lead source

[trailblazer]

Now that it's cooler out I've been casting lead bullets and balls for myself and friends.
Since we have a junkyard nearby and the cars just get crushed we wondered what they were doing with all their lead battery connectors. My buddy went over to inquire and came back with a bunch of lead pipe and a box of wheel weights for free! They told him they would dig out more when they found it and we would be welcome to any battery connectors we wanted to cut from the cables ourselves.

I know many some places might worry about liability, people getting hurt while popping hoods all over the yard but it wouldn't hurt to ask, some of the owners are pretty cool. :m2c:

 

[gordy]

The lead pipe should be pretty pure and will make good soft and consistant weight balls,The wheel weights on the other hand have considerble alloy in them.They work for projectiles in cartridge handguns but are a little hard for PRB.I don't know about the alloy content of the cable ends ,but it would seem they too, would not be pure lead.A lot of old electric cables were wrapped in pure lead,mostly for underground installations.I have about 50 lbs.I stripped off some old cables that were replaced .Check with any industrial electrical contractors in Your area.Many municipalitys and older Mfg.plants are upgrading their underground installations.Also check with plumbing contractors,the old cast iron sewer pipes have the joints packed with oakam and pure plumbers lead.The problem with the wheel weights is it's nearly impossible to purify the lead from them. :front:

 

[trailblazer]

I mark my lead -H- for my pistol and rifle bullets and -S-
for muzzle-loaders.
I know a guy who works for a local plumbing firm but it never crossed my mind that they would be removing lead from buildings. Thanks for bringing it to my attention,
Mike. :thanks:

 

[bdarin]

Most wheelweights these days have a bit of zinc in the mix to keep them looking shiny on chromed wheels. Avoid these...zinc ruins the pour. A smidge of tin in the lead is ok for hard bullets, for muzzleloaders use only pure (read soft) lead. :thumbsup:

 

[Thamaz]

Over here lead from scrapped cables is the far most common source of pure soft lead. I hauled some 160 lbs home the other day. If You want it harder just add some printing lead into the melt (only little of this or the result will be too hard).

 

[jmckenney]

I ran some wheel weight metal through a spectograph a few years ago and it showed:
92% lead, the rest was 6% tin, 1% antimony, 1% chrome,iron, arsenic, silver, and a trace of gold.

Makes good bullet material for cartridge shooting but way too hard for muzzle loaders.

 

[tj gunner]

I get all my lead from old gill nets and seines.

 

[Birdman]

It may sound nuts but stop by yer local dentists. Most of them will have a container of small lead sheets that are the left overs from the tooth x-rays they take. The dentists have to pay to get rid of it(hazardous material-lead) so are usually very happy to let ya have it for free. I have two dentists in my area that I get it from regularly. Now its not alot weight wise but every little bit helps. Oh yea it is not contaminated in any way so ya don't need to worry about that end of things. YMHS Birdman

 

[HiWayMan]

I just talked to the local utility contractor that was removing some old (1963) 500 pair phone line from one of my projects. That old line is encased in pure lead. They cut it in 10' pieces for me and I took about 150' of it. It seems to be running about 2 lbs per ft. And I can scrap all that copper wire as well. so you all may want to check with your local utility repair yard as they have dumpster filled with this stuff.

 

[3 stinky dogs]

Like Gordy sed ,you cant beat lead pipe.You can usuley get it for free and it is great but verry dirty.My dad used it alot as he gould usuley find it in the housed he was demolishing.

 

[mmarke]

Aside from the other mentioned sources, type a search on eBay for lead. There are few ads for lead pipe auctioned in small flattened sections. I have seen prices ranging from $1 and up per pound including delivery. Usually in increments of 40-50 lbs.

 

[weirdjack]

Aside from the other mentioned sources, type a search on eBay for lead.

When I buy lead, I buy it off eBay....very reasonable. The last I bought worked out to around a buck a pound including shipping. And it was soft lead cast into muffin-tin ingots. Just be sure to look carefully at all of the auctions. Some are for harder bullet lead, some for soft lead. And look for shipping via the USPS's "pre-paid Priority box". There is no weight limit and for $5.75 (I think it was) you can ship as many pounds as you can stuff into the box. Cheap and quick delivered to my front door from a State Trooper in Penn.
Jack

 

[Ivery Keys]

Speaking of wheel weights I have used them to good results casting the Lee REAL projectiles. They are hard enough that I do not have to worry about them stripping on the rifling, but soft enough to start fairly easily. I do not shoot as many of these as I used to, RB seems to be my favorite load these days...

Regards,

Ivery

 

[weeping wolf]

Hey Highwayman....Before I retired from the PD, I was working traffic for the telephone company. They were removing those heavy trunk lines and cutting them up. When I found out it was pure lead, the lineman told me I could have all I wanted, so he was good enough to drop it off by my truck. I wound up with app. 700 lbs. Lots of work though. First you have to split the lengths open. An old heavy butchers knife and a mallet work well. Once opened, the wires can be pulled out. I then spread the lead casings out and layed them on concrete, and used the mallet to flatten them out. I had to wire brush the weathering and corrosion from the outer part. Great stuff though and it was free. Happy casting! :m2c:

 

[8905c]

Try the Nuclear Medicine Department at your local hospital. Many of the isotopes they receive are shipped in lead containers. Once the dose is administered to a patient, the lead container is no longer needed. These containers are pure lead, and very clean.
Some hospitals may deal with a radiopharmacy, and receive unit doses. If this is the case, they may not have many lead containers, but it is still worth checking. However, if they don't deal with a radiopharmacy, they may be a good source for clean pure lead.
8095c

 

[harryo]

I've mentioned this before in other threads and I will do so again. Check your yellow pages for a local scrap yard/ metal recycler. I get all my lead from a local one. By checking with them occasionally, I can get all the pure, clean lead I can use and the price runs around 20-30 cents a pound.

 

[trailblazer]

We have a metal scrap yard just over a mile away. I went there a few years ago and the owner was hesitant about selling lead, saying he was sure there were regulations on that sort of thing. I told him that I'd only use it to cast bullets and promised not to consume any and I dragged out a five gallon pail full.

 

[mowolf]

If you know a roofer (I have two supplying me) they usually have lead flashing that has been removed from roofs and replaced with plastic kind. I have several and they are pure soft lead. Plus the price is right, free.

Waya :m2c: