Looking For Advice About Consistency of My Lead Stash

I'm not sure that parts of this post won't draw the ire of moderators but here goes: I have a relatively large stash of lead that I would like to start combining to arrive at some consistency. This would also allow me to be up front about what I have when I go to sell part of the stash.

Having said that, I'm combining various, usually only two at a time, lots of lead alloy. My intention is to have a sample of each resulting lot analyzed and maintain that information for each lot and furnish the info to each buyer. I'm not adding any sweeteners(tin, antimony, etc.) to any lot.

My intention as stated above, is to be open about what I am going to sell. Also, to be better informed about what I need to do to arrive at a proper alloy for my own casting purposes. The "sell" part of this plan is due to a limited horizon for my own casting.
Hopefully, all this is not confusing.

Does this sound like a plan? Does anyone have a better plan or advise on how to improve the above?

Sounds like you're making extra work for yourself.

Not knowing what the different parts of your stash is--- ingots, flashings, sheet, wheel weights, whatever.
I'd separate out identifiable things and sell 'em just like they are.

I`m with Winger Ed.
If your intent is to sell, most buyer may prefer to mix their own alloys.
Separate it into soft, WWs, etc and let them mix their own alloy.
Your alloy may not meet the buyers need.

Very interesting suggestions. With people new to casting, some suggest just melting it all into one consistent batch and go with it. Now it is being suggested that not be done because people like to blend their own alloy stash. OP stated he was not going to add any enrichment to the alloy.

By knowing what is in the alloy, this would better inform a new caster to decide if the alloy is suitable as is for his intended purpose. I know that pretty ingots sell better than some of the ugly Line ingots I have acquired through the years. The only "problem" I can see is the added labor to improve the value of the excess known alloy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dale2242

I`m with Winger Ed.
If your intent is to sell, most buyer may prefer to mix their own alloys.
Separate it into soft, WWs, etc and let them mix their own alloy.
Your alloy may not meet the buyers need.

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I don't really disagree with what both of you said but I am not planning to sell the stuff that I can readily identify such as SOWW, flashing, type metal, etc. The rest is all over the place. I still plan to follow Dusty's advice. Yes, it is added labor but I'm retired. Old but still moving. Right now my biggest concern is that I will incur the lasting wrath of the Post Office when I start mailing the Flat Rate Boxes.

Also, from what I see on this board is that many are desperate for "lead". WW are almost nonexistent now. What I will offer will at least be fully identified. If it doesn't meet their requirements, they won't buy.

Desperate is a strong word. Most people are only going to get to a certain level of "Desperate" and then they will just buy lead from a place like Rotometals. Known and documented quality so no guessing involved. I have seen a lot of lead on the internet lately at prices way above Roto's prices and it just makes me scratch my head. Obviously people are buying it but why? I was lucky enough to buy 1500 lbs of wheel weights recently that were ALL lead. Correction, there was one small zinc in there. I documented the entire process from bringing them home in buckets to smelting them down into marked ingots. I fully agree that buyers want the real item but I simply cannot store 1500 lbs. of wheel weights! As the pictures showed the last four buckets I got had been left outside for a long time and the metal clips had rusted badly and it was a mess. I did not want the entire lot to go that route. So I took pics as I went and if I decide to sell it is all there in pics. If they do not believe me than oh well, someone else more than likely will believe me.

Sorry if I offended you with a "strong" word. Other than that it sounds as if you don't disagree with my plan. If not "then, OH WELL".

Not offended at all, I have the skin of an alligator so it is pretty hard to offend me. I am just saying the a desperate person will do whatever it takes to get what they want. But most smart people that are desperate will at least look for the best prices. I look at what people are paying for primers, powder and now even lead and I can see it is becoming more and more affordable to buy ammo than it is to reload.

I keep the bulk of what I have in raw form until I do an ingot casting session. in a casting session I will melt down say one to 3 gallons into lee and Lyman ingot molds. most the time its wheel weights with added pewter or bar solder because this is what I have most of. this way things never get mixed up and if I were to sell some off buyer would know exactly what they are getting whether its raw ingots as the came from wherever or blocks of lead or printing type or wheel weights or flashing, pewter, rolls and bars of solder or whatever it is, which is exactly what I have a bunch of all of them.

I like knowing what I have. I like knowing what I’m buying. And I think many buyers would like knowing what I might sell. That being said, I do know casters, even commercial outfits, who mix alloy using hardness as their primary guide.

I’d think the source of the lead makes a difference. Something known to have a consistent content, like type metal, WW or isotope containers, especially sold in original form, could be accepted without analysis, whereas mystery metal not so much.

Like alamogunr, I’ve consolidated my stock metals into lots, each of which I’ve had analyzed, making the content of alloys made from them a straightforward calculation. Works for me. YMMV.

Agree, you are over thinking it. If you have pure, ww, lino, just sell it as is. My stuff is in individual alloy form in diff shaped ingots for immediate id. Lino stays in type form. So if i sell it, i inow what i’m selling & the buyer gets what is adv. For most handgun applications, exact alloy content isnt a big deal, especially if PC. Much of my stuff is just range scrap.

I've run into a bit of a snag in my processing. I reached out by PM to an individual that has analyzed lead samples for me in the distant past. He has not responded so I don't know if he is still doing analysis or is not longer active on this board.

I've seen several references to another individual that also does analysis but don't remember his identity on this board. Can someone help me with his information?

You're looking for BNE.

I cast my ingots by its source because the alloy of the ingot will be close to it. And so, I have WW ingots, outdoor range ingots (from one range), indoor range ingots (mostly .22lr bullets or separate air rifle pellets), and pure lead. My outdoor range lead has the most varied of bullets. I mostly see jacketed bullets along with some hardcast commercial to shards of lead. I cast those ingots in as large a pot as I can, stir/mix/cast the lead, let the ingots age, and test the ingots surface for hardness with a pencil. Some casters prefer to melt an even number of pieces from each ingot to standardize a common alloy. I like to separate my ingots by hardness. Among those with the same hardness, I break the ingots into equal parts and melt an even number of each to find a standard alloy. As for my .22lr sourced lead, I cast pure lead, the lead pellets and tin with it for my hollow point bullet project. Oh, then there are my WW. I add lead and tin to that for my rifle bullet project.