finding pure lead

[d.thomson]

Hi having a problem finding pure lead to cast round ball with. wheel waights are to hard from what i I have read. If I cant find pure lead how can I take the tin and atimy out of the w.w. material. thanks for any feed back, Dave T. :hmm:

 

[bwhoffman]

technicaly, you can, Realisticly, you cannot.

your best bet, outside of buying from a reputable source such as track or dixie...
would be to hook up with a roofing contractor.
most roof penetrations use a "roof jack" which is pure soft lead with the occasional nail and roof tar on it. this will seperate and burn off when you melt it down OUTSIDE!

 

[bowjock]

I have my best luck at salvage yards. Most of the time you can find plumbers lead that was used to put around cast iron piping and that is as pure as I can find.

 

[Buffalo Bones]

Try a hospital that has a Nuc Med Department.
They always have pure lead containers that can be melted down for rifle balls. No radiation hazard.

 

[arcticap]

A lot of people shoot airgun pellets into pellet traps right in their own homes. If you can locate a few airgun shooters, ask them if you can have the contents of their pellet traps and if they will save it up for you. That way you'll have steady sources of pure lead.
You might be able to locate some airgun shooters just by asking around or by visiting local airgun supply stores just to run into some... :winking:

 

[blacksmithshoppe]

Hi having a problem finding pure lead to cast round ball with. wheel waights are to hard from what i I have read. If I cant find pure lead how can I take the tin and atimy out of the w.w. material. thanks for any feed back, Dave T. :hmm:

Try this guy, lead guy he has pure lead,
Jeff

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Yeah, a scrap yard is likely to have either sheet lead from organ pipe tunnels or old industrial piping that has been replaced with SS. Old piping is what I use.

 

[Homesteader]

Fisher King, what are you casting, and what are you shooting 'em out of? I know that - based on some info I got here on this site - wheel weights will cast a round ball that works out of a smoothbore. You do have to play around with patch thickness, though, and I've noticed that some batches shoot great while others... well, less so. (Bear in mind I run ball outside over a campfire / coals with an iron pot-ladle into old brass round ball bag molds. I've got LOTS of variables!)

And I will admit that I also bought several ingots of pure lead from Track or Dixie or some such. Sure easier to work with.

Good luck!

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Hmmm, I've wondered how do you test for purity of lead, other than sending it off to a lab? How hard/soft it is? Melting the stuff down and see what skims off? :hmm:
Scott

 

[hwalker]

I get my lead from my local plumbing supply house. Costs me about 2.50 per 5 pound ingot.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Hmmm, I've wondered how do you test for purity of lead, other than sending it off to a lab? How hard/soft it is? Melting the stuff down and see what skims off? :hmm:
Scott

You can do a Rockwell or Brinnell hardness test with relatively simple equipment. Basically it's how deep a ball bearing of known hardness dimples the material under a set pressure.

With lead, the easiest method is the "Thumbnail Test" If it is soft enough that you can scratch it with your thumbnail it is suitable for round balls. And you'd be surprised how hard a lead alloy you can scratch if your supply is dwindling and you really press down. :haha:

You can also weigh the balls. A pure lead ball of .490" will weigh X. (I believe it is 179 gr, but I don't recall offhand). If your balls measure .490" but only weigh 97% of X you don't have pure lead. Most impurities weigh less than lead.

 

[R. Miller]

try the telephone company maintence splicer repairs on old areial cable will yeald lots of lead

 

check out a stained glass shop. They have bits and peices of caming (the lead part of stained glass) and have a hard time geting rid of them.....Its pure lead! Make friends and have a lifetime supply.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

You can also weigh the balls. A pure lead ball of .490" will weigh X. (I believe it is 179 gr, but I don't recall offhand). If your balls measure .490" but only weigh 97% of X you don't have pure lead. Most impurities weigh less than lead.

That makes sense. I shoulda thought of that. Been a long time since Chemistry lab. :redface:

 

[Blackfoot]

Ok what about lead bird shot?

You can get that for about $25.00 for 20 lbs or so.

 

[JWP]

It pays to have a contacat at the phone company that can get you lead when they remove the old splices.

 

[Russianblood]

Ok what about lead bird shot?

You can get that for about $25.00 for 20 lbs or so.

bird shot is not pure lead. It has antimony added.

 

[soggy]

:hmm: Hi Fisher King; I wish you lived closer to Nova Scotia, I'd be able to fix you up with no problem at all.
My son-in-law is an instructor at a rather large and active Army cadet corps. They have an active shooting program, and he keeps me supplied with the used pellets from their pellet trap. It's great lead, and all I have to do is clean out the "chaff" from the paper targets.
Soggy

 

[arquebus]

I too use mostly 'scrap' plumbing & roofing lead. The only thing though is you need to cut out the soldered joints as they contain alloy.....no big deal. I generally pay about 25-50cents/pound.

 

[Birdman]

King stop in at yer local dentist and ask if they have any stored up from the x-rays they take. Most dentists have to store the old lead sheets the film is backed with until they get enough to get rid of n it costs them because lead is considered "hazardous waste". Most dentists will be more then happy to keep ya supplied if ya set up regular visits. Now yer not gonna get pounds of the stuff every time but I've got several dentists around where I live that I'll stop in n pick up lead every so often n probably get 8 or 10 pounds from each over a years time. OH yea, theres no worry from the x-rays either, the lead is not radioactive. Just wear gloves when ya first start to melt n handle the sheets cause ya don't know whose mouth its been in LOL. YMHS Birdman