Lucky
Member
I'm just curious. Maybe some people have a good supplier, or have tricks to get it really cheap from people throwing it away?
Thanks.
Thanks.
How much do you pay for lead?
- Thread starter Lucky
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ReloaderFred
Member
Lead prices have gone through the roof over the last 3 years. The reasons are many, but primarily because of the improving Chinese economy and environmental rules in the Western nations. China used to provide lead to the Western economy, but with their increasing wealth and automobile manufacturing, they are now a consumer of lead and not a provider. They were providing aproximately 30% of our requirements in the past, but are now consuming more than that.
On top of that, environmental rules have shut down several lead mines in the U. S. and Canada, and at least one smelter. There aren't that many smelters left on this continent anymore, and the cost of shipping has skyrocketed with the increase in oil prices. My primary commercial bullet manufacturer is now charging a surcharge of $.11 a pound for bullets, because of the unstable metals market. They say they can't set a price increase per se, due to the fluctuating market, so they adjust the surcharge accordingly.
In my area, it has become increasingly hard to obtain even wheel weights from tire shops. You can blame that on the State of California, who has declared lead a "hazardous substancel". Even though I don't live in that state, it has had an effect on the scrap metals business in neighboring states.
The only way I'm able to obtain wheel weights from a tire shop is to find a sympathetic employee who is willing to shove a bucket of wheel weights out the back door, if I promise not to tell who did it.
Scrap commercial linotype is almost non-existent anymore, but once in awhile you can stumble on someone who has a stash of it that they bought from a print shop that was either going out of business or switching over to computer printing. The metals dealers that are selling linotype are generally getting about $2.00 US per pound for it, plus shipping. I found a guy who has about 4,000 pounds stashed away who is willing to sell it a little bit at a time for $.50 a pound. I think it's his beer money that he's hiding from his wife. He will only sell it 100 pounds at a time, as he want's to prolong his stash. I've been able to buy 600 pounds over the last year, and I've made about half that into bullets so far. As I get some more money together, I'll try to buy some more from him. (No, I'm not going to share this, as it's the only stash I know of at this price)
If you are able to find lead at a decent price, then I suggest you buy all you can. Don't try to use old batteries to make bullets, as you'll never be able to completely smelt the acid out of the lead. It's been tried and in most cases has caused problems with both the bullets and the guns they were fired in.
Hope this helps.
Fred
On top of that, environmental rules have shut down several lead mines in the U. S. and Canada, and at least one smelter. There aren't that many smelters left on this continent anymore, and the cost of shipping has skyrocketed with the increase in oil prices. My primary commercial bullet manufacturer is now charging a surcharge of $.11 a pound for bullets, because of the unstable metals market. They say they can't set a price increase per se, due to the fluctuating market, so they adjust the surcharge accordingly.
In my area, it has become increasingly hard to obtain even wheel weights from tire shops. You can blame that on the State of California, who has declared lead a "hazardous substancel". Even though I don't live in that state, it has had an effect on the scrap metals business in neighboring states.
The only way I'm able to obtain wheel weights from a tire shop is to find a sympathetic employee who is willing to shove a bucket of wheel weights out the back door, if I promise not to tell who did it.
Scrap commercial linotype is almost non-existent anymore, but once in awhile you can stumble on someone who has a stash of it that they bought from a print shop that was either going out of business or switching over to computer printing. The metals dealers that are selling linotype are generally getting about $2.00 US per pound for it, plus shipping. I found a guy who has about 4,000 pounds stashed away who is willing to sell it a little bit at a time for $.50 a pound. I think it's his beer money that he's hiding from his wife. He will only sell it 100 pounds at a time, as he want's to prolong his stash. I've been able to buy 600 pounds over the last year, and I've made about half that into bullets so far. As I get some more money together, I'll try to buy some more from him. (No, I'm not going to share this, as it's the only stash I know of at this price)
If you are able to find lead at a decent price, then I suggest you buy all you can. Don't try to use old batteries to make bullets, as you'll never be able to completely smelt the acid out of the lead. It's been tried and in most cases has caused problems with both the bullets and the guns they were fired in.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Joejojoba111
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There really is a lot of discrepancy. Interesting stuff.
Chuck R.
Member
ReloaderFred,
Is right it is getting harder to come by. I can still get a couple buckets of WWs from a local tire shop (I trade beer for it), but only when the manager isn’t around. A lot is due to environmental laws and some is due to recyclers being willing to pay for it.
I recently purchased 600lbs of 20-1 for my BPCRs and it cost me $.80 a pound.
Chuck
Is right it is getting harder to come by. I can still get a couple buckets of WWs from a local tire shop (I trade beer for it), but only when the manager isn’t around. A lot is due to environmental laws and some is due to recyclers being willing to pay for it.
I recently purchased 600lbs of 20-1 for my BPCRs and it cost me $.80 a pound.
Chuck
Jim Watson
Member
Same ballpark as Chuck, three of us bought several hundred pounds of foundry 20:1 at $.87 a pound including sales tax. I picked it up at the warehouse to save shipping.
