Military Wheel Weights

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  • Last Post 01 June 2019
mashburn posted this 01 June 2019

Questions for you experts out there in CBA land,

Like I've said before, I'm and old experienced reloader but a novice when it comes to cast lead bullet casting. I put a discussion on several weeks ago about some surplus military weights that I had purchased new. I stated that they seemed to be harder than ordinary old style ww's. I had one responder that said that the military did not use wheel weights and then I talked to some recent army veterans that said they knew that the HMV's did use balanced tires. I spent 7 years in Uncle Sam's army but my pay grade was much higher that a jeep or truck driver so I don't know much about  military vehicle wheels. Here is my question of the day. I finally got around to casting some of them into ingots a few weeks ago and have been laid up for a couple or so weeks and am just now beginning to be myself. Today I pulled a couple of them off the rack and checked the edge with a thumb nail test. They appeared to be quite hard, apparently harder than the did when in the ww form. I dropped a couple of them on a concrete floor and they rang like a bell. I then dropped a couple of the wheel weights on the concrete and they landed with a dull thud. I then dropped a pure lead ingot on the floor and it landed with a dull thud. When I melted the wheel weights they appeared to have a lot of antimony or tin in them. I fluxed them several times and stirred a lot. Is there any reason why the would ring so and seem to be much harder than the WW's themselves were. .Am I imagining things or what.

I've got some interesting discussions to post that I think you will enjoy now that I can type again.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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Mike H posted this 01 June 2019

I cannot help re the hardness what I would do is cast some bullets with that alloy and see if they cast OK,then I would cast some more bullets,with a known alloy,using the same mould,weigh both lots of bullets and compare the average weight of them.The lightest batch should have more alloys included and most likely be harder.

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harleyrock posted this 01 June 2019

I wouldn't contaminate my casting pot and moulds until I knew what that metal is.  It could be zinc.  It doesn't take much zinc to ruin a batch of alloy, and I wouldn't want it in my bullet casting equipment.

Lifetime NRA since 1956, NRA Benefactor, USN Member, CBA Member

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