Where to find free lead?

[gojuice101]

I haven't been able to find free lead around here. I just buy it. I can usually find it at about $1.00/lb. At that price, or even double, I could still make bullets dirt cheap, so I really don't mind.

 

[otrman]

I'm gonna make everyone mad, I work in a tire shop.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I'm gonna make everyone mad, I work in a tire shop.

I'm not mad at all. I do have some advice, though. Collect all the lead wheelweights you can, while you can. It's coming to an end and that source will dry up. I never thought the cheap surplus .30-06 supply would ever dry up in the 1960's, and we all know that ended..........

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[Mr. Farknocker]

I get mine from a dentist in my rotary club, an uncle-in-law who is a dentist and my own dentist. It's easier to make ingots out of wheel weights but the lead backing on the x-ray films will do when WW are hard to come by.

 

[the Black Spot]

You can shoot pure zinc bullets. Just dont mix with ww/lead. Hard to explain, but it makes unbalanced bullets if mixed.
But for practice or "letting the in-laws" plink they work fine.

 

[snuffy]

I get mine from a dentist in my rotary club, an uncle-in-law who is a dentist and my own dentist. It's easier to make ingots out of wheel weights but the lead backing on the x-ray films will do when WW are hard to come by.

Most dentists are going to digital X-rays, they don't use film with lead backers anymore. Another source that has dried up.

Networking is the key to finding free or cheap lead. Ask you friends, family and coworkers. A true caster is always on the lookout for lead. Ask when you get a tire repaired or buy new tires. Or when you get your car serviced. Small Mom and Pop shops seem to be better. Plumbers and roofers sometime have lead. Some scrap yards will still sell to the public. Check out the backstop where you shoot. Radiator shops will often have solder drippings. Its nasty stuff but is a good source for tin.

If you'd read the thread before posting, you wouldn't be repeating what I already said in post #16. But it bears repeating, no harm no foul.

If you know anybody at a hospital that works with nuclear medicine, the vials that the radioactive medicines-isotopes are shipped/stored in is a good source of lead alloy. The jars are a pretty good alloy as-is, lots of tin and some antimony.

 

[dragon813gt]

If you know anybody at a hospital that works with nuclear medicine, the vials that the radioactive medicines-isotopes are shipped/stored in is a good source of lead alloy. The jars are a pretty good alloy as-is, lots of tin and some antimony.

This source is coming to an end as well. The medical companies are reusing the containers instead getting rid of them. There is a lot of information here: http://www.fellingfamily.net/isolead/index.html

The most readily available ones were the cores which were 96% lead / 3% Antimony / 1% Tin. I had a couple tons of them melted down into smaller ingots. But a family member decided to "relive" me of them. W/ their unavailability I decided to just buy from a foundry. Price was only slightly higher but I got exactly what I wanted, 96/2/2.

 

[otrman]

I tire company that I work for does mainly commercial truck tires, lots of big weights. I keep the place completely clean of any old weights cause I know it will come to an end one day.

 

[Hillbillyz]

I buy from the local salvage yard. Usually .60 a pound, if it's lead pipe or roofing lead. Sometimes they have good truck Wheel weights or Linotype, same price.

 

[clearcut]

I just talked to my dentist and he uses old school X-rays he said he would save them for me I hope he does a lot of X-rays good for both of us
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