Birdman528 Posted April 6, 2012 Report Share Posted April 6, 2012 Has anyone tried mixing tungsten heavy powder into lead/tin? Or casting a lead/tin mold that incorporates a piece of solid tungsten? I know from reading here and other places that making your own pure tungsten jigs/weights is basically impossible and thought that this may provide a solution but have not attempted it, or any other type of metal pouring. I am more interested in density/mass than making something lead free, so I thought mixing with lead would be the best solution but from research it appears that mass production sintering uses other types of metals and I'm not sure if there is a reason for this other than keeping things lead free. I imagine that the mixing or consistency of tungsten powder to other metal would be an issue if mixed in a pot and would result in non standard results for different pours, but if the powder was measured and added to the mold before pouring you could achieve a relatively standard weight/ratio. Dependant on how the mold is set up I would imagine that the tungsten would then be placed at the bottom of the mold and in an ideal world the bottom of the casting acting like a balast on a hard/soft lure. This stuff is available from several places and works well to weight soft/hard plastics and even allows you to achieve some impressive weight for the size of casting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukey28 Posted April 7, 2012 Report Share Posted April 7, 2012 I've mixed it with epoxies and added some weight to spoons and spinnerbaits with decent results. I have't used it in lead . I make everything from brass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wchilton Posted April 12, 2012 Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Never tried it, but I'd expect if you put tungsten powder in the mold and pour lead in, the lead will cool before it can fully penetrate the powder and you wouldn't get a whole/solid casting. The reason for inconsistent density is going to be the tungsten settling out of the liquid lead (to the bottom). I suppose you could try pouring from a ladle so you can scoop mix off the bottom of the melting pot. It might not flow very well, though. If I were doing this, I'd consider some sort of epoxy or casting resin and cast the pieces in a silicone mold. I'd look for a resin that is very thin/low viscosity. I'd also use a mix of two or more different tungsten powder grits. With multiple size particles you get a bit better packing density. Single size "sphere packing" maxes out at about 70%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birdman528 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2012 Thanks for the advice, I've used the powder with epoxy and plastisol but only a single size i will have to try the different size powders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
