Should I run to - or from?

[Ken73]

I'm new to casting boolits, but have been lurking here for a while trying to learn as much as I can. The one thing that has me worried though is the (apparent) lack of availability of lead (or suitable alloys) for casting. I've been hunting around and it doesn't seem like the local tire (tahr!) shops want to give it up (epa concerns?) even for a price, and I've called the local metal recycler only to be ignored (no callback.) I don't want to pay new prices as that defeats the purpose of casting IMO.

I found an ad on Craigslist for lead wheel weights not far from me, the guy claims he has around 500lbs of WW and wants $0.75 a pound - along with a Lee melting pot for $20 and a "couple of Lee molds" for $5 each. He doesn't know what the molds are for yet (I asked him to specify what they were) but haven't heard back. He said he also has some pre-smelted/fluxed ingots as well for $1 a pound.

FYI, I have a couple of 45 cal black powder pistols and I bought a Lee mold for them, but have yet to use it as I just moved last year and I'm still building up my shop. I just bought a 300 Blackout AR kit from Model 1 Sales (16", 1-8 twist) that I'd like to cast boolits for as well. I don't plan (though I won't rule it out) on feeding it anything other than subsonics; I've been eyeing the NOE and Accurate Molds selections for molds. I'd also like to cast some of the basics; 45 ACP, 9x19, and maybe even some 380 ACP. Potentially even some rifle rounds (7.62x51, 6mm, 7mm, etc.)

So - my question is - knowing what I intend to use it for - would you run from this deal, or to it? I asked him how much for the lot (all of it) but he couldn't come up with an number.

[turmech]

for me .50 per pound for raw WW is my max. At this price I would also want older all lead WW. Newer WW would include quite a bit of zinc and steel WW and I would only pay .25 to .30.

I have been running adds on Craigslist offering to pay .50 per lb and have bought 150 lbs of old Lead WW.

Ingots go for about 1.00 per lb.

[jsizemore]

Since you don't have anything to work with then the low cost of the pot and molds (if their in good shape) can offset the high price of the WW. If the WW are mixed at 20-25% Zn or Fe then your at close to $1/lb or better. If the molds are not pristine then your buying a headache. But what are you expecting for $5. Can't hurt to go look and maybe do a little tire kicking. Lose a little gas and time but that's what a hobby's about. Clean ingots go for a buck a pound shipped on this site.

Buy good stuff once and enjoy.

[chambers]

I would ask if price is something to talk about first( maybe .35-.45 cents/#), tell him cash sale see what he says. You are going to end up with about 75% of the usable product after you smelt down due to non usable WW byproduct. Start slow, you may want to buy just finished smelted lead for a $ 1.00/# and try casting first. It is a great hobby and you most likely will hoard material like everyone else once you get started.

[44fanatic]

My guess is that you will get 300-400lbs of good lead out of those buckets. 300lbs if they have been picked up in the past few years, 400 if they have been sitting around for years. I believe that in this case, the seller is not the original owner of the equipment so he may not have in depth knowledge of what is on hand (IE picked up from an estate sale, family member passed, etc).

A few other things to think about:
Do you already have a means to smelt and ingotize the WW's? If not how much is this going to cost you.

How much do you shoot? For some of us, 100lbs of lead may last us a lifetime (5600 9mm (125gr) boolits or 3000+ 45ACP (230gr)). For me, I have more lead than I will ever use but I enjoy casting, reloading and seeing the finished product.

One thing to note, free/cheap lead can usually be found, you just have to spend the time to find it....some places you may only get a handful of WW's for free, others will want to charge you an arm and a leg.

The least you can do is offer a lowball price...If the seller accepts, you will have enough lead to get you addicted.

[ssnow]

There is no shortage of lead, only a shortage of cheap or free lead You can buy all you want from Rotometals, it's just not cheap As previously mentioned, you can usually buy ingots in the S&S sub-forum for around 1.00 per pound.


That being the case, that is the number I use as a comparator when looking at scrap lead, how much cheaper than 1.00 per pound, and whether or not it is worth the extra work.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

If you decided to get into casting, let all of your friends know that you need lead. Lead can show up in the strangest of places. Two weeks ago, a friend at work was remodeling a rental unit of his and found some lead pipe in the crawl space. I got 25# of free, pure lead. You never know.

[HeavyMetal]

First I'd go check out the deal, specifically the molds. Don't agree to a buy or a price untill FTF!

Molds may be good or bad, first clue is he has no idea what they are, which may mean he's just reselling a good deal he knows nothing about.

Go check it out then make an offer. .75 a pound isn't a bad price in LA

[Ken73]

I don't shoot as much as I'd like, but most of that has to do with me not having a shooting bench built. I'm on 6 acres out in the country so I can walk out back and shoot all I want but as I mentioned above, I just moved here a year ago and I'm in the middle of building out my shop. I expect to shoot a lot more in the next few years. I do have a nice dutch oven that I rescued (my wife was about to throw it away) and a propane crawfish boiler to do smelting at least.

I just got an e-mail from the guy:

Have the following for sale:
Lee Production Pot Four Furnace 110 Volt (older, about 1/3 full of lead) - $20
Lee 2-cavity mold 90334 (I think: 429-208-WC) older, well used - $5
Lee 2-cavity mold 90338 (I think: C429-240-SWC GC) older, well used - $5
Lee TL452-230-SWC Double Cavity Mould (looks new) - $13
Also have lead:
Wheel Weights: $0.75 per pound
Smelted and Fluxed stick on wheel weights: $1 per pound
Random lead (range pickup and such): $0.50 per pound
Also have other reloading stuff if you are interested.

