What to do with 50/50 solder and Babbitt

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  • Last Post 27 November 2013
Little Debbie posted this 06 January 2012

With ww being outlawed in my state and the slow death of the printing business I hae begun to collect other types of lead alloys. In the past I cast all of my rifle bullets with Linotype and my handgun bullets with wheel weights ( clip on). The few muzzle loading projectiles I use have come from several pigs of plumbers lead that seem to last forever.

I have recently acquired about 1500 pounds of x- ray shielding lead and cable sheathing. I have also collected about 10 pounds of wire type solder ( no idea what it is, not on spools) 5 pounds of 50/50 bar solder, and a 10 pound brick of Babbitt metal that is stamped something unreadable then “railroad” . I am assuming this is for casting bearings on box cars.

I need to know the best alloy I can blend with what I have for rifle bullets and a good alloy for handgun bullets. I shoot several calibers in rifles at 1800 -2000 fps with varying success and the usual .357/.41/.44/.45 as fast as I can safely.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

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gunarea posted this 06 January 2012

Hey Little Debbie

    The smaller, two foot by three foot sheets, of X-ray shielding generally is pure soft lead. It varies with the size of sheets. The larger the sheet, the more hardening agents introduced. Cable sheathing also is generally soft pure lead. Except for the LE sheathing, which sometimes is also enriched with a hardening agent. As for the unmarked bearing material, you could have just about anything. To duplicate Lino, you have a possibility that the babbit and solder combined with other soft lead can render a usable alloy suitable. An as cast projectile will let you know if there is enough tin present to allow smooth cast objects. The hardening agents used in these lead projects are of the most economical variety and are usually very toxic. Great care must be employed during smelting operations.

   My advice is to alloy in batches as large as possible. Check hardness as you add material to the mix. If you do not have a hardness checker, use a known mould to get a weight which will give approximate values and aid in estimating hardness of alloy. A significantly high weight would indicate a higher lead content and a significantly lower weight generally will yield a higher brinell hardness. When you cast out a test bullet, get temperatures just to “frost", it will give a more accurate base for estimates. I know some of this information may seem vague, but it is difficult to analyze from this distance. My wish is to be of some help for you.

                                                                                                                     Roy

    

       

Shoot often, Shoot well

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onondaga posted this 06 January 2012

Matt, Sounds to me that a hardness tester would serve you well. I have the Lee Hardness test kit.

For plain base pistol and rifle bullets I follow the Lee book, Modern Reloading 2nd Edition, theory on selecting alloy needed to match the pressure of the load to the strength of the alloy.

For higher pressure rifle loads with gas checked bullets I use Lyman #2 alloy at about 15 BHN. The #2 alloy can even be heat treated to about 22 BHN for pressures near factory levels in many calibers.

There are a lot of generalities you will hear , but I don't think you can go wrong with the Lee theory and a hardness tester to identify the hardness of what you have and to help you alloy what you want.

Range scrap at my club makes ingots at 7.4 BHN and I alloy it with other stuff I have to get  a Lyman #2 clone alloy for all my shooting. I'd be lost without the hardness tester.

Gary

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grouch posted this 06 January 2012

One generality you really need to hear - I used babbit once, about 50yrs ago, and whatever was in it caused 20yd groups of about 12” at 20yds from a rifle that, at the time was giving 1 1/2 groups at 50yds. The LAST thing I'd do is alloy a large batch using the babbit first and risk wasting a lot of good material. Grouch

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RicinYakima posted this 06 January 2012

"Babbit” is not one composition, but anything that is pourable to make bearings. So your babbit could be 92% antimony, 92% tin or anything. So take grouch's advise and use a small (1/2 pound) amount with a large amount (5 pounds) of purest lead. If that doesn't make good bullets, sell it for scrap.

I have some that turned out to have 7.5% copper with nickel and iron also in the mix.

HTH, Ric

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Dale53 posted this 07 January 2012

Keep in mind that after bullets are cast it takes a couple of weeks for the majority of the hardening to take effect. Trying to measure hardness of bullets right after casting is an exercise in frustration.

Cast your sample bullets and wait two weeks, then measure their hardness.

Dale53

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MAYHAW3 posted this 23 November 2013

Hello Gang, I have about 1000 Lbs of #4 Babbit and need to know how much of this stuff to put with Wheel Weights to Make a good Alloy for .45 bullets. I have H&G 130 FB and H&G #68 BB wally

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delmarskid1 posted this 23 November 2013

MAYHAW3, I use straight wheel weights in my .45. I get less leading than when I cast them with no.2 type alloy. 45's don't usually go fast enough to lead.

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RicinYakima posted this 23 November 2013

Well, if it is ASTM grade #4, I would use one pound of babbit in 19 pounds of WW's. That would make about 3% tin, 3% antimony and 0.1% copper. Ric

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badgeredd posted this 25 November 2013

Can you make out anything resembling Genuine Nickel on the ingot of babbit? If the babbit you have is the typical babbit used on the railroads for babbited bearings for rolling stock, it is likely type 2 with a high tin value near 90% with an Sb content in the area of 6% with 3% copper and very little Pb (less than 1%).It can be used to add tin content to purish Pb. I use it a lot with clip on ww lead but that doesn't seem to an option in your case. If you notice it has little corrosion on the surface and is a light grey or silvery, it is likely a high tin based babbit. Use it accordingly. Hope this is helpful.

Edd

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jhalcott posted this 25 November 2013

I hate dealing with “MYSTERY METALS” for this reason! I don't care what the alloy is IF IT SHOOTS accurately and does NOT lead! I would NOT make a huge batch of alloy that MAY NOT be usable. I would melt that 10 pound pig into 1 pound ingots. Maybe some of the impurities will dross out(?). I HAVE used copper babbit alloys for bullets with some success when I worked in the steel mill. They always cast much lighter than the mold claimed.

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MAYHAW3 posted this 27 November 2013

Thanks a lot Guy's for the Info on #4 Babbitt. This stuff comes in 15 LB Bars and Looks like it's going to last a long time. I tried using it straight with a small batch of H&G 68 and Not so good without Wheelweights, Lots of Leading. Mayhaw3

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RicinYakima posted this 27 November 2013

That is to be expected, as the Babbitt is way to hard to make a good bullet. Ric

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