Tomme boy
Well-Known Member
I just started making more slugs. I mmm modified the top punch to give a rou d nose like the Brenneke slugs have. Trying to get a more weight forward slug.
They have been coming out great. But I was getting a little low in the casting pot. So I got out my lead that was from all sheet roofing lead. Added in 10lbs and a 1/2 bar of pewter in the small Lee bar mold. I had to add some tin the last time I filled the pot to get the Russian slugs to fill out.
Well now almost all of the slugs are cracking when I try to swage them. They are air cooled till the next day then sized. Most of the time they crack at the seam where the two halves meet. But sometimes they will fracture in multiple places.
What would cause this? It is the same lead I used before and did not have any cracks. These things seem really hard. Should I use a antimony mix instead of tin? Factory slugs are about using around 2%-3% antimony to make the lead flow easier during swaying and on impact
They have been coming out great. But I was getting a little low in the casting pot. So I got out my lead that was from all sheet roofing lead. Added in 10lbs and a 1/2 bar of pewter in the small Lee bar mold. I had to add some tin the last time I filled the pot to get the Russian slugs to fill out.
Well now almost all of the slugs are cracking when I try to swage them. They are air cooled till the next day then sized. Most of the time they crack at the seam where the two halves meet. But sometimes they will fracture in multiple places.
What would cause this? It is the same lead I used before and did not have any cracks. These things seem really hard. Should I use a antimony mix instead of tin? Factory slugs are about using around 2%-3% antimony to make the lead flow easier during swaying and on impact