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View Full Version : I think I hit the mother load!



Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 11:16 AM
An acquaintance of mine has a friend who runs a tire stop. I heard he had some weights so I stopped by last week. They have FOUR 50 gallon drums filled to the rim with weights :-D

Can I get an estimate as to how heavy 1 drum is? Is 1600 lbs way off?? Only problem is getting them from A to B. Luckily the drums are placed on wodden pallets and he said they can load it with their truck. 2 of the drums are placed on the same pallet... that's gotta be a heavy one. Now I just have to find a trailer strong enough...

If I succeed in hoarding this load... I think it's safe to say that I am set for life :mrgreen:

Fatman
04-28-2009, 11:18 AM
Way to hit the big time load!!!!!!!!!! congrats

Fatman

Trey45
04-28-2009, 11:21 AM
My rough math gives me an estimate of 1650 lbs per barrel. You lucky dawg!!

felix
04-28-2009, 11:32 AM
The MOAS will do a barrel at a time. How close are you to Tulsa? 12,000 miles? ... felix

Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 11:32 AM
My rough math gives me an estimate of 1650 lbs per barrel. You lucky dawg!!

Yup I'm a lucky SOB he he. (I also know of a place that has one and a half drum... you can have it if you want :roll:)

I assume you used lead's density to calculate this? So when considering zinc weights and steel clips maybe the total weight would be a little less? Or am I wrong?

Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 11:35 AM
The MOAS will do a barrel at a time. How close are you to Tulsa? 12,000 miles? ... felix

What is an MOAS :confused:??

Yeah... I think 10.000 milles is pretty realistic :???:

felix
04-28-2009, 11:40 AM
Go to Projects at http://www.castpics.net ... felix

Calamity Jake
04-28-2009, 11:41 AM
MOAS "Mother of all smelters", built by sundog

par0thead151
04-28-2009, 11:59 AM
i am JEALOUS!
you have a lifetime supply right there.
how much are you getting it for per pound?

hoosierlogger
04-28-2009, 12:03 PM
the last 3 gallon bucket of WW I got weighed 125 LBS filled the the rim and there was only about 5 or 6 zinc ones a couple dozen valve stems and about a pouch of tobacco. So I would figure each drum weight right at 1 ton. That shouldnt be too bad for a one ton truck if you got it all of the way to the front of the bed. But you would have to haul them one at a time. FWIW, it may be cheaper and a helluva lot easier (depending on how far you live from the shop) to rent a uhaul truck with a lift gate to tote them all at once.

par0thead151
04-28-2009, 12:05 PM
the real question is... what will you do with 4 tons of lead??
smelting would take forever...
shooting the, even longer!
:-)

BABore
04-28-2009, 12:27 PM
the real question is... what will you do with 4 tons of lead??
smelting would take forever...
shooting the, even longer!
:-)

And that's a baaaad, baaaad problem how? :shock:

SciFiJim
04-28-2009, 12:31 PM
Mother lode indeed.:-D Just think of all the fun hours you will spend on your hobby. And think of all the primers and powder that you will need to:Fire:

par0thead151
04-28-2009, 02:27 PM
i just found another source that has WW for 20 cents a pound.
i know if i do not buy now i will be regretting it later. lead cant get much cheaper than this can it?
i already have over a ton of lead, but shoot buckshot, slugs, 9mm, 45, and am considering 308 for my 1919A4.
what would you guys consider a lifetime supply?

mold maker
04-28-2009, 02:41 PM
Lead is grey gold. Get all you can while it still exist. You will be able to trade it for powder and primers.
In all likelihood in another few years, we will all be buying from the folks that wholesale lead. Wheel weights will be everything but lead. The end of free WW is near at hand and when their gone, money can't buy them.

Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 04:17 PM
Par0thead151:

He said he just want a little something for it. So I'm thinking around $100 per drum, which I am not going to complain about :-P

For 20 cents I'd buy it anyway, although a bit pricey. Like Mold Maker just said, who knows how long WWs will be available. And I don't wanna end up buying lead at whole salers.

What can be considered a lifetime supply? Hmm... I shot in excess of 300 rounds a week and at an average of 150grs a pop it amounts to about 300 lbs per year. And I really think I'll be casting for the rest of my life... so a few tons would suffice I think.

Am I a maniac for saying that I DO NOT plan on separating all the stick ons from such a huge load??

Slow Elk 45/70
04-28-2009, 04:28 PM
Just get it, you can recover any cost involved selling some of it. If only I had a problem like yours:mrgreen:

Maximilian225
04-28-2009, 04:38 PM
a 5 lb bucket weighs around 150 - 160 so I would guess around 1800 lb apiece as most 55 gal drums hold 60gal at the rim.


awesome find! :drinks:

-Max

BIGGUNGOBOOM
04-28-2009, 04:50 PM
That for sure is a great haul. I was informed by the tire shop that supplies me that last weekend was my last 5 gallon bucket. so far I have score around 10/ 5 gallon buckets in the past 6 months. but since we are close to kalifornia they have to follow the Neighbor rule and stop useing lead ww's. it was fun while it lasted. Im sure that I have enough for the guns that I cast for "44,45,454,500,7TCU" but that is a massive score. i dont know if a U-Haul lift gate can take that much weight. Maybe pay a tow truck service to get them on the truck?

Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 05:09 PM
Sorry to hear your source have run dry.

No way I'm getting it home without having to pay someone for it... but thats okay. The drums that stand alone on a wooden pallet can be moved with a normal trailer... I think. Sure there must be trailers than can hold a ton. Next problem is to get it from the trailer to the ground when I get it home... maybe the plastic factory across the street have a fork lift.

