WW: yield per 5 gallon bucket

[cohutt]

Background:
My limited casting stock so far consists of pure lead and a few pounds of linotype to blend in for castable alloy. I went this route due to having an excellent source of clean, pure lead scap for free. The lino has come in trades i've made so far with pepole looking for the pure lead. my casting blend used has been 1:3 ratio lino to lead as a mix for general pistol plinkers.
WWs:
I inquired at the tire store around the corner yesterday & they "have a guy who buys their wheel weights". The owner laughed and said something like "those have been hot commodities lately". I asked how much and he said the guy pays $10 per bucket.

So, ballpark:
How many pounds of wheel weight ingots does one get out of "a bucket of wheel weights"? In other words, what is the usable yield in your experience?

BTW when I was walking out i saw several on the ground in the lot; I went back after they closed and picked up 23 of various sizes. (Yeah, like none of you have ever done this......)

[threett1]

From what some of the guys have said on here lately $10 is a good price. You will have the usual clips, bolts and valve stem waste, but you should get 35-50lbs of usable alloy out of 5 gallons.

[JudgeBAC]

Find a different source. Mine are free from the tire dealer where I do business. After you establish a business relationship with a tire shop and buy several sets, you shouldn't have to much trouble obtaining an occasional five gallon bucket of free weights. Scrap lead, linotype, and wheelweights do pose an issue. The makeup of the alloy is not consistent in terms of the % of tin and lead and even if you weigh your ratios i.e. 1 part lino to 3 parts lead (by the way this is what I use after obtaining 5 buckets of lino from my brother in law and about 300 lbs of free lead) you will have bullets of varying hardness and weight between batches. For this and other reasons, I just obtained a Cabin Tree hardness tester in an attempt to be more consistent. I'm still learning how to use it. But my first impression is that this is a first rate piece of equipment that should be helpful in making consistent bullets.

[deerhunter1]

I just got 3 buckets full of ww the other day. Each bucket weighed from 104 to 111 lbs. These buckets were about 2 1/2 inches from the top of the bucket. And they were free!!
Now I have 4 1/4 buckets to smelt down of clip on weights and another 1/4 bucket of stick on weights. All together I paid 4 bucks for all of that lead.

For a good full bucket There should be around 80 or so pounds of good usable alloy.

[cohutt]

Thanks for the quick replies.
This particular store is where i've bought tires for years; yes I plan on pressing it a little when I go in next week for a rotation/balance.

[hunter64]

Just to echo deerhunters comments, the average 5 gallon bucket weighs about 100-110lbs and that is full to the rim and yields between 75-85 lbs of casted ingots. Try and get to tire shops in industrial areas that do big rigs, the weights they use on those baby's are huge and the average bucket weighs slightly higher in the 115-125 lbs range.

Around here the recycling people will pay 15 cents a pound for WW from tire shops, but if you go to buy from the scrap dealers they want 40-45 cents a pound, talk about markup. So what I do is go to two tire shops in my area and I buy them for 25 bucks a bucket and they always throw in a couple for good measure so I actually only average about 20 bucks each which is more than they get from the scrap dealers. The days of getting free WW have been over in my area for about 2 years now.

[Ranch Dog]

Pretty much the same story around here... No free weights. I'm fairly new to casting, about 4 or 5 years into it and when I check locally I was told that the shops return the weights to the weight supplier as there is some type of credit issued toward the new weights. A couple shops said that they would sell me the weights for 50¢/lb. That did seem a bit steep.

I had a couple of fellows that would come down from the big cities to hog hunt and I never asked for a thing. Well, I called both of them and told them of my plight and that I wanted them to stop at spots enroute and ask if they could have the weights. These guys are jacketed shooters so I'm thinking I will get a bucket from each of them. These fellows kind of got into the scrounging and show up with their mini-trucks sagging.... 1000# each!

