MY 5 LBS OF ALPHA BET SOUP

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Quite a few years ago I decided to try e-scrap. Well That did not work out. So, any who, I have about 5 lbs of this alloy , that I had melted out of prossessors, circuit boards etc, in preparation for chemical separation . (I was gonna' refine me some gold and silver.):rolleyes:
Well, while I work in a metallurgical lab, we are only set up for aluminum and zinc alloys. However, a couple years ago, I got a fellow from another lab, that sometimes worked with us, to do a Spectroscope chem on it, for me.
Here is the analysis results, rounded to the nearest tenth.
SN 91.3, PB 3.8, AG1.8, AU1.2 , AS1.7
I even though it is a strange mix, it is mostly Tin and lead.
Was planing a melt session, as soon as it warms up a bit, and I get a day off. Planning to mix all my current range scrap in a 20 lb cast pot, then pour me some consistent ingots.
Maybe, I could add it to my range scrap to help it flow nice.:confused: But having over 1% of gold, and silver, kinda worries me. What is your thoughts?
Just would hate to have something that I could get some use out of, just sit around collecting dust.
 
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Spindrift

Well-Known Member
I don’t know what effect the silver and gold would have, but probably not much as it is very little.
I would try it, as an additive (1%) to reduce surface tension/improve fill-out.

Actually, the silver might improve the terminal ballistic effect of werewolves (thats the next apocalypse, after the zombies) :)
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
I don’t know what effect the silver and gold would have, but probably not much as it is very little.
I would try it, as an additive (1%) to reduce surface tension/improve fill-out.

Actually, the silver might improve the terminal ballistic effect of werewolves (thats the next apocalypse, after the zombies) :)
That is kind of what I was thinking. Use it like some do solder, to add a little tin, make the bullets pretty, and full. I was thinking at 1% or 2% the silver, gold and arsenic would become basically trace elements.
 
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Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I would treat it as 100% tin and ignore the other stuff. I bet most of our lead contains at least a little silver as an Impurity. Sometimes it just isn’t practical, or necessary, to remove trace elements.

I would use maybe 4 ounces of that to a 20 pound pot of range scrap. Certainly no more than that.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Yup, just call it impure tin and use it as an enrichment alloy. Considering we have no clue whats in the scrap alloys we often pay good money for, you just gotta try it and see. Don't over think this, just mix up some alloy and see how they drop from a HOT mould.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Your gold percentage amounts to about $1500 worth. How much it would cost to extract it I have no idea.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
Laser Cast advertises that their commercial cast bullets contain silver. When they first came out I researched it briefly and found that a lot of lead contains trace amounts of silver, and that refining it out costs far more than the value of the silver. So it doesn't really add anything to the value of the lead, but it's a feature, and every feature has a benefit, right?
 
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Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Your gold percentage amounts to about $1500 worth. How much it would cost to extract it I have no idea.
Let's just say, if I could have made more than a Couple Hundred bucks off of it, I still would not have it.
A lot of factors involved, and the gold in electronics is a low grade yellow gold to start with. And it has a tendency to hold on to other metals it comes in contact with, so you actually get a lower grade then was originally used.So no market price on recovery.
With the cost of tin, it is worth more money to me as a tin alloy for casting. Figure I will never have to buy tin, for years..
 
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462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Yep!
Including ingots and buckets of both types of wheel weights, I once had very close to 2000 pounds of lead. I've given enough ingots and cast bullets to friends, and traded ingots for reloading and casting stuff to reduce that amount by an easy 500 pounds. Deducting the bullets that I've shot and have cast for stash, I'm down to roughly 900 ingots.

Lead-based wheel weights have been banned for close to a decade, I can't mine the local range, X-rays are taken digitally, so that leaves Roto-Metals, for any future casting material.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
never have to buy... LOL,, snort...cough.
I gave 5 lbs of tin to my body shop guy to get a windshield installed for cost.

think about it like this.
1% tin,, now move the decimal over for the other stuff, you'll end with more copper than that from range scrap.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Well, I once said "All the farther I will ever go with cartrage loading is to load Wadcutters for my .38."
I have pretty much stuck to that.
Except for loading up some bullets Fiver gave me. Could not let those go to waist.
Then of course I had to develope 7 other loads, for 4 other cast bullets for .38 and .357. And only 3 different loads for my .223,had to because Fiver sent me some brass. 1 load for the .243, Oh and a .380, and 9 mm load, Of course I am learning about casting.
I have basically stuck to my .38 Wadcutters plan, :rolleyes:so I really do not know where you guys are coming from when you say I will ever need more than 5 lbs of tin.o_O
Darn you, Lamar, darn you all to heck.:D:D
 
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RBHarter

West Central AR
It always starts off all innocent . It's just for this or that ..........
Boom 5 O frames , 20+ die sets , 5 shotshell presses , and now they got you casting !
 

Ian

Notorious member
I started with a .30-30 mould and an iron saucepan over a propane burner. Then a Lyman Keith two-banger for my .38 revolver. Five buckets of wheelweights later, it really took off. I time-shared a Lyman 450 with a friend for a decade and finally moved and built a shop where I could set up permanently, then built a house with a dedicated reloading palace and have something like 28 feet of loading bench space, all crammed full of presses. Then I added heat treating and powder coating to the mix, and a lathe for making custom tooling, built a 100-yard range and bullet recycling traps, got butten by the NFA bug, and am now in the long process of building a log shooting shack so I can enjoy the hobby in comfort on really hot days.

I have saved zero dollars by casting and reloading, but have shot 10-20 times as much for the same dollar buying my ammunition would have allowed. I also became an amateur machinist and gained quite a few friends, many of whom (like many of us) have cultivated friendships in person, beyond the pages of these forums. I also haven't been to a bar in well over a decade.
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
have saved zero dollars by casting and reloading, but have shot 10-20 times as much for the same dollar buying my ammunition would have allowed. I also became an amateur machinist and gained quite a few friends, many of whom (like many of us) have cultivated friendships in person, beyond the pages of these forums. I also haven't been to a bar in well over a decade.
I always tell people you won’t save money by casting but will shoot lots more for the same money.
The initial startup cost of casting is a big hurdle but once you have the casting pot and sizer it isn’t too expensive.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Lucky you, Smokeywolf. My Dad was an outdoorsman and occasional hunter who made sure I was competent with firearms, but reloading was something I had to figure out completely on my own.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Actually by the time I got seriously into reloading, he was into other things. All the reloading tooling and supplies he chose not to sell off, did help immensely. With the exception of all you fine folks, I'm self taught and thank my lucky stars and all of you, that I'm still learning.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
"Save money by reloading." Yeah, right! 5 gallon sheetrock buckets full of clip on wheel weights. Had 8 or 10 of them in the que and was getting a fresh one every month or so for years. Now I have maybe 2 full ones left plus stacks and stacks of ingots. It'll be a sad day when I have to actually pay $$$ for alloy.