How Much Linotype to use?

N

Nomadicone

New member
I have searched and can't find a formula to use. I'm trying to arrive at a BHN of about 12-13 using stick-on wheel weights and Linotype. If I use 10 lbs of wheel weight how much Lino should I add.
 
I can't remember what the BHN of "hardball" alloy is, but if you mix 4# linotype with 6# wheelweights, you get approximately that same alloy.
 
I think hardball is around BHN 15 so I'm woundering if I can get by with a 3 to 7 ratio? Maybe add a bit of 50/50 solder?
 
If your using a 10# LEE pot use 8 1/2# of WW & 1 1/2# lino , that should be very close + or - a bit .

The stikons have a little tin & your lino should have a little also , If I was going to blend it that`s how I`d start .
 
Assuming that you stick-on WW are pure lead and around 5 BHN and the Lino is around 22 BHN. I would add 3.5 lbs. of lino to 10 lbs. of stick-on's,that should give you a BHN of 11.7 air cooled according to my Alloy calculator.

4 lbs. of lino would put you just a little over 12 BHN air cooled.
 
With stick-on WW being nearly pure lead, you're going to nee a 7-3 ratio to get to 12-13 BHN. If your lino is depleted*,(which most we can get is), it may need some added tin to help with fill-out.

*Depleted means it was running short on tin when they run it into the last letter bars they used, then sold it off rather than replenish the tin. Some of the antimony may be gone too.

Another trick that some do is melt the letter bars AND the spacers all into one big pot. Then cast pigs in the linotype pig molds. The spacers are really soft, nearly pure lead. That dilutes the lino, making it around 16-18 BHN, depending on how many spacers were in the melt.

Virgin lino should be 23 BHN.
 
I don't know if you need to add any 50/50...
Linotype is 4% tin, and WW have about .5 %.
Adding a little surely won't HURT it, but I think I'd try casting with it to see if the boolits fill out ok as is. Why waste the tin if you don't have to?
 
As a point of reference, many of the old cast bullet handbooks refer to making bullet alloys using bars of 50/50 solder. You could make the quasi-standard alloy by adding a 1# bar of 50/50 solder to 10# of wheel weights. This mix closely approximated the Ideal/Lyman Alloy #2 of 90% lead, 5% tin and 5% antimony and a BHN of 15.

These days things have changed. The new stick on wheel weighs don't have any antimony and your hardware store may not have 50/50 solder, mine doesn't. What my hardware store does have is the new lead-free solder with about 95% tin and 5% antimony. Today's bullet maker has to be aware of a lot more variables than the old school home caster.
 
All te stikons I`ve checked have run 7-8bhn But pliable like pure , so it`s got to have tin 40-30to 1 at least .
 
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