2017 Lead prices in your area. (hard/soft, WW, etc.)

[JBinMN]

I was going to post just a comment in another topic, but that one was very old & since I was more interested in finding out what more "current" prices were, I thought I would start a topic about the price of lead/alloys in 2017 for everyones area.

I think this might help everyone get a handle on what might be a good "haggling" price if they can haggle with someone on the price of lead/alloy they want to buy in their own local area. Or, just for comparison with where you are vs. other places.

I realize that there are some here that are vendors & sell lead & alloys, but this is not to take away from them, at all...My intention is that this is just for the folks who, if they run across a supply of lead in their local area, might have an idea of where to start to deal on the stuff, if they want to buy some of it. At least a person would have some comparison maybe.

Anyway, here is what I have learned in the past week for my area so far. It doesn't mean that there isn't any better sources & for less $$, but I was just getting started looking in new places since I have had my old sources mostly "dry up", and I need to locate new ones if I can...

So, I made some phone calls this week, here in my area of SE Minn.. I called Scrap yards in the Twin Cities(Mnpls/St.Paul) and not a one would Sell me any lead of any kind. I called the only scrap yard in Rochester,Mn. that would sell lead & they wanted $1.25 a pound for soft or hard lead, but the guy said he wasn't for sure, but thought that they only had some soft lead there at that time.

Since I thought that was a bit high, so I am waiting until this coming week to talk to them in person when I am in Rochester to do some things for my oldest son. I forgot to ask about WW at the time, as I had another call coming in, but I will ask this coming week when I stop by there.

I also went to a scrap yard closer to me (about 15 miles) & talked to them & the guy wanted 47 cents for WW perpound & he had a tub pallet full of dirty lead and he wanted $1.00 a pound for that stuff. I told him I would take 20 pounds since I was there, but I would buy a lot more if he could come down a bit in price. He told me that he gets about .88-.92 per pound from the guy he sells to in bulk. Meaning the whole pallet. I don't know what one of those things weighs full, but it is out of my price range for the whole thing, even at that price. I asked him about if he would sell me 3-500 pounds at a better price than a $1 a pound & he said he would let me know next week. He then told me he had some clean lead he had in another room that came from a Xray closet & he might be willing to sell that also. I told him that I was interested & would he please let me know the price on that too. So, I have at least a "lead" on lead there....

I also talked to a local tire shop about their WW & the owner told me that he used them for his own to make sinkers & jigs like I did. So, no WW from him, but he did say that if he decided to get some firearms in the sizes I cast for he was willing to make some sort of a deal. So, that is a positive note anyway...

That same fella told me that since Mn legislature passed a law prohibiting lead WW to be installed on tires 3 years ago, they have had to use zinc & steel mostly for WW & that it is getting harder & harder to get lead ones. HE thought that was the reason our lead prices might be higher here than other places...

Now I don't know about the rest of you folks & how much this stuff costs you in your area. But, it seems that the "pinch" is on here in my area, as far as I can tell, & if I can only get lead locally for $1 a pound, then I am gonna have to bite the bullet & pay the going price to be able to keep casting boolits, jigs & sinkers. I may have to start "zincing" my jigs & sinkers a little bit to keep up with that & stick to the lead for boolits.

If some of you will... Perhaps you will post the current pricing for lead & alloys in your area to help others out for comparison purposes. I think it would be nice for us to help one another out in this way to try to keep everyone informed & so no one gets "taken for a ride" in trying to buy some of the stuff.


And we can still purchase from the venders here also( I plan to anyway. Particularly if the prices here stay high. I would rather pay a vendor here than someone closer if the price is comparable. )

Anyone want to help share the prices in their area for lead & alloys?

[lightman]

I'm going to look at some lead next week and I'll post what I have to pay for it. The yards around here won't sell to the public so thats out. Wheelweights are still available around here and the lead yield is holding up ok.

[stormingnorm]

No lead ww here in San Diego unless old right off a car. Last time I got ww from a tire shop, I spent several hours sorting the non lead from the lead and out of a 40 lb tub I got 5 lbs of lead so not worth my time. The local scrap yard I go to always has lead and has,been selling it to me at $1 a lb. They had organ pipes which were 70% lead and 30%tin for a while and a got a bunch of them and melted them down.

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[psweigle]

I pay $.35 a pound for scrap lead. Most of what I get comes from guys who scrap cars and houses. I get a lot of it for free from another guy who scraps cars in exchange for some cast boolits. I'm in south central PA.

[rancher1913]

in colorado most of the bigger scrap yards will not sell to the public, the few that do want a buck a pound. the little scrap yard by me that is closing its doors soon, gets .70 per pound for old ww's and so far they have been running about 95% lead so I have about cleaned him out. the big yard in fort collins that will sell to the public I found some lino and got that at the dollar a pound lead price.

[ghh3rd]

Here in Florida most of the stores won't sell their lead any longer, and those who will cooperate point out that there is very little lead in their pails compared to the steel, etc. I haven't found any scrap yard within driving distance that is willing to sell any dangerous lead to me.

[RogerDat]

Prices have been going up. Minimum is probably 45 cents or so that a scrap yard would pay. That would be for buying lead from individual who might otherwise take it to the scrap yard. 75 cents to $1 a pound is fairly typical of scrap yards that are willing to sell lead.

I have noted prices are climbing. Just check out the spot lead price graph at the top of the page. Used to be under 70 cents, now over a buck. But then prices do climb a bit in the spring.

If I have to pay a buck a pound from the scrap bin it makes more sense to buy from members here who are selling finished ingots for about the same price. I assume they landed a deal, as I have from time to time, that allows them to sell at that price profitably.

Now days I mostly look for "good" stuff. X-ray room liner blocks is on that list. Or printers lead, solder, pewter etc. I did buy a bunch of 5# COWW ingots for about 80 cents a pound as scrap. But then they were nice clean blocks and I hadn't found anything to buy in a good while.

[Reddirt62]

The last stuff I bought was a mix of lino, isotope, and ww. 1.00 a pound.

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[TexasGrunt]

Around this part of Texas I'm paying $0.70 a lb for scrap lead. Last wheel weights I paid for I paid $0.20 a lb. I'm working on six buckets, he wants $30 a bucket and the most I'm willing to go is $25. I need to go pick up at least 300 lbs for a buddy next week. He does fishing tackle so soft lead scrap is the ticket.

[JBinMN]

Thanks Folks for sharing your doins!


I think it all helps everyone in the end!

Please share more if ya can. Just to help out the rest of us!


BTW... No one is gonna come get your plunder. If you are worried, just don't be specific.


Thanks again!

[lightman]

I just bought some lino from an individual for $2 a pound. About half was in the original bars and the rest was cast into clean ingots. I also bought some wheelweights for $1 pound, cast into ingots. And a few molds!

[WJP]

Free to a nickel a pound is the most I have paid in TX. I just hate paying more. Small tire shop takes almost a year to gather a couple hundred pounds, pays someone $10 an hour to drive 30 mins both ways, time there, and fuel for $30-$40. I help them by picking it up and they still come out ahead.

[barebow60]

None of the local garages I have checked with here in Maine the last couple years have any lead wheel weights, they changed over to zinc. Fishing sinkers are all non lead now also. I had my chimney redone last fall and asked the mason to save the flashing for me, he asked why and I told him for casting bullets. He told me he has about 1000 lbs of scrap lead at his house and to come get some anytime I need it. So I'm thinking masons and roofers maybe a source of cheap soft lead. Saw some 1 lb ingots at Kittery Trading Post, $2 apiece