how to soften lead

[Rifleman1776]

First, understand, I am just reporting this. I am not saying it works.
I am on a Facebook flintlock forum. A member has reported soaking his roundballs in Coke A Cola to soften them. :shocked2: Really. That forum does come up with some wild notions. For me it simply demonstrates how much ignorance it out there.
As for the softening idea? IMHO, pure :bull:

 

[Juice Jaws]

The best way to soften lead is to put it in a melting pot and turn up the heat. Works every time. :grin:

 

[Grizzly Adams]

:haha:

Don't think you can soften pure lead any more than it already is. :idunno:

 

[Billnpatti]

:hmm: Regular Coke or Diet Coke? I wonder if Pepsi will work? Diet or regular? Maybe Dr. Pepper? Naw, I agree, it sounds more and more like a good :bull: story to me.

All of these "geniuses" out there are trying to find new and wonderful things that Coke will do. In most cases it would be cheaper and better to use a different product. Coke is a beverage. Cool it, drink it and enjoy it. That is it's best use. Add rum, rye, burbon, etc. if you must but just drink the damned stuff.

 

[nkbj]

Great for cleaning battery terminals.
Never noticed them getting softer though.

 

[wattlebuster]

If I were you I would just consider it like most of the other magic tricks an thats :bull: Just sit back an have a coke :idunno:

 

[longcruise]

Maybe those "geniuses" work in the Coke marketing dept. :haha:

I.softened about 7.5 pounds of lead yesterday. They turned into a bunch of .495 & .445 balls!

 

[wulf]

I would use Beer myself but I don't waste any on
the lead....90% pure is good enough for me. The
lead I mean.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I wonder if they were talking about annealing it? Most other metals can be annealed and / or tempered. Most of those processes involve applying heat in some way.

 

[M. De Land]

Lead tin mixes will self anneal over a years time, when mixed with antimony much less so. Pure lead will not anneal by itself or by heat.
It will however oxidize but this is not softening it's core.
It will have a BHN of 4.6 and never get any lower when solidified.
The old standard of 5 BHN for pure lead has been found to be a bit high and has been corrected to 4.6.

 

[longcruise]

If wheel weights are used, they will harden over a period of several weeks and stabilize at about 12 BHN. So, for those who shoot WW the balls you shoot the day after casting will be softer than the same balls a month later. Once they are at 12 BHN, they can be annealed back down but will immediately begin to harden again.

 

[M. De Land]

I have cans of WW bullets I cast at least 10 years ago that are just as hard now as when they reached they're cured BHN after casting.
They are in the 12-13 BHN range.
If you water drop them from the mold you do not have to wait for them to cure harden and they will still be in the 12-14 BHN range.

 

[necchi]

Wow!
There's a couple posts here in this thread I'm having a hard time grasping,,
Seem's facebook isn't the only place to find "wild notions" :shocked2:

 

[Jim C]

For me it simply demonstrates how much ignorance it out there.


Agreed, pure :bull: .......I guess I'm just old fashioned in that I prefer to just stick to what has been tried and trued down through the ages and very rarely if ever have any problems at all. I know for a proven fact that some folks just simply enjoy creating problems or trying to correct problems that don't even exist to start with. Let 'em bat their brains out and more power to 'em. :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

My experience water droping has been to go to the 20 to 25 bhn range! I get the same result soaking in the oven at 425 and then dumping in the sink. They will gradually over many months, even years fall back down to the 12 to 13 range. It takes even longer if they are kept in the freezer. Probably much harder than most ball shooters want though. There is a point where, with velocity high enough, they will break up on impact.

 

[longcruise]

Wow!
There's a couple posts here in this thread I'm having a hard time grasping,,
Seem's facebook isn't the only place to find "wild notions"

Which ones, Necchi? We are here to help! :grin:

 

[AZbpBurner]

Sometimes the old ways may seem strange, but actually work, despite our scepticism.

This ancient incantation,repeated 3 times over a deerskin pouch of lead balls will make them softer. You need only hold a gourd rattle in your left hand, and wave an ear of unshucked green corn over the bag for best effect:

"Softer, softer make my lead. Softer, softer, like my head."

 

[RADeO]

Sometimes the old ways may seem strange, but actually work, despite our scepticism.

This ancient incantation,repeated 3 times over a deerskin pouch of lead balls will make them softer. You need only hold a gourd rattle in your left hand, and wave an ear of unshucked green corn over the bag for best effect:

"Softer, softer make my lead. Softer, softer, like my head."

Now that is funny! :rotf:

 

[Jim C]

:haha: :haha: :haha:

 

[MSW]

Sometimes the old ways may seem strange, but actually work, despite our scepticism.

This ancient incantation,repeated 3 times over a deerskin pouch of lead balls will make them softer. You need only hold a gourd rattle in your left hand, and wave an ear of unshucked green corn over the bag for best effect:

"Softer, softer make my lead. Softer, softer, like my head."

left hand ... darn ... I wish I'd known that ... all these years shooting regular balls, 'cause I was holding the fool thing in my right hand ... aaaaaargh!!

:rotf: :rotf: :surrender: :rotf: