What do you think the BHN would be

[knightnut2000]

Say you were casting up some 100% pure lead Conicals and you water quenched them out of the mold what do you think the BHN would be

 

[45-70]

what ever pure lead is

 

[knightnut2000]

45-70
Hmm

So your saying it would not change at all ? See I would have thought it would have, I am not a caster and Iv'e heard of this water thing and i thought it may harden lead from 5 BHN to maybe 6 or 7 BHN

 

[MSalyards]

Water is a waste of time. Ad tin if you want a harder bullet.

 

[sdporter]

Say you were casting up some 100% pure lead Conicals and you water quenched them out of the mold what do you think the BHN would be

Pure lead, to my understanding, doesn’t harden. Not without an alloy.

 

[knightnut2000]

Thanks guys I was boarded and setting around just thinking. Now I see why I get myself in to so much trouble with my GF when I think . Lol

 

[JimA]

45-70
Hmm

So your saying it would not change at all ? See I would have thought it would have, I am not a caster and Iv'e heard of this water thing and i thought it may harden lead from 5 BHN to maybe 6 or 7 BHN

Water quenching hardens lead alloyed with tin and antimony. If you wanted to harden just slightly, then add a little tin.

 

[sdporter]

Here’s an easy test you can do to see if it hardens up any. Betting it won’t

 

[SteveH]

So basically, there is no way to "temper" lead without adding some other "ingredient".

 

[Cobweb]

I've always been told to harden just add a little tin.
We used pure lead in our muzzleloaders and hardened the lead for our modern pistol bullets.
Big John

 

[sealer]

Pure lead does not harden with water quenching.
Dennis

 

[JimA]

So basically, there is no way to "temper" lead without adding some other "ingredient".

That is correct. Lead is an element with known properties. Heating and cooling it does not change that. If you want to harden it slightly add some tin. If you want it to become harder still add some antimony.