Scrap lead

[ssb73q]

Hi, getting lead for ball casting at a reasonable price has been getting difficult. I have been able to find scrap lead on eBay for ~$1.20/lb, but it sometimes comes in a form that is difficult to get in the melt pot. I found that I could use a circular table saw to cut the lead into parts that will fit the melt pot. The photo is a recent purchase that has been cut with the table saw.

Notice the paper stuck on the lead that will be burned off in a separate container outside on a Coleman gas stove. The lead will then be poured in to an ingot mold.

Regards,
Richard

[mazo kid]

I have done that with the blade put on backwards. Also, if you have a limb lopper, that works quite well for smaller "big" pieces. A few years ago I got a goodly supply of water-pipe lead from a friend and used the loppers to quickly cut the pipe into manageable pieces to smelt down into ingots.

[Len]

A slim axe will do the job.
I've got a fair store of pure lead, that I got from the junk yard years ago. But I haven't had to dig into it much, as I retrieve about 95% of my slugs. Have a range backing of layers of 3/4 or 1" wooden slates. Most of the dispersed  lead can be found on the ground between the layers, the   rest have to be plied out with a screew driver. Seems I am the Greta of the BP world.

[Hawg]

I've got a good supply of wheel weights from my trucking days. Most of them are clip on but there's enough stick on weights to last me a long time.

[mazo kid]

Those truck WWs are a real find. There was a small tire shop a couple of miles from me, and I picked up a few buckets of WWs from them when I needed some work done. There were some really big WWs in those buckets; they did a lot of farm work. Unfortunately, the shop was closed the last time I needed to have tire work done. Still have some water pipe and WWs to smelt down, when the weather evens out.

[Hawg]

Those truck WWs are a real find. There was a small tire shop a couple of miles from me, and I picked up a few buckets of WWs from them when I needed some work done. There were some really big WWs in those buckets; they did a lot of farm work. Unfortunately, the shop was closed the last time I needed to have tire work done. Still have some water pipe and WWs to smelt down, when the weather evens out.

I used to pull sea/rail containers out of New Orleans. Those container chassis all run bias ply tires. I was stopping at a lot of tire shops. And forget about buying American. Pulling those things was a real eye opener. If it wasn't Chinese goods repackaged with American labels it was American made products made with Chinese parts.

[ssb73q]

Hi, that scrap lead was turned in to ingots using a 20lb bottom pour Lee pot.

I have another 30lbs of stain glass lead scrap arriving today:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/30-Pounds-Of-Lead/164155492878?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

BTW, that guy will accept a make offer of $40.

Regards,
Richard

[mazo kid]

That lead caming should be clean to smelt in your pot. I would be careful about doing wheel weights though. That would make cleaning the pot well a real necessity, due to all the dirt, etc.

[ssb73q]

Hi Emery, the paper backing on the raw lead scraps smoked like crazy. I was doing the melting in my garage that has an exhaust fan. Continued fluxing the lead with beeswax cleaned the lead and pot. The 30lb box of stained glass scrap arrived today. The quality of the lead is much better than expected. See the photo.

I made a $40  offer for another 30lbs.

Regards,
Richard

[mazo kid]

That's a good price for pure lead. I would probably jump on some if I didn't already have an adequate amount here.

[ssb73q]

Hi, the thirty pounds of stained glass came scraps have been turned into ingots. Casting balls for large caliber guns takes a lot of lead. I have another thirty pounds of cames coming that will also be turned into ingots.

Regards,
Richard

[mazo kid]

Yep, I know all about that! If casting 400 grain rifle bullets, a pound of lead yields only about 17 bullets. Five hundred grain bullets is only 14 per pound. A pound has 7000 grains, divide that by the grains of the bullet being cast to get number of bullets per pound. You probably knew that, I was only letting newer members know.

[AlaskanGuy]

when I lived in Cordova, the forest service would have annual shotgun bear protection training shooting brenneke slugs... i can remember one year me and my son picked up nearly 400 of them off the range..  they add up quick...

most of my bullets are in the 170g area.. i dont shoot a ton of bullets in the 400 grain range as my shoulder dont need to take it any more... even my 44 cal only shoots the lee 310 grain bullet. lead is a precious commodity and I usually buy for a buck a lb from one of the boolit buddy's over at Cast Boolits site. i used to mine 300 lbs off the handgun range in one day, but no range around here to mine where I live now... 

[ssb73q]

Hi, I used the Lee lead hardness tester to test the eBay scrap lead recently received. Both sources of lead had a test result of ~8 Brinell hardness. That test shows the lead to be pure. There is a fingernail test to see if lead is soft. If your fingernail can dent the lead it is probably soft. Of course using a lead tester is the only reliably method to test lead hardness.

People talk of using reclaimed range lead and wheel weights. Some of that lead can be pretty hard. Loading hard lead balls using the loading lever of the revolver can sometimes cause the loading lever to break. Muzzle loaders used with a patch could care less what the hardness of the ball for target shooting. However, trying to force a hard lead projectile in a revolver chamber can be difficult. Also, most BP revolvers have cylinders that have chambers of smaller diameter than the bore dimensions. Soft lead will upset to fill the bore rifling on firing, hard lead will not. Something to consider in selecting lead for casting projectiles.

Regards,
Richard

[Hawg]

People talk of using reclaimed range lead and wheel weights. Some of that lead can be pretty hard.

Regards,
Richard

I personally wouldn't use range lead. I've found the stick on wheel weights to be reliably soft. The clip on weights are always too hard. Of course you have to watch for zinc weights in both.