Sorting Wheel Weights for $.20 a lb? Worth it?

[reddog81]

Are stick-on weights more or less predominately lead? I remember there was a good number of those as well.

Maybe... Depends on the shop and how old the bucket of weights are. The lead ones are easy to identify but nowadays I think even most shops have switched to non lead for stick on. I got 6 5 gallon buckets last year and some had SOWW that were almost all pure lead, while others were 50%.

For $.20 a pound I'd sort through some and try and see how long it takes to come up with a 5 gallon bucket of lead. The bigger weights are simple to identify. It's the 1/8 ounce, 1/4 ounce and 1/2 ounce WW's that take forever to sort through. Anything larger than 1 ounce is easy to grab, identify and sort.

[Ural Driver]

If I could sort thru them first, yes. $.20 a pound is a good deal.

[Helka]

I’m basically doing the same thing as you. Buying buckets of wheel weights for $0.20/lb sight unseen. Then I sort it. It’s about 40% lead. But the left over scrap I send to the scrapper and get $0.17/lb back so in the end your still under $0.25/lb for lead. Way cheaper then buying pre-cast commercial stuff.


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[ShooterAZ]

The last buckets of WW's I bought was .20 cents a pound, and that was several years ago. There was a few zinkers in there, but it was 95%+ lead with lots of stick on in there too. So yes, it's a good deal at that price as long as it's mostly lead. Side cutters are your friend here....Lately I've just been buying the Isotope Cores when they come available, much easier and cleaner to deal with.

[Photog]

Considering I recently went to GT Bullets' lead at 2.50 a pound, you are getting it cheap; BUT now I don't mix in tin and antimony, and don't have to mix and then pour and flux all the dirt out and the boolits come out the same every time and it takes way less time to cast and I know what the alloy will be and yep it means that a 125gr boolit is 10 cents, but it save me lots of time and aggravation.

[Hanzy4200]

I went today. Time was short, so I only spent about 20 min sorting. I pulled about 30 lbs. I was surprised at the number of lead weights, must have been a old batch. As a plus, I found 2 half sticks of 50/50, maybe 2.5 lbs, and 7-8 lbs of ingots that appear to be lino or similar. They ring when smacked and have a slight crystalline appearance. Best of all, I cashed in 3 1/2 buckets of smelted jackets. $508! Copper is HOT right now! Might have to buy a pistol..............

[reddog81]

It is kind of a time consuming process to sort through WWs, but it sounds like a good score for the day.

[lightman]

If they will sell you weights for 20 cents and let you sort them I would do it. Take some rubber mechanics gloves, a pair of dykes and a few buckets and stay awhile! Expect to loose a small percentage of total weight to the clips.

As a few others have said, sorting gets easier and faster after you have sorted awhile. I've sorted so many that I seldom have to make a test cut anymore.