When will "WW" become historical nonsense?

[dverna]

I am not too worried. Any alloy can be made or purchased. I think more people will find ways to reclaim the lead they shoot and now leave behind. I have my own range so it is easier.

[Virginia John]

I have only been casting for a few years but I manage to find WW. It helps having a buddy who owns an auto repair shop plus there are always people on here selling smelted WW. I think we have a few years left.

[Retumbo]

They are still advertising lead weights in tire story supply catalogs.

[country gent]

Its not so much as when they will be gone but as lead antimony and tin process rise zinkers, steelies and plastics become more popular at the tire shops. Its not they will be gone but sorting for them will become more and more futile

[RogerDat]

They are still advertising lead weights in tire story supply catalogs.

Lead is the best from the tire store perspective, smaller the weight in size the easier it is to position for good balance. In states that don't ban them most cars second set of tires will have lead weights installed on the wheels. Manufacture of car is selling in states and countries that don't allow the lead so they all use something else for consistency of supply to their manufacturing operations. All states and countries will accept steel and zinc so new cars come with those.

I find stores that sell used tires or see older cars are more likely to have lead WW's than the places that cater to the new cars. That first set installed after the factory will put lead on but not until the second set after factor is being installed will a lead weight be coming off and going into the bucket. So in typical terms about 75k miles after car was new.

Something to be said for laying in a good supply of plain lead. It can be used to take small amount of richer alloys and dilute it to large amount of usable casting alloy and around here plain lead seems for more common than WW's. 5# of linotype with 15# of plain is 20# pot of very usable lead. Or WW's can be cut 50/50 with plain for most pistol rounds.

[TexasGrunt]

I haven't seen a set of tires on a new car go over 40k. For some people that's a years worth of driving.

[blikseme300]

I quit hunting for WW's a few years ago as the consistency of the alloy seemed poor. Methinks that some of the weights were made with Zinc-tainted recycled alloy.

Thankfully isotope container alloy is quite consistent and relatively cheap. I use this along with mono & linotype & pure to create the alloys I need for rifle CB's. Typical cost is around $2/# and it is much cheaper than factory bullets so it is economical enough for me.

[Rich/WIS]

Last batch I got had maybe 2-3% zinc. My scrap dealer pre-sorts the steel out before tossing it into a barrel. I emptied the barrel last time, about 250 pounds. The supply of lead is definitely dwindling, when he was sorting at least one in five was steel. Fortunately I stocked up on range lead (about 1000lbs) before our club changed the berm locations. Used to have berms at 15, 25 and 50 yards, now only one 50 yard berm across the entire range. The 15 and 25 yard berms were an easy source, bullets concentrated in a small area. At 50 yards bullets are all over and a lot more work to get.

[WJP]

I haven't seen a set of tires on a new car go over 40k. For some people that's a years worth of driving.

I've been lucky then. I've been getting 55 to 60k out of my Goodyears on my rams. Had 7 of them too. I stopped at a shop the other day that had a rack of new lead wheel weights they said they just bought. I got 300 lbs of used for .05 a lb off of them. Still good here in Texas.

[trapper9260]

I go to the scrap yard to get the soft lead and get what I need for the mix of alloy from roto.There is getting too much none lead in the WW now.So for the price of it in the scrap yard is not worth it for me.That is why I just get the soft lead there.Also i have my own range set up for myself now and will go in that after I feel need to clean the alloy out of it.

[TexasGrunt]

I've been lucky then. I've been getting 55 to 60k out of my Goodyears on my rams. Had 7 of them too. I stopped at a shop the other day that had a rack of new lead wheel weights they said they just bought. I got 300 lbs of used for .05 a lb off of them. Still good here in Texas.

You've been lucky if those are the OEM tires. I've got a 2013 Ram 2500 with less than 20k on it. Almost all towing miles. Tires are going to need to be replaced soon. They have been rotated every 5k. Our Tahoe is a 2013 also. It's got 44k and needs new tires, they too have been rotated every 5-7k.

[lightman]

I had to replace a set last year on my truck at 53000 miles. They still had good tread but one of them separated and threw the tread off. Thats the most I've ever gotten on OEM tires. The norm seems to be 20-30K. I keep a watch on the air pressure and they get rotated and balanced regularly. That gives me the chance to raid the weight bucket at the tire shop!

[Drew P]

Well it looks like they are still happening for a lot of you. I forgot how big this country is. I'm just surprised that steel weights haven't won out simply for cost reasons. They must be a lot cheaper, and non toxic? No brainer.
But for me here in Oregon, it's very dry indeed. I'll have to brew my own and get out the calculators do do some research to interpret yalls crazy recipes with things like cows and sows and stuff.

when I was a kid the commodity was those chrome tire stem caps. Little did I know that later it would be the weights.

[EMC45]

I was in Tires Plus a few months back and they had heaping piles of lead WWs. Brand new ready to put on tires. I asked the guy what kind of WWs did they use and he said steel, zinc and lead. He said they prefer to use lead. I asked if they had used lead WWs and he said yes, but they turn them in for credit on new lead weights. They sort them and send them in.

[shoot-n-lead]

I am still getting over 70% lead in my wheelweights...I have over a ton and if I ever shoot that up and cannot get lead wheelweights...I will just shoot j-words as I ain't going to buy foundry lead in order to cast bullets.