Is this a good price for WW's?

[wjb1260]

Hey everyone I went to the local tire shop today and had a new set of tires put on the car. I asked the shop forman about WW's. He said he would sell me a 5 gal bucket rounded up full for 60 bucks. Is that a good price?

Also I had the Lyman big dipper casting kit ordered. I got an email its on back order and will be 8 weeks or more before delivery. I canceled the order. I can go to a, well I call it a junk store lol and get a 4 or 5 qt cast iron pot and a hot plate and spend alot less. I wanted the kit because it had a 4 ingot mold and the lyman cast bullet hand book with it. I will go to the book store and get the book and pick up an old muffin pan for my ingot mold.

[jondavis0904]

I paid $35 for a full 5 gallon bucket last night, but I've just started so I'm not sure what the norm is.

[Errokk]

I get mine for $30 for 5gal bucket full.

[wjb1260]

I am fixing to start casting my own. I have helped my best friend some but here in Rural Arkansas WW's are at a premium. Is it price gouging? dont know I am just starting out too. I do know this tho other shops are selling about the same around here.

[imashooter2]

I think the price is high and it will be REALLY high if it isn't all lead which it is very unlikely to be.

You aren't melting 4 quarts of lead on a hot plate. 2 quarts top end...

[472x1B/A]

Prices vary across the country, just like gas. Here it's $3.89 a gal. today, last bucket of COWW I bought was $100.00. About 1 qt. jar of zinc ww's and a hand full of iron ww's.. For me $60.00 would be good.

[wjb1260]

I think the price is high and it will be REALLY high if it isn't all lead which it is very unlikely to be.

You aren't melting 4 quarts of lead on a hot plate. 2 quarts top end...

I agree on the cost being high but every tire shop around I called are charging 75 to 80 for the 5 gal bucket full. I havent checked at the scrap yard yet.

As to melting if I get a smaller pot should I only keep it about half full? Another question... What about a thermometer? Do I need an actual lead thermometer or can I get one of those new fangled ones that is like a gun that you just point at something and get the temp reading?

[imashooter2]

I'd rather buy already smelted from the Swappin' and Sellin' section than pay 60 a bucket for unsorted WW and then have to clean them up. I think you'd come out just about the same on cost.

I'd go with a 2.5 or 3 quart steel sauce pan. That would give you 2 quarts working capacity and be fine on a hot plate.

I've never used a thermometer smelting. Don't believe it is necessary. There is a long time on a hot plate to get from "melts lead WW" to "melts zinc WW" temperatures. Keep an eye on your pot and when the majority of the weights turn liquid, give it a stir and skim off the zinc and steel that you missed in your sort.

[wjb1260]

Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.

[runfiverun]

60 bucks would be 2 dollars a lb if it's all lead ww's.
i'd order certified from roto metals and pay another 30 cents a lb before i'd go that route.

[wjb1260]

60 bucks would be 2 dollars a lb if it's all lead ww's.
i'd order certified from roto metals and pay another 30 cents a lb before i'd go that route.

runfiverun 60 bucks at 2 a lb would only be like 30 lbs. A five gallon bucket will weigh alot more than that. It will push close to 125 to 150 maybe depending on how much lead WW's is in the mix. I know I am new at casting but one thing about living here in rural Arkansas change comes slowly. The tire shop I go to is in an old rock building and has been there 80 yrs. The lady that owns it has been the owner for over 50 yrs. Lead WW's are still being used and the shop forman thats friends with my older brothers did say its atleast 60% or more lead. They are still using lead but do have zinc and steel. He casts and reloads also and said I could maybe average out around 60 to 70 lbs of lead I reached in the bucket and grabbed a hand full and looked at them and out of the 10 or so weights I picked up only 2 were zinc, the rest was lead. If that is true I would be paying just a little over a dollar a lb. I will keep everyone posted. As soon as all this Ice were getting melts and I can get a bucket to him I will bring it home and weigh it. I dont know for sure myself how much it weighs but I do know its gonna be heavy.

[runfiverun]

you'll get about 80% return on lead ww's after cleaning the clips out.
by the time you toss the other stuff from the bucket it's less than that.
so say 20% are zink/steel that's @ 60% return on 160 lbs.
in the olden days it took me 5 buckets of sorted ww's to get 3 buckets of ingots.
[@80% by weight]
i might have gotten 2-3 zink in a whole bucket.
the rest was lug nuts,valve stems,chew,razor blades,screw drivers, broken sockets,and cigarette butts.
you'll probably end up with 80-90 lbs of alloy from the bucket so 60.00 don't sound too bad.
if it's mostly lead.

[captaint]

r5r has a good point there. We never (anymore) get anywhere near what the original bucket
weight was in ingots. I usually figure on about 60% in ingots when all is done. That's all
I've ever gotten from a bucket. Mike

[Malpaso]

I just paid $.25/lb (estimated weight). Two pails @ 130# each, $65 total. I couldn't lift them into my truck alone, and needed to take about 15# out to get them out of the truck alone, so the estimated weight seems right.

