lead alloys do harden considerbly for a time after casting (spontanious hardneing is ment here not that from heat treatment. ).

How long does it take for lead to harden?

The lead will likely solidify within 2-3 minutes. For your safety and for better results, though, wait at least 10 minutes before trying to remove the lead from the mold.

Can you make lead harder?

Hard lead refers to a lead alloy that has one or more other metals added to make a metal that is harder than pure lead. ... This advantage can be offset by difficulty in molding the metal. The most common source of hard lead is used wheel or tire weights.

What is the BHN of pure lead?

Pure Soft Lead Metal 99.9% ~ 5 Pound Ingot

The Brinell Hardness scale of 99.9% Lead is approximately 5.

What is the Brinell Hardness of tin?

The Brinell Hardness of Pure Tin is approximately 2.5.

Age hardening I: Introduction

34 related questions found

How hard should lead bullets be?

Pure lead has a Brinell hardness # of about 4. Most hard cast bullets will have a Brinell hardness # of 11 to 30 and as such are several times harder than lead. ... Hard cast bullets can be alloyed and designed for hunting large and dangerous game where deep penetration is needed - a lead bullet cannot be used this way.

What is BHN where generally it is used?

Most commonly it is used to test materials that have a structure that is too coarse or that have a surface that is too rough to be tested using another test method, e.g., castings and forgings.

What is the best BHN for cast bullets?

There is a formula for optimal bullet hardness which is simple and it is worth knowing:

• Optimum BHN = PSI / (1422 x .90)
• 20,000 / 1279.8 = 15.62.
• Try the MBC Difference. You'll be glad you did.

Which is harder tin or lead?

Another benefit to tin is that it's much harder than lead. It won't easily ding when struck against solid objects, like dock pilings or riprap. When lead-formed lures strike these objects, they tend to dent and cause paint loss.

Does antimony make lead harder?

Antimony (Sb) is an element that is blended in with metals such as lead to create different alloys. ... The same holds true for the use of antimony in structural parts, 6 percent of antimony will really strengthen the part and, when some tin is blended as well, this can help based on your design.

Are stick on wheel weights pure lead?

Just when the reader is beginning to think that ignorance is bliss and this can't get any worse we discover that 'stick on' wheel weights are considered to be pure lead.

Does quenching lead harden it?

Water quenching (dropping bullets straight from the mould into a bucket of water) will harden your lead, antimony, arsenic alloy but as the lead pot and mould temperature varies so does the final hardness of the bullets. Additionally, you get what you get (about 15-19 BHN with wheel weights).

Does lead stick to steel?

Plumbers lead, or plain lead can not be used in auto body work. ... The work must be "tinned" before any lead is applied. This done with acid core solder, or an equivalent. So, if you want the lead to "stick" to steel, you must "tin" the steel.

Why is Brinell better than Rockwell?

Brinell Hardness

Unlike with Rockwell testing, Brinell tests measure the diameter of the indentation made by the ball, not the depth. ... Because the indentation ball is so much larger than in other testing methods, hardness values derived from the test provide a more representative average hardness of the part.

What is a soft lead bullet?

Soft-point bullets expose the soft lead-alloy core on the forward part of the bullet most likely to be deformed when striking a target. ... A core of pure lead is softer than a core of lead alloyed with metals like antimony and tin.

What lead is best for bullets?

Pure lead is the softest and is usually used for muzzle loaders and such whereas lead with antimony and tin is used for much harder bullets. Linotype is an old type of lead mixed with antimony and tin for the letters they used to print newspapers back in the day.

Can you cast bullets with pure lead?

Soft pure lead bullets work well for cast bullets....... until it strikes a large bone in which case they often splatter or fragment. The bullets need to be of a harder alloy ( 15 to 22 hardness), some like Linotype or wheel weight hardness.

How much antimony is in a bullet?

Bullet Casting Alloy consists of 2% tin, 6% antimony and 92% lead - also known as "hardball" bullet casting alloy.

What hardness is copper?

Mechanical properties of copper

Annealed copper (H040) has a minimum hardness of 40HV, a minium tensile strength 200 N/mm2(R200) with fully cold worked copper (H110) having a hardness of 110HV minimum and tensile strength of 360 N/mm² ( R360) minimum.