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Thread: Wheel Weights for casting

  1. #1
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    Wheel Weights for casting

    Just got a biscuit tin full of clip-on wheel weights for nothing from my local tyre merchants. I want to cast balls for my BP Revolvers

    They are all different sizes, shapes and weights and I’m not even sure if they are made of lead or not.

    Is there any sure way of telling?
    'Gun control is like trying to reduce drink driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars'

  2. #2
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    For muzzle loaders you would be best with pure lead rather than wheel weights.
    The lead being softer is a lot easier to load and less likely to snap ramrods or loading levers. At these lower velocities it helps that the ball can swell to fit the rifling better.

    Wheel weights are ideal for bullets to go in cartridges, they shoot at higher velocities and the harder metal is needed to stop the O/D stripping as it goes through the rifling.

    Older weights could be lead but newer ones are harder alloys..
    “If a cricketer, for instance, suddenly decided to go into a school and batter a lot of people to death with a cricket bat, which he could do very easily, I mean, are you going to ban cricket bats?” :- Prince Philip said after Dunblane

  3. #3
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    Thanks Smokeless – excellent advice as usual!
    'Gun control is like trying to reduce drink driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars'

  4. #4
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    as lead melts at a lower temp than most other metals it should seperate in to lead and not lead if you dont get it to hot??

    scotty
    "stuff" is just"stuff" but happieness is hard to find!

  5. #5
    greenshoots Guest
    used for higher velocities you will have to melt to git rid of the clips dont throw could use in a lead mix ....or send them my way.

    viv

  6. #6
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    Hey Greenshoots

    What John Wayne film did that line come from? ... I've heard it before but can't place it
    'Gun control is like trying to reduce drink driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars'

  7. #7
    greenshoots Guest
    give you a clue he played a dying gunfighter.

    viv

  8. #8
    Jackel's Avatar
    Jackel is offline Welding guru and moderator to the stars
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    2 mules for sister Sarah?
    The impossible I do immediately, miracles take 24 hours..



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  9. #9
    greenshoots Guest
    2 mules for sister Sarah?


  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by greenshoots View Post
    give you a clue he played a dying gunfighter.

    viv

    The Shootist ... marvelous film. Loved the opening scenes from his earlier movies depicting his life as a gun fighter.

    cheers
    Last edited by Calibre44; 27-07-2007 at 04:35 PM.
    'Gun control is like trying to reduce drink driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars'

  11. #11
    John Henry 1 Guest
    Wheel weights are made from a lead and antimony, I used to melt them down to cast bullets some years ago, harder than just lead, better, didn't strip the rifling. Used to work fine in .38 & .44.

  12. #12
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    But in a muzzleloader using a hard blend makes it a pain to ram home if they are sized right. Best stay with pure lead plus most m/l shoot subsonic so lead 'stripping' is rarely an issue.

    Use pure or as close as poss for less hassle

    Hand cast bullets in cartridges are a completly different animal ..... most of the time
    'I'm a rider at the gates of dawn and I take no prisoners' - Rik Mayall 1984
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  13. #13
    John Henry 1 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Marlin.45 View Post
    But in a muzzleloader using a hard blend makes it a pain to ram home if they are sized right. Best stay with pure lead plus most m/l shoot subsonic so lead 'stripping' is rarely an issue.

    Use pure or as close as poss for less hassle

    Hand cast bullets in cartridges are a completly different animal ..... most of the time

    See your point, never been in to muzzle loaders, I'm sure you are correct.

  14. #14
    greenshoots Guest
    Is there any sure way of telling?
    there the old splat test..

    wheel weights would work lovely in my marlin 1895 if your going to get rid......

    viv

  15. #15
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    Hey Greenshoots

    You've got some beautiful rifles! ... did it take you long to learn to handload those 45/70 cartridges?

    I've been handloading 44 magnum now for a year but would love a Trapdoor - what's it like to shoot?
    'Gun control is like trying to reduce drink driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars'

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