Lead: Where are you getting it from?

[RangerUpCoffee]

Tracking the typical places online like Roto Metals etc. but has anyone found a good scrap lead resource that is generally universal to location? My #1 resource is independent metal scrapers by offering them $0.10 above spot price.

[Rickf1985]

If you can find places offering lead at $.10 over spot you better latch on to them tight!!!! Most places are getting close to $2.00 and upwards. Even Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist have gotten on the "lead is gold" bandwagon.

[frkelly74]

Here they are pulling lead pipes out of the ground and if you time it right they will give it to you. Otherwise I think they just bury it. I bought some from the scrapyard for $.85 a pound about 2 years ago, don't know what it is now but they were paying $.50 a pound a couple months ago. Wheel weights are currently priced at $.10 a pound to buy, unsorted. I can still pick up lead at the pistol range, melt it down and sell the jacket material at the scrap yard for now. They have paid me at various times #2 copper, yellow brass, range lead prices, I don't quibble, whatever they pay is better than just throwing it away. I have scored some pure lead ingots at estate sales and yard sales a few times also. Usually pretty cheap.

[justindad]

A metal scrapper offered me lead wheel weights for $1.70 per pound. I hung up before I could ask if steel and zinc weights were still mixed in.

[farmbif]

I actually did find a scrap yard and they would sell me anything I wanted at very reasonable price. but after doing some figuring didn't buy any lead from the.
I wrote about it here previously with the calculation I figured for processing it into ingots they realized that a bunch of whats in the barrel wasn't all pure lead, like clip on wheel weights and I think I figured cost at 60-65 cents a pound.
main reason I didn't buy it is because after decades of casting I still have plenty enough for my needs of 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights and pure lead.
I might ad that this scrap yard was not big enough to be selling a truck load of lead at a time.
scrap prices are based on either truck load, like 50,000lbs, basically a full to weight shipping conex, or less than truck load. scrap brokers that arraign a lot of scrap metals sales for scrap yards offer usually quite a bit lower price for less than truck load quantities.
top scrap prices per pound are for truck load quantities at a time.
at least thats the way it used to be when I worked with the owner of some very large scrap yards
but now you got me thinking of maybe going and rounding up lead and wheel weight to offer to other casters. it would be a bunch of work and quite a bit of driving but I at least now again have a way to handle 2 ton plus loads since I just this week got my big tractor with loader working to its full capability again.
and when you buy lead by the barrel full from scrap yards you never know what surprises might be in it. you might find bar solder, rolls of solder, rolls of tin solder that they thought was lead, pure lead flashing or ingots, bags of bird shot or all kinds of metal stuff with a thin lead coating and any and all kinds of other garbage.

[imashooter2]

The lion’s share of my stash came from indoor range traps.

[kopcicle]

I know tire guys

[LAGS]

Try and contact a Roofing Company.
I use to get them to give me old lead flashings and pipe jack flashings when they re roofed buildings.
Some guys just gave me the lead roof jacks.
Others traded them for beer at the end of the day.

[MrWolf]

Try and contact a Roofing Company.
I use to get them to give me old lead flashings and pipe jack flashings when they re roofed buildings.
Some guys just gave me the lead roof jacks.
Others traded them for beer at the end of the day.

This works. Let contractors know you are looking as what they encounter is basically pure lead from vents or shower bases. Keep checking gas stations that do tires. I have found most tire places are "under contract " or think they have gold. Luckily I think I have enough to last me as I can recycle what I shoot, but that is a lot of work. Good luck.
Ron

[Baltimoreed]

Also know a car repair/tire shop. Free for the picking but I’m a slacker and only get them when I get work done.

[Rich/WIS]

Most of my lead came from the outdoor range I belonged to when I lived in WI. Backstops were sand at 15, 25 and 50 yards. Easy to mine and sift and had never been mined before. 15 yard was best as most of the bullets were concentrated in an area about 4 feet square and in a layer about 4-6 inches thick under 4-6 inches of sand. the 25 yard berm was not as productive as bullets were more scattered and also fewer shooters were firing at that distance. At a guess still have a half a ton on hand. The local salvage yard would sell as well and picked up several hundred pounds of COWW for 35 cents a pound and you could sort them before buying. For tin often found solder at yard sales and once or twice a pewter beer mug. To really sweeten the pot have bought foundry type from Rotometals and various alloys and lino off the forum. My range here in KY is not productive, berms are dirt and rock and impossible to mine, but have enough on hand that it doesn't matter. At my age (73 next month) and slowing down of shooting (arthritis is a b####) expect there will still be a sizable stash for my son should he decide to cast (I cast his bullets now).

The lead pipe post is spot on, most of the time they just toss it back in the hole. Asked a contractor on one job if I could have a piece they dug up and he said sure,and by the way there is a stack of by ur office, ease take it. Loaded it up at his office and noticed the company van handled funny on the way home. When I got home looked and the rear tires were so bulged don't know how they didn't blow out. IIRC had about 280 pounds after smelting.

Watch for water and sewer main replacements, pipe was frequently cast iron with lead joints. Easy to remove the lead ring with a hammer and chisel. These are large pipes and the rings I scrounged were 7-9 pounds each.

Good luck on your quest.

[tja6435]

When we lived in Denver, there was a place called ‘Can Land’ that would sell me lead and tin for whatever they were paying for it. It’s around 60th and Federal if any members are up around Denver. It’s 3 hour drive each way for me now, so I usually just buy ingots from people selling on this forum when I need.

