Noob question. is this stuff worth it

[Tomc jr]

I am new to casting. Used to watch my dad do it as a kid and now I have my own boy comin up and trying casting as a way to keep the guns fed as i am not a rich man. I was looking for lead to get started with and a buddy of mine that runs a junk yard mentioned he has 5000 pounds or so of lead that was used in the heat treating process at our local hammer manufacturing plant. they discontinued whatever process they were using and went to somthing else so he ended up with the lead and crucibles. I can get it for short money ( a little each paycheck lol). Question anybody know if this stuff worth wild

[montana_charlie]

I would be remiss if I didn't start by saying, "Welcome".

Without knowing any more than you have divulged, I would still say it IS worth buying.
If it was used to anneal steel hammers, it is probably pure lead.
Even if you don't ever cast a bullet, you can probably sell it here for a buck a pound.

CM

[knifemaker]

Get all you can and test it for hardness. If it shows to be a hardness for pure lead, you can sell or trade the pure lead for wheel weight or lino type lead for mixing with your pure for your boolit casting. Lead is getting harder to get in many states and the price is going up all the time. So get as much as you can afford.

[badgeredd]

My guess (note it IS a guess) is the lead may well be pure lead. One can use a lead bath to temper steels and I'd imagine that could well be the previous use for it. I have made springs for old guns and I temper them in a lead bath. Works quite well I might add.

"knifemaker" makes some good points in his post.

Edd

[runfiverun]

if these are crucibles they are more along the lines of ceramic.
and are made from lead oxide.
they could have been used to hold the steels ingredients together while they were melted in a kiln before being poured into the mold.


now if they are bricks of soft metal or something along those lines that's something else.

[Tomc jr]

sorry I wasnt clear. He has the lead and the crucibles.
He said the lead was in the crucibles and he beat the blocks out. He said it is in couple hundred pound block and is pretty soft. I havent seen them yet

[Bill*]

All depends on the price, I'd certainly buy it if he wants less than half a buck per pound. (of course cheaper is even better)

[Rooster59]

I'd buy a chunk of it too.

[338RemUltraMag]

Hell I would trade you ready to shoot bullets for the stuff. Cant go wrong with 2.5 tons of lead.

[lylejb]

if his price is reasonable, and it sounds like he has good terms, get it.

many on this board would gladly trade some for most any type of harder lead you might need.

[Hickory]

Offer them $0.50 a pound. If you get it for around that price, sell some on eBay until you get your money back and the rest is free lead.

[500MAG]

I'd check the local scrap yards and ask what they are paying for lead. They may tell you 30 cents a pound. Offer him 35 cents.