How long to let alloy stabilize after casting ?

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  • Last Post 14 January 2018
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BigMan54 posted this 10 January 2018

How long do you guys let lead stabilize after casting and before sizing or doing a hardness test ?  I was always told a week. Five days minimum if you're impatient. 

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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RicinYakima posted this 10 January 2018

Scott Merchant, CBA multi national champion and record holder, told me he waits for the bullet to cool from the mould enough so that it doesn't melt the lube in the sizer. He and his son, Ret, would be casting and sizing at the same bench at the same time.

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beltfed posted this 10 January 2018

According to Metallurgical Studies published in the old  NRA Cast Bullet Handbook,

it takes about 19-20 days for antimonial alloys such as COWW to stabilize 

But, Linotype , being a eutectic alloy stabilizes within a day or so.

Also, likewise Lead/Tin alloys  stabilize "shortly" 

beltfed/arnie

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BigMan54 posted this 10 January 2018

Beltfed,

Is that in the 1st Cast Bullet Handbook ?

Thx, 

Rog

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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Ross Smith posted this 10 January 2018

Does water quenching affect this?

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BigMan54 posted this 10 January 2018

No.

I'm looking to see how hard a couple of alloy mixes are before I actually start mixing different casting alloys.

I have some cupcakes ingots that I bought from a guy on the Cast Boolits website that are supposed to be melted down and recast SOWW. And then I took 6lbs of that alloy & added 6ozs of FOUNDRYTYPE I got from ROTOMETALS.  The last a bit of a last minute experiment. 

Just found a kitchen scale that ways grams up through 10lbs. Should make things a lot easier. And more accurate.

Took a quick look though the old LYMAN Cast Bullet Handbook.  Didn't find anything, so I guess I'll have to do a page by page search.  

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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BigMan54 posted this 12 January 2018

Duane,

Like I said; EXPERIMENT. And no I couldn't tell a difference.  

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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beltfed posted this 12 January 2018

Rog

Yes, the info is in the Orig/First NRA cast bullet handbook edited by C.E. Harrison

Ross,   water quenching or other heat treating of the (COWW or other based) antimonial alloy will bring the bullets up

to "very hard" and ready to shoot in a day or so. As said before, the Lino bullets come up to about 21 brinnell hardness

right away.  The COWW,etc alloys, can get up to 30 brinnell or so with heat treating. 

beltfed/arnie

 

 

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BigMan54 posted this 13 January 2018

I did some casting today. I wonder what #2 alloy - water quenched takes to stabilize ?

Still need to go through that old LYMAN #1 cast page by page some more. Although I did find a half page listing 2 cast bullet loads for the M-1 GARAND, that would work the action reliably.  Powders listed are still available, but I don't have either mold listed. Guess I'll have to haunt ebay.   

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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onondaga posted this 13 January 2018

I bet you will find the inexpensive Lee C312-185-1R the easiest to get shooting well in your Garand. The mold is slightly heavy for the caliber, that is a plus , and it casts large enough to size/check for any 30 cal rifle. It also makes an excellent hunting bullet in #2 alloy and hollow pointed with the large Forster HP bit in a drill press on loaded ammo. It is my best shooting bullet in 30 cal. The C312-185-1B check/sized/tumble lubed all up weight for me in #2 alloy is 179 gr. and H4895 works excellently.

 

Gary

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2018

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2018

BigMan54

See above, from NRA CBH of 1979. Shows typical Ht Trt Hardness profile with age.

Alloy A is about like COWW,  and the Lyman No 2 should also Heat treat with similar age profile

So you should have stabile Hardness in "a few days" or so with your water quenched bullets, 

certainly harder than Lino as long as you quenched them from a real hot mold-"the frosty bullet zone"

will give you the most hardness, but even at lower "shiny bullet" mold temp, you will still have bullets 

harder than Lino.  

beltfed/arnie

 

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2018

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beltfed posted this 14 January 2018

Also, see above Data on age hardening of Non HT antimonial alloys

beltfed/arnie

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BigMan54 posted this 14 January 2018

Gary,

Thanks for the info. After my casting session yesterday with MY BRAND SPANKING NEW NOE MOLD, I have revised my opinion on aluminum molds. I checked back in the old LYMAN Cast # 1, those bullets for the GARAND load were the LYMAN #311299 & #311284. Both still in production, but I kinda got a thing about single cavity small block molds. I know you can cast bullets just as well from a multiple cavity mold, or even cast out of one cavity in a 2cav mold. I have other molds I could use: #311332 & #311329 come to mind for starters. But it's an excuse to by another mold, so I'll put on my list. The powders listed were 3031 & 4895. H4895 has been my go to powder for the GARAND ever since I was big enough to hold both ends of an M-1 off the ground at the same time.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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BigMan54 posted this 14 January 2018

Beltfed, thank you for the info. 

In yesterdays casting session using LYMAN#2 I cast 24 samples to test for hardness. 12 air-cooled & 12 water quenched.

I'm going to test 3 each week for 4 weeks starting on 1/19. Don't know yet what this will prove, maybe satisfy just my curiosity.

Long time Caster/Reloader, Getting back into it after almost 10yrs. Life Member NRA 40+yrs, Life S.A.S.S. #375. Does this mean a description of me as a fumble-fingered knuckle-draggin' baboon. I also drool in my sleep. I firmly believe that true happiness is a warm gun. Did I mention how much I HATE auto-correct on this blasted tablet.

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