Scrap Lead alloy

[Tazzy]

I can buy lead for a $1 a pound at my local scrap yard. The break down is
Pb 97.53
Cu .049
P .2
Si 1.95

Does this seem like a mix? I can also get #5 lead shot for the same price would I be better off melting this down for bullets? I don't reload for shotgun.

Thanks

[bumpo628]

Not sure what the silicon will do to the mix, but it will probably be fine. Drop it on the concrete and listen for a ring (hard) or a thud (soft). Sounds like a reasonable deal. Is it in ingots already?

Larger shot usually has less antimony. Maybe they can analyze that stuff for you too.
In any case, I'd get some of both. You may be able to trade or sell it for stuff you want or you can use it to make your own alloy.

[bangerjim]

That is the strangest mix of Pb alloy I have seen! I have no idea what Si will do in there.

banger

[RogerDat]

I think Tazzy may be from SE Michigan. We have a scrap yard in the area that has some silicon lubricant that gets on or always seems to be on the sensor end. Tends to read just under 2% Si always. They also have a couple of buckets of smaller reclaimed shot. I would say at around #7.5 or maybe smaller.

If it were me and I was looking at their scrap lead bin all scrunched up with the other bins I would be going for some of the sheet lead, along with some of the shot and/or WW's if I had time to sort for lead WW's so I did not buy a bunch of zinc and steel.

My guess would be that the shot will be inexpensive chilled shot, roughly comparable to WW lead. Shot tends to have a sort of hard graphite or oxidation shell that makes it a little harder to get started melting. Once it gets going however a little stirring and such will melt it into some nice ingots. The shot I saw looked sort of rough, not too round, lot of flat spots or I would have been asking if someone wanted it here.

Chilled Shot= 2.00% (Antimony), 0.625% (Arsenic), 97.4% (Lead) Brinell
10
Magnum Shot (6 or 9) 4.00% (Antimony), 1.25% (Arsenic), 94.8% (Lead)
Brinell 13
Magnum Shot (7 - 8.5) 6.00% (Antimony), 1.25% (Arsenic), 92.8% (Lead)
Brinell 13

[imashooter2]

With the prices being the same, I'd buy the shot over the "pure" all day.

[RogerDat]

With the prices being the same, I'd buy the shot over the "pure" all day.

I guess it depends, the shot is certainly the better alloy but nice clean sheet lead to mix with other stuff is useful. I think I saw a couple of half buckets worth of shot, guess it would also depend on how much $$$ you wanted to spend. Buy the buckets and some plain too. Use plain to stretch out shot if you shoot revolver sub magnum loads. But yeah you can make pretty good bullets with just shot and a little solder. Plain lead sort of needs more of "something" added to make bullets unless for ML.

I'm biased I guess because I have way more hard alloy than plain and need plain to use the printers lead. They had some real nice clean rolled up sheet lead. I gave it the eye but am not needing lead as much as some other supplies right now. And wife's car just ate a big chunk of cash with repairs.

Thinking it over I change my vote, get the shot ;-)

Oh and thinking back the gun also seems to almost always read .05 Cu I have to do some stupid math to adjust the readings but overall close enough.

[Nose Dive]

Tazzy..... 'GET IT...GET IT...GET IT'... Then read on this site how to smelt the stuff and pour into ingots.... (bit of flux will help the alloy) READ HERE!

Lead at 97.73 is to my grungy smelt pot...'GOLD".... rarely do I have that 'known' quality of material... (I smelt 'road kill' crud) and on occasion end up with some decent alloy ingots to cast my boolits.....

And a buck a pound ain't bad...not bad at all.... I'd try to find a few pounds of wheel weights to mix in, then smelt and pour ingots...then cast some boolits....load'em up!!! Shoot'em up!!!

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.

[triggerhappy243]

Everyone here... Look at that little graph inside the big yellow area at the top of this page and tell me what you see. I see lead prices at .73 cents a pound.

[Tazzy]

Thanks for all the replies. In actually from the east coast of Canada. The scrap yard has a couple of thousand pounds of lead in brick shape that they purchased from someone else. The shot is still in the bags. I'll definitely be buying more since wheel weights are getting impossible to find.
I'll buy some shot next time and ask them to test it after I melt it down.

[RogerDat]

Shot in bags may be worth more than the lead price to shot gun reloaders! Not sure how that will all work with shipping etc. in Canada but look up prices for shot, whole lot higher than prices for lead.
Buy it and see about swapping, bet you can get more than a pound (or kilo) of WW lead for a pound (or kilo) of the shot.

At the local scrap yard they say that they get contamination from the lubricants on metal shavings when they check the alloy of barrels of chips and shavings from machine shops. The phosphorus might line up with a process for bonding inserts into cutting tools? They never seem to get the Si off so there is always just under 2% "garbage" in the reading. But those guns are so sensitive that set an ingot of pure lead on a rusty table and it will detect the iron picked up even after you wipe the ingot off.

[Nose Dive]

I again aside with ROGERDAT.... Shot in Bags?... get it! I have to 'dig' mine out of the dirt at the scrap yard.... Dirt and all....

Sounds to me you have a good source of lead 'materials'.... Wish I had access to that.... I would buy,,,smelt to ingots and sell on this sight.

but...am old and slow and plenty of time... And...if you get the 'supply' and flux like a 'cachun'... you will end up with GOOD Ingots...

I flux my smelt 'trash' like heck....and make 'good' (sorry...am taking poetic license here) lead ingots....

Nose Dive.

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kinldy pick two.