Casting Using 1% Tin

[rsterne]

I finally got some time to do some more casting today.... I got some pure tin discs off eBay that weighed 1 - 1.5 oz. to use in alloying with my pure lead.... I melted a known amount of lead and added 1% tin to the mix, fluxed with beeswax, skimmed it, and tried three different molds.... All I can say is WOW! what a difference that small amount of tin makes.... The lead flows into the mold much easier, and I had only TWO wrinkled bullets out of over 500 that I did.... I goofed on a couple of pours (and knew that I did) and threw those back in the pot.... but by the time I was done I only had about 5-6 bullets that failed my visual screening.... That's only a 1% failure rate....  

I cast over 300 of the 113 gr. Lee .308 cal RFs and they threw at .309-.311 and averaged 118.5 gr.... I sized about 100 and left the rest for now....
I also did about 85 of the .457 Lee roundballs.... and about 160 of the Lee .357 cal 125 gr. RFs.... They dropped at .358-.360, weighed ~132 gr. and I sized 60 of them....

I would like to thank Jerry at Surefire Casting for the tip on adding the 1% tin to the lead.... There is virtually NO difference in the hardness.... I can still easily scratch the bullet with my fingernail.... and they pour SO much better.... Good looking bullets, bright and shiny....  

Bob

[Tofazfou]

Pure awesomeness.  And yes, Jerry is tha man.  Tin is awesome stuff and definitely helps with filling out the mold.  Casting is fun stuff and it saves ya tons of money vs buying cast bullets from others.

[Jerry]

You're welcome for the tip.  Although I'm not certain I should be doing anything to reduce Timmy's potential customer base!