Regulations on purchasing lead?

[mlaustin]

Hi all, I'm fairly new the cast bullet world and have been lurking here for a while, but this is my first post.

I live in California, which should give you a decent idea about the availability of lead scrap (no wheel weights that I can find, etc). I had a question regarding purchasing scrap lead from a salvage yard - can a private citizen just buy it, or are there regulations? One of the few salvage yards near me has on its website that:

"We sell scrap according to the standards and practices as outlined by the Institute of Scrap Metal Recycling Industries"

Which makes it sound like they would not sell to an individual. It's Sunday so I can't call them today but I'm going to try next week - Just figured I'd see if anyone here knew what that meant or if there are any such regulations that would prevent me from buying lead.

[GeneT]

I'm not in California, but I'd hazard a guess that it's just a statement about compliance with the various laws that have been enacted to make life difficult for the honest guy...er... I mean to curb the problem with meth-heads stealing everything that's metal and not nailed down. Was at the local scrap place yesterday and they had only a few pounds of sheet lead, hope your luck is better.

GsT

[lylejb]

As far as I know, there's no law prohibiting the sale of lead to individuals in any state.

After all, rotometals will sell you as much as you want. see banner at top of this page.

However, not everyplace may want to sell to you/ me / us. Lots of tire shops have contracts with battery makers for scrap wheel weights, I've read China was buying lead, ect. ect. They may have what they think is a better offer already.

Keep in mind you can buy ingots in the swappin' and sellin' area for $1 / lb most of the time. If the scrap yard want's anything close to that for scrap, you might be better off to pass, and just buy ingots ready to go.

You'll just have to ask them, worst they can say is no.

[lwknight]

These stupid tree huggers down the road from me will not sell lead because I might make fishing weights out of it.
Moronic Jerks!!

[HeavyMetal]

I use the "tin solider" ruse! Trying to make sure my antiques correct.

I have a scrap yard here in north OC that will sell me all the scrap lead I want at $1.50 a pound!

[lwknight]

I use the "tin solider" ruse! Trying to make sure my antiques correct.

I have a scrap yard here in north OC that will sell me all the scrap lead I want at $1.50 a pound!

I bet they will since they only can get $0.70 from the foundries

[melloairman]

I live in Calif . and there is no issue with you buying lead . When all the copper thievery was going on they made it a law that if you sell to them more than $20,00 worth of scrap .Such as lead or copper you have to have your picture taken and wait 5 days to get your money . I go through that when I sell them my brass and copper jackets that I clean out of my range lead . Marvin

[mlaustin]

Thanks for all the help! I didn't even think that it might be about selling metals to them but makes a lot of sense with all the spiked prices in metals and thefts recently.

I'm expected to get taken the cleaners...but free lead<good price lead<overpriced lead<buying bullets. The overpriced lead vs purchased bullets is by a decent margin too, so it's still worth it imo.

[lwknight]

Besides all that, casting is fun. Melting stuff is fun too.

[fredj338]

As far as I know, there's no law prohibiting the sale of lead to individuals in any state.

After all, rotometals will sell you as much as you want. see banner at top of this page.

However, not everyplace may want to sell to you/ me / us. Lots of tire shops have contracts with battery makers for scrap wheel weights, I've read China was buying lead, ect. ect. They may have what they think is a better offer already.

Keep in mind you can buy ingots in the swappin' and sellin' area for $1 / lb most of the time. If the scrap yard want's anything close to that for scrap, you might be better off to pass, and just buy ingots ready to go.

You'll just have to ask them, worst they can say is no.
As of now, there are no restrictions to buying lead. Whether a scrap dealer even wants to handle it is another matter. I can still find the occasional bucket of ww from certain tire shops, but the useable mix is almopst down to 50% lead, the rest being zinc & steel. Soon we will all be scrounging other sources, not just us poor Kommifornian's.:veryconfu