What is lead worth?

[phil3333]

I think I want to start casting again after about a thirty year hiatus trying to get a value so I can trade for it locally

[kevin c]

Local availability affects local prices, but, at least on the S&S here, ingotted, cleaned and fluxed scrap lead will run around a dollar a pound, shipping cost often on top of that. Tin in the form of pewter is 8-9 dollars a pound, less for marked solder with lower content. High tin and antimony alloys like typemetal is maybe twice scrap lead price but varies.

[Goofy]

If you have none it is priceless.

[marlin39a]

A buck a pound.

[405grain]

What you need depends on what you're shooting. If your casting for mid-range pistol loads range scrap will work. If you are reloading for rifle cartridges you may need a harder alloy. Tell us what type of boolits you need and we can better answer your question.

[phil3333]

I want to cast 9mm,10mm and 45acp moderate to full loads

[405grain]

phil3333: Your in luck. Cast bullets for pistols like that are the easiest to get alloy for. Reclaimed scrap lead from shooting ranges works well in those calibers. Check the swapping & selling section for folks selling ingots of range scrap. You can also mix clip on wheel weight (COWW) with lead in a 50/50 alloy, and this works really well. Tin and lead alloys are good too: melt pewter and lead together. Rotometals sells ingots of lead alloys that are formulated either for casting, or for mixing with other metals to create your own casting alloy. For someone just starting out I'd recommend that you try scrounging around locally to see what sources of lead you can find either free or cheap. (Stay away from car batteries, too many dangerous chemicals) Things like diving weights, lead sheeting from roofs, stick-on tire weights, and other sources of scrap lead are good.
Clip on tire weights used to be an alloy of lead, antimony, and a little tin, but for several years now have been replaced with zinc and steel weights. Don't use the zinc ones, they'll ruin your casting alloy. Linotype, monotype, pewter, and lead based clip on wheel weights are good sources for metals that can be alloyed for cast bullet metals. Adding even a small amount of tin will make the metal fill the bullet mold better, making better bullets.
Before you fully jump in ask a bunch of questions: people on this site are always helpful and supportive.

[phil3333]

phil3333: Your in luck. Cast bullets for pistols like that are the easiest to get alloy for. Reclaimed scrap lead from shooting ranges works well in those calibers. Check the swapping & selling section for folks selling ingots of range scrap. You can also mix clip on wheel weight (COWW) with lead in a 50/50 alloy, and this works really well. Tin and lead alloys are good too: melt pewter and lead together. Rotometals sells ingots of lead alloys that are formulated either for casting, or for mixing with other metals to create your own casting alloy. For someone just starting out I'd recommend that you try scrounging around locally to see what sources of lead you can find either free or cheap. (Stay away from car batteries, too many dangerous chemicals) Things like diving weights, lead sheeting from roofs, stick-on tire weights, and other sources of scrap lead are good.
Clip on tire weights used to be an alloy of lead, antimony, and a little tin, but for several years now have been replaced with zinc and steel weights. Don't use the zinc ones, they'll ruin your casting alloy. Linotype, monotype, pewter, and lead based clip on wheel weights are good sources for metals that can be alloyed for cast bullet metals. Adding even a small amount of tin will make the metal fill the bullet mold better, making better bullets.
Before you fully jump in ask a bunch of questions: people on this site are always helpful and supportive.
Thank you that was very helpful I appreciate it

[dbosman]

Hard lead scrap is running fifty cents a pound. Soft lead scrap is a dollar a pound.

[phil3333]

I just found some pure linotype I can get should I fool with that

[JimB..]

I just found some pure linotype I can get should I fool with that
You should get it if well priced, use it to harden up stuff like stick on wheel weights, but it’s harder that you want.

