Which Professions have access to Lead, Tin, etc.?

[blasternank]

I have acquaintances in quite a few different professions, etc. Which professions have access to the metals needed to cast boolits? I understand the wheel weights from auto dealers or tire stores.

What about other professions? If others are there special names they have for the metal that we are looking for? Sometimes there are different parts with certain names like Wheel Weights but they are lead plus other metals.

Thanks for helping.

[jhrosier]

Roofers use lead flashing.
Building demolition guys remove lead flashing from roofs.
Be on the watch for remodeling in hospitals, clinics, and Drs offices. Lead is used to shield xray areas.
Old plumbers would have used lead to join/seal cast iron pipes.
Radiator shops that still solder the older metal car radiators.

Jack

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Circuit board Manufacturers.

Back in the 1990's I ran a wave solder machine,
we never fluxed the pot, just scraped off the dross once a day.
we'd generate a 5 gallon bucket about once a week,
and probably weighed 100 lbs
about 60% was tin and 40% lead...or whatever

Nowadays, they can't use lead alloy solder anymore.
so the solder is mostly tin.
I'd love to get a bucket of that dross :)
I stopped by my old jobsite for some last fall.
it turned out they sold the wavesolder machine
2 years ago...and scrapped 6 buckets of dross,
the several hundred lbs of lead free solder
went with the machine.
Now,they have all their circuit boards built by others.

[oscar669]

Nuclear power workers

[mooman76]

Anyone that xrays or at least those that haven't gone to digital but dental offices. Also Glass shops that deal with the old stained glass windows. You can check with ranges for lead cleaned out of the pits or reclaimed lead shot from skeet ranges. The more expensive wine bottles have tin over the cork but that seems to be disappearing too.

[MT Gianni]

Plumbers remove older lead piping and shower pans on occasion.

[bowfin]

Ask lineman from the power companies if they have seen any old lead sheathed cable around.

[Flash]

I just go to my local scrap yard

[Olevern]

What, nobody gets lead from their local tire shop? :-)

[Russ in WY]

Most Tire Shops 2-day will tell you they send all there W/W to a Recycle. Unless you have an Inside connection, its a Lost cause , that's what I have run into.. can find them at Scrap dealers , if you want to pay there price... My 2¢.. Russ.

[Wrbjr]

I just go to my local scrap yard

What are you paying at the scrap yard if you don't mind me asking?

I have several yards close by but haven't talked to them yet.

[alamogunr]

I live in a small town and there are a few scrap yards in a 50 mi radius but I find that the old song that mentioned "meaner than a junk yard dog" was referring to the people that owned/worked there.

John
W.TN

[Rich/WIS]

Construction workers who do sewer and water rebuilds. A lot of the old sewer pipes were cast iron with lead joints. Also a lot of old lead water pipe turns up. One year I got about 600lbs of lead pipe just working as a locator around a 6 block water rebuild. Last year I collected about 50 lbs of pipe joints on a two block rebuild. Check with contractors, around here there are not a lot of places that take lead alloy scrap and the contracotrs are often happy to have you take it. I often find old lead sheath phone cable around these projects as well.

[RayinNH]

Don't forget your local mason either. They also use lead roof flashing around chimneys...Ray

[montana_charlie]

Also consider anyone who uses lead 'weights'.
That would be people who build sailboats ... people who demolish sailboats.
People who scrap out forklifts, and other vehicles which require extra weight.
Machine shops sometimes get rid of older machinery, and some of that is weighted in special ways ... usually with lead weights.

CM

[michiganvet]

Plumbers, Pipefitters, Carpenters who do hospital remodels.

[deltaenterprizes]

Nuclear medicine techs in hospitals can get lead containers that the isotopes are shipped in to the facility.

[myg30]

Several scrap yards in Nashville WON'T sell their scrap at all. Tire shops I've asked at send
lead to the battery guy. Its really getting hard to cop some lead these days.

[firefly1957]

Criminals often get lead but it does not take much to end their careers!

[cajun shooter]

All radiator repair shops who use the best 63/37 solder.

[Jim]

Commercial/industrial plumbers still use lead to caulk and seal a variety of connections. Contrary to popular belief, PVC has NOT completely replaced the use of lead. Comm./ind. plumbers and mechanical pipefitters use thousands of pounds of lead free solder every year in the fabrication and installation of copper piping systems.

[altheating]

What about pool vacuum heads. What is inside the plastic heads that make them so heavy? My guess would be lead or zinc. Anyone know for sure?

[michiganvet]

I like 95/5 solder, myself, that is my source of tin. I have a good stash of lead gathered over the years. On one job, a radiology remodel, I was given all the sheet lead just for removing it. It had been glued down so it was a smoky mess to smelt, but it made a LOT of ingots.

[justingrosche]

I work in a steel mill. We frequently get it in with our scrap, usually cast into a ferrous object which enables our Demag cranes to pick it up and put into the charge buckets. Lead is no good for steel, and we try to eradicate it out the process at every level.
While I was recovering from recent knee surgery and wasn't able to perform my normal job, my company had me playing detective. They wanted to know which vendor was bringing it in, and remove it when I could find it. Oh, I removed it all right....., right to the back of my truck. They were happy to get rid of it, and of course I was happy to oblige. I took out around 700#

[Marlin Junky]

Anyone who does X-raying.

MJ

[Reverend Recoil]

Machine shops that re-line babbit bearings will have scraps.

[Lizard333]

Most Tire Shops 2-day will tell you they send all there W/W to a Recycle. Unless you have an Inside connection, its a Lost cause , that's what I have run into.. can find them at Scrap dealers , if you want to pay there price... My 2¢.. Russ.

Not true.... I just got 800 lbs the other day. You just have to look needy. :cbpour: