Sourcing lead in charlotte

NCWalrus

NCWalrus

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Anyone have any good sources for lead in charlotte? I’m new to casting and looking for some good supplies to get started. Don’t even mind paying a small premium for some good material to get started with (Lyman #2 or similar).

In the books I’m reading and podcasts I’m listening to talk about tire shops for wheel weights and while I will get there - hoping to start with some clean ingots to learn the process first .

Appreciate the help
 
Jtkazanjian said:
I have some lead that's already clean and melted down. But I don't know what the going price is? Can anyone help with that?
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I’m seeing prices all over the board from marketplace, eBay, rotometals, etc. $1.50-$4/lb is what I’m seeing based on the alloy, etc. HUGE spread in pricing!
 
Jtkazanjian said:
I have some lead that's already clean and melted down. But I don't know what the going price is? Can anyone help with that?
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Separate thread from a few months back on it:

Fair Lead pricing help

I am possibly going to trade some lead to a friend here for a tractor implement. I obtained my lead a while back and so I do not know current values but availability was dire when I got it so I have to assume it has only gotten worse in the last few years since then. What he is interested in is...
carolinafirearmsforum.com
 
"In the books I’m reading and podcasts I’m listening to talk about tire shops for wheel weights and while I will get there - hoping to start with some clean ingots to learn the process first ."

BEWARE! Nowadays,, many wheelweights are not lead. There is still some lead WW's,, but you have to know how to sort & separate them from the zinc, steel, plastic coated junk.

Scrap yards sometimes have lead & sell to the public. Usually all different kinds of lead,, but still usable,, once you determine what you have. Pure lead will need some tin, & such to harden it up. STUDY a lot on mixing alloys.

Also,, I would HIGHLY recommend you learn to powder coat bullets. It's cheap, easy, and works great! A cheap goodwill/yardsale purchased toaster oven, a roll of non-stick aluminum foil, some powder, a proper plastic container (think CoolWhip, CountryCrok butter) some airsoft pellets, and of course,, the powder paint color of your choice, a colander and a catch pan for the excess, and you can PC bullets. If purchased at thrift stores,, and wally world,, you can outfit yourself for under $20. Add the powder,, and go at it.

PM me if you need more help. It's easy to PC bullets,, less messy than lubing & shoots cleaner with less smoke.
 
contender said:
"In the books I’m reading and podcasts I’m listening to talk about tire shops for wheel weights and while I will get there - hoping to start with some clean ingots to learn the process first ."

BEWARE! Nowadays,, many wheelweights are not lead. There is still some lead WW's,, but you have to know how to sort & separate them from the zinc, steel, plastic coated junk.

Scrap yards sometimes have lead & sell to the public. Usually all different kinds of lead,, but still usable,, once you determine what you have. Pure lead will need some tin, & such to harden it up. STUDY a lot on mixing alloys.

Also,, I would HIGHLY recommend you learn to powder coat bullets. It's cheap, easy, and works great! A cheap goodwill/yardsale purchased toaster oven, a roll of non-stick aluminum foil, some powder, a proper plastic container (think CoolWhip, CountryCrok butter) some airsoft pellets, and of course,, the powder paint color of your choice, a colander and a catch pan for the excess, and you can PC bullets. If purchased at thrift stores,, and wally world,, you can outfit yourself for under $20. Add the powder,, and go at it.

PM me if you need more help. It's easy to PC bullets,, less messy than lubing & shoots cleaner with less smoke.
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Awesome - thanks for all the info. I am still doing my homework. Definitely interested in learning the way of the powder coat as well. What kind of oven should I look for at the thrift?
 
Part of the answer to the question will relate to what you plan to cast for. If it's black powder/muzzleloading, you'll want the lead as pure as possible. With a modern gun, that is important but not as much. I'm in the Winston area but I get my lead from Greensboro at a scrap yard. Xray room lead shielding from a renovated doctors office is about as pure as it gets short of Roto and it sells for about $.091/lb last time I bought some. Look around for a scrap yard that will sell to the public. Wheel weights used to be great for modern guns but these days, there are lots of zinc and other contaminants in them.
 
Little hardware used to carry it back in the day. Walk in and ask to go to the reloading room. They will walk it down a hallway and through the stockroom. Then you will proceed into a curtained off room to buy your powder, lead ect…. Kinda feel like your buying drugs.
 
I work at a tire shop. I've brought home enough wheel weights I have enough ingots for the apocalypse. Now a 5 gallon bucket barely yields 30% lead. If you were closer I'd give you some lead ingots to get your feet wet. And agree with powder coating. The moulds I use now do not even have a lube groove. They are specifically made for powder coating.
 
NoBodyImportant said:
Little hardware used to carry it back in the day. Walk in and ask to go to the reloading room. They will walk it down a hallway and through the stockroom. Then you will proceed into a curtained off room to buy your powder, lead ect…. Kinda feel like your buying drugs.
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I called them a few months ago and they said they were out of the reloading supplies bidness.
 
What range do you shoot at? Ask to pick up bullets off the surface or mine the backstop. If indoor ask about bullets from the back. Here is some bullets picked off the range here in UAE. I smelted the lead out of the jackets and will mail the lead home in flat rate boxes. Done the same from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Other sources are plumbers, roofers and shipyards (sailboat keels). Lead is there, just have to be creative in finding it.
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CD
 
@Combat Diver I see you're melting the lead out of each bullet one at a time? is that easier than tossing them in a pot and skimming off the jackets when they float? Honest question because I haven't done either, and I have a can full of projectiles to process.
 
Whole lot easier to put all in an old pot and melt. A soup can would work. Jackets will float to top, just skim the off with old spoon. Same with steel clips from wheel weights.
I have used an old coffee pot for year to melt scraps. Keeps my electric pot cleaner. Bar solder will help with hardness. and if you can find some linotype metal , its the best for a good hard, well filled out bullet.
 
Catfish said:
@Combat Diver I see you're melting the lead out of each bullet one at a time? is that easier than tossing them in a pot and skimming off the jackets when they float? Honest question because I haven't done either, and I have a can full of projectiles to process.
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Don't have my Lee electric pot or RCBS pot. Issue I have is heat source. Yes, I could throw them all in ammo can and melt but only have that torch burner attachment. Not good heat distributed to do the job, hence one by one. Using what I have.

CD
 
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