This wheel weight thing.

Mitty38

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
I know this has probably been addressed before but recipies that I have tried with wheel weight come short of promised BHN and some come right out to where they are supposed to be. Sometimes they hit right on the nose.

Now before we go there, too keep us on the Right track. I am not obsessed with BHN, but am trying to produce a supply of consistent Alloy. Chemical consistent. Plus repeatable.

My thoughts are there is something chemically off with the newer wheel weights, that still contain lead base instead of Zinc especially if you really take a close look at some of the newer lead clip ons they are powder coated.
I have melted down wheel weights air cooled and got BHN's at 8,9,10,11and14. Very seldom 12. In fact every just about every hardness but what the experts say they are.
I have aquired and processed small samples from different era's since I have started this. Seams to me that except for one batch of 14BHN that was melted from Very recently made imported from china clip ons, which I think may contain a soluble amount of zink and copper.
Generally the older ones are harder.
Do you guys think that arsenic depletion to the point of total deletion has caused this? Been noticed by anyone else? Or become a problem while alloying for any one else?
Thoughts? Factoids appreciated.
 
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Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
Consistent alloy requires a consistent base stock. Wheel weights can be a consistent base IF you have lots of them and work in very large batches, maybe 3-500 pounds.

Melt them all down and keep separated by pot. Make new piles with even amount from each initial pile and remedy the new piles. New ingots will be pretty consistent across the entire batch.
 
Mitty38

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Would not be a big issue for me but I am starting out on the AR15 cast thing with a bullet that is iffy, unproven. I want to control every single variable that I can.

But on the lighter side, looks like a lot of guys trying to make lyman #2 would unawares end up with lyman#1.75.:rofl:
 
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Mitty38

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
waco said:
Mitty. Have you tried Lamar's suggestion of a 90/6/4/ alloy in your AR?
Click to expand...
Actually ben working with him on alloy. Currently going for an alloy close to that. Wheel weights are messing me up a bit. But I think I am finally to the point of blending a bunch and twerking it. Just have to get myself a new postal scale which just took a crap. Plus need weather withstandable to make a big consistent pot of 150 pounds outside.
 
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RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
When WW's were legal to use in WA, I was working for the Department of Ecology. I had a call at the last plant that made lead WW's in WA. The machine had about a one ton crucible and pressure feed into a rotating mould. They got their base metal in two foot cube metal bins and a couple of guys would look at it and pull out obvious die cast and aluminum scrap. The rest was "lead based" scrap. The machine made WW's that varied by alloy every hour, let alone by day.

There is a very high percentage of Japanese cars with Korean WW's in use here, so we began getting zinc, aluminum and cadmium metals in WW's in the mid-1990's. It all depends upon where you live and the scrap cycle in your area. All lead based scrap from the PNW is either in storage for a higher price or going to Asia.
 
fiver

fiver

Well-Known Member
I sucked it up a while back and spent a week blending together just over 3-K lbs of all the WW alloy I had on hand.
now anything I melt down gets all the pots sorted into buckets then it all goes back through getting blended and cleaned again until all of it is in one big batch again.
don't care if it's 2 or 3% antimony, it's all the same, and I can bump it up or down once it's all put together.
 
462

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
I'll send you the money I offered Brad and Fiver for their .45-70 and 2400 load recommendations.
 
Brad

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
And lack of videos is killing us.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few....
 
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