tin or no tin?

nemesisenforcer

So I joined another forum dedicated to cast bullets to see if I could crowd source my problems to a little bit wider audience.

One issue that came up is wheel weight alloy and whether you need to alloy with tin.

Some say that straight WW is fine for casting low and medium pressure loads, some say you need to add tin no matter what.

I'm sure adding tin wouldn't hurt anything but I didn't start casting to spend a bunch of money on components for mass produced bullets.

So what say you? Tin for pistol bullets or not?

BHAVIN

Well I can guarantee that Wheel Weights have only worked for us for about 50 years. Light to med target loads.

charliemeyer007

http://media.midwayusa.com/midwayusa/StaticPages/pdf/instructions/Bullet_Making_Guide_All_Molds.pdf

MIKE WISKEY

I've use straight w.w. for the .44 mag. for years w/no problems. just use the 'slower' powders (h110, imr 4227,5744,ect.)

dcs shooters

I used straight wheel weighs for about 30yr. If you are using the newer ones, you need to harden them as they aren't like the older ones, much softer. Cheaper to produce the new ones.A lot of good lead is going to China [xx(]

Rocky Raab

If it looks like lead, it goes into my pot. When I smelt for ingots, I toss in wheelweights, spent bullets, scuba weights, reclaimed shot, bar solder, and whatever other lead I can get. I use a little bit of each in every smelt to keep the alloy relatively the same but I'm not obsessed with that. It all molds and shoots just fine.

If I were using just wheelweights, I'd toss in a bit of solder just to be sure there was a trace of tin. That's all you need. Tin helps make a cleaner bullet with sharper edges than pure lead; it doesn't add to hardness much at all. But hardness is VERY much over-rated as a bullet requirement. Proper fit in the bore is MUCH more important.

CapnMidnight

Rocky hit the nail on the head, fit is way more important than being supper hard. Crorrect sizing and bullet lube will contribute more to solving barrel leading problems than anything else.
W.D.

nemesisenforcer

well, I cast some new batches of 38s and 45s today with some 95/5 solder wire. They're curing right now.

I'll lube them up (Lee Alox) and shoot them this weekend and see what the verdict is.

FWIW, I used more than a trace of tin in the hopes that the extra hardness or mold filling would be just what I needed, though I'm more than a little pessimistic.

I keep hearing that bore fit is key, but why would I still get leading when I shoot them unsized, as cast, with no "squeezing" down? The 45s are coming out with the base at over .453 (sometimes .456 or so) but they chamber and shoot without issue it seems, so are they TOO big? The 38s are coming in right at .357-.358 so what's the problem?

Can someone come to my house and give me a clinic or something?

Rocky Raab

My first question is "WHICH .45 are you shooting?" If it's the .45 ACP, you should probably be running cast bullets of .452" to .453" but they should all be the same. (That's why many bullets need to be run through a sizer.) Your diameter variation is suspiciously large.

If it's the .45 Colt, you need to slug both the bore and the chamber mouths. The relationship between the two is crucial, and lots of 45 Colt guns are rather screwed up in dimensions.

nemesisenforcer

quote:Originally posted by Rocky Raab
My first question is "WHICH .45 are you shooting?" If it's the .45 ACP, you should probably be running cast bullets of .452" to .453" but they should all be the same. (That's why many bullets need to be run through a sizer.) Your diameter variation is suspiciously large.

If it's the .45 Colt, you need to slug both the bore and the chamber mouths. The relationship between the two is crucial, and lots of 45 Colt guns are rather screwed up in dimensions.


45 ACP (2 actually.) The diameter I'm speaking of is the very base of the bullet, a 230 grain RN tumble lube design from a Lee mold. The "driving bands" are somewhat smaller, which makes me, in my ignorance, think that I'm getting undersized bullets.