Found a radiator shop

[clodhopper]

There are not many radiator shops left since auto makers went to plastic radiators many years back.
But I found one.
Walked in met the owner and possibly the only employee.
Asked if I could buy his solder drippings, he looked at me funny and said what do you want?
The solder drippings from when you put a radiator back together.
He pulled out a bucket of what looked like dirt and says "this stuff?" I reached in
and found some hard lumps and said yeah.
Well it takes a lot of heat but right now I have near 20 pounds of solder ingots with about 1/2 a bucket smelted.
A quick check with the thermoter says this solder goes from liquid to solid around 420 degreees.
WHOOO HOOOOOoooo!

[t_dickinson]

What did he charge you? Nice find.

[bumpo628]

Did he ask you why you want it?

[a.squibload]

I asked at a local radiator shop, he wanted what he said he gets at the scrapyard, $8 / lb.
Said he had about 300 lbs but there was only one bucket???
It looks like a bucket of dirt but I guess the drippings are tiny when they hit the water.
He didn't care if it sat there for years, it will only go up in value.
I had to pass.

[clodhopper]

Bumpo, I did tell him it was for casting bullets, this is Montana and most them who are against guns and shooting keep quiet about it.
There is more to the story.
When I stopped by yesterday I got the the stuff from under the work bench, it had a lot of sand in it and I took it home.
He said that he had a couple more buckets but had to go pick up his son and did not have time to dig them out.
I went back today, took Lonerider with me, thought he might be able to use some solder too.
The guy was there and did dig out two five gallon buckets, but they had been screened so no sand.
We loaded them up in the ole saturn wagon and I offered to pay him and he said "There used to be a guy who came around and paid 5 bucks a bucket. But I haven't seem him latley.
He did not want my money and was glad to be rid of it.
Driving home we spyed a farm and ranch supply store having a celebration with free food so we stopped for a burger.
They had a photo of the steer the meat came from and proudly showed it while serving up the food.
Did not get out of there so cheap, bought a trinket for the mother of my children and wife 32 years, the the sale rack had a nice wool vest that came home for me.
Lonerider got about 4 gallons of drippings and clod got about five.

[Jailer]

Awesome score Clod.

My local radiator shop doesn't get much business at all any more. Too bad since he's a real decent guy. I stopped by there one day and offered him $20 for what he had. Ended up with 22lbs of 60/40 ingots. He also threw in a ladle and bar mold since he said business is so slow he doesn't bother recasting his drippings any more.

[bumpo628]

That is an awesome score - nine buckets of drippings!
Be sure and update us on how much you get after smelting.

[clodhopper]

That is an awesome score - nine buckets of drippings!
Be sure and update us on how much you get after smelting.

It was only 2 buckets and one not quite full, plus about half a bucket 70% sand from my first visit.
Still a very nice quanity of 50/50 solder.

[Lonerider]

Yep,...it was a great adventure with Clodhopper yesterday. If any of you here gets a chance to spend some time with Clodhopper, your in for a real treat. He's a riot and seems to be a walking encyclopedia.

Lets see.....a bucket of solder, a burger (with the wanted picture of the critter being cooked), a mtn. dew, Buckaroo bunnies every where, and good company of a fellow boolit caster...

Yep it was good day!

Lonerider

[bumpo628]

Somehow I read buckets, not gallons. Either way it is going to be a really great addition to your stash.

[clodhopper]

I have been giving some thought of making another ingot mould, something the size and shape of one pound solder bars.
Partly to make smaller ingots but mostly to make the solder ingots easy to recoginize.
Some guys make "coins" or just cast bullets of their solder/tin/pewter. If that works for them, fine.
In my head a stack if long slender ingots like minature cordwood would look real good in the man lair.

[shotman]

would be best to remelt and mix some baking soda and saw dust. If you cast and dont clean mold real good it will rust a steel mold fast.. The mix is good but be warned been there

[RobS]

Free tin..................and there isn't much better than that as a boolit caster.

[clodhopper]

would be best to remelt and mix some baking soda and saw dust. If you cast and dont clean mold real good it will rust a steel mold fast.. The mix is good but be warned been there

So after rolling this post around my mind eventually It occured that you were talking about the acid core, radiator solder.
Thanks, that's good advice about the baking soda.

[nanuk]

my local shop is saving dripping for me. I offered him more than the local recycler.

it will be fairly clean as they will drip it into water buckets.

they use solid solder up here, probably paste clean the rad parts separately