I suspect you're right about the family member passing but I don't know for sure. I think this is probably a good opportunity for me to jump in and at least cast some more boolits for my 45 cal black powder pistols.

The one new(er?) mold is apparently a 230 grain 45 cal semi-wadcutter - which is something I'd like to cast for practice shooting my 1911's - $13 doesn't seem to be a bad deal so I might pick that one up too along with the melting pot.

Thanks for the great advice guys! I'm excited about getting into this and loading cheap so I can shoot more once I get the place setup. I've got a ton of equipment already (my father taught me reloading but haven't done it in many years and he's since passed and his equipment is gone from a house fire.) I've been trying to read on here to understand the why's and why not's as much as the do's and do not's.

[sparky45]

I bought some last week from a tire shop a quarter mile from my house. Paid .15 cents a pound and got a 5 gal steel bucket to carry them in. This tire shop does all the large truck tires including semi's so the weights are kinda big. I wouldn't offer the guy any more than .50 cents a pound, he won't get that much at a salvage yard.

[fredj338]

IT depends. At 75c/#, that may be a bargain where you or I live. Many guys are selling ww alloy all day for $1/#. Going forward, the lead ww is gonna be a dead dinosaur so today 75c/# may seem high, 5 yrs from now, it may seem cheap. Around here, IF you can get a bucket of ww, you'll be lucky to get 50% return in lead, all zinc & steel nowdays & will be across the nation soon. I don't actively search anymore, price of gas is just not cost effective, but if at a place that may have lead, I always ask. COnsider 30#/1000 bullets on avg, 500# of alloy doesn't sound like much.

[MT Gianni]

Location, Location, Location. If you can't get lead anywhere else, $.75 is a great price. If you can buy it for 50 cents it isn't. Lead ww are fast disappearing. I would rather look back @ 75 cents than look at $2 a lb shipped for a certified alloy.

[Defcon-One]

You didn't say where you are? At least post a state, maybe city and state, so that someone close can maybe help you out.

Here in western Virginia I get more Clip-on and Stick-on wheel weights than I could ever use. I usually pay about .25 cents a pound, (sometimes less, sometimes more). I have 900 lbs. of sorted and un-smelted COWW in my garage right now. I also have 41 pounds of Stick-on lead (near pure), sorted, cleaned and smelted into ingots. This, I would sell to someone local. I do not want to ship it!

Also, if you don't know the guy, I'd only buy the un-smelted Lead WW so that you know what you are getting. Obviously, Zinc and Steel are of no use to a bullet caster so watch out for them. In my state, Zinc and Steel are usually only about 3% to 5% of the bucket so they are not as big a deal but I do have to sort them out.

[Ken73]

You didn't say where you are? At least post a state, maybe city and state, so that someone close can maybe help you out.

Sorry about that, I put my location in my profile so it shows up on my posts. Basically I'm about 50 miles west of Houston. There's some large truck tire places around here that I might give a try as well.

[mac1911]

I would at least go check out what he has. It might all be sorted lead WWs. look at the whole package and see what else he has. GET YOUR EYES ON IT 1st.
I went to check out a simular deal. later found out the 2 55gallon drums filled to the brim with wheel weights (2001) after makeing the deal, the wife says. Hey while he's here why dont you give him the rest of the junk...which included several thousand factory FMJ, boxes of really nice holsters, tons of gun cleaning stuff and 3 really cool old pellet pistols....2 years later I tripled my money on the lead(was not casting at the time just scraping) and made a good amount on the holsters.

[Defcon-One]

....I put my location in my profile so it shows up on my posts....

Thanks, I guess that rules out a FTF delivery from me!

Truck weights are large and a great find. Those dealers may be more willing to work with you. The best advice that I can give you is to let people know that you are looking for scrap lead for your "Hobby". You don't need to tell them casting bullets unless they ask and you have a good feeling about them.

The only other thing that I would say is keep your eyes open and don't give up. One lucky day can turn you from a frustrated scrounger into a Scrap Lead Mogul.

Good Luck!

[dbarnhart]

There are several reputable people here on this forum selling ingotized wheel weights and range lead for about a dollar per pound including shipping. That should be your benchmark. (BYW, I am quite happy to pay that price. It works out to be about $33 for a thousand .45 acp 230gr boolits - far less than the $120/thousand I was paying for FMJ.)

[canyon-ghost]

500 lbs isn't that big a purchase. My first was a bucket (150#) and then what one fella had in the garage (213#). It's about enough to get a good start and not worry about needing lead. I'd do it, although I'd be cautious. I'm not used to big cities like Houston.

My vote: run to it!

[Ken73]

I made arrangements to go see him this Friday; he's off work and I can take off early enough to go see him. I told him I'm interested in at least the pot melter and some lead, and potentially one of the molds (the new one.) It'll at least get me to a point where I can cast some lead balls for my BP revolvers.

Meanwhile I'm also going to see if I can hit up these truck tire places. I also fish, so I've been telling people that I cast my own fishing weights and spinner baits (something else my father and I used to do as well.)

[turmech]

The best way to find a fair price for raw WW in your area is to call a local scrap yard and ask what they are paying. They will tell you because they get asked all the time by the people who sell to them (these sellers will sell when the price is high). In my area the scrap yard pays .45 per lb. This Is why I would be willing to pay .50.

I see several people mention buying ingots from WW for 1.00 per lb shipped. I have not found them that cheep. I have seen them 1.00 per lb without shipping. I guess I will have to keep my eyes open for the 1.00 shipped.