Melted more wheel weights today

[bigarm]

I had probably 3/4 of a 5 gallon bucket after sorting them. It was above freezing today, although pretty windy. I was able to be under cover and out of the wind so decided that today would be a good day to make ingots. Got 84 ingots made with stainless condiment cups. Don't have a way to weigh them so don't know how much weight. Really like those little condiment cups for ingot moulds. They set up quickly and come out nicely and they fit nicely in my Lee 4-20. Wish I had a way to weigh them so I would know whether I am saving money or not by doing all this. Probably doesn't matter because I really like melting them and making the ingots. Getting more used to sorting and not minding it so much. Don't care much for begging for wheel weights though, but everything else is good.

[RED333]

Trade for them, 6 pack of some thing goes a long way.

[h8dirt]

I use the same condiment cups as ingot molds. I used to use a Lee 4 - 20 but I have switched to the RCBS Pro-melt -- they work great in them, too. A full (but not rounded over) cup should net you about 18 - 20 ounces of alloy. So, I'd guess your 84 ingots weigh close to 100 pounds. A full bucket of wheel weights will weigh about 150 pounds so that sounds about right. Well done. A hundred pounds of fresh boolit alloy is a pretty thing!

[bigarm]

Trade for them, 6 pack of some thing goes a long way.

I do take them donuts!

[RED333]

I do take them donuts!

Ya ever in TN look me up, I like donuts a lot!LOL

[shoot-n-lead]

Ya ever in TN look me up, I like donuts a lot!LOL

Same here in Ga....yum!

[Foto Joe]

I picked up two full buckets of weights from the tire shop before we left for AZ last month. Since I'd never done it before I decided to weigh before and after, the results were interesting (at least to me).

Both full buckets weighed out identically at 169 lbs each although they yielded different amounts of soft weights versus clip ons. Total yield from a gross of 338 pounds was 32 lbs of soft weights and 218 lbs of hard. That should keep me out of trouble until spring.

[lightman]

I agree, Beer, Sweets or Pizza usually helps keep those buckets coming your way. Foto Joe, you got a good yield there! Lead seems to be holding up ok here too. Just not sure for how much longer.

[Foto Joe]

I've got an old buddy down here in AZ that's an admitted "Prepper". He drives for a local company and delivers tires to an un-named national tire chain here. He accepts gratuities from them in form of used wheel weights. In the last six to ten months he's amassed over a thousand pounds of smelted lead!!! He stopped by the other day and told me that he had adult beverages over at his house for anybody who wanted to help him smelt. Given as how he helped me smelt down what I brought down from Wyoming a few weeks ago I feel obligated to go drink his beer and watch him stand in front of the burner.

Unfortunately down here being on the border of Kommiefornia the yield from raw wheel weights is only about 40% clip on's with the rest being soft and of course zincs and steel. That fact notwithstanding he's amassed enough to keep his concrete slab floor in the garage from inadvertently lifting off and flying away. Now if I could get him to actually start casting some boolits...

[bigarm]

I can only dream of having a thousand pounds! I am working on it though. I told my wife I would be happy with another 15 or 20 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights!

[zuke]

Get while you still can!

[Foto Joe]

Some day maybe even in our lifetime our nanny state government will probably outlaw lead wheel weights but I think I'd be more concerned with our protectors prohibiting lead projectiles before that. Since I tend to travel a lot I've definitely noticed a difference in certain parts of the country regarding the percentage of lead to zinc/steel weights. For example in Wyoming I typically see a waste percentage of around 30%, this percentage includes the clips as well as the non-lead weights. Down here in Arizona it's extremely difficult to get tire shops to even sell you their old weights (at least in Lake Havasu) although I do know of one independent one that will willingly turn them loose to me for a pretty good price. But what I get is very much weighted towards soft weights as they tend to re-use the clip on's so I don't have an accurate yield percentage down here other than anecdotal data that indicates the yield is probably around the 50% range. I blame the proximity of Kommiefornia and the high number of folks coming here and taking advantage of the lower sales taxes etc.

[mistermog]

Those condiment cups come out to just about 1.5 pounds a pop, I use those too. :)

[bigarm]

Those condiment cups come out to just about 1.5 pounds a pop, I use those too. :)

That's good to know.