Lucky
Member
Thanks, that's the tip I needed to act. Place had some large chunks and some smaller ones, but the 2 large chunks were probably 100 lbs each. And they gave me a fair price. In hindsight I should have declined the receipt, since I paid in cash and they gave me a good deal. Hindsight's 20/20.
Fatelvis
Member
Plumbers can be your best friend! Mix some of thier 95/5 solder with thier pure lead ingots, and you barely have to skim any dross off the pot, (its already clean) it makes an excellent, and controllable alloy!
Joejojoba111
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What is dross, and what do you use to skim it?
Steelbanger
Member
As for scrap prices, a few months ago I sold a 5 gal. bucket of cartridge brass to a scrap dealer. Price was around 55¢/lb., which he said was a record high for brass. I asked about lead prices and he told me 5 to 10¢/lb.! It's been that way for a long time where I deal.
I'm in the fortunate position of having a few tons of type metal and every so often I have to find a bucket of wheelweights to soften my alloy. It usually doesn't take too long to find, but the last bucket cost me $20. As an aside, last week a friend gave me some scrap lead which includes scuba diver weights, about 25 pounds of weights slotted for a belt and marked 2, 3, & 5 which I assume is their weight. Any divers here that need to get to the bottom faster?
I'm in the fortunate position of having a few tons of type metal and every so often I have to find a bucket of wheelweights to soften my alloy. It usually doesn't take too long to find, but the last bucket cost me $20. As an aside, last week a friend gave me some scrap lead which includes scuba diver weights, about 25 pounds of weights slotted for a belt and marked 2, 3, & 5 which I assume is their weight. Any divers here that need to get to the bottom faster?
cracked butt
Member
I have about 500 lbs of wheelweights that I got free for the taking. 50/50 bar solder to add to the mix is expensive however- cost me about $5/lb.
Fatelvis
Member
Joe, dross is the impurities left on the top of the molten alloy/lead mix AFTER you flux and stir it in well. The reason I stress AFTER you flux, is because when you first melt down wheelweights, (or any other lead source that already has tin and Antimony in it), there is a grey, "ashy looking" material floating on the surface of the pot, that is a mixture of alloy and impurities. After fluxing, the alloys are mixed back in the lead, and anything floating is impurities (dirt, rust, scale, etc.), and can be skimmed off the surface with an old spoon.
Joejojoba111
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That's what I thought. Thanks.
Call the radiology department at the local hospital...
When they scrap their old x-ray machines, the companies often leave the lead counterweights behind, fearing that they are radioactive. I put it to you, why would the counterweights be radioactive, but the rest of the machine not? If it was radioactive, don't you think that the people who work there would be the first to know? I guess there's no accounting for some things. Anyway, last time I did this, I had to tell the people in the radiology department that I was not going to take all of it, because I had no use for over a thousand pounds of pure lead. Actually, I got tired of hauling it after about 400 pounds. Some of it was in HUGE chunks (250+ lbs), which made it kind of hard to handle. Not just carrying it, but how do you melt a 250 lb chunk of lead? Got a pot big enough to hold it? Got a stove sturdy enough to hold the full pot? Bought an ingot mold, scrounged that biggest dutch oven I could find, and cranked up the coleman stove, I was melting about 50 lbs at a time. Took me two days. That much lead takes a LONG time to melt. Ended up with about 300 1lb ingots of pure lead before I finally go sick of it. Still have quite a few laying around. Do this once, and you will laugh at anyone scrounging lead pipe or plumber's lead like I used to. An alternative for anyone living near the coast is to salvage the keel out of just about any sailboat. Upwards of 100 lbs of soft lead in each one.
When they scrap their old x-ray machines, the companies often leave the lead counterweights behind, fearing that they are radioactive. I put it to you, why would the counterweights be radioactive, but the rest of the machine not? If it was radioactive, don't you think that the people who work there would be the first to know? I guess there's no accounting for some things. Anyway, last time I did this, I had to tell the people in the radiology department that I was not going to take all of it, because I had no use for over a thousand pounds of pure lead. Actually, I got tired of hauling it after about 400 pounds. Some of it was in HUGE chunks (250+ lbs), which made it kind of hard to handle. Not just carrying it, but how do you melt a 250 lb chunk of lead? Got a pot big enough to hold it? Got a stove sturdy enough to hold the full pot? Bought an ingot mold, scrounged that biggest dutch oven I could find, and cranked up the coleman stove, I was melting about 50 lbs at a time. Took me two days. That much lead takes a LONG time to melt. Ended up with about 300 1lb ingots of pure lead before I finally go sick of it. Still have quite a few laying around. Do this once, and you will laugh at anyone scrounging lead pipe or plumber's lead like I used to. An alternative for anyone living near the coast is to salvage the keel out of just about any sailboat. Upwards of 100 lbs of soft lead in each one.
Lucky
Member
That hospital tip sounds pretty good, in fact it sounds great.
ReloaderFred
Member
If you're able to get lead in large ingots, the easiest way to cut it up is to use a Skillsaw. Just about any old blade will do and it goes through lead like hot butter. Just be sure to do it in a clean place, preferably a concrete floor, because you'll end up with piles of lead shavings from the saw blade. You just sweep them up and feed them into the lead pot. They melt quickly and there's no sense in wasting the lead.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Hope this helps.
Fred
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