# best sources of lead



## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

wheres some good places to get lead and how much does it generally cost per pound.


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

scrapyards... here its 5$ per kg if you buy pure lead, you can get it much cheaper if you buy it 80% purity..


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

thanks man good tip


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## Charles (Aug 26, 2010)

Try your local garage or tire shop. You can often get used wheel weights for free if you ask nicely. Some of these will be zinc rather than lead, but lead is still used a lot.

Cheers ... Charles


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

...aren't sinkers made of lead?


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Tentacle Toast said:


> ...aren't sinkers made of lead?


Yeah but they are an expensive source, its like buying meat rabbits from a pet shop..
I get leftover sinkers from fishing shops, for free. But its not much..


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

you can also visit tire shops i'm sure they would set you up with some old wheel weights plus most good sportind goods stores that sell shooting supplies sell lead ingots for melting into ammo moulds


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

WoodPigeon said:


> Tentacle Toast said:
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> > ...aren't sinkers made of lead?
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Wow, they seem so cheap....


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Tentacle Toast said:


> WoodPigeon said:
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They are not as cheap scrapyard lead, pound for pound they look quite expensive.


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## Tentacle Toast (Jan 17, 2013)

WoodPigeon said:


> Tentacle Toast said:
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> > WoodPigeon said:
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Here in the states, it seems that lead is rarely encountered in day-to-day life; what's scrapped that's got a lot of lead?


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Tentacle Toast said:


> WoodPigeon said:
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> > Tentacle Toast said:
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Pipes and old car weights for my knowlage, i dont really know as the guys there crush it up into lead blocks.


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## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Tire shops are a good bet. I asked for and got for free about 100 lbs of wheel weights from Jiffy Lube in a small East Texas town. It was about half zinc, but can't beat the price.


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## the-flat-bandit (Dec 29, 2014)

lead is expensive even as scrap, if you know any builders / roofers try and buy some of them second hand dirty lead that's been left on a building site . as soon as its melted the dirt/impurity's float to the surface any way just skim it all off ....hope this helps


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

ok so i think ill try the junkyard first if i can find one within 25 miles. that said whoever suggested sinkers gave me a laugh as not only are they expensive, but i plan to cast bass jigs as well. btw tungsten is the clear evolution of fishing weights as its denser, harder, and less toxic, but way to expensive to send downrange tho.


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## bigron (Nov 29, 2012)

don't forget to try the tire shops or at least the local mechanic that does tire repair you might be surprised what you find


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

absolutely and friends who are mechanics but i was thinking of lead ingot or lead that i actually know is more than half lead. that isnt to say there arent any full lead wheel weights just gotta find em.


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## JonM (Aug 17, 2013)

It helps to have a spare pail to swap out when you ask. :wave:


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## Beanflip (Sep 11, 2010)

If you know a plumber, ask him for lead pipes. Older homes still contain some lead drain pipes. Often when the plumbing is updated the lead pipes are removed.


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Beanflip said:


> If you know a plumber, ask him for lead pipes. Older homes still contain some lead drain pipes. Often when the plumbing is updated the lead pipes are removed.


Yup thats how the scrapyards get the pipes..


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## Beanflip (Sep 11, 2010)

WoodPigeon said:


> Beanflip said:
> 
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> > If you know a plumber, ask him for lead pipes. Older homes still contain some lead drain pipes. Often when the plumbing is updated the lead pipes are removed.
> ...


 Make a plumber your friend. Maybe a case of beer and you'll be all set.


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

ok and when melting lead pipe just let it melt down right and hold it or what i dont have a mask an even if i did i dont want to saw it, does it bend easily


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

Something0riginal said:


> ok and when melting lead pipe just let it melt down right and hold it or what i dont have a mask an even if i did i dont want to saw it, does it bend easily


If you don't know what you are doing with lead, find someone who does. The fumes are very toxic and you must be very aware of splattering.

