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Question about Lead and Brass

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  • Axxe55

    Retiretgtshit stirrer
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    Dec 15, 2019
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    I think everyone may have mis the original intent, or I didn’t state it effectively, the only reason for the question and keeping it was, should a worse case scenario develop for an extended period, we may be forced to make do. But I think enough info has pointed out that it would not be practical as an individual.

    But i do like the cannon idea!

    Problem is, without knowing exactly what alloy of brass it is, it would be very hard to suggest or advise on methods of working the brass.



    Different brass alloys have different properties and methods used for working with it.
    Guns International
     

    mad88minute

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    Casting solid brass bullets will take some serious equipment.
    It would be easier to machine them on a lathe.
    In the past there have been a couple of companies that sold a bullet forming set up that uses various brass casing and lead core wire to for bullets.
    IIRC, 9mm brass was used to make .40cal bullets. 22lr brass made .224 bullets. Etc.
    Corbin was the name I think.

    The melting point on the brass is probably going to depend on the alloy of the brass. IIRC, most brass melts in excess of 1500 to 1600 degrees. So if you are wanting to cast brass, you would need a pretty hot foundry.


    I have sand casted brass and aluminum knuckles in my back yard with a home made forge.

    Propane tank, plaster of Paris, cement, a hand held burner a steel bucket. Bought a crucible and a tong to pick it up.

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    Maverick44

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    I have sand casted brass and aluminum knuckles in my back yard with a home made forge.

    Propane tank, plaster of Paris, cement, a hand held burner a steel bucket. Bought a crucible and a tong to pick it up.

    Sent from my moto e6 using Tapatalk

    Yeah you might be able to do that.

    Try doing it 100+ times though, and do it in a way where you end up with bullets that are either useable or can be made usable with minimal work. Keep in mind, 0.001" could be the difference between a usable bullet and a tiny paperweight. Is it worth the time and the effort?

    I don't think sandcasting would work well for bullets. For a lot of other stuff, yeah. Sandcasting can be fantastic. The precision requirements for bullets are just too high, and the effort to set up that many molds, cast, and clean up the bullets wouldn't be minor.
     

    Deavis

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    I don't think sandcasting would work well for bullets. For a lot of other stuff, yeah. Sandcasting can be fantastic. The precision requirements for bullets are just too high, and the effort to set up that many molds, cast, and clean up the bullets wouldn't be minor.

    You would turn the castings, not use them straight. You will need to groove them to deal with the pressure increases, just like Barnes.

    Thisnis one of those fun ideas where you have way too much time to imagine it than actually do it. Once, okay, 100 times? Hahaha. Yeah.
     

    mad88minute

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    Yeah you might be able to do that.

    Try doing it 100+ times though, and do it in a way where you end up with bullets that are either useable or can be made usable with minimal work. Keep in mind, 0.001" could be the difference between a usable bullet and a tiny paperweight. Is it worth the time and the effort?

    I don't think sandcasting would work well for bullets. For a lot of other stuff, yeah. Sandcasting can be fantastic. The precision requirements for bullets are just too high, and the effort to set up that many molds, cast, and clean up the bullets wouldn't be minor.
    Sand cast bullets.... absolutely not.

    I was just commenting on the temperature and equipment needed to melt and cast with brass and aluminum.

    I don't cast bullets but have long been interested in it. Would a regular lead bullet mold not work?

    Cast aluminum and powder coat?

    Pretty much just ideas in my head. At the end of the day I scrap a ton of metal and use the cash to buy guns and ammo.

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    mad88minute

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    Maverick44

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    Sand cast bullets.... absolutely not.

    I was just commenting on the temperature and equipment needed to melt and cast with brass and aluminum.

    I don't cast bullets but have long been interested in it. Would a regular lead bullet mold not work?

    Cast aluminum and powder coat?

    Pretty much just ideas in my head. At the end of the day I scrap a ton of metal and use the cash to buy guns and ammo.

    Sent from my moto e6 using Tapatalk

    Depends on what the mold is made from. Most are made from aluminum, which has a lower melting point than brass so that obviously wouldn't work. Your only real option is steel/iron, which is the second most common type of mold, but I'm curious how well molten brass would play with a steel mold. Is it going to fill out the mold completely or leave voids? Is it going to come out at the right size, or end up at a different diameter due using a alloy the mold wasn't designed for at a temp far hotter than the mold was designed for? Are you going to even be able to get it out of the mold, or is it just going to basically fuse the two halves together?

    It's one of those things that would be interesting to play around with just for shits and giggles.

    Cast aluminum? Maybe? You're going to end up with a very light bullet. I did a little google searching and found that someone had tried this in the 80s. Casting resulted in undersized bullets and overheated molds (Kind of what I was worried about with casting brass, which gets much hotter). Lathe turning was tried, and it worked, sort of. It resulted in a super light, super fast bullet that didn't expand and wasn't really great for anything. I don't know what the accuracy results were. Bullets for 357 came out to about 38gr. I would expect most 30 cal rifle designs to come it around that same weight.

    a 55gr lead bullet would weight around 13gr if made from aluminum.
     
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