NJ Pb Prices at a Recycler ... It's Still out There!

[John Boy]

On a lark, stopped at a recycling place on the way to get a computer fixed... " How much is it to buy lead?" ... "70 cents a lb" :holysheep... "Got any?" "Over in the other bay"
Laying there on a pallet was a large stack of sheet lead. Bent the edge of a piece - bent like folding paper ... "Sir, I'll take the whole pallet!"

Was 231 lbs! They even put it on a fork lift and loaded it into the truck. Got home and tested a piece - Bhn 4.7 ... drop dead Grade C sheet lead, 99.90 % pure Pb!
Candidly, I expected to hear the price be about a $1.00 a pound based on the spot prices of Pb
Plus there was 2 buckets of clip on WW's, drain pipe and other unknown lead composition pieces in a couple of barrels. Will have to check back regularly to see if there is any Linotype even though I have 375 lbs of ingot bar stock @ Bhn 21.3 that I came upon last year

Yes, was a Good Day at this recycling place I've never been to before and one never knows what & when Congress is going to try next to implement gun control! So stock up. The find today brings my inventory to a little over 2000 lbs

Moral of the post - Lead is out there, Gents. One just has stop regularly everywhere and ask

[dmclark523]

Nice find with a pretty good price for sheet lead! I like it! Now you got some melting to do.

[John Allen]

I would of grabbed the whole thing to that is a great find.

[Defcon-One]

That sheet lead plus your Linotype and a bit of Solder will allow you to make any bullet alloy that you need! Also, you'll know exactly what is in your alloy. Metals of known content make the best alloys and bullets!

Great find, good price!

[John Boy]

Metals of known content make the best alloys and bullets!
Defcon, so true and I am an experimental mixicoligist, primarily being a long range BPCR shooter of multiple bullet weights and calibers to determine what the rifle likes Every ingot is stacked by aged alloy which makes it easy to just pull a few and put them in the pot. I have never used solder ... there was a poster on the forum years back that was selling pure Sn for 5 bucks a pound. So I stocked up on tin too - 50 lbs worth. For Cowboy, use straight clip on WW's, either Bhn 13.5 or 15.4. Plus the 15.4 is close enough to Lyman #2 when a mix is needed using the #2

[00buck]

Nice find John Boy!!

I keep bumping into dribs and drabs of lead.. it all adds up!

[finishman2000]

i got lucky at my local scrap yard yesterday. I was cleaning out my shop and went to drop off some old pressure pots and steel scrap...$23 worth. i'm in the office when i look over and see a bunch of brand new JHP 38's and 9mm's. I asked if I could buy them and was told yes, for .60 a pound! So i brought home about 600 jhp's for $11.

[detox]

John Boy, How did you check hardness of sheets?

[runfiverun]

he bent it.
take some ww alloy and pour it 1/4" thick in the bottom of a mold
and some soft lead too.
take them out and let them cool for about 4-5 hours.
now bend them.
try it again In a week.

[detox]

I do not understand...he bent it? What do you look for when bending?

[detox]

Why do Rotometals and Lee list pure lead hardness standard of 8.6 when adding tin or antimony to leads to make them harder?

Roto list their lead as 99.9 pure. BH 8.6 ?

[John Boy]

John Boy, How did you check hardness of sheets?
Detox: Took a pair tin snips and cut off a piece. Laid it on a small steel plate and tested it with the Lee Hardness Tester.
If one doesn't use the steel plate under the sheet - False Reading

I do not understand...he bent it? What do you look for when bending?
How easy the sheet bends depending on it's thickness to determine if it is B-C or D grade. Do it enough times and one can be darn close to the tested hardness


Why do Rotometals and Lee list pure lead hardness standard of 8.6 when adding tin or antimony to leads to make them harder?
Roto list their lead as 99.9 pure. BH 8.6 ?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YpeUQUs0cecfUzLhS0ngpQSDRUhsiXDNRAU9sMKxlRM/pub
Believe you are mixing apples (pure Pb = Bhn 4.7) and oranges (alloy with tin & antimony = Bhn 8.6)
Post the link where you read this Bhn 8.6 for their pure Pb

[detox]

Detox: Post the link where you read this Bhn 8.6 for their pure Pb

At the bottom of this page they show a formula for harding lead. Lead Brinnell hardness is 8.6 in formula.
http://www.rotometals.com/Bullet-Casting-Alloys-s/5.htm

Basic Rules for Harding Lead-
For every 1% additional tin, Brinell hardness increases 0.3.
For every 1% additional antimony, Brinell hardness increases 0.9.
For a simple equation,
Brinell = 8.60 + ( 0.29 * Tin ) + ( 0.92 * Antimony )

The instructions that came with my Lee 5lb melting pot shows the same formula using 8.6 as lead Brinnell hardness also.