Sources for lead?

[Texandy]

I've tried local, but the tire shops pretty much already have other arrangements.

Been watching government surplus auctions, but the price usually ends up too close to the ebay average to be worth winning.

Any other potential sources I should look for?

Not asking anyone to give up their secret honeyhole or anything. I'd just like to find a source of a few hundred pounds of lead for less than a dollar a pound.

Is that a reasonable possibility or is a buck a pound pretty much the floor?

Thanks,

-Andy

[turmech]

run an ad on craigs list willing to buy lead and use wheel weights

[imashooter2]

That's topic we've never seen before... [smilie=1:

The board has a search feature. 13 results for "sources, lead" in titles only:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/search.php?searchid=4315566

[Texandy]

That's topic we've never seen before... [smilie=1:

The board has a search feature. 13 results for "sources, lead" in titles only:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/search.php?searchid=4315566

Now there's another search result! Just think of how robust the library of "lead sources" topics is becoming!

Uh... and I posted without thinking to search.

Any idea on the current average sell price for lead? I see a little kitco ticker above the thread title, but I'm not sure what that number means exactly? Is that what lead is trading for on the commodities, average right now?

[Defcon-One]

Buy it here and pay the $1.00/pound. By the time you run an ad, go through all the hassles of meeting and buying and then reallizing it is not good lead, you could buy here, ship it in and be casting.

I have purchased from people here on the board with nothing but positive results!

For 1,000 pounds I'd look harder, for a few hundred pounds, I'd take this advice.

Maybe you could mine some range lead, but you'll earn that $1.00 per pound. It is hard work.

[wv109323]

I just bought wheel weights and soft lead for .35 cents per pound at my local junk yard. I specified about 70 per cent wheel weights and 30 % soft lead. i bought 200 lbs. I smelted the soft lead seperately in case I needed any in the future.
The wheel weights had about 10% reject by the time you smelted out all the inpurities,clips and other undesirable items such as valve stems,iron wheel weights etc.
There was a guy advertising on the S and S that he was selling 60 pounds of raw wheel weights for $39.99.

[L1A1Rocker]

If you have to purchase other than local you won't find a better (or fairer) place than right here. Be very careful about ebay. Lead is one of the biggest scams going there. A search on this site will show lots of sob stories about lead from ebay: ingots filled with nuts and bolts, lead that is really zinc, etc.

[imashooter2]

Now there's another search result! Just think of how robust the library of "lead sources" topics is becoming!

Uh... and I posted without thinking to search.

Any idea on the current average sell price for lead? I see a little kitco ticker above the thread title, but I'm not sure what that number means exactly? Is that what lead is trading for on the commodities, average right now?

I believe the ticker is truck load pricing. Buy less than a truck load, pay a little more...

As several have stated, pricing here is about the best you are going to find for alloy through the mail. As a bonus, you can be reasonably sure that you are getting what you pay for.

[turmech]

I will usually pay up to .50 per lb locally depending on what it is and how bad I need it. Lead for sale in the swapping section is good deal as said. It can be found for as little as $1 a pound but most often runs a little more when you figure shipping.

[Texandy]

Thanks fellas. I will try a couple of the scrappers nearby and see what they say.

Otherwise, I'll give the classifieds here a shot.


Slightly unrelated question:

Have any of ya'll had trouble selling scrap cartridge brass to recyclers? I've found that some are reluctant to take it.

But, I was thinking I might try casting it into little ingots and offering it to them that way. Not sure what they'd make of it, tho. Or what price I'd be likely to get.

And to forestall any hair-pulling, this is truly scrap leftover from my brass processing "beer money" business. Spent primers, damaged beyond repair cases, fired blanks, "brass wool" from trimming, etc...

[imashooter2]

The scrap yards around here love cartridge brass because they buy it for about 25 cents less than their posted yellow brass price.

Of course if you don't like it, you are welcome to take it back home with you...

[shotman]

well with the heat it takes to melt brass dont think it would work good .I have pure lead at about $ 1.10 lb shipped

[John in WI]

I did have a little bit of luck at the local "You-pullit" auto recycling place. They charged $0.54, but since I pulled them myself so I got nearly 100% WW (I missed a couple zincs). You can test them right on the car. Then wrestle with them because you don't have a WW puller and do it with a needle nose and screw driver instead....

that, and I have an empty coffee can in my range bag so I'm trying to collect as much range scrap as I shoot on a given day. Sometimes I get lucky and bring home #30 that way!

[Texandy]

well with the heat it takes to melt brass dont think it would work good .I have pure lead at about $ 1.10 lb shipped

I've been building a foundry for doing aluminum casting. At least according to Gingery, brass melts are possible with the type I'm making.

Crazy ambition? Cast brass AR-15 lower. Yes, I know... difficult. A man's gotta dream, tho...

[evan price]

Cost of fuel to smelt brass makes it a no-win situation if you are cleaning and casting into pigs or sows t osell to a scrapper.
Some places won't take cartridge brass because they have gotten live rounds from people...they sell overseas and in order to meet export/import rules they have to ensure no live rounds, some places cook it in an oven to cook off live rounds. Some places have gotten burnt with aluminum or steel cases mixed in.
One place won't buy cartridge brass at satellite locations but will at their main location because there's a "guy" there that supposedly knows about it. Of course he reams you on price to the tune of half of posted yellow-brass price, but he knows that in that area nobody else will buy it.
I avoid him all together and go a different direction and get decent money for brass somewhere else.

[fredj338]

that, and I have an empty coffee can in my range bag so I'm trying to collect as much range scrap as I shoot on a given day. Sometimes I get lucky and bring home #30 that way!
Depending on the range, you can get quite a bit of stuff just lying around. I can easily pick up 4-5# everytime I go to a certain range to shoot IDPA. at the end of the year it's 50-60# for very little work & it's100% useable alloy. If your range/club allows berm mining, you can pull 50# out in about 15min.
Other sources are stqin glass shops/classes, dental foils, radiology lead sheeting, roofing lead, old shower pans, really old plumbing pipes. Range lead is going to be about it going forward w/ the lead ww going extinct.

[Scott_In_OKC]

run an ad on craigs list willing to buy lead and use wheel weights

This has worked REALLY well for me.