Well, that went along real good with the 2000# of linotype I bought from an abandoned printing press for 5¢/lb! The bad thing is I seem to be shooting about a 1/10 of this supply a year but I plan on mining my target berms when I reach the halfway point.

Oh... almost forgot. I damn near will get run over to pick up a single wheel weight!

[ANeat]

Around me the scrap guys are paying .05 a pound and selling for .25. I run an add in the local paper for scrap lead and pay .15 a pound. Ive got some good results doing that. I may go a month without a call or may get a couple of calls in a week sometimes.
If the tire guy was selling them to someone else for $10.00 a bucket I would offer $15.00 I used to get WW free but the idea of being without the WW or not having $15.00.....well you get the idea.
Also it seems to help if they know youre doing something constructive with it and not just buying to re-sell. Sinkers, bullets, hammers, decoy weights.......

[mazo kid]

Years ago, I used to pay $4 a bucket for WW, but seems the supply is drying up, as others have written. On a whim, I stopped in at a small tire place out here in the sticks and lo and behold....he had some and would sell them to me. There ended up to be 2-1/2 buckets and I offered $15. He said the last guy to buy some gave him a case of beer for a couple of buckets, so was happy with the deal. He said to come back later this Summer.... Now I need to do some more calling around at smaller tire shops. Emery

[Forester]

About 75-80 lbs of ingots seems right to me from a full bucket of WW and junk. Some shops seem to be good about not throwing junk in with them and the yeild is higher.

For the shooting I do a bucket of WW lasts about 2 months, So of course I try and scrounge a bucket a month from somewhere:roll:

[BigSlick]

A 5 gallon bucket, loaded to the rim with ww's (clip and stick on) with no garbage in it will go about 140-150 lbs.

Average 16% loss to clips and other various dirt and miscellaneous stems etc and you will net out about 115 lbs or so per bucket.

I keep very specific notes and weigh buckets before and after smelting. I do this to keep track of how much I need to find to be able to shoot for the next month.

A bucket of stick ons weighs less than a bucket of clip ons, a bucket of small weights weighs more than a bucket of larger weights, but suffers more clip loss.

Jump on all you can find for $15/bucket.
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[cohutt]

A 5 gallon bucket, loaded to the rim with ww's (clip and stick on) with no garbage in it will go about 140-150 lbs.

Average 16% loss to clips and other various dirt and miscellaneous stems etc and you will net out about 115 lbs or so per bucket.

I keep very specific notes and weigh buckets before and after smelting. I do this to keep track of how much I need to find to be able to shoot for the next month.

A bucket of stick ons weighs less than a bucket of clip ons, a bucket of small weights weighs more than a bucket of larger weights, but suffers more clip loss.

Jump on all you can find for $15/bucket.
Thanks slick

[jdhenry]

I just paid 35.00 a bucket for two full buckets on Thursday and I got around 238lbs of cast lead. They were from a tire dealer that does alot of big rigs and had alot of the bigger ww's.

Jeremy

[Steelbanger]

I'm with BigSlick on the weight of a 5 gal bucket - about 135 pounds. No free weights anymore and even buying them is harder these days. The last bucket I bought cost $20.00.
And, here's a caution about what we find among the weights. Anything from broken glass and razor blades to active rimfire ammunition. Yep, I once found a 22 LR cartridge with the weights. Imagine what would happen if that cooked off while you were cleaning up the metal! Be very careful to watch what goes in your pot.

[imashooter2]

No WW around here unless you buy them from the scrap yard at 30 cent a pound. Every station and tire shop from the chains to the Mom & Pop's has someone on contract for their scrap metal. Get a $500 repair bill and ask about WW and you get the same answer as if you walk in off the street.

Indoor range scrap is my hot ticket for free lead.

[Rando]

I second the note of caution about what you find in with the weights. I found a half dozen used razor blades in a bucket I got from one place. Not complaining, they were free. Just be careful.

