List of places to find lead

[lts70]

Being new to this I was wondering if there is a list somewhere of all of the different places one might find a source of lead. Here is a start of a list I have put together from reading on this forum. Can you think of any I am missing?


Wheel Weights
Shooting Range
Printing type
Roofing Flashing
Plumbing Pipe
Plumbing solder
Old shower pans
Scuba Weights
Boat weights
Keel Weights
Battery Post Connectors
Battery posts
X-ray Room Lining
Pewter ware
Fish Weights
At the base of a Dam (when the river runs dry)
Radiators
Old body shop Supplies
Organ Pipes
Stained glass shops
foundry
water treatment plant
Old race cars
Dentist office - x-ray film/foil
Intersections
tucks shops
Tire store Parkinglot
trap and skeet fields
i-bolts
Radioactive Pharmacies
Recycle shop
bearing housings
Tractor Weights
Bell wiping solder
aircraft counterbalances
turbine bearings
Old church roof remodels
Old Elevator Counter Balance Weights
Large truck scales
Crash test dummies

[Blammer]

foundry

[sig2009]

Batteries is a NO NO!
I get mine for free from the indoor backstop at my private club!

[para45lda]

Stained glass shops and old race cars.

Wes

[brow_tines]

Local water treatment and waste water plants, I work at a water treatment plant. We use 150 lbs cylinders of Chlorine, we use lead washers to seal the tanks to the regulators. It might not be a "big" score but the lead washers we use are "soft" lead.

[chboats]

Dentist office. The foils that cover the x-ray film.

[frankenfab]

Intersections.

I saw a 4" WW at the end of the off ramp at exit 125 on I-40 on the way home. I fought off my strong urge to retrieve it, and I have provided the location for those with less will power.

[Ole]

Shot reclaimed from trap and skeet fields.

[Wots]

Darndest place I found lead was at the base of an industrial chimney.
Apparently the i bolts that hold the wire for the lighting rods is made out of lead.
40# score that day.

[imashooter2]

Radioactive Pharmacies.

[Dirtdgger]

Recycle shop. I had major find at a little recycle shop.

[mpmarty]

Under my casting bench, hundreds of pounds of nice shiny ingots.

[lts70]

Anyone else have any odd ball places to scounge lead?

[garym1a2]

Babbit was sometimes used as bearing housings on old farm equipment, Plus weights for the front of old tractors could be lead or steel.
Race cars sometimes added lead for balance.

[lts70]

Do they still use Lead in power lines and high voltage conections? I have seen some guys show Bell wiping solder ingots they have found.

[Ole]

Old-school telephone cables used soft lead to shield the wires from interference.

[geargnasher]

My boolit traps!

Don't forget to include shower liners (sheet lead), toilet drain rough-ins and some flanges, and corroded lead-free solder (plumbers won't use rolls that have been wet or had flux spilled on them, they make porous joints).

Another place, oddly, is the parking lot of Discount tire. Last time I was in there letting them rotate my tires, I wandered around the parking lot and the street entrances and found over 5 lbs of lead weights just laying around. It helped that I had a pocket screwdriver handy to remove the ones stuck in the cracks in the pavement.

Gear

[bumpo628]

Being new to this I was wondering if there is a list somewhere of all of the different places one might find a source of lead. Here is a start of a list I have put together from reading on this forum. Can you think of any I am missing?


You should edit the "batteries" out of that list so that someone doesn't get the wrong idea. The battery posts are fine, tho. "Base of a dam" is kinda dangerous too.

Nice list, btw.

[JSnover]

+1 on intersections and parking lots. I scored 20 pounds there last spring. Bad drivers are good for at least one thing...

[Ziptar]

Funny, I see all the mention of Parking lots, intersections, and side of the road.

I commute to work by train and walk 7/10 a mile each way to the train station each day.

Just by eyeing the curb as I go I've found bunches of lead wheel weights. And here I thought I was an oddball. :razz:

I wish trucks would loose them more often, I love those big ones.

[StrawHat]

... It helped that I had a pocket screwdriver handy to remove the ones stuck in the cracks in the pavement.

Gear

And the ones still stuck on the wheels!:kidding:

[captaint]

I haven't been in a radioactive pharmacy in years!!!! Mike

[bowfin]

Electrical powerhouses, substations, and the like used lead sheathed cable back in the old days. Ask around to see if they have any of it lying around. It is difficult to sell as scrap, because the lead and copper have to be separated first, but if you find a quantity, you can keep the lead and sell the copper to buy a new mould or two.

[prs]

Find out who is in charge of housekeeping at your local hospital and ask her/him. Hospitals are always tearing down and replacing X-ray rooms with lots of premium lead sheeting and scraps.

prs

[mrbillbus]

... It helped that I had a pocket screwdriver handy to remove the ones stuck in the cracks in the pavement.

Gear

I thought you were going to say the ones still stuck on the rims of the cars parked there. ;)

[mrbillbus]

And the ones still stuck on the wheels!:kidding:

beat me to it

[lts70]

Just read about this one here on the boards

aircraft counterbalances

[adrians]

do a "commando raid" at night on old church roofs ,,,,,,, just jesting guy,s,

[Lizard333]

I never bring any of my cars to discount with WW's on. Free score every time!!

[lts70]

Friends... It is amazing how many people have random lead kicking around.

[Silver Eagle]

Junkyards and anywhere that old vehicles are left. Also, anyplace that still solders electronics parts or tins wires for assemblies. Flea markets also might qualify.

Silver Eagle

[paul edward]

Ask a plumber. Lead plumbing was used on older homes. Contractors and old house renovators almost always replace lead with copper and plastic.

The origin of the word plumber is from the old French & Latin word "plomb". Hence the symbol Pb.

[hiram1]

tucks shops i got a lot there

[lts70]

Elevator guy on my jobsite said the old counter balance weights were often lead. I am now looking for abandoned buildings with elevators.

[lts70]

Crash test dummies, Got that one off of a thread over in the Lead and lead alloy's section.

[lts70]

Can some one move this over to the lead and alloy section? I was hoping it could become an ongoing thread where we can share ideas of places to source lead. It would be great if it became a sticky and we could be constantly sharing new found lead scrap sources. I know it has already helped me a bunch.

[The Cod Father]

Funny, I see all the mention of Parking lots, intersections, and side of the road.

I commute to work by train and walk 7/10 a mile each way to the train station each day.

Just by eyeing the curb as I go I've found bunches of lead wheel weights. And here I thought I was an oddball. :razz:

I wish trucks would loose them more often, I love those big ones.

Actually on this Forum the oddballs are the guys that don't pick up the WW's [smilie=1:

[Gunnut 45/454]

My brother got me about 500# of bullets from a well used public range- still smelting the last two coffee cans now. So far I got 360 # lead. All in nice 1# bars and 53 # copper I'll not need any lead for years! I already had over 100 # of lead on hand. :)

[astroskg]

Stop by your local Machine shop , scored several hundred pounds of lead chips from a job they were running (cost me a 12 pk of Pepsi)
i melted down the lead and the few aluminum and stainless chips that might be mixed in float to the top
and i scoop it off with the dross. make up ingots and mark PB with a stamp, ready for alloy