Price to pay for WW and Linotype

[FISH4BUGS]

I have a line on fairly large amounts of linotype and WW. I was told the WW are mostly lead "To his knowledge". I am going there to purchase 200 lbs. of Lino at 2.00 a lb. and I will look at the weights while I am there. WW are 1.00 a lb. The lino is 1.50 a lb. if you buy over 500 lbs. but I just don't have 750.00 laying around to put out for linotype! I would rather spend it on the WW. What are your thoughts on the prices. I kind of need to move on this in the next couple days.

The lino price is in line. The WW's are a bit expensive but I would buy as many as you can afford, particularly if they are lead.
Lead ww's are getting more and more scarce as is lino.
Frankly, i would buy everything even if it hurts to do so. At $1.50/lb in today's world, the lino is a good buy. The ww's not so much but if they are lead, go for it!

[Rickf1985]

The lino is only 1.50 if I buy 500lbs or more. That is a 750.00 outlay and I certainly cannot justify that for my needs. If I were going to spend that kind of capital I would buy it all, about 1200 lbs. from the sounds of it. But if I did I would have to make a fast turnover and there is no guarantee of that in this economy. Same with the wheel weights. He is off Friday afternoon and I am going up to buy the 200 lbs. of lino and look at the WW. I will probably buy some WW but how many depends on what I see in the buckets. In his other buckets of scrap I saw some lino pigs I might grab also.

[JimB..]

I’d plan to sort the COWWs on site and then pay his price for the lead ones. Otherwise pass.

Target the lino ingots and any of the smaller replenishment ingots that he has, then the strips.

I’d buy a few hundred pounds, but I’m preparing to move and the last thing I need is more lead, or my wife to know that I’m getting more lead!

[JeepsAndGuns]

Hopefully not to hijack the OP's thread, but since we are talking about lead prices, I thought I would ask.
Found a local small mom and pop fishing, sporting goods, and hardware store. They sell molds and small hand held lead melting pots for casting fishing weights. They have what are roughly 1lb pure lead ingots for 10 cents a ounce, so $1.60 a pound. They weigh them at the counter when you buy them.
Couple weeks ago I bought just a few ounces over 30 pounds (about half what they had on the shelf) and it came to $51 after alabama's high sales tax, but still $1.70 a pound.
Looking around online, that seems to be a pretty decent price for pure lead. Cheapest lead at rotometals is the 26 pound surplus lead brick at $60, or roughly $2.30 a pound.
Starting to wonder if I should go back to the local store and buy them out?

[JimB..]

Hopefully not to hijack the OP's thread, but since we are talking about lead prices, I thought I would ask.
Found a local small mom and pop fishing, sporting goods, and hardware store. They sell molds and small hand held lead melting pots for casting fishing weights. They have what are roughly 1lb pure lead ingots for 10 cents a ounce, so $1.60 a pound. They weigh them at the counter when you buy them.
Couple weeks ago I bought just a few ounces over 30 pounds (about half what they had on the shelf) and it came to $51 after alabama's high sales tax, but still $1.70 a pound.
Looking around online, that seems to be a pretty decent price for pure lead. Cheapest lead at rotometals is the 26 pound surplus lead brick at $60, or roughly $2.30 a pound.
Starting to wonder if I should go back to the local store and buy them out?

Depends on your perspective. I expect lead alloys to decline in price, so wouldn’t make a long-term investment, but others expect them to continue to climb so are making long-term investments. Also depends on your current status, I have more than I can shoot in a decade, so have time to look for bargains while others are on the edge of needing to buy from Roto so they’ll pay more.

[Rickf1985]

Sounds like a good price and should you buy them out? That is a tough question. Do you need it or do you just want or grab it all? The reason I ask is you say it is a mom and pop fishing shop so they cater to local fisherman and if you buy them out then they have nothing to sell to their regular customers. They will then need to buy lead at a much higher price and raise their price to the regulars. I know, ethical ideals. Personally I do not want to be THAT guy that goes in and buys every box of primers on the shelf just because they are there and I can even knowing damn well that two people behind me someone else is going to do just that. But at least it wasn't me, I was

[Rickf1985]

I don't see price going down, lead is being outlawed and the greenies are making all the right moves in the press and government to convince them that lead is a major poisonous hazmat material that needs to be closely regulated. Remember mercury? When was the last time you saw it?

