ACORN
Member
I recently bought 250lbs. of new lead wheel weights that were mixed sizes, loose, for $26.00.
Price of lead?
- Thread starter AJ
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AJ
US Veteran
You got a very good deal!
I have no trouble getting lead that is basically 99%. I have several ton. What is getting hard to find is Wheel weights, they don't use as many old type as they use to. I've got better than 500lbs of tin. Selling lead and tin in this area was like selling snowballs to eskimos. All the mills and industries used lead & tin. I have cast for years and make mostly pistol bullets and LV rifle bullets. I have no need to make bullets for over 2000 fps. 50% lead/ 50% wheel weights added 5% tin to batch, by weight.
The HBWCs strait lead / + 5% Tin works fine under 800fps. I concentrate on uniformity in the alloy from one batch to another. At velocities I'm launching my cast bullets I'm not concerned with hardness scales and other
OCD pursuits.
You would be surprised how little volume 200lbs of lead is. You should cast in well ventilated area. Like everything else Govt. gets into they went into overkill on lead poisoning. I'm going on 74 got no blue stripe on my teeth, took them out and looked at them just this morning.
The HBWCs strait lead / + 5% Tin works fine under 800fps. I concentrate on uniformity in the alloy from one batch to another. At velocities I'm launching my cast bullets I'm not concerned with hardness scales and other
OCD pursuits.
You would be surprised how little volume 200lbs of lead is. You should cast in well ventilated area. Like everything else Govt. gets into they went into overkill on lead poisoning. I'm going on 74 got no blue stripe on my teeth, took them out and looked at them just this morning.
When I melt wheel weights down I keep the temps down....any zinc floats on or near the top like the clips. I may be wrong but think zinc melts at just under 800 degrees F. Good hard wheel weights will start to melt considerably lower About 650 or a bit more. Get a good thermometer when melting your lead When I make ingots I keep the temps under 750. What I don't really get is Antimony...melts at over 1100 degrees but Lead shot with 5-8% antimony melts a lot lower So keep the temps in a lower range and melting lead and other metals is less dangerous and keeps the mix good
Bill Ferguson, aka The Antimony Man, used to market a flux he claimed would let you alloy pure antimony into an alloy. I spoke with him a couple of times in the early 90's and he was in his late 80's then. It is so much easier to buy an antimony rich alloy from Rotometals than try to mix one yourself.
I have found with low velocity target loads the softer you can get away with the better accuracy you get. I add 5% tin to any alloy used. Some of the OCD bullet freaks say I'm wasting tin. Besides preventing leading by adding toughness, not hardness , it improves casting. You get sharp definition of grease grooves, HPs and such. I hate to see rounded edges, that usually indicates zinc in the mix.
Main thing casting is to know what you got to begin with. It's the only way you can cast uniform bullets.
Main thing casting is to know what you got to begin with. It's the only way you can cast uniform bullets.
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I worked for the phone co. and We used to have sleeves for splices made of the most beautiful lead you could find. You could pick up 100lbs just from the trash. Lead was very expensive when Chernobyl blew up. Russia bought up all the lead in the world to enclose that mess. Trap shooters had to be content with BrandX shot from Brazil. Now that environmentalists have moved lead up into the danger scale along with Plutonium, It isn't going to be cheaper again.
Wow looks like I have a little bit of money siting in 3 bags of shot.
All 25# bags, two 9 and 1 a 7 1/2, Originally bought it in the mid 70s. Forgot I had them and just found them on a junk shelf in the old dead storage garage behind the house that I hardily go in..-
Best bet I put them there in 2003 when we moved up to the lake.
All 25# bags, two 9 and 1 a 7 1/2, Originally bought it in the mid 70s. Forgot I had them and just found them on a junk shelf in the old dead storage garage behind the house that I hardily go in..-
Best bet I put them there in 2003 when we moved up to the lake.
If you work out the details, here might be a lot of free lead in or on the dirt berm at an outdoor range.
Turning 13 five-gallon buckets into useable ingots was not too bad, but 2 buckets of bullet jackets were an issue. Gave up and to them back to the range berm.
