Casting

[CANNONMAN]

I'm sure I am like many of you and have amassed a considerable quantity of lead. I was planning on making my own black powder and believe I would like to use 1" lead balls in a homemade mill. I was shocked to see what prices were [E-Bay, Amazon, etc.] for these balls. Most of my lead collection comes from cleaning up wheel weights and then casting ingots. Is it worth marketing ingots or 1" balls? Aluminum molds of nearly any size are made with little difficulty in an adult hobby class in machining at our local college. Any suggestions on making some money with a great pastime, casting, or molds would be appreciated. Thanks, CANNONMAN

 

[EljaySL]

Seems like ingots from wheel weight lead goes for about $1/pound online so if you have a ton of it, it's easy enough to sell but you may or may not think it's worth the effort.

1" balls... there's not really a big market for that but if you think the eBay folks are overcharging undercut them a bit and see what happens.

You might also consider that it's possible to sell molds, but Jeff Tanner http://www.jt-bullet-moulds.co.uk already does so with very high quality brass molds and he's fast and reasonably priced.

 

[paulruger]

Good luck making your own powder! I used to live near Moosic, PA when the blackpowder plant was there. Every couple of years they'd have an explosion killing several workers each time. Just sayin'

 

[brushhippie]

WHAT?!!!! Nobody screaming oh my god you could burn yourself?....hmmm Cast those balls and make that powder! I use cast roundballs in my mill.

 

[Don McDowell]

Most of the cannon shooter I was ever around, used tomato sauce cans, or Coors pony cans filled with concrete for most of their projectiles.

 

[Rattus58]

I'm sure I am like many of you and have amassed a considerable quantity of lead. I was planning on making my own black powder and believe I would like to use 1" lead balls in a homemade mill. I was shocked to see what prices were [E-Bay, Amazon, etc.] for these balls. Most of my lead collection comes from cleaning up wheel weights and then casting ingots. Is it worth marketing ingots or 1" balls? Aluminum molds of nearly any size are made with little difficulty in an adult hobby class in machining at our local college. Any suggestions on making some money with a great pastime, casting, or molds would be appreciated. Thanks, CANNONMAN

Buy a mold, cast your own lead balls, if that is what you're shooting, if not, get a mold for a gun you are shooting... assuming a round ball shooter such as I shoot, and use those in your mill. Selling lead would seem to me to be counter productive to shooting it up yourself... Aloha..

 

[Skinny 1950]

I work in a scrapyard and can get as much lead as I need at 75 cents/pound and I can not think of a way of making any money with it. The cost of shipping and the shear weight of it make it very difficult to add any value that would counter the overhead.