So this weekend I plan to drive around asking for wheel weights at the local tire shops. No idea if I will get any or not but I'm going to ask. How do you guys go about asking and how do you know if you're getting ripped off or not? Should I take my own bucket and gloves? Give me the short and sweet for a first timer.
Buckets and gloves. Hard to price, not sure on the content in SC, here in Iowa, there are less than 50% CC lead WWs by volume from my recent retrival from the local tire shop. No direct cost to me, I do buy my tires there, bring in any junk automotive I have or acquire and clean-up/sweep-up the entire area by their tire machines before I leave. I am sure they don't hold them for me, but no one else has been taking them for a few years now....I told myself that this past trip was my last one....I have been saying that for the past 3 trips though. Good luck, small shops will improve your odds.
You always need to have buckets to spare. The time you don't, could easily require a fast trip to a bucket store. Gloves are handy or necessary. Cash is the other necessity.
I gave up on it. Just buy it on here or rotometals. Shops here are not allowed to install lead weights so, most buckets are filled with only 20% lead or so, the rest is steel or zinc or ho knows what
I would take buckets, gloves, and maybe a scoop of some kind. I have paid as much as 50 cents/lb. for them (which I think is high). Some places may give them to you. One place I frequent charges $30 for a 5 gal. bucket, and they don't supply the bucket. I got a 5 gal. bucket at another place yesterday for $20, bucket included. It yielded 55 lb. of ww alloy after melting. You will get everything (zinc and iron clip-on weights, and stick-on weights of zinc, iron, and pure lead) in the bucket. I segregate the clip-on lead weights and the stick-on lead weights and throw away the rest. I do not mix the clip-on with the stick-on weights. Some folks do. A 5 gal. bucket will weigh over 100 lbs. easy. I just ask them nicely. I think many people use them for spinner baits, fishing weights, etc., but there still seems to be a good supply here in Alabama.
Try to find places that service trucks.
See if there is a local gun or shooting forum to join. If yes, join, introduce yourself and post you are like looking for lead for casting...you never know...I’ve been given lead and Linotype and directed to a local source with hard and soft lead for sale at $1/pound in ingots. Bonus: have gotten dear friends from the local forum.
Check the recycling yards and scrap yards. plumbers and or roofers also may have lead but theirs is more than likely pure or close to it Boat yards may have some also.
You'll do better looking in the smaller shops rather than big chains like Firestone.
Watch for roof crews and building demos. Usually some lead at these.
Most productive and cheapest is mining a public pistol range. The one I'm a member of would let me and it would take 15 minutes or so with a sieve and an E-tool to scrounge up a five gallon bucket full. I'd go that route a long time before I wasted the time and effort driving around to tire places.
Take several buckets and put your name and phone number on em. Shops are more likely to sell you the weights if you bring a replacement bucket, and if you strike a mutually acceptable deal, they will know how to get ahold of you when it fills up again. I will usually ask what they want for them and if they won't throw out a number I offer $50. May or may not be a good deal depending on lead to zinc ratio, but gets your foot in the door to negotiate the next batch if they are zinc heavy. Price and zinc ratio varies by locality, offer price varies by how much you value your time to sort and melt it all down.
Where I live I have two tire shops that not only save them they sort them for me also. Stop by every month or so a nd bring a large pizza a couple bottles of soda and a twenty dollar bill. The guys who change the tires really like to see me.
If you are just starting out and have never sorted or melted down wheel weights in the past, I would not get too carried away and buy all the buckets offered. If you only get a half bucket that is a good start. Note the shop and then sort and melt down and decide if that is what you want to do or not. You may find it takes too much time and would rather spend the time doing something else. No harm in that either. With a little experience in sorting WW you will have a much better idea what is in the bucket based upon what you see. If you decide you would rather deal with scrap yards, please get educated so you will know what you are finding in the natural state. Know what isotope generators look like. Know what various forms of solder look like. Know what various type metal looks like. Be cautious buying home cast ingots because it might just be buying someone else's junk alloy and not usable for bullet casting. When starting out, you might need to just be a bit careful about how you spend your money. The price of education can be a bit painful to a person new to the hobby. Good luck and I hope you have a successful adventure this weekend. Remember, weekends are likely busy in a tire shop, and they are going to make more selling a set of tires than they make selling you WW. Thank them for their time.
First thing I would do and done (many years ago) was get the word out with everyone you know. Slide in I am looking for lead if you know anyone who might have, hang a little sign at work. I have had people come up after a long time and steer me into some. Also what kind of lead are you after? Roofers are a good try if you shoot Holy Black, as stated before hit the small tire shops. No old shooting hills anywhere near to mine? Down here the corporate/chain stores turn in all for recycle internal, and usually poor yield in lead to steel and Zinc ratio past years and have given up on that route. Making a connection to someone on the inside can be a plus, at one to two bucks a pound equals a good haul of doughnuts/pizza/beer/etc.. It's all on you and lady luck!
I use buckets designed for masonry work. They are a smaller than the common 5gal buckets, but the max I want to carry, with one on each side. They are much stronger too, with strong metal handles. I’ve had plastic handles give out on me before when transporting lead. They used to sell for a buck at Home Depot.
If you have a commercial range near by check with them and see if they will sell you scrap from their bullet trap. If it's a berm style ask when would be a good time to mine it if they will let you.
Also, check the private clubs. You may have to join the club but, a pistol range at an old established club can make for easy mining. When I was mining the berm at the club I belong to, I was able to rake off a half of a 5 gallon bucket in about 20 minutes. I always dressed the berm afterward and never took more then a half bucket at a time mainly because that was all I wanted to lift.
If you go this route remember those jackets will be worth money as scrap and may cover any cost you incur.
All good ideas and advice from guys who have done it.
I tried it once. That says it all.
BTW, if you are new to this, you will need a separate set up to melt the stuff down and you should flux it well...very well. Do not try melting it in your casting pot....well...you could try and then you will not do it again.
Last year I checked at the local farmers tire shop where I get my truck tires. I asked and before I knew it the owner had one of his helpers dolly out a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights. He was strong enough to lift it into the back of my truck. I drove back to my office with my truck listing on the passenger side. He was right proud to get rid of them. Still casting from that bucket. Probably about 80% lead coww's.
Personally I would not go much higher than $20. It is a lot of work, especially when the percentage of lead is low. Truck and bus lead is the best. Try finding those places and forget about the bigger outfits. Vast majority are under contracts and not worth the time unless you are desperate. Good luck.Quote:
Originally Posted by jcren
I have a small tire shop which charges me $25 for a full 5 (plus a little) gal bucket which will generally get me 55 pounds of unprocessed WW. Lifting a full bucket is nigh impossible and very likely to fail. I always take 2-3 buckets, a flat shovel and a two wheeled hand cart. That way I can move the full bucket to an area where I can dump and redistribute the load to multiple buckets.
I am definitely on the lookout for home roofers, but I keep missing them. Single day tear-off and reroof is the norm around here. That and I'm not sure if I will be able to communicate an on-going deal with a Spanish speaking roofer.
Rotometals.
After you go through the hassle of smelting Rotometals will seem like a bargain. I had pure and bought the anitmonial bar and mixed 5 pounds of it with 15 pounds of pure. It cast very good and I had good mold fillout from the get go.