Should I make this offer to get into the hobby?

[Bensdad]

I was poking around facebook marketplace today.
190# WW ingots ,110# pure ingots, 75# flashing and 65# flashing...he said he wants to sell the whole lot and will throw in a LEE melter and a few molds.
I was going to offer him $500 sight unseen as of yet.
This is my first post so I hope I can ask this here.
Thank you
I hope to learn to roll my own for my 444 and 30-30s
Jon

[mattw]

Keep in mind the flashing will be very close to pure lead. You are going to want an alloy with antimony to maybe harden it up a little bit. I may be out of date, but your offer seems a bit high to me. I think I would start at under a buck a pound and come up if needed.

[mattw]

BTW, search here for "Alloy Calculator Spreadsheet". The sheets you find will allow you to mix various lead and alloy sources to create your own alloy.

[Conditor22]

$500 + shipping is a good price. -- if he will go for it. leads going around $1 for $1.25-1.50 for COWW

I would be a little worried about possible zinc contamination with the clip on WW ingots .

that's a lot of pure / soft lead for 444 and 30-30s but it makes good blending stock

190# COWW is good

[Bensdad]

I was hoping that flashing was pure then I would know how much alloy from rotometals or Midway to add. I was just really unsure of current prices. He said he had 470# but his list only adds up to 440#.

[mattw]

I figured I was a little out of date regarding prices. I have not bought anything other than lino and pewter in the last 10 to 15 years.

[Bensdad]

There also would be no shipping as he's one town away from me. I think I'll see if he will take it. Worst he can say is no and I could end up with a couple decent molds to use or trade and a melter to start with. Then I can learn what I need rather than guess.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Hi Bensdad- - welcome to the forum! Did the fellow with the lead have an asking price? If he hasn't named a price, I don't believe that I'd just offer him $500, especially if I was going to pick it up. Lead is heavy, and expensive to ship. Good luck with your transaction.

[Dusty Bannister]

Lead of most types in ingots are probably in the area of 1.00 per pound. Raw material lead is going for .70 per pound in NE KS. Your location might make a difference. A Lee pot can be about anything as long as it works, and keep in mind there is the 10 pound and the 20 pound variety, and condition makes a difference. With no information on molds, Lee or other commercial makers is a real wild card. Again condition is a real factor in the value. If you can, it would be good to have someone that knows molds to help with the value. Used casting furnaces, if not kept clean can be a drip o matic and will take some time and effort to clean and get working correctly. Molds are precision pieces and can be damaged by abuse or lack of care in storage. You could be buying some nice equipment or someone else's problems that has made them just quit casting.

I would suggest you check the prices of molds and Lee furnaces at Midway or Titan for basic prices on Lee equipment. You will need to add for tax and shipping, and then adjust the value based upon condition. Midway will also give you an idea of the cost of Lyman, RCBS or other mold makers and again adjust for condition. Seldom would I consider paying full cost, but also realize that much of the items we need are perhaps out of stock at the present.

Molds for calibers you are not going to use are overhead, and sometimes hard to sell after you buy them. Keep your eyes open and your observations and good judgement will help you avoid a mistake. $400.00 for the lead is pretty much prime value, but it would be nice to have an instant stash. Good luck.

[toallmy]

Contact and ask what he will take before making a offer.

[slim1836]

Contact and ask what he will take before making a offer.

This^^^, I got a Mec Jr, 25 lbs of shot, and a pound of powder for 20 bucks by asking for a price first.

Slim

[GregLaROCHE]

The big unknown is a few molds. If they are ones you can or may use in the future, it makes $500 a good deal. Let us know how it turns out. Welcome to the addiction!

[kevin c]

You're buying from a stranger who isn't local. At this point you have only his say so on the content of those ingots. Sometimes the seller may not even know (I just got some lead at a metals recycler that included home cast ingots of "Linotype". Not. Fortunately it went to a caster who didn't care, as he mixes alloy to achieve a certain hardness, with content exactness a secondary concern).

Here's a thread on quick and dirty hardness testing using artists' pencils that may be useful.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...s-with-pencils

[Rich/WIS]

FWIW hit a yard sale the other day and they had 1# ingots for a buck each, very hard but not sure what the alloy was. Seller got them in his trading and had no idea either. Passed as I have plenty of alloy and was concerned about possible zinc contamination. If I was hurting for alloy would have risked it.

[kmw1954]

If as you say this is only one town away then it might be worth while to just take the trip and see this stuff in-person and then negotiate.

Raw material takes work to make into ingots, my reference point for this kind of thing is ebay. There these lead ingots appear to be between $1.50 - $2.00 per lb. plus shipping. Next COWW are becoming rare and in many parts near impossible to find.

See if you can find out what molds he has and the lead pot and again compare prices on ebay. My opinion is if you are comfortable with $500.00 then go with it. I believe that is a fair offer. At $400.00 they may be offended and refuse to hear another offer.

[Dusty Bannister]

I would not recommend Ebay price check. We have many Buy/Sell ads and a whole lot of completed deals. This is with members of proven character. Ebay is where the seller wants the best price, and it seems to me that the prices on this forum are generally less for the same item as there is no premium to pay on the sale. The OP stated that the molds and casting furnace were tossed in to make the deal. There may not be any real value to the buyer. If the lead is priced right, it may already be gone. If priced too high, it will be around for a while.

[frkelly74]

Where do you live? Just asking??

[white eagle]

500 seems real high to me
start out lower set your limit
you will find that you can get by relatively cheap with this casting hobby if you want to and do a little work

[kmw1954]

I would not recommend Ebay price check. .

Yes this forum is one source, ebay is another as is craigslist.

I am unaware of what the local and state laws are within Kansas but here in Wisconsin and Illinois scrappers/recyclers cannot and will not sell to the general public as the EPA has declared lead a hazardous material

[Dusty Bannister]

To my knowledge, it is not a controlled substance. Some scrap dealers sell, some do not. Last purchase several months ago was at .70 per pound for sheet lead. I last sold cartridge brass last week at 1.10 per pound, and fired primers at .45 per pound.