How much for 5 gallon bucket of ww?

[walker77]

Its getting to the point that I think I'm going to get out of the casting hobby. Between work, school and my home based ffl, I just don't have time any more. I have to make time to reload just so I can go shooting. I probably haven't cast any bullets in 2 years. So I think I'm going to sell everything off.

I haven't bought lead in about 6 years, what is wheel weights going for now days in a 5 gallon bucket? I have a 55 gallon barrel about 2/3 rds full down at my parents lake property I need to get out of their way. I figured I would move it over to buckets to get it back up to my house. Then see if I could sell it and the equipment I have.

I appreciate the help!

[1johnlb]

70 cents a pound for ww still with the clips at my local scrapyard. Wished you we're close by I'd but them. I hate dealing with the scrapyard.

[walker77]

About how many pounds in a 5 gallon bucket?

Thanks!

[1johnlb]

100 to 130 pending on buckets actual size.

[Seeker]

I can get them for $45 for a 5 gal. bucket full at a local tire shop. 50 cents a lb. at the scrap yard.

[MBTcustom]

I'm paying $25 per bucket when the tire shop guy delivers them to me (although, to be perfectly fair, they are not but 3/4 full) and my scrap yard sells me COWW for $.40 per pound.

[Blackwater]

Walker, those molds and paraphenalia don't eat, and you don't even have to pay taxes on them every year, so if it was me, I'd keep 'em until they might be needed one day. Ya' just never know these days, and being able to make your own bullets might one day be a real good thing to know. Just a FWIW?

[fredj338]

Me, I would keep it. As noted, cost you nothing but storage space. I quit casting about 20yrs ago, just no time with the kids & work & school. Now the kids are grown, still work, but shooting more. I am back to casting. Good thing I kept my gear. My Magma caster cost me $500 back then & the lead, I just added to it. I had about 100# of Lino left @ $1/#. Cheap/free casting alloy is getting harder to find, I would stay put. If I lived close by, I would come & take it all off your hands though.

[RogerDat]

Full 5 gallon bucket (not overflowing) goes around 110 - 120 lbs. in my world. Size of weights (pack density) and amount of lead vs steel/zinc influence weight. You know you might want to just make the time to do a big smelt of that barrel of weights, use bread loaf pans to make 12 - 16 lb. slab ingots instead of small ingots to speed up the process.

My way of thinking is it might take a few evenings or an entire weekend BUT the resulting 700 - 900 lbs. of lead won't take up a bunch of storage space (approx. 3 to 6 milk crates worth), will make a lot of bullets if you ever want to get back into it. Sell for about $1.00 a lb. and those slabs will ship efficiently in MFRB. Shipping cost are more efficient to ship just lead rather than the lead and clips and dead air space. You can hit max weight for MFRB with a few slabs of lead. Think about it, 62 lbs. of lead for $73 shipped is pretty standard, so you have an easy to sell $620 (or more) in lead for the time and propane to melt those down. Won't get rich but can sell them whenever or cast with them instead if you want.

Loose WW's are a PITA to deal with, and do not ship especially well. Have to insure that your not shipping zinc or steel WW's too, smelting at 700 the zinc and steel will just float to the top.

[bangerjim]

Re-melting and casting into easily shippable ingots is really the only way to go. That way, you can confidently say "COWW's" when selling, knowing you sorted and melted them WITHOUT any Zn in there.

Raw weights do not ship worth a darned. And people really do not know the purity of the WW's (not Fe or Zn). And I personally do not want to pay for the shipping of the clips!

But I personally would keep them ALL! They are becoming hard to find. You will someday wish you had them.

banger

[Wayne Smith]

Something not yet mentioned - if those are that old they have a much higher percentage of lead to zinc/iron than is currently available. I agree with smelting and hanging on to it. Your current situation is temporary. It may not seem like it now, but in 20 years it will.