Two questions about heat treating

[Elkins45]

1) Does it do any good to heat treat pure linotype? I am fortunate to have squirreled away some printer's type from a newspaper where I worked 25 years ago. I use it exclusively to cast rifle boolits, so it has lasted a long time. Does it make any difference to try to HT an alloy that's already about as good as it can be?

2) What is the proper technique for hot-quenching directly from the mold? Should I drop the boolits onto a soft cloth, pick them up and quench them, or do I lose too much heat that way? Should I open the mold directly over the bucket of water for an immediate quench?

TIA for any info. I've also posted this on castboolits.com.

 

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

As far as heat treating lino...I am unsure. I guess that would depends on your load and exactly how hard you want your bullets. Too hard bullets may not shoot well. I would invest in a BHN tester....the one by Lee has a learning curve but works fine (from what I have heard).

I heat treat the boolits right from the mold and into the bucket. I cut a slit in a towel and set it over the bucket so that bullets decelerate a little before hitting the water and the bottom of the bucket. I let the rag sag down into the water and this method seems to work well and keep the bullets from hitting eachother and deforming. Just my 2 cents and everyone has their own way. Good luck!

 

[GP100man]

I do as ICH with a towel in the bucket secured with a bungee cord wrapped around bucket !

I`m unsure also `bout linotype , it`s purty hard to start & may be too brittle by itself ( I think )

I`d sweeten some wheel weights 9 lbs. lino / 1 lino then quench & check hardness , should be in the hi 20s in a week or 2 .


For more in the know crowd register here

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/ & theres a alloy section to post your question .

As rite here a good crowd to hang out with over there also!!

As far as the lee tester it`s easy to use just hard to hold the little "scope" they measure with , here`s the way I hold mine , don`t laff it works!!!!

 

[hornady]

Water dropping has no effect on Linotype. This only works with WW, This is do to the arsenic in ww, As said Lyno is very hard on its own. And most guys only use straight lino for hot rifle loads. Water dropping WW you need to drop straight from the mold to a bucket of cool water. And this can be Dangerous . If water splashes into the Mold cavity and you pour into it. You will have a problem, I would do as said above. Add WW to the Lyno. You don’t need a straight Lyno bullet for most applications. Lyno is a great source for Antimony, this is the main hardner in bullets. Just a suggestion, But Mid-south has the Lyman cast bullet book on sale for $13.00 now. If casting its well worth the money.