Also, don't be afraid to ask a lot of different types of places, even if you think that surely they'll have a deal with someone else. I have a store that's part of a national tire/brake chain collecting it, a tiny service station, and a mom & pop tire store. I've stopped in at dozens of tire stores and service stations around the area. I got turned down a lot, but now I have three places collecting it for me for free. Introduce yourself, shake their hand.

Like ANeat said, they'd rather sell it to someone who wants it for the metal, not profit. I let them know I'm recycling it because I shoot clays with my dad a lot and I'm looking to keep it affordable.

Good luck!

[WHITETAIL]

Cohut, Get the lead anyway you can. Talk to people you work with, and spread the word. You may be very surprised where the next load of lead comes from.

[corvette8n]

I used to get free WW from a co-worker that worked PT for a metal recycle place, he quit and now works construction, I inquired at where he used to work and the guy wants .30lb, only he doesn't have any on hand. got about 35lbs of lead pipe which yielded 27lbs of lead. I am going to look for other sources.
:(

[Sundogg1911]

Find out if your tire Guys shoot. I load up a few boxes of cast reloads for the guys. I've never paid a dime for any of them. I get WW's from a few different tire shops this way. I don't even have to load them into my truck myself. :)

[cohutt]

Find out if your tire Guys shoot. I load up a few boxes of cast reloads for the guys. I've never paid a dime for any of them. I get WW's from a few different tire shops this way. I don't even have to load them into my truck myself. :)
Now thats the best idea i've heard in along time...

[BigSlick]

Guys, just be careful that you don't cross into FFL 06 territory when trying to help out a source.

Lot's of gray area when interpreting the tangible meaning of value and profit.

I think it's a great idea, in theory, it works for everyone, but when in the situation to prove intent and action, the benefit of common sense, genuine intent and intended meaning can be distorted so much it doesn't even remotely resemble the facts.

I'm not saying don't take care of your source, just make sure you cover your six and know and play by the rules.

No use in being a career move for anyone looking for a little publicity or promotion.

I take care of my sources with cash, trades of non gun related things or quid pro quo work. I absolutely *never* trade loaded/assembled ammo for *anything* of value - perceived or real - period.

A local fellow that did a little light gunsmith work from time to time and reloaded, swapped a case of reloads for a drill press and an air compressor and ended up with three years of absolute hell on his hands for doing so.

It seems a KB supposedly occured with one of his loads. The shooter sued and on top of all that hassle, the guy got absolutely shredded by the BATFE for delivering ammo he loaded without an FFL 06 in return for something of value.

A horrible experience to say the least.
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[cohutt]

OK, i'm thinking a lttle cash and a 12 of Bud again.....

[randyrat]

Don't over look sail boat keels. They are made of some hard lead alloys..Also check with telephone co.s they also have chunks of lead sometimes. One keel off a good size sail boat could be a life time supply of lead for many people.

[686]

how would you cut up a sailboat keel? to thick for a ax, to much torch time. clogs up a saw blade.

[R.M.]

I hear a chain saw works quite well. Never had the need to try it, yet.

R.M.

[alamogunr]

I ran across an article a couple of years ago where a sailboat builder was collecting WW to make his own ballast for the keel. Remember thinking "what a waste of WW.

[Sundogg1911]

the guys I typically get the used WW's from are not the owners, they're just the guy's bustin' butt to make a couple bucks. It is legal here to give away reloads (At least that's what an attorney friend that I shoot with tells me) I guess that I should look into it a little closer.

[imashooter2]

the guys I typically get the used WW's from are not the owners, they're just the guy's bustin' butt to make a couple bucks. It is legal here to give away reloads (At least that's what an attorney friend that I shoot with tells me) I guess that I should look into it a little closer.


Since you receive WW in exchange, you are no longer giving the reloads away. You can confirm that with your lawyer friend.

[tomf52]

For those of you who hand pick through their buckets of weights and are concerned about razor blades and such mixed in, I have found one of those three tined hand garden cultivators very effective for handling the weights without threat of injury.

