Lead for casting bullets or ball

K

KellyP

Regular
Rating - 100%
36   0   0
Location
Renfrew County
Fellow gunnutz. For those who cast their own bullets or ball, has anyone found a good supplier? What's the going rate per lb? In which prov? I know there is different lead softness required for ball and another for bullet, where can someone find a lead hardness tester or is there a "backyard" way of testing like the old draw wire test or a weight and punch to see how deep it is driven over a set time and temp?

KellyP
 
I get most of my lead free split between sheet lead which is pure and wheel weights. I'm mostly a pistol shooter so I don't really care what the hardness is. With powder coating I've been using 50/50 pure to wheel weights.

You could setup a tube with a weight and pin to strike an ingot of lead and compare it to a known hardness of lead and get a rough idea of the hardness.
 
Place in Burlington sells for about $2.00/lb

Stop by, you can use my tester.

Castboolit has a hardness calculator if you are working with known metals/alloys.

Btw I manage to pick up lead wheel weights for about $0.35/lb
 
True, I never thought of a "drop test" for checking hardness, I know in the past we used ss wire and a weight to see how fast it would draw through a 1/2" square of lead.
 
On the West coast from scrap yards, lead from pure to wheel weights to blocks run $1.00 per lb. From a local foundry in Richmond it comes out at $1.20 per lb and up with different alloys. And you have to buy it in 60 # blocks. The East coast guys tend to do real good in getting wheel weights for free or small cash outlays, but out west its very hard to get any wheel weights as a large buyer gets everything pretty much. Hope you get a good source out your way !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom