Hey everyone, I’m fairly new to this, I just smelted a bunch of lead shavings I bought from a machine shop a few years back. I don’t think I’ll be getting more from that source, it was a one off job. Any tips on getting ahold of pure lead to smelt (muzzle loader bullets)? Do you get free lead very often? I’ve got the itch to smelt more lead...
I started checking out the local scrap yard, can't find wheel weights in my area anymore. I scored about 40lbs of pure lead bars and pipe, and about 6lbs of solder bars for about 1.30 a lb.
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Roofing leads, talk to your local roofer probably be able to trade beer for them
I got 33lbs of lead pipe and a bit of bar solder for $1 a pound here a couple of weeks ago from the local salvage yard. Might look around in your area, and ask if they have lead if you can find a salvage yard. A local friend told me to cut off the joints, and smelt them separately, as the solder used on them can be 50% tin. Pipe itself should be pretty pure. The bars I got are National Lead 111, and another thread here says they're 50/50 tin/lead. Tin tends to be more expensive than lead, so I think I did well. Good luck!Originally Posted by stovepipe699
Bill
I sent a local roofer a message, and I’m going to make some more calls.
You'll have better luck actually going to see them.
In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.
OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
EVERYONE!
Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.
I’ll try that. Have to call another guy, I think I asked him to save it for me a few years ago when he did my roof. Being his customer should help.
Going around in person seperates you from the junk mail.
Try the big box stores.
When roof flashings & such get too smashed up to sell, sometimes the supervisor will give them to ya, or sell them for a buck.
In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.
OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
EVERYONE!
Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.
Don't forget to let family and friends know you are interested in obtaining scrap lead. I put a wtb ad on Craig's List and that payed off. Going to put an ad up in the barber shop today. Learn to identify pewter at junk stores. Pewter is almost pure tin and a needed ingredient. Tin sells for about 20 a pound but you can get pewter for far less than that. There is a sticky here on it.
Last edited by Cosmic_Charlie; 06-08-2020 at 09:24 AM.
I call that networking! And it works! Also the Craigslist ad. Try to meet and make friends with any local roofers, plumbers and telephone men in your area. Scrap yards are a great source if they will sell to the public, but many won't.
Learn whatever you can about lead and the things that were made from lead, and how to identify them. Always be looking. And asking.
I get most of mine for free. The local tire shop calls me when their wheelweight bucket is full. I buy my tires from them and they service my vehicles. The lead is free but I usually take them a few boxes of donuts the next day. One day I was showing the owner some bullets that I cast. His wife wanted one of the larger ones. I ended up giving Her one of my nicer looking ingots for a paper weight! Networking!
That is not a bad idea. You could powder coat a crisp ingot and make a really nice paper weight.
My impression from reading here is that most folks have multiple sources for the lead they cast. That sometimes means variable quantity, quality and effort needed to convert it into usable alloy, but is often the least expensive (sometimes even free, when your networked friends leave dense, heavy surprises on your driveway).
Some folks have a steady supply from one or two sources, say, a radiopharmacy or a demolition firm or plumber. Such sources take legwork and time to find and effort to cultivate and maintain. There may be more cost, but usually it's offset by the regular supply of lead that's of known type though perhaps not of exact content.
The most convenient is to buy known alloy from a reliable commercial vendor. This costs the most, but the alloy is often certified in content and is always available. In my opinion, a lot of the S&S vendors on this forum often fit into the last category or close to it.
Sometimes, for the sake of simplifying the learning process, starting out with known alloy from a commercial source is recommended, eliminating funky alloy from the list of "what did I do wrong?" possibilities. Others argue that is part of the fun of learning. YMMV
Last edited by kevin c; 06-08-2020 at 05:39 PM.
I have a decent amount of pure stuff smelted, it was lead pipe and waste from machining anodes for a chrome shop. Pure lead to my knowledge. I could get wheel weights but I don’t want the antimony for muzzle loader bullets. My understanding is I don’t want to add tin for my bullets to keep them easy to load. I’m spreading the word to friends that I’m looking for lead, one tradesman friend knows a scrapper who picks up and tears down all the furnaces and A/C’s they remove. I’m going to get in touch with that fellow, and I don’t see why he wouldn’t sell me a bunch of roof flashings and lead pipe he almost certainly collects, if I pay him what he gets at the scrap yard. Thanks for all the tips everyone!
If you want free lead, consider recycling range scrap.
I definitely am. Are jacketed bullets pure Pb or alloy?
My roofer has a hoard and will sell me some. I checked a couple local scrap yards and some are paying 45-51 cents a lb. one place was only 15 cents but no one is going to go there lol
The more they pay to buy it, the more they'll likely charge selling it. True that the lowball ears may not get much, but there's always folks looking to dump stuff who don't price check ("nasty, dirty old lead, good riddance!"). Might be worth a look for cheap lead.
Much softer than cast, but maybe not pure. I've read that antimony improves the properties of lead used for extrusion, so maybe more common to find it in swaged lead cores?
Good point, they could be good to buy from lol!
My nephew was redoing a bathroom and saved me some lead pipe and a trap. 53 lbs altogether.
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