macstackleman Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 Forgot which solder is used to harden lead! wire working loose in heads of Spinnerbaits and lead flowing into hook eye on jig molds. thanks for help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 new solder is lead free and is mostly Tin, that will make it harder but it too expensive. you need something with antimony in it. wheel weight are probalbly 1% antimony. i don't know if that would be hard enough or not. the harder the lead, the harder to break off the spru. Roto metals has some here https://www.rotometals.com/antimonial-lead-ingots-5-pounds-2-4-antimony-lead/ that might work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 harder lead won't help..... Quote lead flowing into hook eye on jig molds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21xdc Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 3 hours ago, dlaery said: harder lead won't help..... NOPE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigmeister Posted April 20, 2023 Report Share Posted April 20, 2023 You can get a roll of solid Tin solder anyplace that sells plumbing supplies . If my memory is correct I think it was 9lbs lead to 1 lb. tin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted April 21, 2023 Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 If you go the wheel weights route I have been told to be sure it doesn’t contain zinc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted April 21, 2023 Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 I've got some homemade Lyman #2 bullet casting alloy Pb95-Sn5-Sb5 that could be ideal as a soft lead hardener with equal parts tin & antimony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogajiga Posted April 21, 2023 Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 In my experience a 10% tin lead alloy doesn't have any advantage over 3-4% tin and is a waste of $. Tin does not significantly harden lead like antimony does. Correct me if I'm wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlaery Posted April 21, 2023 Report Share Posted April 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Ogajiga said: In my experience a 10% tin lead alloy doesn't have any advantage over 3-4% tin and is a waste of $. Tin does not significantly harden lead like antimony does. Correct me if I'm wrong. i did say tin would make it hard but after thinking about it, i agree with you that tin does not make it harder. I have some pure tin in 1 lb bars and you can bend it pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted April 22, 2023 Report Share Posted April 22, 2023 Water quenching may gain you as much as one BHN. Adding a small amount of tim may also gain you one BHN. The tin may also help your lead flow better which will not help with your flashing issue. When I really want to make an alloy harder I use super hard from RotoMetals. It's a bar of lead that's 30% antimony. You could add pure Antimony but it will not melt till you get it over 1000 degrees. But the super hard has already been alloyed together so will melt around the normal temperatures for lead. I have a lead hardness tester that I use when I'm casting bullets. So I like to mix up a batch and then make an ingot once the ingot it is cooled I test it. When I reach the proper hardness that I'm after, only then I will start casting bullets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macstackleman Posted May 5, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2023 Thanks guys for information! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
