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Thread: Plumbers lead prices and Picking lead.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy Remmy4477's Avatar
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    Plumbers lead prices and Picking lead.

    Wondering what the current going rate is for plumbers lead?

    I have a customer on my route who carry's it in 5lb ingots. Bought 10lbs from them about 3 years ago, paid $12 and some change for it out the door.

    Stopped in yesterday and was going to pickup 20lbs worth.
    Price has gone way up, 5lbs is now $35.00. My discount put it at $30.

    I about fell over! Passed on that offer.

    Just wanted to add some soft lead to my pile.
    Been picking up ww's and small peices of scrap lead pipe here and there when some of the local scrappers and scavangers have it, usually for less than $1 a pound.

    Also have a tire shop and two auto junk yards on my route. Used to get a bucket of ww's out of the tire shop once every few months, now down to about a pound or two in that same time frame.

    Up to about a year ago the junk yards were doing well, ww's and battery clamps, thats kind of died to just bits and peices every so often now.

    Lately been picking up boxes and bags of old cast boolits at the gun show (vender) and estate sales once a month, thats actually been doing quite well for shootable lead, picked up 50lbs monday. Most of its hard cast but not being as picky as I used to be!
    Still have a small stash of soft stuff for my roller!

    Still finding sinkers at the garage sales and thrift stores, no big hits but lead is lead! LOL

    Know a couple guys who are trying to talk me into scrapping car batteries for the lead, NO thanks! Been through one hazmat spill in my life with hospital time, don't feel like reliving that moment again!!

    The search for lead continues.........

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

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    I sympathize Remmy, it's getting tough to find scrap lead locally. Even the roofers and plumbers are taking lead to the scrapyard, can't get anything from them. The scrapyard won't sell a thing to the public, they told me "If we buy it as scrap, we have to sell it as scrap within the industry." Great! The "industry's" money must be greener than mine!

    Roto-Metals has anything you need, of course, and I found a supplier up in Rochester, NY

    Rochester Lead Works
    100 Anderson Ave
    Rochester, NY 14607
    (585) 244-3800)

    Not to far from my home, just a couple hours. I bought 200 pounds of pure from them some years back, I'm hoping they still sell to the public.

    Keep on lead-houndin' brother, it surely won't get any easier but we gotta' keep trying!
    "We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"

    unknown

  3. #3
    In Remembrance


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    I`m watching an on line local auction listing for a 45 lb. box of plumbers lead ingots. It started yesterday and is at $16 now, auction ends next Mon.Robert

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Don't forget our own swapping and selling section. The going price seems to be $1 a pound, sometimes with shipping. And never stop looking! You never know if the next score may be the biggest score ever.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by lightman View Post
    Don't forget our own swapping and selling section. The going price seems to be $1 a pound, sometimes with shipping. And never stop looking! You never know if the next score may be the biggest score ever.
    Isn't that what everybody says at the horse tracks? Maybe we need to start up Casters Anonymous?........Naaaahhh........
    "We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"

    unknown

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master fredj338's Avatar
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    Yeah $6/# for pure lead is ridiculous. You can order bulk fro, Rotometals for less when they include shipping. Lead is where you find it now days. I do a lot of berm skimming when at the range. 5-10# at a pop in just a few minutes.
    EVERY GOOD SHOOTER NEEDS TO BE A HANDLOADER.
    NRA Cert. Inst. Met. Reloading & Basic Pistol

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master


    stubshaft's Avatar
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    I'm paying $1.65 a pound for plumbers block when it is available.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

    Men who don't understand women fall into two categories: bachelors and husbands!

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by centershot View Post
    Isn't that what everybody says at the horse tracks? Maybe we need to start up Casters Anonymous?........Naaaahhh........
    It might be more like scroungers anonymous!

  9. #9
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    local scrap yard now charges $1.50 # for lead. occasionally they have lino pigs I don't mind paying that for.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    That price is correct for lead through a plumbing supply here as well. The prices are outrageous. On line Ace hardware lists it for $17.99 5lb ingot but sell it for $15.29 ingot.
    Last edited by NyFirefighter357; 08-10-2018 at 06:39 PM.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
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    Yea that’s crazy. Craigslist is a great place

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    Craigslist prices for old lead ingots are crazy I've seen them as high as $10lb here as well. New cast sinker off Craigslist sell for $2.40-$3 lb. or barter with lead scrap.

  13. #13
    Boolit Bub
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    I'm late to the game... so anything I can find at $1 or less a lbs is good. I lucked into a pile of Mono Type and have been able to trade it for pure and a rate of 2lbs pure for 1lbs mono. This is helping me build my supply / stash. I'm at around 600lbs total right now. 300lbs COWW; 200lbs pure; 100lbs mono.

    I'd like to have a few tons!
    USAF Veteran - NRA Certified Pistol Instructor - 1911 Junky

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    If any of you know of anyone that wants to buy plumbing ingots at those prices, I'll sell them all I have for $25 an ingot. lol

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy Remmy4477's Avatar
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    Got some off the list this morning, 65lbs.
    Going to go out to our shared shooting berm here soon and start sifting that, I'm guessing at least 10lbs of stuff we've shot, who knows with the other groups that shoot there?

    Sad thing is I spent 4 years as a teen working in a tire shop, those days we had buckets full of all kinds of ww's and stick-ons, once a month we'd dump most of the buckets in the garbage. Back then I had never heard of boolit casting, wish I had. Would have brought it all home and stashed it!

    Here's to the search!

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy McFred's Avatar
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    Yep. Apparently, it was worth the drive to pick up the lead I got. Should last me a long long while too.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by NyFirefighter357 View Post
    If any of you know of anyone that wants to buy plumbing ingots at those prices, I'll sell them all I have for $25 an ingot. lol
    I browse Ebay pretty often. There are a few vendors selling 1# ingots for $15-$18. Wow, I've got a couple of milk crates full that I would like to sell at those prices.

    Remmy, I also worked in a little corner gas station when I was in school. I was casting at the time and I still have some of the weights that I saved. A short funny story. Right before I retired they put a set of tires on my company truck. After the tire guy had them off and started breaking them down I ask him if I could do one. I broke it down with a wedge hammer and got it off of the rim with a tire iron and mounted the new tire. He was impressed. I told him I just wanted to see if I could still do it.
    Last edited by lightman; 08-11-2018 at 09:10 AM.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master OldBearHair's Avatar
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    A big burly kid 5' 7" and 160 lbs, I went to work for my girlfriend's dad in a Conoco service station. When it rained, we got a lot of flats to fix. One morning, 22 flats on 600x16 4ply tires and pumped 250 gallons of gasoline at nineteen cents per gallon regular 21 cents for Ethel. We broke the tire down with our heels, sometimes hitting the ankle bone on the rim......I got a raise from a dollar a day to two dollars a day. All hand tools, no pneumatics. No wheel weights yet. Then comes a tool to break down the tires, with a post in the center and a lever to push the rubber down, Next came a simple tire balance device with a bubble in the center and a big wooden box with all sizes of wheel weights and the special hammer to put them on. Circa 1947. Ahh those days. The cute little cowgirl that did some trick riding. One look at her at full gallop swooping up her hat from the ground and I was hooked.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check