I got the neighbors all pissy one weekend (up in Denver) when I melted down a bunch of old lead pipes full of mineral. It’s nice to not have any neighbors within half a mile these days.

[lightman]

I'm a big proponent of what I call "networking". Tell your friends and family that you want lead and to look for you. The more eyes the better.

Over the years most of my alloy has come from clip-on wheelweights followed by Isotope Containers and then backstop lead.

Most of my soft lead has come from phone company cable sheathing followed by phone company splice covers, stick-on wheelweights, plumbing lead, roofing lead and X-Ray room shielding.

In the past there were many things that were made of lead that are made of other materials now. Sheet music stands and floor lamps used to have lead in the metal bases. Fork lifts and some machine shop tools used to have lead counter weights. Sail Boats often have lead in the keel. Utility companies and trucking companies used to use wire seals with a lead slug in them. Float switches in water and sewage treatment plants used to have a lead donut on the cord as a weight. Dental X-Ray film used to have a lead foil backing. Air planes often have lead plates in them for balance. Dirt Track cars often have lead weights added for ballast. The list goes on...........

[GlocksareGood]

I just picked up 440lbs of water line at $0.50/lb. It is out there you just have to look. I have bought almost a ton of lead and tin in the last year.

[atr]

I go out to the back yard and root around under the bushes for all the accumulated sheet lead and wheel weights I have been hording since the mid-60's.
best
atr

[michael.birdsley]

my wives dad was a local short track engine builder. so he had a shop before he had is stroke and obviously a lot connections in the automotive service industry. apparently one of his buddies ran a tire and automotive place around the millington area . one day about 6-7 yrs ago he calls me up and tells me to come over i have something for you ( he knew i made my own fishing jigs and was dabbling in casting boolets) i get over there and he has 3 full 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights 3 buckets full of soft lead of what i’m assuming was used for body work back in the day.

i’ve been making and selling walleye and bass fishing jigs the last year and half but, i think that’s coming to an end. i’ve used 1.5 buckets of the wheel weights and none of the pure. the ratio of lead wheel weights to zinc is pretty good i might get one zinc per handful ( being free isn’t bad)

plus i have an active scrapper nieghbor across the road and a lot of times he will just give lead. some of its destined for sinkers and jigs but, some of it is really good lead.

i pursue face market place once in a while and i’m seeing a lot of lead in ready made ingot fir $1-$1.50 a lbs. so 100 lbs for $150

so i’m pretty much set on soft lead and wheel weights . i’ll probably continue to buy my alloy for hardening from roto metals rather than trying to scrounge for the harder stuff.

i could dig the back stop at my range. i highly doubt any one is doing that. i’ve met a lot of reloaded but, as far as i know i’m the only caster.


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[Rickf1985]

my wives dad was a local short track engine builder. so he had a shop before he had is stroke and obviously a lot connections in the automotive service industry. apparently one of his buddies ran a tire and automotive place around the millington area . one day about 6-7 yrs ago he calls me up and tells me to come over i have something for you ( he knew i made my own fishing jigs and was dabbling in casting boolets) i get over there and he has 3 full 5 gallon buckets of wheel weights 3 buckets full of soft lead of what i’m assuming was used for body work back in the day.

i’ve been making and selling walleye and bass fishing jigs the last year and half but, i think that’s coming to an end. i’ve used 1.5 buckets of the wheel weights and none of the pure. the ratio of lead wheel weights to zinc is pretty good i might get one zinc per handful ( being free isn’t bad)

plus i have an active scrapper nieghbor across the road and a lot of times he will just give lead. some of its destined for sinkers and jigs but, some of it is really good lead.

i pursue face market place once in a while and i’m seeing a lot of lead in ready made ingot fir $1-$1.50 a lbs. so 100 lbs for $150

so i’m pretty much set on soft lead and wheel weights . i’ll probably continue to buy my alloy for hardening from roto metals rather than trying to scrounge for the harder stuff.

i could dig the back stop at my range. i highly doubt any one is doing that. i’ve met a lot of reloaded but, as far as i know i’m the only caster.


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The "soft lead" that was used for body work that you "assumed" was soft was actually body solder and was at minimum 50/50 solder and more likely 60/40.

[HWooldridge]

Haven’t seen them mentioned yet but elevator companies once used lead blocks for counterweights and calibration standards. I could occasionally beg one off a technician on a job-site back when I did that sort of work. IIRC, they were 50 lbs and had a handle molded in place. I’d set them in my casting pot and melt down with a propane torch.

[imashooter2]

The "soft lead" that was used for body work that you "assumed" was soft was actually body solder and was at minimum 50/50 solder and more likely 60/40.

Body solder is low tin for a longer slush stage. 30/70 is the popular configuration. 60/40 was used a lot by radiator shops.

[michael.birdsley]

The "soft lead" that was used for body work that you "assumed" was soft was actually body solder and was at minimum 50/50 solder and more likely 60/40.

actually i just pulled it out it’s not body solder. it’s just ( assuming ) a lead weight of some sort ( i haven’t looked at this stuff in years) seems fairly soft though. worse case i make fishing jigs out if it



those cuts in the outside middle are from wire cutters. seems fairly soft.

probably worth getting a chunk sent out and analyzed to figure out what exactly it’s made out of




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