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Posted: 3/3/2012 4:14:00 PM EDT
| I am looking for ideas on where to find lead to cast with, that I dont have to pay for. I tried all the tire shops in town, and they either send it back to where they get their weights from, or they want full lead scrap prices for it pretty much. Does anyone have any other suggestions on where to get some cheap/free lead that I might not be thinking of? |
| The free places are almost all gone. Since scrap is bringing so much they are cashing it on themselves. Most of the places around here want $25.00+ for a five gallon bucket when it used to be free. I had a run on lead at an indoor range but that deal went away and I just have one more place where I get wheel weights for free but I'm sure that honey hole will go away soon also. I have hoarded as much as I could get my hands on in the past and I have that smelted and stashed in the garage. That alone would last me my lifetime for pistol but if I start casting for rifle then I'll need more. |
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dig it out of the berms at an outdoor range. Most of the time it's sitting in plain sight for easy pickins. A vid I made awhile back:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziEt2vOpX7Q
Thanks for the link to the vid. That's actually how I have been gathering the little lead that I have gotten so far. But around here we don't really have any real ranges, so its out in the woods at the few spots where people go to shoot consistently. Less reliable than a actual range, but I guess it is better than nothing. |
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You've got to hit up the mom and pop places. Big name shops and franchise shops won't sell.
If you can get it for $20 to $25 for a 5 gallon bucket your doing ok. I've been collecting for about a year and a half now and all my free sources have dried up. I've got about 5K pounds stashed away and I still am collecting all I can get my hands on. There is going to come a day when it just won't be available any more and I'm going to make sure I have more than enough for a lifetime before that day comes. |
| Keep an eye out for old buildings being demolished. Often the drain pipes are made of lead. High school I went in Oregon pulled out all the old lab benches and all the drain pipes were lead. I think they were installed in the 30's or so. The shop teacher and I split the lead. As it was pure lead I had to add some tine and antimony to get it harder for use in a handgun. |
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Also get to know some plumbers and let them know you are looking for lead.
Get to know some roofers and see if they are still running across any lead roof boots or flashing. Stop in and see some local dentists and see if they are still using old xray machines and ask if you can have the foil backings. Good luck. |
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The only free source I've found is what your already doing, mining it at the range. I'm lucky enough to shoot at a range that I can get 2-3 hours of alone time every week to collect bullets. It's not much but about an hour of picking will get me 15ish lbs which is more then I shoot in a week so it's a net gain.
With the current economy everyones trying to make a little cash where they can, this includes businesses selling thier scrap lead that they used to give away. |
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What are going scrap prices for lead these days?
I recycled a bunch of SLA batteries a few weeks ago, I called all over town, and the most anyone would pay was $0.25/lb for 400 pounds. Now the 600 pounds of CAT5 cable that I pulled out of the ceiling in our office, that was a different monetary matter entirely. 
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Also get to know some plumbers and let them know you are looking for lead. Get to know some roofers and see if they are still running across any lead roof boots or flashing. Stop in and see some local dentists and see if they are still using old xray machines and ask if you can have the foil backings. Good luck. Good idea on the plumbers/roofers. I actually got a bit from a project we were doing a few months ago. We were wiring a new xray room. They were laying a sheet of lead over the whole ceiling and had to line the door. I picked up the scraps that were cut off. Keep the ideas coming! I am sure I am not the only one learning here. Thanks |
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i gave up after going to no less than 50 + tire shops.
all the chains have contracts or are not authorized to give you anything. the small shops are on drugs wanting tons of money for them or saying they need a EPA license ot dispose of them i get my lead by the 55 gal drum load at the scrap yard. saying "how much for all of it" lowers the price a bit. also bringing stuff in that you would otherwise get cash for helps too, like copper and old batteries, etc |
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i gave up after going to no less than 50 + tire shops. all the chains have contracts or are not authorized to give you anything. the small shops are on drugs wanting tons of money for them or saying they need a EPA license ot dispose of them i get my lead by the 55 gal drum load at the scrap yard. saying "how much for all of it" lowers the price a bit. also bringing stuff in that you would otherwise get cash for helps too, like copper and old batteries, etc Exactly the point I was trying to make. You have to work every angle you can, while you can, to stockpile your supply. If you have even been remotely thinking about casting do it now, you'll thank me later. |
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Find a local recycler that buys non ferrous metals. Maybe even the ferrous ones. Look for any small shops. I work at a small non ferrous shop and I have a lot of lead at my disposal. The scrappers here have employees that grab up all the lead. Most of them use it for fishing weights in the big rivers. The best way nowadays is by getting a job in a shop (USPS) where tire work is done. I have bought lead over Craigslist, but most of those people are nuts about the prices they want. Sheet lead used in a shower tub will be covered in lime deposits, but somehow it's worth 5 or 10 cents over spot price. |
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Even if you have to pay $1/lb for clean lead, that's still way cheaper than buying bullets.
About the only free option I have is digging up old bullets at the shooting spots. I have gotten buckets of WW's in the past for free, but it's been 3 years since I've gotten one. I have over a ton stashed, but I'll still buy more if the price is right. It keeps good and doesn't spoil.
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Even if you have to pay $1/lb for clean lead, that's still way cheaper than buying bullets. Lessee... I buy 500 200 grain bullets for $35. At $1/lb for lead, that's $15 in lead. Add in lube, flux, alloying material, equipment, and fuel, and I'd probably have to cast at least 10,000 to break even, And then there's the matter of time..... Because of that, I have yet to get into casting. But, I do keep meaning to see if I can find free or cheap sources of lead, which would make it faster to break even. I need to get off of my rear and, and get on that. A relative of mine works in nuclear medicine, and is checking on whether I can get the used lead flasks, I need to give him a call.... |
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