Zinc in cast bullets

[sixshot]

Since I've never seen this subject addressed anywhere I thought I would bring it up here just to test the water. We all know that Zinc should be avoided when casting bullets, it can contaminate a whole pot of alloy, that is if we get the pot of alloy hot enough to melt it. Zinc has a much higher melting point than most other alloys that we make cast bullets out of.
So, here's my question to all of you long time bullet casters out there. Now that most of us are powder coating our cast bullets, maybe, just maybe Zinc isn't such a bad thing. We can make our bullets harder with Zinc & by being powder coated there's no chance of the Zinc coming in contact with our barrels, etc. Just throwing this out there to see what every one thinks, perhaps Bullet Designer (Bob) has done some testing along these lines or maybe Miha, or Glenn Fryxell, who knows what is possible, maybe we're throwing away something that is now useable because of powder coating, what say you???

Dick

[boolitdesigner]

There are a lot of different zinc alloys out there.... some good, some bad. The bad ones make the alloy pour like sticky syrup and don't fill out right. Good zinc alloy is great stuff, quite hard for a cast bullet too. As long as the pour is clean, use it.

[contender]

It's an interesting question.
I have seen a few folks buying zinc WW's to melt & use a cannon balls.

[sixshot]

Come on Bob, you are one of the few who can solve this. We know there's bad Zinc but it's too late once you've melted it. What we want is the good, hard stuff & how do we identify it & make it work in cast bullets. We might just make a very TOUGH cast, powder coated bullet here. Thanks in advance.

Dick

[nicholst55]

I saw an article about using zinc to cast with in an old Gun Digest. It seems like the author was recounting what had been done during the war (WW2).

[magnumwheelman]

My old retired tool and die buddy has talked about zinc a couple times... how it might be appropriate for lighter weight, faster driven bullets, but that it’s not at all compatible with lead... Powdercoating never really entered the conversation though

[taffin]

Aug 2, 2019 20:47:06 GMT -5 sixshot said:

Since I've never seen this subject addressed anywhere I thought I would bring it up here just to test the water. We all know that Zinc should be avoided when casting bullets, it can contaminate a whole pot of alloy, that is if we get the pot of alloy hot enough to melt it. Zinc has a much higher melting point than most other alloys that we make cast bullets out of.
So, here's my question to all of you long time bullet casters out there. Now that most of us are powder coating our cast bullets, maybe, just maybe Zinc isn't such a bad thing. We can make our bullets harder with Zinc & by being powder coated there's no chance of the Zinc coming in contact with our barrels, etc. Just throwing this out there to see what every one thinks, perhaps Bullet Designer (Bob) has done some testing along these lines or maybe Miha, or Glenn Fryxell, who knows what is possible, maybe we're throwing away something that is now useable because of powder coating, what say you???

Dick

ZINC NOY CONTACTING THE BORE. REMEMBER JIM HARVEY AND HIS JUGULAR BULLETS?. HE MADE PURE LEAD BULLETS WITH A ZINC WASHER BASE. THE ZINC WAS TO REMOVE ANY LEAD FROM THE BARREL.

[bula]

Only on this web forum ! Recalled Zinc mentioned in a much read book here. Went to consult and came back to find the Author had chimed in ! Cool beans. This thread may break some serious new ground before it's over.

[boolitdesigner]

Aug 2, 2019 21:32:39 GMT -5 sixshot said:

Come on Bob, you are one of the few who can solve this. We know there's bad Zinc but it's too late once you've melted it. What we want is the good, hard stuff & how do we identify it & make it work in cast bullets. We might just make a very TOUGH cast, powder coated bullet here. Thanks in advance.

Dick

All my alloy comes to me as scrap or WW's. Most of the time I don't get caught with a bad mix, but right now I have a 10 pound chunk that's syrup that will have to be diluted with some very soft range lead to use. My best guess on using zinc WWs is to melt them together (in a 3" diameter ladle) and see how they pour out of the ladle... clean pour use it in mix.... poor pour, don't use. Unless you use certified alloy where you can get the same thing everytime, you won't get the same results from time to time. A little zinc hardens the alloy.... some is enough. Straight zinc alloy is very very hard and light besides being a little brittle.... you don't need that as it's difficult to cast with (think single cavity iron molds here).

[sixshot]

John, I do remember Jim Harvey's Zinc washer's, that was many, many years ago. A lot of the guys reading this probably weren't even born when that was written. Bob, you're correct about Zinc being harder & lighter & also tougher than many of the alloy's that we're using now. I'm just wondering if we are now throwing away something that is very valuable now that we are powder coating. We just need someone like Glen Fryxell to show us the correct way to blend it but I don't know that he powder coats.
I'm hoping we're on the right track here because of the hardness capability of zinc if it's powder coated. Also, like Bob I have experienced the slurry type mix you get when you fool with the "bad" Zinc, you just have to skim it off & throw it away or store it. I think the reason it's so pasty is that we do't allow the temp to get high enough for long enough.

Dick.

[edk]

You can always sell the zinc, buy lead and put $0.20/lb in your pocket.

[matt56]

I melted down a whole bunch of hand sorted wheel weights tonight. I melt slow and stir often keeping the temps around 500°F. Somehow 2 zinc weights got past me but they were easily skimmed out. They didn’t even begin to melt

[magpouch]

I melted several thousand pounds of wheel weights in the last few years. I don't sort anything out except the soft stick-on's. Everything else gets melted at 600 degree's or less. I toss everything that does not melt and I use old motor oil as a flux and do it at least twice per 80 pound pot.  The little picture next to my post shows a few 200ish pound boxes put up and getting ready for storage.

At this point I don't have time to mess with zink bullets even though it would be kind of cool even if light weight. I expect I have enough bullet metal in ingots to last as long as I want.

[smirker]

Back in the 80's I shot with a guy at a public range. He cast zinc bullets to shoot at hi velocities out of his carry pistols. A Star PD in .45ACP and a H&K P7 PSP in 9mm. Chonograph's were not common then but after looking at some of his fired brass, I made sure we were on opposite ends of the firing line.

[cable]

Aug 3, 2019 18:25:17 GMT -5 sixshot said:

John, I do remember Jim Harvey's Zinc washer's, that was many, many years ago. A lot of the guys reading this probably weren't even born when that was written. Bob, you're correct about Zinc being harder & lighter & also tougher than many of the alloy's that we're using now. I'm just wondering if we are now throwing away something that is very valuable now that we are powder coating. We just need someone like Glen Fryxell to show us the correct way to blend it but I don't know that he powder coats.
I'm hoping we're on the right track here because of the hardness capability of zinc if it's powder coated. Also, like Bob I have experienced the slurry type mix you get when you fool with the "bad" Zinc, you just have to skim it off & throw it away or store it. I think the reason it's so pasty is that we do't allow the temp to get high enough for long enough.

Dick.

yes, I recall that....was interested in trying it at one time but never got around to it.