onondaga
posted this
11 April 2012
Well you did hear wrong about Linotype raising huge amounts of foamy dross. That is just false. You can force something like that to happen by alloying incorrectly . I describe the correct way below.
Linotype also melts at considerably lower temperature than pure lead.
If you get foamy anything on top of your melt you are going to need pot temp adjustment hotter and most importantly read-up about reduction fluxing to get the tin you have separated back into your alloy.
Linotype melts very easily. when you are alloying it with anything softer like range scrap or clip-on wheel weights there is a simple step that really helps. Melt the softer stuff first because it melts at a higher temp. When the soft stuff is liquid then start adding Linotype slowly as it melts in and stir. Don't just dump it all in, your melt will freeze and then be harder to get your mix into alloy.
The standard procedure when alloying any lead alloys is to melt the higher temp melting alloy first and flux it. Then melt the lower temp metal into it by feeding it in and stirring as it melts. If you do the opposite of that you will need a lot of heat to get the metals to alloy and you will lose much more tin and antimony, degrading your alloy a lot. So study the basics like that because you are new at this.
What I am saying is that if you melt the Linotype first and then try to add soft stuff to it you have made a basic error that will cause you grief and you will have to degrade your alloy to correct the error.. Melt the soft lead first and then add Linotype to it: that is the correct way..
When I make my #2 alloy I melt 7 lbs of range scrap ingots completely, flux, and then I start slowly adding the 3 lbs of Linotype pieces. Then I flux again and start casting bullets.
John , keep your Linotype pieces small like they are in strips. That makes makes weighing them precisely to add to alloy much easier. Ingots of Linotype are only suitable when making huge alloy batches. I only alloy a total of 10-15 pounds in the pot before making bullets.
If you have a huge 50+ pound pot and want to make up ingots of , say #2 alloy, then it might be wise to get your Linotype into ingots first, but it really isn't necessary anyway.
Gary