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Posted: 10/22/2021 5:34:35 PM EDT
[#1]
Got any spare car batteries laying around? I have a few UPS batteries that I've been trying to give away. Nobody seems interested in 20lbs of free lead.
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Posted: 10/22/2021 5:48:17 PM EDT
[#2]
First place you go is the boat yard to scrounge keel weights from dead sailboats, then to the dead sailboats parked in yards.
Next, send flyers around to plumbers and roofers with your contact info and an offer to buy all the scrap lead they pull out of houses and other buildings. Keep an eye out for hospitals and clinics that are tearing out x-ray rooms. Haul a 12 pack to the stained glass guy to trade for the waste cane, there will be a big box. I have 5000 pounds of lead, and that pile doesn't look deep enough. That's enough for only 175000 200 grain bullets! |
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Posted: 10/22/2021 6:34:06 PM EDT
[#3]
Yea, I guess I could do car batteries, those are always lying around, but seems like it would be very messy. Maybe drain the acid then submerse in a bucket of baking soda/water mix?
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Posted: 10/22/2021 6:56:43 PM EDT
[#4]
Quoted: Tire shops won’t give it away anymore because the EPA’s come in. I went to a scrap yard, and I can get it if I buy 500 pounds!!!! I’ve got a 25 pound bag of shot, I guess I’ll be melting that down if I can’t find anymore. It’s too heavy/expensive to ship it to Alaska. Any ideas? I mean... I'm not trying to be an ass here, but I'd think about buying the 500 pounds, at least if it's a good price. I wonder if the local shooting range would be upset if I went in there with a shovel and a sift? :) Only one way to find out. Well, OK, there might be two, but only one that counts in GD.  As to car batteries... I think I've heard that they lead they used is alloyed with some pretty toxic stuff, and they're a lot more dangerous to melt down than just plain lead. But... IDK if that's true, someone else will be along to correct me, I'm sure. |
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Posted: 10/22/2021 7:30:14 PM EDT
[#5]
Some guy on YT found a dentist throwing away some by product of x-rays. Ultra pure lead if I remember correctly.
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Posted: 10/22/2021 7:40:13 PM EDT
[#6]
I recycle life rafts from yachts and cruise ships. Most of them have ballast bags with lead weights to hold them down. I had buckets of them and had a hard time finding someone who wanted them.
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Posted: 10/24/2021 12:34:11 AM EDT
[#7]
I found out something interesting today, most modern wheel weights are ROC( republic of california) safe. No lead, but a mixture of zinc and magnesium.
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Posted: 10/24/2021 1:32:23 AM EDT
[#8]
https://redlandsshootingpark.com/prices/
These people sell reclaimed lead shot. I bought lots of it from them. They shipped it to Kodiak no problem, USPS priority mail. Pretty reasonable $16 per 50 pounds shipping. |
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Posted: 10/24/2021 4:23:16 AM EDT
[#9]
Range scrap is the only free source of lead anymore.. pain in the ass to separate the lead from the dirt and copper and rocks and what not. But in the end it costs only time and your initial sifting screen equipment plus propane.
You end up with pretty pure soft lead too which is what you need for ML's. I miss the wheelweight days. |
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Posted: 10/24/2021 5:25:31 PM EDT
[#10]
We had a small gun show this weekend and I got lucky, found 20 lbs of melted down wheel weights( the real ones) for $20. In the neat little Lyman mould blocks.
And while I was picking them up another Older gentleman asked me if I needed more, I said yes! He said he had close to 3000 lbs mixed lead that he’s collected over the years. I have his #, going to give him a call. |
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Posted: 10/26/2021 8:43:11 AM EDT
[#11]
Actually, 500 pounds isn’t as overkill as you’d think. At 7,000 grain per pound, that 500 pounds of lead would cast 14,000 250 grain .45 Colt bullets or only 7,000 500 grain .45-70 bullets.
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Posted: 10/26/2021 10:15:56 AM EDT
[#12]
Or 19,622 .490 round balls!
At the rate I load and fire them that’s enough to last Me the next 1000 years! |
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Posted: 2/18/2022 9:26:12 AM EDT
[#13]
a friend gave me two gallon zip lock bags of dental lead foil
i smelted it and cast .454” roundballs they came out shiny as chrome, I suspect tin in the alloy ROTOMETALS has pure lead, but you will pay for it  Attached File |
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Posted: 2/18/2022 11:20:49 AM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryQuoted: a friend gave me two gallon zip lock bags of dental lead foil i smelted it and cast .454" roundballs they came out shiny as chrome, I suspect tin in the alloy ROTOMETALS has pure lead, but you will pay for it https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/2275/C846416A-2BEB-4153-96D6-399610A142CF_jpe-2283697.JPG |
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Posted: 2/18/2022 11:51:46 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Tin is fine, and it's the easiest material to obtain for alloying. Watch for spools of tin solder on sale. I load these in cap & ball revolvers when i force them into the 6 chambers of the cylinder, I shave off a small ring of lead won’t the tin make the alloy harder ?  Attached File Attached File |
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Posted: 2/18/2022 1:01:19 PM EDT
[#16]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I load these in cap & ball revolvers when i force them into the 6 chambers of the cylinder, I shave off a small ring of lead won’t the tin make the alloy harder ? https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/2275/AD7F86B5-66D4-44CF-9A6A-445D628D5D73_jpe-2283835.JPG https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/2275/09AB4890-2301-4E4C-8C45-933A045A9660_jpe-2283837.JPG Antimony is used for hardening, while Tin is primarily to help fill out the mould. The typical 20:1 mix is little, if any, harder than pure lead. Using the LEE hardness tester, I get a BHN of about 7-8, while the unalloyed lead goes 6-7. |
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Posted: 2/18/2022 4:55:56 PM EDT
[#17]
I didn't pay attention to which forum we're in for this old thread.
