lino/ww mixing for sub sonic .380-9mm-38-357mag-40-44mag-45acp

[mozeppa]

i have 300 pounds of lino

and

300 pounds of clean wheel weight ingots

what i'm looking to do is cast boolits for all the handguns in the title...all in the middle of the road velocities.

what ratio of ww to lino should i use?....add them both together for 600 pounds of alloy?

should i add pure lead to this?
should i add antimony & tin?

newby at casting be gentle!

[IraqVet1982]

I wouldn't mix at all. I'd use the lino for the 357 and 44 and use the ww for the rest

[Bullwolf]

A good thing to remember. Once you mix things together, you can't easily un-mix them later on. You can only dilute it somewhat.

Try casting with your straight WW first before you consider turning all your lead into one type of alloy. If you have fill out problems, or if your wheel weight alloy casts too small, you can try adding a small quantity of Linotype for added tin. Consequently you may not need to add any Lino at all.

WW is often plenty hard for boolit casting. Lately WW lead seems to contain less and less tin. 1-2% tin will really help you get good fill out with sharp lines in boolit moulds.

If it was me, I would keep the two different alloys separate, and mix them only as needed or wanted. I would probably horde the majority of the Lino, with the intention of mixing with pure lead later on down the road.


- Bullwolf

[BNE]

A good thing to remember. Once you mix things together, you can't easily un-mix them later on. You can only dilute it somewhat.

Try casting with your straight WW first before you consider turning all your lead into one type of alloy. If you have fill out problems, or if your wheel weight alloy casts too small, you can try adding a small quantity of Linotype for added tin. Consequently you may not need to add any Lino at all.

WW is often plenty hard for boolit casting. Lately WW lead seems to contain less and less tin. 1-2% tin will really help you get good fill out with sharp lines in boolit moulds.

If it was me, I would keep the two different alloys separate, and mix them only as needed or wanted. I would probably horde the majority of the Lino, with the intention of mixing with pure lead later on down the road.


- Bullwolf

What he said! I would find some tin to add if needed. Adding Lino will add a lot of antimony, and increase your hardness for little reason.

[HiVelocity]

Why not just water drop your WW's? IF, and I say "if", I decide to add linotype to my mix, its for rifle bullets. And, the mix is usually around 20/1 WW/Lino, and they get water quenched also. I can't see wasting good linotype, unless you happen to have an endless supply of it.


Just my $.02 worth,


HV

[Beagle333]

Agree with above.... get some tin/solder/pewter for mixing with your WW and hoard the lino. It isn't needed for middle of the road stuff.
You will want it later and it ain't easy to find.

[williamwaco]

The proper ratio would be 100 WW / zero lino.

Save your lino for hardening soft lead.

[mozeppa]

friend of mine has 100+ tons of lino......yes , i said tons.
worlds largest collector of linotype...he's a printer old school.

what ratio of lino to soft lead?
(again....sub sonic)

[454PB]

If it is linotype (with no monotype mixed in), a good alloy that mimics wheel weights is 70% pure lead to 30% linotype.

Is this stuff in ingots or letter form?

[mozeppa]

If it is linotype (with no monotype mixed in), a good alloy that mimics wheel weights is 70% pure lead to 30% linotype.

Is this stuff in ingots or letter form?

all letters....7000 square feet of it 6 to 8' high ....with narrow pathways thru it all ...like you see on the show "hoarders"

[454PB]

OK, you may want to do a little research reading here on the differences in linotype, monotype, and foundry type. There are very different element ratios in each. For instance, a pound of monotype contains much higher ratios of the valuable tin and antimony than does linotype.

Here's a good reference site: http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

[Shiloh]

Do you really need a harder alloy??

Shiloh

[mozeppa]

Do you really need a harder alloy??

Shiloh

as i said ...i'm a newby...you tell me ...do i?

[R.M.]

as i said ...i'm a newby...you tell me ...do i?

Probably not.

[Motor]

friend of mine has 100+ tons of lino......yes , i said tons.
worlds largest collector of linotype...he's a printer old school.

what ratio of lino to soft lead?
(again....sub sonic)

All I have to cast with IS linotype and soft lead. I don't really pay too close attention to mix ratio because I cast to specific hardness for what I intend to load.

Different calibers as well as different fire arms can also determine what you need. My normal hardness for .357/.38, 45acp, is 12bhn as is my sub-sonic 30cal rifle boolits. If I recall correctly I get this with about 1/3 lino and 2/3 lead. The problem is neither lead nor the lino is always the same that is why I hardness test.

9mm can be a bear to load for. Its a high pressure round. I cast my 9's at 15bhn.

I have used boolits as soft as 8bhn (.358" 158gr Lee) in my Blue, Ruger Blackhawk 4 1/2" barrel revolver. I use .357 brass and 4.5gr Bullseye. It works well without any lead build up.


I agree with the others who have posted not to mix WW and lino. There is really no need. Most do just fine casting with WW alone.


Personally, I have never saw a reason to cast straight lino but my casting experience and use is limited compaired to many others on this forum.

[Cherokee]

nozeppa - if its all individual letters, you probably have something with higher tin/antimony content that linotype. Very desirable for hardening soft alloys, but clip on wheel weights realy only need some tin, they have plenty of antimony. OTOH, stick on wheel weights are very soft lead and could benefit from mixing your "linotype" (or what ever alloy it really is) in the ratio of 4 COWW to 1 "linotype". Mix a small batch and try it; still may be harder than you need for most boolits.

[USSR]

Subsonic is < 1100fps, so the correct answer is:

The proper ratio would be 100 WW / zero lino.

Save your lino for hardening soft lead.

Don