Where do you find lead?

[jehicks87]

Hello all, I'm new-ish here (I joined years ago but got stationed in Germany for a while, then life, and blah blah blah) but have been interested in reloading and casting for a very long time.

Now that I'm out of the Army and own a home, I think I'm ready to start. The problem is, I can't find any lead!

I've called all of the local tire shops and only two would even sell their used WW, one wanted $40 for a 5-gallon bucket, while the other wanted $50. Man, when I was a 20-something looking to get into this hobby, you could still find places that would give them to you for free. That's clearly not the case anymore.

I've read of "range lead" but haven't seen any explanation as to how you get permission to dig up a shooting range's berm, and I don't think it makes a ton of sense in my case anyway as the nearest outdoor range is more than 40 minutes away.

This is a serious bummer, and I was hoping some of y'all could give me some tips on how to get started.

Thanks in advance,

Jake

[crankycalico]

scrap yards, get friendly with local plumbers, tradesmen, etc.


with lead wheel weights almost non existent, a fellow has to just about buy lead now.

[Ziggy]

Talk to your local scrap yard. Ask if they have any lead on hand. I picked up 40 pounds of pure lead roof flashing for 70 cents a pound! Yes I still paid for it, but it will last me a while now and is much cheaper than buying 45 200gr SWCs for 10 cents a piece vs 2 cents a piece...

[WILCO]

Save time and money. Buy processed lead from rotometals or other sellers on the board.

[rancher1913]

what wilco said. buy some lead already alloyed and ready to cast with and see if pouring your own boolits is what you like, then worry about finding and smelting lead.

[ioon44]

I just bought 200 lb of lead mostly lead pipe and roof flashing from a local scrap yard for $0.50 per lb.

[bmortell]

I called every place I could and nobody would even take a dollar a pound, im sure they would want to its just not policy or whatever. id just buy the 55 pound bar of pure from rotometals and a smaller amount of high antimony lead and some tin, then just do the math to make whatever you need. worry about local after unless your in no hurry

[hlvabeach]

Check with TheCaptain. She always has clean ingot lead for sale I believe a dollar a lb. If it is clip on wheel weight lead you should be good to go for most of your casting needs.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[lightman]

As suggested, you could buy enough lead to get you started. Some of the members of this forum sell lead through the swapping and selling thread. RotoMetals offers lead for sale also. Its a real pleasure to cast with a virgin alloy of a known composition.

As far as scrounging lead goes, networking works. Maybe not instantly but it works. I'm still scoring lead from contacts that I made years ago. Tell your friends, family, neighbors and coworkers that you need lead. Run a want to buy ad in your local Craigslist. $40 a bucket is not a terrible price for a 5 gallon bucket if it produces a decent yield. Read the stickies and learn about sorting weights. I've had much better luck driving around and asking in person than using the phone. For wheel weights, I've had better luck with the smaller shops than with the bigger chain stores. Try to make friends with your local plumber, roofer and telephone man. Ask at the shop where you get your auto serviced at and where you buy tires. Consider transferring your business to anyone that gives you weights. If you have any friends at the local hospital ask about isotope containers. Talk with any local contractors, especially those doing demo or remodeling work. Visit your local scrap yards and auto salvage yards. If you live near water look for junk sailboats. Lots of older machine tools had lead in the bases. So did the stands that band members used to hold their music, as did older floor lamps. Some older fork lifts had lead counterweights although most were steel. Stop and talk with any local scrapers that you see. You know, the guys with their yard full of junk appliances and cars. If you are new to your community and plan to join a gun club or local range talk with or make friends with some local shooters.

Its still out there. Not as plentiful and not always free but its still out there. Good Luck!

[Conditor22]

roofers, plumbers, x-ray places, scrapyards, garage sales, estate sales. Don't forget to look for tin solder and pewter

A bucket of wheel weight may only yield 40% lead.

There's usually someone selling lead on this forum a few times a month.

Gun ranges on several states are required to clean the lead out of their backstops so many times a year.

Join a gun club and ask about what they do with their range scrap.