I would love to mold my own weights, but for me, doing it myself is WAY to dangerous !

wll


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## Beanflip (Sep 11, 2010)

It wasn't long ago that I was new to lead melting and molding. I learned a lot from YouTube and a local fisherman who makes lures.


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## roirizla (Dec 3, 2010)

If my neighbour's cat doesn't stop using my front yard as it's loo, it too will become a good source of lead.


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

Well yes it could be dangerous, but lead melts at like 600 farenheit. I plan to cast aluminum and forge steel and already have appropriate safetyware and knowledge of temperatures.


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## zippo (Jul 9, 2014)

Something0riginal said:


> Well yes it could be dangerous, but lead melts at like 600 farenheit. I plan to cast aluminum and forge steel and already have appropriate safetyware and knowledge of temperatures.


Lead is not very dangerous if you are talking temprature compared to casting aluminum, the most dangerous part of lead casting is the fumes..


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

ok so im prone to suicidal urges or window licking tendencies so im not about to put my face over the pot or anything and itll definately be outdoors. do i need a mask or will my usual technique of holding in a deep breath from somewhere else that can last me a minute during light excercise


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## Rick O'Shay (Dec 3, 2014)

Lead here is getting A LOT harder to get cheap. The only tire shops that are selling lead to individuals are the Mom and Pop shops and they are harder to find than the lead. The EPA has put regulations on the scrap yards, so they will by from you but not sell......Ok the good news is you can buy online for 1 to 2 bucks a lb plus shipping. 1 LB will get you about 55 to 60 .44 cal round balls. .36 cal will get close to double that.

Midsouth shooter supply is the cheapest to buy a LEE mold. You will want to cast in area that is WELL ventilated and no danger of ANY drops of water hitting the molten lead.

Good luck when you get your mold PM me and I can walk you through the prep for the mold.


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

alright, well i asked around and in my area tire shops dont give out wheel weights because leads toxic.


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## Lord Flash-heart (Jan 21, 2015)

Where to find lead.

Church roofs are popular over here, it's a shame the man upstairs dosen't throw a few lightning bolts when that happens.

More sensible and legal thinking, skip diving when old buildings get fixed up as you need a fair amount of lead to make it worthwhile going to the scrappy so bits of pipe tend to chucked.

Scored several kilos of WC waste pipe from the builder next door.

The beach, is your local beach a fishing hotspot with a good tidal range, i go treasure hunting for fishing tackle every now and then, nearly always at least find 1 weight, sometimes several.

Local gun club. Ours saves up the brass (.22rf) and once a year they redo the sand butt and de-lead it, every couple of years they cash it in at the scrappys.

Got around 30kg of fishing weights and pipe and sheet saved up, was aiming for 50kg then cash it in......... might be tempted by a round ball mold first though.

Metal theft is a massive problem over here, last place i lived (rural) suffered from the underground phone cables being ripped out for the copper, anything not welded down gets pinched, people even have old cars that are a future project nicked for scrap.


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

sounds like its high time to hit up my buddy dad who's a plumber, maybe heed Beanflip's advise and bring down some brew, he is pretty fond of Jameson, I don't think he'd mind trading a bottle against some old lead pipe, h311 he'd probably share the bottle. When did people around here start following rules, i mean, lead wheel weights are hard to come by as they haven't been made for years, but the people won't even give away the last bits around, they all say they send it in with the old batteries and other biohazards.


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## wll (Oct 4, 2014)

You may want to try a metal industrial supple house and see what they charge, I think they sell in ingots and in balls. My egg weight supplier I believe buys at an industrial house that way he gets some kind of uniformity from lot to lot.

wll


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

ok thanks for the tip, where would i find a ona those, and how would i order it, sounds wholesaleful.


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## devils son in law (Sep 2, 2014)

As kids we always went to the outdoor firing range for bullets. They banked up a very large mound of dirt as a backstop and without much digging there's a whole lot of used bullets free for the taking. We melted them for fishing sinkers.


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## Something0riginal (Dec 30, 2014)

good idea, gotta go find a range.


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