This is really aggravating! I've had great luck casting (45 Colt) bullets out of pure lead and very soft alloys. The other day I picked up some linotype lead from a local gunshop and decided to cast with that. I threw in about 3 pounds of linotype and half a pound of pure lead in the pot. When I started casting all I got was crap! When I opened the sprue plate, it was tearing chunks out of the bullet, like it was really brittle. I added a pound of pure lead and got very similar (maybe slightly better?) results. One more pound and the same (maybe a little better).
Whats going on? Should I only use a very small amount of linotype to pure lead (like 1:4 lino to lead?). Or is this stuff crap and should I throw it away?
Grrrrr!

-Philip

I've cast a lot of linotype & never a problem, it almost sounds like it got too hot. The more lead you put in, the more bad metal you replace. Did you use any sort of thermometer?

Your alloy and heat are off. Adjust heat up or down to get a fluid thats sort of like water. Then back off a touch. With time and experience you can get the heat right by feel of the mold and sprue as you cut it. Color also.

Thanks for the input fellas. As for your question hatch, no I don't have a thermometer. I'm running a really barebones operation here. I use a propane camp stove and an old kitchen pot. I wrap the whole thing in asbestos (best stuff in the world!) to make it a little more thermally efficient.
The reason I started casting is because I wanted really soft bullets for black power use but nobody seems to sell them, at least not locally. Since I'm not really willing to spend big bucks on a fancy setup, I'll probably just stick to casting the pure lead bullets for my cowboy loads and I'll buy hard cast bullets for my heavy loads.
I'll give it a couple of more shots though. One more question. When casting, I noticde I was getting better bullets if I tried to scoop lead from the bottom of the pot. It makes me think that the antimony and tin or whatever weren't mixing properly with the lead. Is this indicative of too cold or too hot a mixture?

Thanks again

I've done it that way also.....try mixing about half & half, and use a bit of lube (about the size of a large pea) in the pot. That should allow the tin, etc, to mix with the lead. Be careful of fire, though. If, however, you want really soft bullets, skim the tin off the top as it separates and don't flux. Hope that helps, see ya tomorrow.

I cast from a pot too. You need to ladle from the bottom up and that gives betteer tin mix. id suggest 50/50 on linotype for thwe alloy. Dont cast tillabout 10 or 15 minutes after the alloy melts, stir often and ladle deep.