Seriously guys... would you separate the stick ons from that big a load??

largom
04-28-2009, 05:27 PM
Yes I would seperate the stick-on's from the clip-on weights. Some stick-on's will be pure lead and some will be zinc. After smelting you can use the lead stick-on's to balance the BHN of WW if needed. I have found that large truck weights are harder than car weights.
Larry

Trey45
04-28-2009, 05:35 PM
I seperate the stickums from the clipons. The stickums get rendered down to almost pure lead ingots, which i use to adjust certain pours, like low pressure or low velocity boolits. I'm still very new to casting, but everything I have read here, and learned from a good friend who is mentoring me through the beginning stages of casting has lead me to believe that stick ons should be rendered seperately due to the purity.

Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 06:00 PM
Normally I separate them too. But that easy when you have a few hundred lbs. But with a few tons it's going to take forever. Maybe I should just sort a batch while the ones in the pot melt hmmm... good idea :idea: :shock:

largom
04-28-2009, 06:08 PM
Gunslinger, Now that you don't have to scrounge for WW any more you can devote that time to seperating out the stick-on's.
Larry

Gunslinger
04-28-2009, 06:15 PM
Larry I guess you're right. It's just that I plan on melting it down when my parents are on vacation... don't wanna have to explain to them why there are 4 drums of lead in their backyard :veryconfu

BIGGUNGOBOOM
04-28-2009, 06:16 PM
seperate as you put into the pot, sell the pure stick on's to the guys that shoot BB. or save them for when you might need them

Stick_man
04-28-2009, 06:25 PM
And here I thought I was doing well when I picked up a full 5gal bucket for $3. I guess I better go re-negotiate. :groner:

Newtire
04-28-2009, 11:18 PM
I feel lucky anymore when I score one bucket. I load 50 or a hundred cast loads for the guy and he provides the brass or other deals like that. It's always nice to get lead. Keep saving it up and before you know it you will have a ton or so.

mikenbarb
04-29-2009, 12:10 AM
Great score!! Rent a Ryder lift gate truck for 20 bucks. Its well worth even having a flatbed wrecker pick it up for you and deliver for a couple hundred bucks.
Invest in a real good respirator and safety gear.

opentop
04-29-2009, 12:41 AM
Next problem is to get it from the trailer to the ground when I get it home...

That's simple.........Back up real fast and slam on the brakes!

SciFiJim
04-29-2009, 12:50 AM
Back up real fast and slam on the brakes!

I think that I saw this on a list of "Redneck things I have done"

Been There Done That [smilie=1:

HeavyMetal
04-29-2009, 09:03 AM
Sorting WW?

It really depends on how much time you have and the amount of stick on WW in the drums.

If you got the time sort as you smelt. The stick on WW are good for muzzle loaders and can be used as cash / trading fodder.

If you need to remove the drums and such from plain sight so city, utility, or nosy people don't try to make life tough for you then smelt it all and just try to "balance" the amount of stick on's that go into each pot full.

This way you will at least have an "even" hardness alloy make up to play with in the future.

Fugowii
04-29-2009, 09:51 AM
An acquaintance of mine has a friend who runs a tire stop. I heard he had some weights so I stopped by last week. They have FOUR 50 gallon drums filled to the rim with weights :-D

Can I get an estimate as to how heavy 1 drum is? Is 1600 lbs way off?? Only problem is getting them from A to B. Luckily the drums are placed on wodden pallets and he said they can load it with their truck. 2 of the drums are placed on the same pallet... that's gotta be a heavy one. Now I just have to find a trailer strong enough...

If I succeed in hoarding this load... I think it's safe to say that I am set for life :mrgreen:

Pishhawwww, it's only 175,000 240gr boolits... :mrgreen:

Looking at this as half empty, you do know that you have to provide powder, primers, and
brass for this? Primers are about $25/K right now and powder you can get in bulk for about
$20/Lb. Brass hopefully can be had via range pickup. So let's do the math. 175*$25 is over
$4K and assuming you use average 10gr of powder per load that's another $5K. Now add in
all the power (another five K? for your pot) not to mention the wear and tear on your time
and physical extremities. I'm feeling bad for you so I'm offering to take some of this off
your hands just to help out... :mrgreen:

Cherokee
04-29-2009, 10:31 AM
Great score !!

JIMinPHX
04-29-2009, 12:02 PM
Can I get an estimate as to how heavy 1 drum is? Is 1600 lbs way off??

That estimate should be pretty close. A drum 3/4 full of birdshot weighs about 2500 pounds. A 5 gallon pail of wheel weights is about 150-175 pounds. 1600 for a drum full of wheel weights sounds about right.

I just have one question for you, being as your avatar says that you are in Denmark, I wonder if the wheel weights there are lead or not? I seem to remember being told that most of Europe uses zinc.

par0thead151
04-29-2009, 12:36 PM
how are the firearm laws in denmark?

Gunslinger
04-29-2009, 04:53 PM
That estimate should be pretty close. A drum 3/4 full of birdshot weighs about 2500 pounds. A 5 gallon pail of wheel weights is about 150-175 pounds. 1600 for a drum full of wheel weights sounds about right.

I just have one question for you, being as your avatar says that you are in Denmark, I wonder if the wheel weights there are lead or not? I seem to remember being told that most of Europe uses zinc.

Yes we use zinc now, but used lead until a few years ago. Picking up wheel weights here is kinda like playing the lottery; sometimes you get 10% zinc other times 50%. A few weeks ago I picked up 200 lbs from a local tire shop... 80% were zinc :(

legend
04-30-2009, 03:26 AM
i would seperate the soft lead and sell/trade it to muzzle loader crowd.
my 2cents.....