[Hossfly]

I blew a tire last year, on the hay trailer, stopped at a out of the way tire dealer. While waiting for replacement tire, asked about what they did with old wheel weights? We sell them, to whom? Money, how much? $30. Picked up 3, 5 gallon heaping buckets that day that day, and they helped loading.
6 months later called them and ask if they had more? Yes. Picked up 5 more but reduced price to $25
Because of Zinc content, all good. Point is you never know where you will score WW. It’s still out there, now I leave empty buckets at tire shops all around with my info on it and check every once in a while for content. Keep money in your pocket for lead, and empty buckets, for exchange, they don’t like loosing their buckets. Also 2 wheel dolly is very handy. Good luck.

[jsizemore]

I've found wheelweights at the scrapyard, gas stations that repair/replace tires, tire shops, flea market. One place used to sell used tires on the weekend. Parking lot had a pretty good slope. When I was in the area during the week I'd go by there and walk the parking lot with a plastic dishpan. Picked them up at intersections. Found plumber's lead at the flea market. Lots of pewter there too. Ran up on an indoor range that HAD to get rid of the spent bullets. 10 lanes pushed up against the backstop wall 3 feet high. Roof flashing from shingle replacement. Xray room remodeling. Old shower stalls. Fishing and cast net weights. Diving belts.

Keep your eyes open. You'll run up on it. I always keep a couple 100's in my wallet just incase.

[JBinMN]

As was said multiple times so far, your best bet to start off is buying what you want to try if you do not yet have local sources. So I am offering the same suggestion until ya do find some source to get ya started anyway.

For "me", I have been getting a lot of lead in the past couple years from a shop that recycles & refurbishes batteries, who buys scrap lead from people & then stores the lead for when the suppliers come to take his lead & he exchanges what he gives the supplier for the battery products he uses to refurbish. Since he has to store the lead, and sometimes has more than offsets his exchange, he allows me to buy some of that surplus for the price the other party will use as the exchange rate. ( So far, up til now, that has been between 0.78 -0.88/lb. regardless of lead type.) I have accumulated all sorts of pure, lino-type & WW lead from him to about a 1000 lbs., which is likely more than I will use in my lifetime as long as I keep using boolit traps.

Maybe you have someone who does the same type business in your area & you might be able to work a deal with that person to do the same type of deal with their surplus.
Look for battery recycling shops, or where you can get "blems" ( "blemished" batteries) or the like, and/or they refurbish batteries there in their shop.

Just another suggestion that has not been mentioned yet that I saw & depending on your area "might" be worth looking into.

G'Luck! in whatever ya decide!


P.S. - Another type of business is your smaller "fixit" vehicle mechanics who run shops out of their own home garage or shed, as well as the "U-Pull-It" type scrap yards for vehicles & see if they will sell you what they have, or if you have the initiative, ask them if you can go take what wheel weights off of the scrap cars tires they have in their lot. You will get some good lower body exercise squatting down to remove them, but then you can sort the outside tire weights to make sure you are getting lead & not steel or zinc ones. A young feller would likely gather quite a few in a short time, with a bit of exercise in the bargain... LOL

My knees are shot & my belly has grown, so while I could use the excercise, I am not likely to do that activty myself, but I would have if I needed lead & could still do it... another LOL


Just an idea to try to help.

[poppy42]

A lot depends on we’re you are located. The laws pertaining to the use of lead wheel weights differ per locality. With that being said go in to all the tire stores in your area. Don’t call! Go in person! And talk to the tech’s before you talk to management. I’ve found that some techs are willing to put them on the side for you. Fora price of course. Usually beer money. As long as there is no company against doing so and they won’t get In trouble for doing so. You are better off with smaller stores as opposed to large franchises (like fire stone). In my area most large dealer ships have a recycling policy governing what they do with used wheel weights. Try and find tire stores it’s service large trucks they seem to use more lead wheel weights. In my area I’ve had great success with “tread quarters” in addition, as others have suggested plumbers, roofers, scrap yards. Before you contact Anyone call a scrap yard, and inquire what they pay for scrap lead and wheel weights. That way you know what to offer to pay for it. In my area dirty wheel weights go for $.10 a pound. A 5 gal bucket weighs 125 slam full, give or take. So if I give a tire store $20.00 bill for a full bucket most techs are as happy as a pig in slop. They get more money than they get at a scrap yard and they don’t have to take it to the scrap yard. I then sort my wheel weights, separate the lead from the rest of the ****. Smelt the lead and scrap the rest getting $.10 a pound for dirty wheel weights. Oh and I wouldn’t bother to mention to the scrap yard how you have already taken out all the lead already. Some will use it as an excuse to pay you less. Even though scrap zinc pays more per pound than lead most of the time.
Well now you know all (almost all) my tricks to finding lead! I hope it helps. Good luck in your quest!