[lead4me]

Great stuff for cutting softer lead with. Little harder than you would need for the bullets you are looking to cast. Grab it and start looking for more, let others know what you are looking for. Hit the local roofers in your area they are a great source for pure lead. Facebook marketplace always has some for sale. Once you start looking you will find more than you will need. When I first started I didn't think I would be able to find anything, next thing you know I have about 4500lbs cleaned and stacked in the shed. Good Luck

[phil3333]

Thanks the guy wants 3lbs of powder for 60lbs of linotype seems fair?

[gbrown]

Somewhere on this forum is a calculator for making various lead alloys. (Lead and Lead Alloys) It is downloadable to your computer. I use it to make various boolit alloys for pistol and rifle. I have a lot of solder, pewter, and lead, so I can make what I want and test it with a Lee hardness test kit. Make sure to read the stickies above, and others concerning casting a lifetime X100 of experience. The most important ASFAIC, is Glen Fryxell's "From ingot to Target", in Classics and Stickies in the General Section. As said by others, ask questions. Good sources for pure lead is roofers or plumbers.

[rancher1913]

regular lead is approaching 1.50 a pound on here, lino is 2.50 a pound or better.

[dverna]

I have not seen a lot of lead offered here for a while.

IMO fair pricing for range scrap ingots $1.25....92-2-6 alloy $2.00....Linotype $3.00.

[kevin c]

Using rancher's numbers, that 60# of Lino is worth $150. So, if your powder is worth $50/# to you, it's a fair trade; it's a good deal if the powder is worth less than that to you.

In this time of scarcity I think it's good to consider what that powder means to you. Not needing it now and/or thinking you can replace it at the same cost when you do, if it's trading value now is high, you can get more in trade than what you put into it. Needing it now, though, or not being able to buy it down the line at similar cost, means you'll probably want more for it, if you're willing to part with it at all.

On another forum, a couple members were considering trading 1K of small pistol primers for 2# of a premium pistol powder. The member with the primers had a great supply; to him the primers were worth what he paid, about $30/K. But he wanted more of this powder that was normally hard (and now nigh on impossible) to find at any price (retail over $30/#). The other member had plenty of powder, but needed primers now, and at a better price than the going rate of ~$120/K on his local boards, let alone the $200-300/K rate at GB. He was happy to trade what he considered to be $60 worth of powder for primers that'd otherwise cost him at least twice that.

[Springfield]

It can vary a bit, depends on how desperate you are for lead. I bought a 220 lb chuck of sailboat keel for .75/lb last month, due to the extra work involved. Turned out to be a very tin rich mixture, according to BNE. Today I bought some mixed shotgun shot for 1.25/lb for 100 lbs, been running sort of hard lead to mix in.

[dtknowles]

Thanks the guy wants 3lbs of powder for 60lbs of linotype seems fair?

In normal times that would be fair but powder is now rare and lead is still common. You can get a better deal, or at least I know I can. I still can get lead for a dollar a pound. I did not see that it was linotype. Yes, that would be fair.

Tim

[GregLaROCHE]

If you find a good deal on a large quantity, for sure buy it, but you should consider buying a lesser quantity in the beginning, even if it’s a little expensive, just to get started. Maybe Roto Metals. Then keep your eye out for better deals in the future to stock up. Mining range berms is a inexpensive way to get lead, if you have the time and a place available to do it.

[GasGuzzler]

Clip on wheel weights are a lot easier to smelt in my opinion than range scrap so I would value them just a bit more. Scrap is cleaner of paints, etc. but more dirty with...dirt. Also the jackets make straining the molten lead off more difficult than the wheel weight clips that scoop right out.

[WRideout]

I just found some pure linotype I can get should I fool with that

Hard alloy mixed with range scrap is good for low-pressure pistol. I have found that it is very easy to make my casting alloy too hard. Tiny amounts of hard stuff will work. Now I am checking it for hardness before I make a batch of boolits that I can't use.

Wayne

[44Blam]

I've still got about 600 lbs of random metal (some lino, some coww, some range lead), but I am almost to the point of just going to RotoMetals and getting 1/2 ton of 90-5-5... That'll last me a little while and I'll have nice hard lead.