[cohutt]

how would you cut up a sailboat keel? to thick for a ax, to much torch time. clogs up a saw blade.

Cut it up?

"http://www.glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=629923

[BigSlick]

http://208.67.249.199/showthread.php?threadid=629923&perpage=25&highlight=&pagenumber=1

Fixed the link for ya Cohutt ;)

That's me and my good friend Lonnie melting out a sailboat keel.

Definitely an experience.

Not the best source of lead in the world with all the associated hassle, but definitely educational and something you (I) don't get to do every day.

'Slick
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[Howdy Doody]

I just got some buckets from the tire store. No charge, but they weren't the 5 gallon type, they were more of a square shape. I would guess maybe they are about 31/2 or 4 gallon size. Well, I know that pouring into my muffin pan and leaving about 1/4 inch below the top gives me a muffin of WW lead that weighs real close to 5 lbs. Using my own unscientific formula and carrying the two and adding 16, that I got 75 lbs + plus one half muffin out of the bucket. Take it from there.:Fire:

[Sundogg1911]

actually I drop off the 38's as a gift after casting and loading. the next time I'm in the area in the truck, they give me used WW's. It's really not in payment. they we're giving me used WW's before I ever started doing that. it's just a thank you gift. So according to my Attorney buddy, this is fine. It's not a "You trade me these, I'll trade you these" kinda thing.

[cohutt]

http://208.67.249.199/showthread.php?threadid=629923&perpage=25&highlight=&pagenumber=1

Fixed the link for ya Cohutt ;)

That's me and my good friend Lonnie melting out a sailboat keel.

Definitely an experience.

Not the best source of lead in the world with all the associated hassle, but definitely educational and something you (I) don't get to do every day.

'Slick

Thanks Slick, the new IE7 security settings screw up script windows when trying to post links and pics. One day i'll fix it but until then i will continue to f-up links in boolit forums.

Glad you didn't mind getting outed for crippling that poor sailboat you found in unguarded drydock. Quite an engineering feat - (reminds me of the time in college we tried to burn a sofa in a fireplace by sticking the end in with the idea we'd keeep pushing it in as it burned up. ha. the fire came out on the sofa faster than the sofa end burnt up, Imagine that. I think jack daniels was the special engineering assitant on that disaster. )

[44 WCF]

For years I worked as a saleman for a mining and industrial supply company. Among my customers was a trucking company. Always on the lookout for WW and scrap lead I soon made friends with the tire and wheel maintenance supervisor. In exchange for hats, belt buckles and the occasional sleeve of golf balls I gained access to the wheel weight storage area. First time I couldn't believe it, wheel weights that seemed the size of hot dogs, some I'm sure were like bananas. I became dizzy, my knees buckled, stuttering I packed these Boone and Crocket sized wonders to my company explorer untill I thought the tires would burst. They shipped all their used wheel weights back to the supplier about once a year, and not standing the thought of this mother lode being hauled away, that truck shop soon became a weekly cusotmer, each time leaving with as much weight as I dared. It took weeks on end of smelting. When it was done I had over 1600 lbs of ingots. I soon grew tired of the 1lb ingot and the muffin tins and graduated to bread loaf pan etc, that would still fit in my lead pot. Soon other perils became apparent. I stacked the ingots against the wall of my shop. Not understanding engineering, physics, etc the stack of various sized and shaped ingots exceeded the lateral thrust resistance of my shop wall and sometime during the night, the wall gave way dumping my prized possessions into my wife's flower bed. Hint, production should not exceed storage capablities.

[Ed K]

Quite a story 44WCF!!!

Anyhow I'm a newbie caster, don't have years of scounging under my belt and spent the last year striking out mostly while looking for lead here and there. Finally I broke down and approached my local recycler who's been getting them to me for between 15-20 cents a pound. After all the time and gas I spent looking for free or $5-10 dollar buckets I think I've figured out what to do: try to save money on primers, brass and powder!