PDA

View Full Version : picked up some WW this weekend!



trickyasafox
05-07-2007, 05:02 PM
well i finally got a source of lead. a local auto shop by me sold me a bucket for 20 dollars, and said i could come back whenever its full. bucket weighed 120lbs according to my home scale. Not as good as free, but until some other shops start biting, it's not too bad.

WW looked pretty clean too, and no junk in the bucket either.

not much of a story, but i was pleased :)

dubber123
05-07-2007, 05:55 PM
I'd be happy with a constant 20$ a bucket supplier. Good for you!

trickyasafox
05-07-2007, 06:01 PM
i get to shoot a combined total of about 8-10k per year, across a decent amount of calibers. if i could get 500lbs of ww socked away, that would probably feed my pistol habit for 5 years easily.

however thats at current consumption. after college i'd love to up it considerably.

MakeMineA10mm
05-08-2007, 01:54 AM
not much of a story, but i was pleased :)

Hey, it's a fine story as far as I'm concerned!!!!

Besides, you have to share your gloating with someone who appreciates it, like us!! (You're wife will not only not get it, but she will even ridicule you for it! They just don't get it....) :mrgreen:

Andy_P
05-08-2007, 07:07 AM
Good score. If you can get a steady supply of clean wheelweights for $20/120 lbs you should stick with it. If truly "clean" (only tiny amounts of rubber, nuts, paper, etc., and no moisture) it will yield 80% or better, and $0.20/lb isn't bad. Some free buckets I've received have been so dirty that I would have paid $20 to avoid the ordeal of cleaning it.

I have a few shops I hit regularly and fewer and fewer will give them away for free, and many won't sell because they have a deal with someone else. Here's a few things I've learned:

- when you ask for used wheelweights, make it clear you're willing to pay for them (they might still give them away for free);
- say they're for fishing sinkers, not bullets;
- go during the week during working hours. Most of the competition goes after work or on weekends;
- say you'll take as little or as much as they have. Many times I've had them say we just got rid of them, come back in a couple of weeks, only to discover that they had 60-70 lbs sitting in the bottom of that bucket. Last week I hit five shops, and got over 200 lbs in dribs and drabs.

USARO4
05-08-2007, 08:55 AM
Get'm while you can boys, I read an article in the paper recommending th.e banning of lead sinkers cause the little birdies that eat fish might eat a fish that has ingested a lead sinker or jig.

Fatman
05-28-2007, 12:12 AM
USAF04

Yes that is the case in the Northeast. In Vermont you have to have tin or bismuth split shot. Jigs of lead are okay for right now but sinkers have to be 1/2 ounce or more or you can be fined.

My question to the rest of the board is I've had recommendations on several fishing sites to use a combination of bismuth and tin so that I can have smaller sinkers. I've heard that bismuth by itself can be brittle thus the need for some tin to stablise it.

I use a Lee Production Pot IV for my melter which is a 10 lb. capacity. What ration of bismuth to tin would you folks recommend so that I can make smaller sinkers with a similar weight to lead sinkers.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Fatman

jawjaboy
05-28-2007, 05:31 AM
Get'm while you can boys, I read an article in the paper recommending th.e banning of lead sinkers cause the little birdies that eat fish might eat a fish that has ingested a lead sinker or jig.

Worth saying again, and again, and...."Get 'em while you can boys."

I currently have around ~700lbs. of ww's. All but about ~120lbs. cost me.

randyrat
05-28-2007, 07:13 AM
Great story! By paying $20 you will have a steady flow of WWs for a while,at least long enough to build a nice stash for yourself. I have to be careful one of our gun clubs in the area started making shot, i heard they ran out of WWs and are looking for more. The competition is on my heels. I have always paid for my WWs $15-$20 is cheap for a steady flow of raw material.

trickyasafox
05-28-2007, 09:33 AM
so far i've found 4 places that were very friendly and willing to part with them regularly. One shop asked for a bucket with my name and number as it takes them a long time to fill up because they have 4 guys who shoot trap who also have buckets there! i thought it was nice that they said they'd try to fill another for me as well :)

i was also really suprised by how many people knew what i needed them for before i even said it. i'd walk in, ask to buy the weights, and they'd respond with 'fishing or shooting?' being the honest person that i am, i tell them shooting only.

i guess it used to be more popular by me, but died out a little and is starting to make a comeback.

DeanoBeanCounter
05-28-2007, 01:43 PM
I'm not into casting yet, but have the itch to.
You've go a good deal I think. I was at a tire shop the other day and asked about WW and the guy said they sell their's for about $100 a 5 gallon bucket. OUCH! I think I'm going to have a hard time finding lead.
Deano :(

leftiye
05-28-2007, 01:52 PM
Deano, The scrap dealers are cheaper than that! Around here 40 cents a lb. But you can get several hundred lbs, or as much as you want to pay for. Still cheaper by far than evilbag.

trickyasafox
05-28-2007, 01:59 PM
i found out the local recycler is paying 8 cents per lb in my area for ww, and the tire distributors are paying their retailers 15 cents per lb to turn them back in. that means just under 19 dollars per 5 gallon bucket. could be useful info if you need to hem and haw with the dealers

Fatman
05-28-2007, 03:09 PM
Don't know if you guys consider them a good deal or not but while checking on fishing lure molds on ebay I did a search on lead and got lots of hits for different lbs. of cleaned lead some listed as pure and some listed as wheel weights.