Turning 13 five-gallon buckets into useable ingots was not too bad, but 2 buckets of bullet jackets were an issue. Gave up and to them back to the range berm.
OP
AJ
US Veteran
A long time ago when a lot younger I did that at the base where I was stationed. Nowadays the range belongs to the county and they have it mined every so often. Get a fair chunk of change for it.
A few years ago I got a pot of melted shotgun shot some kids had melted into a kitchen pot. Three bags, 75 pounds. I plan to remelt it and pour into muffin pan ignots. Do I need to blend with anything to make bullets? I am pursuing a new adventure.
I've always gotten lead/old bullets from the berm and remelted them into usable lead ingots. 99%+ of my casting/shooting needs is done with this lead that stays a consistent 8/9bhn.
End up with a lot of jackets.
The local scrap yards take them as #2 copper. A receipt from 2012 for al cans and the copper jackets.
They also take the brass cases in as yellow brass. 2015 bullet jackets and cases.
I typically don't save receipts, the only reason I kept these was to show the "nothing" is free" crowd just how wrong they are.
Free lead that I get paid to clean/use.
I actually will buy lead every now and then. With that 2015 $$$ I bought this lead for $.25 a #.
Separated it and melted down the pure lead (pile on right) along with the mystery lead in the 1/2 full 5 gallon bucket. Sold those ingots off for $.50 a #. The bars and solder in the center I kept. The bars are lino-type.
I do sell lead when I need $$$ for primers or powder.
End up with a lot of jackets.
The local scrap yards take them as #2 copper. A receipt from 2012 for al cans and the copper jackets.
They also take the brass cases in as yellow brass. 2015 bullet jackets and cases.
I typically don't save receipts, the only reason I kept these was to show the "nothing" is free" crowd just how wrong they are.
Free lead that I get paid to clean/use.
I actually will buy lead every now and then. With that 2015 $$$ I bought this lead for $.25 a #.
Separated it and melted down the pure lead (pile on right) along with the mystery lead in the 1/2 full 5 gallon bucket. Sold those ingots off for $.50 a #. The bars and solder in the center I kept. The bars are lino-type.
I do sell lead when I need $$$ for primers or powder.
Probably is the best answer I can guess. A lot depends on rather it was magnum shot or standard.
I make a run 3 or 4 times a year to recycle yard to sell copper wire s****.
They have those fork lift bins right past scales. They have one marked X
It's for soft metals other than lead. .23 a pound. There was all kinds of alloys in that bin. There were 38 bullets that must have been a 5 gal bucket full. They have no Tin bin it goes into X. I thought I would be smart and take X metals instead of cash. No deal. They say everything they buy is contracted. The real reason is they pay less than the big s**** yards. They get most of their business from people bringing small amounts. The time and expense of taking it for the higher price isn't practical.
Here on Ohio River Rust Belt thousands of people worked in mills and mines. Many ended up with a little chuck of sinker making metal at home.
Over the years there is tons laying in garages and basements. Local industry has always kept an eye on copper. S**** Yards knew were certain kinds of copper came from and wouldn't buy it, or even turn in seller. It was worth enough that made it a target of theft for profit. Lead wasn't paid much attention to. People didn't walk off with tons of it.
They have those fork lift bins right past scales. They have one marked X
It's for soft metals other than lead. .23 a pound. There was all kinds of alloys in that bin. There were 38 bullets that must have been a 5 gal bucket full. They have no Tin bin it goes into X. I thought I would be smart and take X metals instead of cash. No deal. They say everything they buy is contracted. The real reason is they pay less than the big s**** yards. They get most of their business from people bringing small amounts. The time and expense of taking it for the higher price isn't practical.
Here on Ohio River Rust Belt thousands of people worked in mills and mines. Many ended up with a little chuck of sinker making metal at home.
Over the years there is tons laying in garages and basements. Local industry has always kept an eye on copper. S**** Yards knew were certain kinds of copper came from and wouldn't buy it, or even turn in seller. It was worth enough that made it a target of theft for profit. Lead wasn't paid much attention to. People didn't walk off with tons of it.