[bangerjim]

Remember mercury? When was the last time you saw it?

Yesterday..............in my clock shop! Some expensive antique clocks use mercury pendulums for the temp compensation that mercury offers. Usually takes about 7-8# to correctly fill the little glass vials. As temps change, a standard pendulum will shorten and lengthen ever so slightly. In extremely accurate clocks (±1 second per month) That variation is not wanted, so they used either invar gridiron pendulums or the very expensive mercury vial pendulums. I keep a good supply on hand for clock repairs.

It is a common element out there................if you know where to look and have the right connections!

Old home thermometers had glass tube mercury switches in them, as well as most old industry temperature control devices. Check your local junk yards. As a kid, I harvested over 30# of it over 12 months from switches like that.

[Rickf1985]

I have a jar with a pound or so in it somewhere here. If I find it you can have it if you need it. I have no need for it.

[oley55]

speaking hi-jacking a thread, didn't I read somewhere that mercury will dissolve lead out of a barrel or was I having a toxic lead levels induced hallucination?

[JeepsAndGuns]

Sounds like a good price and should you buy them out? That is a tough question. Do you need it or do you just want or grab it all? The reason I ask is you say it is a mom and pop fishing shop so they cater to local fisherman and if you buy them out then they have nothing to sell to their regular customers. They will then need to buy lead at a much higher price and raise their price to the regulars. I know, ethical ideals. Personally I do not want to be THAT guy that goes in and buys every box of primers on the shelf just because they are there and I can even knowing damn well that two people behind me someone else is going to do just that. But at least it wasn't me, I was

I went by there today and they have lots of pre cast sinkers and other lead fishing stuff (I do not fish, so I do not know the terminology). They still had the exact same number of ingots on the shelf as there was when I bought them a few weeks ago. I counted 25 of them.
I carry the box to the counter and one of the guys working there says "if you need that much, I have a better option" and has me follow him back to the shelf. On the floor, tucked up under the shelf was a saran wrapped stack of the ingots. I kneel down and look at it and see there was probably 5-6 more of these same saran wrapped packs of ingots under there. So they are well stocked.
He grabs a bathroom scale and it weighs exactly 50 pounds. So I tell him that will work.
$87 after tax, so $1.74 a pound. I do not feel like that is a bad price, all things considered. Cheaper than prices I have found online. Plus, free scrap lead seems to be scarce around here.

[fredj338]

Sounds like a good price and should you buy them out? That is a tough question. Do you need it or do you just want or grab it all? The reason I ask is you say it is a mom and pop fishing shop so they cater to local fisherman and if you buy them out then they have nothing to sell to their regular customers. They will then need to buy lead at a much higher price and raise their price to the regulars. I know, ethical ideals. Personally I do not want to be THAT guy that goes in and buys every box of primers on the shelf just because they are there and I can even knowing damn well that two people behind me someone else is going to do just that. But at least it wasn't me, I was

Its for sale, doesnt matter who buys it when its all gone. Yeah, I would buy all they had at that price. Fishing sinkers made from lino, pure waste of good bullet material.

[colchester]

speaking hi-jacking a thread, didn't I read somewhere that mercury will dissolve lead out of a barrel or was I having a toxic lead levels induced hallucination?

I have heard the same thing but no first hand experience

[GregLaROCHE]

That sounds like an ok deal on the Lino. It’s getting harder and harder to find.

[Edward]

I have a line on fairly large amounts of linotype and WW. I was told the WW are mostly lead "To his knowledge". I am going there to purchase 200 lbs. of Lino at 2.00 a lb. and I will look at the weights while I am there. WW are 1.00 a lb. The lino is 1.50 a lb. if you buy over 500 lbs. but I just don't have 750.00 laying around to put out for linotype! I would rather spend it on the WW. What are your thoughts on the prices. I kind of need to move on this in the next couple days.