Just another source to look into.

I'm lucky in that I've never had to pay for lead before I've always gotten it for free and now the lead ban on sinkers here in Vermont now I have to find something to cast my small weights that's lead free.

Fatman

jawjaboy
05-28-2007, 05:07 PM
I filtered through another 5 gal. bucket today. The nastiest bucket I've ever gotten, here's the gleanings. There's prolly 12-15 lbs. of stick-ons in that mess.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g194/jawjaboy/IM000206.jpg

Uncle Grinch
05-28-2007, 06:01 PM
I filtered through another 5 gal. bucket today. The nastiest bucket I've ever gotten, here's the gleanings. There's prolly 12-15 lbs. of stick-ons in that mess.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g194/jawjaboy/IM000206.jpg


I smelt the stick-on's separately and use them as a source of soft lead.

jawjaboy
05-28-2007, 06:16 PM
I smelt the stick-on's separately and use them as a source of soft lead.


Absolutely! They get gleaned too! :mrgreen:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g194/jawjaboy/IM000207-1.jpg

redbear705
05-28-2007, 07:00 PM
I dont know about the stick ons that you guys get, but lately I have been getting stick ons that wont melt at 700f so I get rid of them.

Not taking any chances....:)

JR

targetshootr
05-28-2007, 08:59 PM
Good going. Twenty bucks ain't bad. Somehow I got lucky and wound up with enough to last for years at 10k per and most of it was free. Living in a densely populated area probably accounts for it all.

Goatlips
05-29-2007, 12:15 AM
Jawjaboy, if the buckets I get only had as little junk as that in 'em, I'd smelt 'em as is and declare the tire stems "flux". I've had some buckets half & half. :castmine:

Goatlips

Old Ironsights
05-30-2007, 06:54 PM
Well, I guess the Market price here of $15/bucket isn't too bad then.

Cool.

I just found out where I can pick up probably 10 buckets (and a hernia) at $15/per...

Greg5278
05-30-2007, 08:47 PM
I've gottten pretty lucky, the local shop gives me 200-300# per month. I sometimes scrap the extra to pay for new molds. I have something like 3000# clean and in ingots. Plus I lucked into 60# of bar Tin.
Greg

Rooster
05-30-2007, 09:26 PM
I really have to get out and circulate more. Ya'll are starting to make me tear up. What would you consider to be a "reasonable" stash size? I think I've got five buckets, that seems pitiful now.

imashooter2
05-30-2007, 10:34 PM
I really have to get out and circulate more. Ya'll are starting to make me tear up. What would you consider to be a "reasonable" stash size? I think I've got five buckets, that seems pitiful now.

(Average bullet weight * number of shots per year * years left to shoot)/7000= required stash

ktw
05-30-2007, 11:02 PM
(Average bullet weight * number of shots per year * years left to shoot)/7000= required stash

I need to start shooting bigger bullets... or start taking better care of myself.

-ktw

Old Ironsights
05-30-2007, 11:06 PM
(Average bullet weight * number of shots per year * years left to shoot)/7000= required stash

Err.... that's about 2000 lbs for me - half in pure pb.

Fortunately I'm sitting on about 700lbs pure now. Looks like I need all 10 of those buckets tho.

I wonder how much I can smelt/ingotize this weekend... :violin:

pumpguy
05-30-2007, 11:08 PM
I found a source here in town. They are good for about a bucket a month. There was about a handful of reject material and probably 20# of stick ons in the bucket I picked up today. So far they are still free so no complaints from me.

trickyasafox
05-31-2007, 12:32 AM
the stick-ons look almost like lead strips right? i think i saw some of that in a few of my buckets. you guys say its best to trade that to the BP shooters cause they actually need it right?

Rooster
06-02-2007, 01:21 AM
Fox,

That's right, the BP burners like the soft stuff in their smoke poles. I seem to luck into that more than the WW these days. Use to be the other way around.

32 20 Mike
06-02-2007, 02:13 AM
I started asking the my alignment shop and picked up about a bucket full. It tends to have a lot of stick-ons and about 50% what appears to be zinc. He likes to reuse his wts. So until I can afford a pb thermometer, I have to pick them out anyway and return them to the shop. Its a win win for both of us and he's happy for my time.

I scored about 800 lbs of usable ww's in a trade about a yr ago and made a bunch of 3# wts for my salmon fishing buddy. I love the fresh fish, but it made a dent in my stash. Then my lead contact found out that he can trade it for new shot for his sporting clays. So now I'm trying to find a new supplier. OOPs, Mike

piwo
06-02-2007, 10:19 PM
I've been offered some lead ingots of fish sinker lead. Haven't seen it yet as my aunt is cleaning out her basement. She say's they've been there since the 1950's.

What is the general "hardness" or composition of sinker lead? Is it random, or is there a generally applicable composition?