shoot it.
I shot this same mix in 357, 357 SuperMag, 44Mag, 7mmBR, 22 Hornet, 30/30, 7mmTCU, 30BR and others. Never had any leading.
Then you can start on the black art of making your own bullet lube. I shot my own lube for years and never had leading up to 2200 fps ( Ithink; I'd need to check my data when I get home).

Beware the Zinc wheelweights, they will totally ruin your day.

Wow that’s awesome! Thanks for the great info and the offer of some ingots. I’m happy to give some cash so your not out of pocket. I’ll PM you when I get home from my work trip (Sat afternoon). How do you know if the wheel weights have zinc in them?

I suggest you become an active reader / member of the below website. Everything and more that you could ever need to knopw about casting, lube, paper patching, powder-coating bullets in lieu of lube etc etc.

castboolits.gunloads.com

Zinc goes Tink!!
Lead goes thud!

Originally Posted by ihmsakiwi

I suggest you become an active reader / member of the below website. Everything and more that you could ever need to knopw about casting, lube, paper patching, powder-coating bullets in lieu of lube etc etc.

castboolits.gunloads.com

Zinc goes Tink!!
Lead goes thud!

Awesome cheers, I have been scrolling though that site. It’s excellent. Also just watched a couple of YouTube videos explaining the zinc ‘tink’. I’m getting excited. Going to get some muffin dishes for ingot making and a big pot. Will also get a hardness tester.

Cheers for your help.