[Friends call me Pac]

WJB1260 the price of wheel wheights is about the same here in Beebe. $75 for a not even full 5 gal bucket of wheel weights here. I also checked with the local salvage yard and they are buying lead at .20 a pound but selling it at .80 a pound. That's not even in ingots just whatever form it comes in. Pipes, wheelweights or whatever. They throw it all together and you have to melt it down, clean it and make your own ingots.

I have never had to buy lead in my life and i have poured lead for fishing lures for years. Most of the time i would have folks trade lead for lures or even just give me the stuff. Tire stores use to give it away because it was a hassle for them to dispose of it. Times sure have changed. I have panned for gold in Alaska, guess it's time to start learning how to mine for lead. The payout for each is getting closer every day.

[mold maker]

Different areas have different yield in WWs. Here in the East we aren't plagued by near as many zinc weights. Most of the junk weights are Fe. Those are kept to turn in as scrap iron.
I still get about 100 lbs of lead from a not quiet full bucket. The tire man at my source is pretty clean with what he throws in with the weights.
WWs are like 22LR ammo. If you get any, you have to pay the price. Your lucky to have a source that will sell or give any to you. Most tire shops have a deal with the battery folks, and get some kind of credit on batteries for the WWs.
As the lead WWs disappear, the price will be out of sight. Since zinc is about the same price as lead, it to will disappear and they will all be made of epoxy coated steel (Fe).
Getting what you can, even if you have to pay a little much, is like putting up food for the Winter. There will be a time when, what you have stashed will be all you can get.
You either pay the current price, or wait and pay ridiculous prices in the future.
I remember when Gold was only $35./oz. Sure would like to buy some more at that price now. Lesson learned.

[Beesdad]

I get mine for $50 for 5gal bucket full at the salvage yard

[Kacki]

In southern Missouri I pay $40, $30 a bucket if I buy more than one bucket at a time. The last bucket sorted was 117# lead weights and 17# FE and Zinc. So I try to wait for them to have 2 or more buckets, and buy them all at one time.

[Duckiller]

I can get new COWW for $1.00/ lb. That is all lead and steel with no dirt. $60.00 for a 5 gal bucket seems high. What other sources of lead do you have? If this is your only source of lead then "Do you want to cast?" Ifthe answer is yes then pay the piper.

[WILCO]

He said he would sell me a 5 gal bucket rounded up full for 60 bucks. Is that a good price?

At that price, you're better off just buying from one of the many vendors here.

[Crash_Corrigan]

I always keep 4 or 5 empty 5 gal plastic buckets in the trunk and a dolly with 8 inch rubber tire to carry the buckets. I never pick up a full bucket. I only deal with 1/2 full buckets. I always leave a bucket with my name and number for when it needs to be cleaned out. The last bucket I got for $25 and I ended up getting 43 lbs. of lead out of it only. A lot of zinc and steel weights and a lot of trash. I was a decent deal but a PITA for me. When I go back to this guy I am going to dump out the bucket and remove all the coffee cup, butts, cig packages, uneaten food and all the other trash I am not going to pay for.

When I get done separating all the trash out then I am going to cull out the zinc and steel weights. When I get done I will put all the lead WW's back into the bucket and renegotiate the deal.

If not I have an indoor range just two blocks away and I will buy some lead in large amounts and maybe even sell some.

[izzyjoe]

i'm still paying $40 a bucket around here, and it's about time to make a run too.

[imashooter2]

I always keep 4 or 5 empty 5 gal plastic buckets in the trunk and a dolly with 8 inch rubber tire to carry the buckets. I never pick up a full bucket. I only deal with 1/2 full buckets. I always leave a bucket with my name and number for when it needs to be cleaned out. The last bucket I got for $25 and I ended up getting 43 lbs. of lead out of it only. A lot of zinc and steel weights and a lot of trash. I was a decent deal but a PITA for me. When I go back to this guy I am going to dump out the bucket and remove all the coffee cup, butts, cig packages, uneaten food and all the other trash I am not going to pay for.

When I get done separating all the trash out then I am going to cull out the zinc and steel weights. When I get done I will put all the lead WW's back into the bucket and renegotiate the deal.

If not I have an indoor range just two blocks away and I will buy some lead in large amounts and maybe even sell some.

What business is going to let you sort WW in their shop for $25?

[Jtarm]

As you may have seen from my post in this forum, I am just ramping up to start casting again. If the tire shops are charging $60 per bucket, I don't think I'd fool with them unless I knew they were all lead.

I called some recycling yards in my area yesterday and they're paying 30-cents lb for WW. Why would I pay 2x that?

I would keep very close tabs on what your ingot yield is before buying any more.

[wjb1260]

Well I did not buy the WW's I decided I can get allready usable lead cheaper or for not much more. I spoke to some people over the weekend and the info they gave me I dont want to buy from that guy. He is upping the price from what they were charging just a few weeks ago. I can understand making a profit but geez!!!

[Phoenix]

If it is your turn to get a bucket and the guy before you didnt bring a case of beer to get more than his share. Then a 135 pound bucket will cost you $72.50 You heard that right .50 per #. The reason is the demand is far greater than supply not because there isnt wheel weights.