Roto Metals alloys.

[Hagler]

Ladies & gents,

I have tried to find a local source of used wheel weights, but to no avail. I want to get into bullet casting, so I have been looking at getting my lead from Roto Metals:

www.rotometals.com

I want to reload for .44 Magnum, and for .38 Special & .357 Magnum, for my leverguns & my .38 Special revolvers. I see a few alloys, for casting, but I am uncertain which one I should buy. Can any of you recommend a good, all-around alloy for me to start with?

Thanks,
Shawn

[Bronco]

Howdy,

I know that the frustrating part is that they ,WW, used to be free and plentiful. In looking for a source around here for a friend, I have all I need , I found that some of the local auto wreckers will sell it for as low as $0.25/ lb.

Hope that help's some.

John

[.45colt]

They have made it pretty easy , this is the one I would buy.http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/lym ... tmetal.htm Good Luck, and have Fun.

[BrentD]

John Walters in Moore, Oklahoma is a well respected source of lead, tin, and lead:tin alloy (and also fiber wads). He is a great guy to deal with, and his prices are generally a little bit better than Rotometal's "sale" prices.

You can reach him at thetinwadman@cox.net.

[Grizz]

Good question on the alloy. That's a whole field of study in itself, and I am clueless.

My benchmark is Marshall Stanton's alloy, a secret recipe I suppose. I can take his bullets and whack them with the 2 pound hammer against concrete. They deform without breaking and they stay together traveling thru doug fir firewood. Not all cast projectiles stay together this way, many do not, coming apart while penetrating wood. While all of my beartooth bullets are gas checked, and don't lead my gun bores, I think plain base bullets of his alloy would also not lead bores.

Most garden variety shotgun slugs self-destruct easily.

So the alloy question is very interesting and some info about how to get there would be useful.

Grizz

[Hobie]

I think that what would suit you is Lyman's #2 alloy. Rotometal's good folks with whom to deal but the prices might be beaten.

[harry]

I bought lead from these guys many years ago, you might give'em a ring to see what their prices are,
http://louisianalead.com/

[Don McDowell]

#2 alloy is what you're looking for.
Buffalo Arms, has usually better prices than Roto, and check on Ebay you can find it there from time to time.
Also at one time Missouri Bullets sold casting ingots. Watch out for Midway's alloy tho, it's closer to gold prices than bullet metal.
And don't overlook cast bullets at yardsales and gunshows, and lead shot, those can be sleeper deals when you stumble into them.

[AJMD429]

Also lots of info on the LASC site. http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm

[765x53]

Most scrap yards will sell scrap lead if they have it.
You have to beat the spoonbill snaggers to it. What a waste of bullet metal!
I have found a lot of interesting things digging through the scrap barrel, decoy weights, military figures, athletic medals.

[Sixgun]

If I had to buy lead, I would not be a happy camper.

In addition to scrap yards, you can always go to your gun club early in the am or Sunday am and prospect with 1/4" rat wire with a few 2 x 4's nailed up to make yourself a sifter.

The guy who buys my house after I buy the farm will be able to get a couple of lifetimes worth of lead just by prospecting in the usual places,.----6

[Sixgun]

If I had to buy lead, I would not be a happy camper.

In addition to scrap yards, you can always go to your gun club early in the am or Sunday am and prospect with 1/4" rat wire with a few 2 x 4's nailed up to make yourself a sifter.

The guy who buys my house after I buy the farm will be able to get a couple of lifetimes worth of lead just by prospecting in the usual places,.----6

[Charles]

For 44 Mag, 357 Mag to be fired from a rifle, I would go with No. 2 as suggested.

For handgun loads I would prefer something softer and would go with 1-20.

If I could only buy just one, it would be No. 2

[mikld]

Rotometal's #2 or 16-1 alloys will work pretty well for all around bullet casting...

[Hagler]

Thanks, everybody.

I found a local scrap dealer that said that I could "pick through" their stuff, to find scrap lead. They quoted me 75 cents/ pound. I will take a look at what they have. I guess that I should see if they have tin & antimony, too. Is there anything, in particular, that I should look for?

Thanks,
Shawn

[765x53]

Thanks, everybody.

I found a local scrap dealer that said that I could "pick through" their stuff, to find scrap lead. They quoted me 75 cents/ pound. I will take a look at what they have. I guess that I should see if they have tin & antimony, too. Is there anything, in particular, that I should look for?

Thanks,
Shawn

For soft lead, look for sheet-lead, roof jacks, and old lead water pipe.
For harder lead, look for wheel weights, old fishing sinkers will probably also have been cast from wheel weights.
You will also find battery terminals.
If you are lucky you may find bar solder and spools of solder that are marked with their content.
For odd pieces of lead, you can make a good guess about hardness by comparing the impression made by an automatic center punch with the impression in known pure lead.

The melting point of tin is 449 degrees Fahrenheit, lead 621 and zinc 787.
Place a piece of known pure lead in the bottom of your melting pot, (I use a store bought ML ball) and a similar size piece of unknown metal and compare melting times to find pure tin.