I would use pure lead in my revolvers or rifles, although maybe some experimentation with a little tin or antimony is worthwhile just out of curiosity. |
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Posted: 2/27/2022 6:48:59 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Range scrap is the only free source of lead anymore.. pain in the ass to separate the lead from the dirt and copper and rocks and what not. But in the end it costs only time and your initial sifting screen equipment plus propane. You end up with pretty pure soft lead too which is what you need for ML's. I miss the wheelweight days. Back when I did a lot of casting as a poor college student, we got our lead from my local club. Best bet was from our. Indoor range, since it was just bullets without other stuff mixed in ( back then the backstop at our indoor range was considered safe for cast bullets only no jacketed ammo allowed) Sometimes we resorted to digging it out of the outdoor range back stop and having to do a lot of fluxing it free is free |
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Posted: 3/28/2022 3:33:16 PM EDT
[#19]
Recently I bought three bags, 75 pounds worth of OO buckshot. Seems really soft and should melt into black powder bullets well.
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Posted: 3/29/2022 1:14:31 AM EDT
[#20]
Another thing to look for is old fishing weights; sometimes you can find old decoy weights too.
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Posted: 3/29/2022 5:47:12 AM EDT
[#21]
Berm mining can be an easy source, but not easy to process. Most lead in jacketed bullets is pure lead, but if the jacket didn't break open when it hit, the lead won't melt out and you will have to smash each one yourself. On the other hand, then you end up with copper left over that can be sold to recyclers.
I am very lucky in that I have a Doe Run secondary processor in my town, SeaFab Metals Company, and they do sell certified bullet metal, 92/6/2, in either 25 pound strings or 62 pound pigs, a very small part of their real business of course. VERY nice people to deal with. |
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Posted: 3/29/2022 6:26:00 AM EDT
[#22]
A shovel and the berm at whatever sandpit the locals shoot at.
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Posted: 3/29/2022 12:17:54 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: A shovel and the berm at whatever sandpit the locals shoot at. Wear a respirator if you're going to do that, the bullets themselves are stable but there's a lot of lead dust in the berm material. |
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Posted: 3/29/2022 1:03:20 PM EDT
[#24]
Damn, I'm thinking I sold my four 5 gallon buckets of old WW way too cheap.
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Posted: 3/30/2022 4:28:39 PM EDT
[#25]
I'm glad my BIL dug up an old lead casing, over 600 lbs delivered for free
 
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Posted: 4/3/2022 12:28:31 AM EDT
[#26]
Get mine from here. They run frequent sales (and free shipping on lead is great!). My mailman seems to hate delivering lead
.https://www.rotometals.com/lead-ingots-wire/ |
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Posted: 4/7/2022 4:58:59 PM EDT
[#27]
Thanks for the tip on Roto metals. The shipping wasn’t free but they’ll do 20 pounds in a flat rate for $12 and change.
So I ordered a small batch |
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Posted: 4/12/2022 7:55:16 PM EDT
[#28]
Just got my Rotometals shipment, wow that was pretty quick for cheaper shipping $12.
Their website asked me if I wanted to pay another $10 and get it shipped faster, but as it was it got here in five days and two of those days were over the weekend. I’m happy with these guys and will use them in the future. |
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Posted: 4/13/2022 10:04:02 PM EDT
[#29]
I haven't ordered from Rotometals in a couple of years... was curious if they still offered free shipping. Banner on site says "free shipping on orders over $149. Exclusions apply for big or bulky items." I put enough of the lead mini-ingots that are on sale in my cart to reach the $149 threshold. Sure enough: 55 lbs. of lead and free shipping. Can't beat that!
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Posted: 4/13/2022 10:09:18 PM EDT
[#30]
NM.
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Posted: 4/13/2022 10:19:12 PM EDT
[#31]
Depending on what prices you're getting elsewhere you may want to look at Ebay. Lots of lead going for around $2 per lb.
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Posted: 4/19/2022 12:49:50 AM EDT
[#32]
“Keep an eye out for hospitals and clinics that are tearing out x-ray rooms.”
Remember that the plumbing from an old hospital X-ray may be full of silver Looks black and clogs the pipes |
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Posted: 4/19/2022 12:03:13 PM EDT
[#33]
The environmentalists have stopped all the reclaiming of most materials by the average joe. I was looking at a bunch of Tin on a building that was getting renovated, I asked about buying some of that for a project, they said no way it was not gonna get sold because it had asbestos in the building!
Like the tin absorbed the asbestos. |
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Posted: 7/4/2022 3:33:11 PM EDT
[#34]
Go back to the scrap yard and buy 500 pounds
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Posted: 7/4/2022 6:22:13 PM EDT
[#35]
delete
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