GET the W/W for sure , Lino is not needed as WW / water cooled will make as hard or harder than you need!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /Ed

[Edward]

Depends on your perspective. I expect lead alloys to decline in price, so wouldn’t make a long-term investment, but others expect them to continue to climb so are making long-term investments. Also depends on your current status, I have more than I can shoot in a decade, so have time to look for bargains while others are on the edge of needing to buy from Roto so they’ll pay more.

NEVER HAPPEN ,buy it while you can (take out a loan ) same thing was said about primers /powder/ ammo /UP UP AND GONE !!!!!!!!!!!!! Try and find it now /none / Ed

[JimB..]

NEVER HAPPEN ,buy it while you can (take out a loan ) same thing was said about primers /powder/ ammo /UP UP AND GONE !!!!!!!!!!!!! Try and find it now /none / Ed

See, different perspectives.

I never said that primers and powders would always be cheap, in fact everyone said to stock up while they were cheap. I did, won’t use it all if I live to be 200.

The driver for lead, IMO, is going to be regulation. We’ll end up with one price for industry and a black market price for us little guys. No prediction on timing, but not this year.

[Streetwalker]

See, different perspectives.

I never said that primers and powders would always be cheap, in fact everyone said to stock up while they were cheap. I did, won’t use it all if I live to be 200.

The driver for lead, IMO, is going to be regulation. We’ll end up with one price for industry and a black market price for us little guys. No prediction on timing, but not this year.

I agree with Jim. Regulations from state and local governments regarding lead will drive lead prices in the near future, no question about it. Here in Kalifornia, we cannot use lead for huntng purposes and you can bet that other states will follow suite. Lead is getting harder to find and prices are going up. When it shows up out here at what I feel is an affordable price for me, I grab it up!

[Rickf1985]

Well, I am headed up there tomorrow morning prepared to buy 200lbs. of linotype and 500lbs. of WW. What I actually get will depend on what I see when I get there. The pics of the wheel weights look good, I see some zinc but not a whole lot and I didn't see any steels. He says he has a scale but thanks to some advice on here I am also taking one plus I know exactly what I weigh so I will just get on his scale. I weigh 212 fully dressed so if his scale says that then I feel comfortable that it will read 200 properly. But since this is all going to have to be done by the bucket load the buckets will hit both scales.

[Rickf1985]

Weeeeeel, I went up to get my lead today. Got there and he has a lot of lead and I was looking through the lino bucket he showed me a wood crate with long spacers in it and he said they pulled these out of the lino but left the thicker ones in. I told him the spacers were pure lead and not worth the same as the lino and he was fine with me separating it out. I mentioned I had seen a lino pig in one of his buckets and he had no idea what I was talking about so we went to the buckets and I pulled it out. Oh, I have some more of them in the garage! SCORE! Then he mentions that he got all of this lead from a guy who did reloading!!!!! At this point I am thinking I didn't bring enough money. Sure enough, I look at the wheel weights and I did not find a single zinc weight. He asked me what the difference was so I got a pair of cutters and showed him how to check them but I could not find a single zinc to demonstrate on. SCORE #2! I was looking through the scrap lead ingots he had and he asked how I knew lino from pure lead so I grabbed an ingot and dropped it on the concrete and it rang like a bell! I said THAT is NOT pure lead! I have no idea how much lino or wheel weights he actually has in the scrap pile but he is asking 2:00 lb. up to 500 and 1.50 over that. In addition to the lino pigs and some very large bricks that rang he said I also have these, you will see them in the pics, bars that shine nice and bright that I am thinking may be tin. The guy was a reloader and obviously into casting. SCORE #3! So final tally was 1,000lbs. of wheel weights that will be at bare minimum 95% lead. 100lbs. of linotype and the suspected tin, about 25lbs.

Been trying for 20 minutes to upload pics and all get are errors saying cast boolits cannot upload the file number. So have to go with Postimage.