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WTB Lead


Doc Marks

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30 minutes ago, cowrustler said:

I don't believe wheel weights are pure lead. Seems to me they are an alloy and are harder than pure lead. I've had very good luck and good prices off E-bay.

Clip on wheel weights are hardened with Antimony and Tin. Stick-on are pure. When I salvage wheel weights I separate out the stick-on wheel weights because I don't want to dilute the mix of the harder wheel weights. 

JFN

 

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Lead is ridiculously priced anymore, but folks are apparently paying it. Today's spot price is $1.06/pound, but $2.00 is more the norm on the secondary market. I had a lead on a ton +/- a couple weeks ago, and turns out the seller was trying to get $3.00. I laughed and offered $1.25. He laughed, and we parted ways.

 

At $2.06, J. Frank Norfleet's price above is actually pretty good in our current world, especially for pure lead and shipping included. 

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24 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said:

My tire guy thinks stick-ons are mostly zinc. I have no clue.

Your tire guy could be correct. Wheel weights today are made from three materials; steel, zinc and lead. Steel is easy to spot and throw out. The ones marked Zn are obviously Zinc. If in doubt, I use a set of dikes or wire cutters to clip the ww. The lead based are soft and easily cut while zinc are hard and you can't make a mark. Zinc also has a "ring" while the lead based have a dull sound. I clean up all the wheel weights by casting them into ingots. The lead based wheel weights melt at 627.5 degrees F while zinc melts at 907 degrees. I run a "cold" pot as I melt them down so if a zinc ww gets in the pot I will fish it out with the slag and not spoil the pot.

 

One final point to all of you giving opinions. Larson Pettifogger told me years ago, "You have the world's greatest search engine at your fingertips." Google it so that you will know what you are talking about.

JFN

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Clip-on WW's are not even close to pure lead, stick-ons can come close. But that is a good thing, because pure does not work the best for normal smokeless cowboy loads, while WW's are decent, although  little softer wouldn't hurt, especially if you have lots of pure to cut it with. If you want to learn about lead and casting then www.castboolits.gunloads.com is your best bet. Sometimes there is even lead for sale there from people you can trust.

    I have been reloading for 50 years but only casting for the last 15 years, but doing so for 4+ people in my family has taught me a bit about casting, much of it learned from cast boolits people. Like most things, it isn't rocket science, pouring lead in a hole, but there are some fine points that can make or break your casting experience.

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I can find scrap lead on Craigslist, often for $1/lb or less.  Usually window weights, plumber's lead, decoy weights, linotype and old wheel weights.

I do not recommend battery lead.  Pretty toxic fumes and may do odd things to your guns.

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8 hours ago, Buzzard Breath said:

I'm in the eastern panhandle of WV and have 2 - 25 gallon barrels of Linotype. 

Talk like that could get a man bushwhacked.:lol:

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Just a passing thought,  maybe instead of going to a recycling center or salvage yard, hunt for people that take stuff to these places.  There are a lot of people around here that salvage scrap part or full time.  People taking down old buildings probably find lead plumbing, flashing, etc.  

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2 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

Just a passing thought,  maybe instead of going to a recycling center or salvage yard, hunt for people that take stuff to these places.  There are a lot of people around here that salvage scrap part or full time.  People taking down old buildings probably find lead plumbing, flashing, etc.  

I get a lot of mine from a friend who is a roofer. He eyeballs for lead as he's quoting the jobs. 

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