Making ingots for a cut.

[websterz]

My reloading buddy doesn't have the setup for turning all his lovely indoor police range scrap into ingots. I have the equipment and more free time than he does. What's a good cut for me if we each spend equal time, my shop and equipment and his scrap? We're starting with an initial load of scrap weighing between 550 and 650 pounds.

[scottfire1957]

How badly are either of you needing the alloy? Is he gathering all the scrap, and are you doing all the melting? Seems like a 50/50 deal in that case. Time, propane, equipment to melt and clean and cast ingots. His time to gather and maybe wash.


He splits the cost of supplies, 50/50.

[lightman]

I would say 50/50 if he is gathering and you are furnishing the equipment and doing the smelting. Even if he is helping you are furnishing the propane so 50/50 still sounds fair. How good of a friend is he and how much do you need the lead? I have furnished the equipment and helped smelt for free, just to help friends out. A few of us usually help each other smelt, using my set-up and the lead owner furnishing the propane.

[Sasquatch-1]

I too would take 50%. With the quantity you are talking he would definitely be splitting the propane cost. He would also be there for the work. Converting to ingots CAN be back breaking work.

[lightman]

Converting to ingots CAN be back breaking work.[/QUOTE]

For sure. It used to just be another days work and I rather enjoyed it. Now it wears me out. And I have a decent set-up. Actually, me and a buddy plan to do some smelting after while.

[GhostHawk]

What are your costs compared to his?

If he is only inputting time, and you are putting in tanks of propane to feed the smelter, the cut needs to reflect that.

My suggestion would be to sell a batch now and then to offset costs. And after the costs are removed split based on time/energy spent.

If it only takes him an hour to aquire a 5 gallon bucket of range scrap but it takes you 3 hours to melt, flux, and pour into ingots your cut needs to reflect that.

By the same token, a steady source is not to be taken lightly.
Without him what do you have? So you need to keep him happy.

[runfiverun]

get him to help do some of the cleaning.
then he can see your putting in the work too.
scraping and pulling range scrap from the base of the deflectors ain't all that easy.

I'd split it 50-50 with him your getting the alloy for just cleaning it up.
he is getting it for getting it to you.
20 bucks worth of propane for 250-300 lbs of alloy seems a fair trade-off to me.

[websterz]

I am running natural gas, not propane, so the fuel cost is negligible. He is a good friend, we trade brass and other components pretty regularly. I have traded him ingots for wheel weights a couple of times but this will be the first real joint operation as far as lead goes.

[Grmps]

Show him what's involved then ask him. You could mention that guys on this forums suggested 50/50, BUT, no amount of lead is worth losing a good friendship.

[HeavyHev]

I am running natural gas, not propane, so the fuel cost is negligible. He is a good friend, we trade brass and other components pretty regularly. I have traded him ingots for wheel weights a couple of times but this will be the first real joint operation as far as lead goes.

If he is a good friend, have him bring the beer and pizza. If he sees you as a good friend, he will probably offer some of the spoils to you.

[fredj338]

Yeah throw me in with the 50/50. Getting the scrap is pretty simple & easy, melting it into ingots is a little more labor intensive plus your fuel costs.

[toallmy]

If he is going to help cook it down it won't hurt to be flexible , there will probably be more , and the extra hands will be very useful even not experienced hands are a great help . Explain the dangers like dropping a loaded round in the cooker , and be safe .

[TexasGrunt]

I picked up 229 lbs of scrap lead today for a friend. I melt it down and pour it into ingots. I take 10% of the melt. However he does keep me in hooks and wire forms for my lure casting.

[Rich22]

Assuming he has no input costs (he gets scrap for free) , he will have transportation costs, I would imagine it would take approx 2x the time to smelt as to collect and transport the lead. A fair trade to me would be he collects and transports, you smelt, he pays for gas you pay for fuel/ sawdust/wax and you keep 60% and he takes 40% and you both split the scrap copper jackets. Now, if you have a very efficient system to smelt like some do than obviously this would change.

[websterz]

Good food for thought, thanks to everyone for their input. Considering everybody's advice, and the fact that Steve brings me all of the .40S&W brass (thousands of them!) that he gets from the range, I think I'll cut him a break and offer him a 60/40 split in his favor. He doesn't have nearly the lead reserves I do and I don't want to get greedy.

[308Jeff]

I was gonna say fiddy-fiddy, but the 60/40 sounds like a good deal.

[websterz]

I think so too.

[Petrol & Powder]

Show him what's involved then ask him. You could mention that guys on this forums suggested 50/50, BUT, no amount of lead is worth losing a good friendship.

/\ This /\

[psweigle]

No friend in the world is worth loosing over a bit of lead or anything else for that matter. The two of you are grown adults and I'm sure you could come up with something amicable. 60-40 sounds good, but if he is not aware of all the time energy and cost of making the ingots, show him, THEN make a deal you can both live with.

[RP]

Ask him what he thinks is fair and go from there is what I would do. Depending on if he is helping also if not a fair split and keep the jackets to pay for your fuel.