[RogerDat]

Corporate chain tire stores can't sell you WW's seek out the independent tire stores. Expect to pay at least what the scrap yards will pay for the WW's. I find offering even 5 cents a pound more is enough to give them a reason to sell to me rather than the scrap yard. Some states don't allow lead WW's and new cars don't use lead since the car may be sold into one of those states that ban the lead weights. Look for tire shops that do older cars, replacement tires bought after car is new will be more likely to have lead WW's so changing that second set of tires is when the lead weights end up in the bucket. If the store advertises they sell used tires that can be a good clue.

Processing WW's has a learning curve. Knowing what scrap is what and why you might want this scrap but not that scrap is a surprisingly large subject also with a learning curve. Worth doing but not necessarily a good place to start ones casting journey.

I'll add my voice to buy your lead in the swapping and selling forum here. Ready to go clean ingots at a price comparable to what you are going to be paying out for scrap and processing that scrap. Propane, driving, cost of scrap, equipment etc. Simply put it avoids a big chunk of learning and doing so you can get to the fun part of making bullets. Expect to pay around $1 a pound for COWW lead or range scrap. More for alloys to add to the basic lead. Alloys you can do the S&S forum and save money or Rotometals for foundry pure alloys, they are a site sponsor with a link ad at top of forum pages.

Some scrap yards will sell lead to the public and some will not. You may have to do some driving around to find those that will sell to you. If you find a yard that you can buy scrap from taking in a bag of donuts, or a $5 pizza or other "thank you" can go a long way toward creating a business relationship where they look out for lead they think you will want. Of course that sort of takes time for you to know what you want, and them to learn what you buy but it does pay off. Same with a tire store that sells you weights. Bag of donuts can make them more inclined to sell you another bucket next time.

Be aware at a tire store you are an intrusion, take that into account and try to be considerate if they are busy. Oh and carry a bathroom scale in your car. One you know is decently accurate. You can't offer 40 cents a pound against scrap yards 35 cents a pound with no ability to weigh the lead. I would just offer to let them weigh themselves to check the scale. Most folks have a fair idea of what they weigh. Read and learn about what lead is useful for what reason. Then learn how to identify it in the "wild". Lead was the "plastic" of it's time it was used to make many products, what those are and what lead alloy was used to make it is interesting subject. Does take some time and effort. Still find posts where people post a picture and ask "what is this and is it lead?" Where I have no idea.

Basic lead items are:

• Pipe and flashing. Xray room liner. Plumbers lead pucks. All plain soft lead.
• COWW - somewhat harder lead alloy. Stick on WW's are plain lead. Can be steel or zinc. In California they ARE steel or zinc.
• Solder, Soldered joints of lead plumbing pipe, Pewter. Sources of tin.
• Linotype - lines of type set. Hard and tin rich alloy.
• Monotype - printers lead of individual letters one per block. Hard and even more tin than linotype.
• Babbitt - ingots for making bearings or bearings. Very rich alloy.

Each of these have a different value in specific applications, have a different market price, and can vary a good bit in appearance. COWW's for example are lead, steel or zinc. It doesn't take much zinc accidentally melted in with the lead WW's to make the whole batch unusable. Even a small amount of zinc makes lead pour and cast like oatmeal. So a 5 gallon bucket of WW's weighing 110# might be 85# of good lead or 40# depending on how common lead WW's are in that state. New car dealer might not have 20# of lead in a whole bucket since they tend to do new car service.

