linotype

[ag12g]

hi all,

at what ratio is linotype mixed with roofing lead assuming the linotype has 12% antimony in it and 4% tin, ive seen on other posts a ratio of 3 to 1 is used, I will be dripping shot 9 for clay shooting.  thanks

[sitsinhedges]

I always used to use 3 or 4 to 1 but now use 5 to 1 and it seems just as good. The lino makes the dropping work better and it's all plenty hard. Good luck dripping 9's I never managed smaller than 7.5 shot with a .5mm hole.

Edited August 26, 2018 by sitsinhedges

[ag12g]

thanks for that sitsinhedges  ill try the 5 to 1 and see how it goes, as for dripping shot 9 the hot weather recently has made it much easier to drip and ive been having good results made 55kilos of perfectly usable shot

[sitsinhedges]

It's also my understanding that lino is about 20% antimony. Who knows for sure? I do know that all my shot is much harder than factory which seems to be largely chilled shot.

[ag12g]

reading up on linotype it seems that there is contrasting opinions on the antimony content, I have not used it before I usually buy an ingot of antimony and alloy it in with tin, ill try 5 to 1 and make some ingots up and go from there

[moor man]

Reading this with interest, not into making shot but I do cast my own bullets.

How do you gauge hardness. Where do you chaps get your linotype from and how much should I expect to pay? Pm me if you'd rather, thanks. MM

[Vince Green]

Is it really linotype? individual pieces of type/letters is monotype and quite a lot harder than linotype which was used exclusively in Linotype machines to cast long lines of text. A process known as hot metal printing.

Tests in the past with hard shot, mostly in America, have shown no ballistic advantage once you get harder than about 2-3% antimony. In fact there is very little evidence that hard shot was ever more than a marketing gimmick to sell cartridges, but a few percent does prevent balling and may help in the drip forming a round shape more easily.

Antimony is more useful in hardening up cast bullets that have to grip the rifling