Linotype and water pipe

[Boommeup]

What can I expect with mixing these two together? Read in the Question post that Popper had mentioned zinc being in the h2o pipe. I guess I always thought that was pure lead. Also antimony being there, what’s that going to do to the Linotype. I know there’s already a lot of Sb in the Linotype. Is this something to be concerned with or just go with it? 22’s 257’s 444 marlin’s. Was thinking 1 Lino to 4 h2o lead. Or would 1 Lino to 3 h2o lead be better? I do have a saeco lead tester. Thanks in advance

 

[Brad]

1-4 would be fine. Could even go 1-5 for handgun bullets.

 

[Joshua]

I don’t know what the alloy make up of water pipe is. But here are a couple of screen grabs from an excel lead calculator, showing 3:1 and 4:1, Pure to Linotype.

Josh

 

[Brad]

That 4-1 it a bit more than what I get from range scrap. Does well for me in handguns and most rifle loads. Easy to heat treat if you need harder.

 

[Boommeup]

Brad would you water quench those? Our drop them on a towel? I wish I new how much antimony was in that h2o pipe. Hopefully there ‘s not enough there to hurt anything.

 

[Brad]

I use a small oven to heat treat but water dripping right from the mould into a bucket works. Be sure to size pretty soon after quenching as they get hard pretty quick. Like within a day.

 

[Boommeup]

I’m going to try and find a toaster oven this weekend. The boss says I can’t use her air fryer. Wanting to get some 50 caliber muzzle loading boolits pan lube and start banging away. After it cools off a bit!

 

[Rick]

I use a small oven to heat treat but water dripping right from the mould into a bucket works. Be sure to size pretty soon after quenching as they get hard pretty quick. Like within a day.

No, no, no Brad, you have to let the alloy freeze in the mold "FIRST". You can't drip it out into the water.

 

[Brad]

You can drop the entire mould in the water before the lead hardens. Not suggested but is possible.
Clumsy casters have a right to water drop in a manner that fits their abilities?

 

[Bisley]

Whatever doesn't get the Tinsel Fairy upset...

 

[Ian]

You can drop the entire mould in the water before the lead hardens. Not suggested but is possible.
Clumsy casters have a right to water drop in a manner that fits their abilities?

My first pair of Lee commercial handles did that to me with a brand-new custom mould. Cut the sprue, whacked the hinge bolt over the water bucket and both tangs slipped right out of the wooden handles. The air turned blue immediately. Every new pair of Lee handles gets fixed BEFORE ever being mounted to a mould at my house now.

 

[fiver]

for the calibers listed.
I'd standardize.
3 parts water pipe to one part lino.
water drop everything.
size check and wait.

 

[Winelover]

Been a plumber/pipefitter for over 30 years. Reclaimed a lot of old water pipe. All that I've ever encountered was pure lead and treated as such.

One of the alloys I use is three parts pure to one part lino...............I don't add any tin. Air cooled, it stabilizes, after a month, at @ 14-15 BHN. As measured on an LBT tester. Hard enough for just about every caliber I load for................9 mm to 44 Magnum. Pistol and carbine. For the extra velocity of the carbines, I use a gas checked bullet............most of my moulds have at least one cavity checked.

I don't water drop bullets. If and when, I required harder bullets, oven heat treating would be my choice. Never got around to heat treating that 3-1 alloy.............but I imagine it would be significantly harder. The only practical only use, for me, would be in a AR-10 carbine.

 

[Fiddler]

If you are using lead plumbing make sure that the solder joints don't get melted with the lead. Solder is 50/50 tin/lead. I've heard of different solder alloys being used so??

 

[Missionary]

Same with lead sheeting from the phone company that covered cables . Those seams are a good source of tin.

 

[Winelover]

If your talking about the packed lead joints, on old pipe.......it's pure lead. Copper pipe solder joints, there ain't enough to make recovery possible or even worthwhile. When I was on a big industrial copper soldering job.................I would pick up the floor drippings for the tin. Used a tablespoon for a mould and would add it to alloys as needed. Solder use to be 50-50, more recently it's 95-5 and that only matters for residential jobs.

 

[Boommeup]

Winelover I’ve worked with quite a few fitters some where plumbers! LOL Thanks Fiddler, I did keep my fittings separate, wonder how much tin would be in those? Fiver that seems to be the mix I’m looking for 15-16 bhn. Ian not a fan of Lee moulds. They do make some good product. Missionary I have some of that it’s separate also!

 

[popper]

Boomer - scrap lead pipe and cable sheathing it's hard to know what they are made of. Chemical grade is pretty much pure with Cu and Bi in small amounts. Water pipe will depend on when made BUT lead has very little cold flow strength by itself so small amount of additive used to give strength. Treat as low% Sb and test or for me, softest that gives desired accuracy. Radiation lead should be 'idle' for a while before use and is not pure. I did shoot 1% zinced alloy in 40sw, did OK, keyhold and expanded greatly but accurate at short range, soft and undersize though.

 

[Charles Graff]

i have cast many handgun and rifle bullets from 50-50 lead and lino and it yielded an alloy about like ols acww.I used x-ray room leas sheathing. I had several tons of it.

 

[USSR]

Reclaimed a lot of old water pipe. All that I've ever encountered was pure lead and treated as such.

Ditto.

Don