Considering that one has to navigate getting scrap, figuring out what the scrap is, then what needs to be adjusted to yield an alloy suitable for the bullet desired just buying from members is a good alternative when starting out. Plain lead is too soft, Printers lead can be too hard. Mix of the two in the right proportions can yield good bullets for uses from .38 plinking to 30-06 full power loads depending on the mix ratios.

Then one has to properly melt and clean the scrap and make it into clean usable ready to use ingots. All that "extra" stuff is worth avoiding to get to the casting bullets part. Which will I assure you be easier if you are working from known already clean ingredients.

Just a suggestion. Identify what firearm and caliber you want to cast bullets for and ask what you need for lead alloy mix. Then buy the ingredients for the recipes members suggest. Then a mold suitable for that use and off to the races you go.

Meanwhile keep searching for a tire store sources, check scrap yards and look for easily identifiable lead items. Solder wire or solder bars, soft sheet or pipe lead. Buy all the solder you can get at scrap lead price as tin in solder is much more expensive than lead. A little soft lead can be used to make S&S bought COWW lead softer for revolver bullets. Or muzzle loader balls are soft lead. Anything that looks like it was used to print is a very good value at scrap lead prices. Typically sells for around $2 a pound in S&S and much more from foundry.

Look at the sticky in this forum on identifying pewter and check thrift stores to see if you can buy some pewter cheaply. Nearly pure tin with a little antimony to make it hard. Can often buy items for $3 a pound or less and tin is worth about $7 or $8 a pound. Do have to watch out for "fake" pewter or plated or filled. We all get bit in the butt by some of that when we are learning what to look for to identify real pewter.

COWW's plus some plain lead, and a little tin alloy can cover a whole lot of casting needs. I know people that hunt deer with cast 30 caliber rifle using nothing but those two ingredients. Add some printers lead to your shopping list if you want to cast some harder and tougher for especially high powered rounds and you will have a well stocked pantry. I would also budget some money to have on hand in case you find a major score. You find a good deal on 400# of printers lead you will want to buy all of it. Selling some off afterwards can help fund other purchases or just the comfort of knowing you have a rich alloy supply to mix with plain or COWW's.

I would avoid buying lead ingots on eBay. People here have reputations that back up the quality of the lead being what is claimed, eBay it's a lead ingot and could be any sort of lead. Unless it is in the form of type then you know it is printers lead.

[b2lee]

The simple answer is...when you start out...you can't find any...but you are making contacts and spreading the word. I remember I couldn't even get a single ounce no matter what I offered to pay...then I bought enough to get me started...now...a decade later after my initial quest...I have people giving me lead for free.

I currently have about 6k pounds already turned into ingots and I'll happily take more. I have maintenance guys at work that will give me lead...and to repay them...I'll melt them down some and make a lead hammer and give to them...they really...I mean really like the brass hammers i make out of scrap range brass as well.

[T_McD]

I am lucky enough to have a recycler nearby that sells WW for 50 cent per lb. Just have to sort thru the junk, but I think next time I will spend a few minutes pulling out just the good stuff to cut my losses.

[jonp]

Scrap yard like the others. I tried tire shops but none would give up the loot and the only one that might had a guy that cast. Local yard still sells for .65/lb for all lead and with the wheel weights will let me pick through them before buying. When I stumbled onto this sight and it's merry band of enablers, I was working for a company that used a particular shop for it's tires. I stopped by one day for a tire and asked about wheel weights. They said take all I wanted and pointed to an adjoining shop where there were several 55gal drums full of them. Only guy that stopped for them was someone that ran go carts and used them for weights and one guy that stopped on occasion to scrounge for down rigger weights.

If time were an issue and with a hobby like reloading it shouldn't be, check out the scrap yards. If you just want to melt and cast use Rotometals or some of the fine folks on this sight for your lead.

[WRideout]

From one (old) soldier to another, if you would pm me your address, I can send you a small, flat-rate box of range lead free gratis. The lead is no cost to me, and I'll pick up the tab on shipping. Let me know.

Wayne

[mfraser264]

Get your network going!

Everyone in my family and where I work knows my desire for lead. One fella at work hits the thrift stores all the time. Been a good source of Pewter and a little lead comes in. Need to let people you see on a regular basis now what you are looking for. Those people talk to others also remember.