# French Recipe Alloy?



## fusil (Sep 23, 2008)

Bonjour mes ami

At last I’m ready to start casting!....After being sent the wrong mold…TWICE.:smt076
I was talking to some of the guys at the range last week about alloy mixes.

50/50 mix of WW & pure was mentioned. 
But, 70% pure lead, 30% WW and 3% tin was very popular. 

I’m casting 38spl & 9mm boolits. Loaded to shoot below 900fps, what do you think is a suitable mix? 
Any advice, as always, greatly appreciated:help:

fusil


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## kev74 (Mar 22, 2008)

What do you mean by WW?

Richard Lee's Modern Handloading has a nice section on bullet casting and alloys...if you can get past his self promotion.


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## fusil (Sep 23, 2008)

kev74 said:


> What do you mean by WW?
> 
> Richard Lee's Modern Handloading has a nice section on bullet casting and alloys...if you can get past his self promotion.


SORRY....
WW aka wheel weight lead.
I have the Lee book and your right about self promotion.:blah::blah:

fusil


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## kev74 (Mar 22, 2008)

Be careful with the wheel weights. If they are lead, they're almost pure lead. But over the past 10 years or so, they're more likely to be made of zinc. The zinc ones are similar in appearance but will cause headaches if they get melted in with the lead. 

Good luck!


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## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

If you keep your velocities below 1000 ft per sec you can use streight wheel weights if they are lubed with no problems with out barrel leading. That is based on the weights we have here in america. They are a lead, antimony, and tin mix. Watch out for the zinc ones when you melt (most have Zn on them) but if you do get one in the pot they will float to the top so you can snag it out before it melts.


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## fusil (Sep 23, 2008)

gmaske said:


> If you keep your velocities below 1000 ft per sec you can use streight wheel weights if they are lubed with no problems with out barrel leading. That is based on the weights we have here in america. They are a lead, antimony, and tin mix. Watch out for the zinc ones when you melt (most have Zn on them) but if you do get one in the pot they will float to the top so you can snag it out before it melts.


Salut,
I have a good stash of WW & pure lead ingots. I've been smelting for 2 or 3 months now and know about the zinc menace!!:numbchuck:
I've smelting some pewter I got from the local scrap man for the tin and antimony content.
I'm gonna try 50/50 with some pewter added and water drop them. I'll let you all know how it go's.:smt023

fusil


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## gmaske (Jan 7, 2008)

fusil,
I just ran a box of my first 50 wheel weight bullets threw my 1911 commander. They were lubed with Lee Liquid Alox and they left the barrel clean when I checked it after my session at the range. They are running somewere between 700 to 850 ft. per second. So far I'm happy with the streight wheel weight melt and cast boogie!:smt033


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## fusil (Sep 23, 2008)

gmaske said:


> fusil,
> I just ran a box of my first 50 wheel weight bullets threw my 1911 commander. They were lubed with Lee Liquid Alox and they left the barrel clean when I checked it after my session at the range. They are running somewere between 700 to 850 ft. per second. So far I'm happy with the streight wheel weight melt and cast boogie!:smt033


Bonjour,
can you use LLA on non-tuble lube boolits?

fusil


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## RustyFN (Dec 27, 2006)

> can you use LLA on non-tuble lube boolits?


Yes you can. WW's will be quite a bit harder than pure lead. I cast straight WW's and am getting a BHN of around 14. I add 24" of 1/8" round solder to my pot to help fill out the mold. The solder is 95% tin and 5% antimony. I throw everything in the smelting pot and keep it around 700 degrees. That will keep the zinc weights from melting and they can be scooped off with the clips.
Rusty


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