Re: plated bullets
Posted: 09 Apr 2020 11:39
The bulk copper comes out , plated shells jackets etc , but there is is some "oxide" level copper that mixes with the tin . It's above my pay grade . For a visual demonstration break out the instant sweet tea . Water=lead , Tea=tin , sugar=Copper . I don't think you can melt in enough tin in the lead for it to do anything but become more tin than lead , but at some point you can't stir in any more sugar and when the heat and stir stop the sugar or in this case copper, falls out . It isn't alloyed so it's not part of the lead/tin/antimony but it is dissolved in the alloy .
As a test gather up a bunch 22RF bullets about half copper washed . Melt stir add tin , say 2 oz in 5# of alloy now stir and flux you'll have dirt but very little copper and with the addition of the tin you should see a reduction in the waste dross also . Just like adding hot water to your tea and stirring in another sugar cube .
When the bullets are plated there is a layer that sticks to the lead and bonds to the copper and the lead , that layer is what goes into the solution .
Copper will dissolve at about 20% in the tin so 100# of lead with 25# of tin will hold about 1# of copper , .20/1/20 alloy more or less .
As a test gather up a bunch 22RF bullets about half copper washed . Melt stir add tin , say 2 oz in 5# of alloy now stir and flux you'll have dirt but very little copper and with the addition of the tin you should see a reduction in the waste dross also . Just like adding hot water to your tea and stirring in another sugar cube .
When the bullets are plated there is a layer that sticks to the lead and bonds to the copper and the lead , that layer is what goes into the solution .
Copper will dissolve at about 20% in the tin so 100# of lead with 25# of tin will hold about 1# of copper , .20/1/20 alloy more or less .