A source for lead ??

Murray 3-D

Murray 3-D

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
Alberta
Ive read some of the previous threads regarding this.... But they just seem to be clogged up with alot of talk about wat hardness of lead alloy can be used, and various bits of junk people have salvaged lead from.

I just want lead to make round balls for a Bess.
The lead source needs to be cheaper per weight then buying pre cast balls from say Dixie Gun Works or track of the wolf. Anybody know of a good source for the Calgary Alberta area? Maybe there's a salvager that sells ingots or something??
 
Murray 3-D said:
Ive read some of the previous threads regarding this.... But they just seem to be clogged up with alot of talk about wat hardness of lead alloy can be used, and various bits of junk people have salvaged lead from.

I just want lead to make round balls for a Bess.
The lead source needs to be cheaper per weight then buying pre cast balls from say Dixie Gun Works or track of the wolf. Anybody know of a good source for the Calgary Alberta area? Maybe there's a salvager that sells ingots or something??
Click to expand...

Most scrape metal dealers will have lead from time to time, buy lead pipe, sheeting and roofing jacks as they are 100% lead with no alloys...
 
Have you googled for "lead suppliers <your town name here>"? Or I suppose "lead suppliers (calgary, edmonton).

More than likely there's a company in one of the two major cities in Alberta.
 
Roofers salvage soft lead from around vent pipes when installing new style plastic. Make contact with local roofing crews. They usually sell it for beer money.
 
Yah thanks for the suggestions guys.... I made the mistake of googling lead supply, and only came up with metal suppliers with $1000 minimum orders.... But then I googled lead ingots for sale and found lots of places including Amazon.CA ! haha

Going to check around the farm first, and if no luck, then I'll look into purchasing from a messenger, pipe fitting supply place, or Amazon.ca
 
Federal Metals in SE Calgary is a scrap dealer where I have bought several hundred pounds of good lead over the years. Phone first to confirm they have some on site. Suggest you avoid the temptation of free wheel weights...
 
After the Church Roof Emancipation troop of the local Gypsy clan freed our 13thC parish church of the burden of carrying all that heavy lead, for the third time in five years, the Parish Council and Church Commissioners decided that instead of providing them with almost annual entertainment, the church roofing should be replaced with an almost valueless lead subsitute that looks like lead and ages like lead, but costs a third as much.

The upshot was that around a third of a ton of lead was legally removed from the church - the remains from the last robbing session - and sold to needy locals, namely, moi. It's really good stuff, too, and meets all my needs for ball and Minié bullet casting, and, at the present rate of use, will continue to do so for the next 125 years or so.

tac
 
SO I managed to find 60lbs !! of lead out at the farm.... however it dont appear to be pure lead. Its semi hard lead in the form of long wiener sized net weights. I know people keep recommending PURE lead for BP, but I also think many people read casting ball threads and automatically presume its for a rifled gun.... However im only casting balls for my Brown Bess, which is a smoothbore. Does anyone see any problems with using semi hard lead to cast balls for a smoothbore ?? and no I wont be using these balls for hunting. Thanks
 
As long as the balls aren't too tight a fit it should work fine. Alloys will cast slightly larger than pure lead.

A harder ball might even be a bit more accurate in a smooth bore as it should stay more spherical and fly better than than one that's misshapen from ramming home or the forces of ignition.

Disclaimer: this is entirely theoretical. All I know for sure is that harder balls are a bugger to start and seat in my rifles
 
put an ad on your local kijiji looking for lead and paying %50 more than the scrap yard, you will get some replies. I have scored x-ray wall lead and other soft leads this way.
 
Murray 3-D said:
SO I managed to find 60lbs !! of lead out at the farm.... however it dont appear to be pure lead. Its semi hard lead in the form of long wiener sized net weights. I know people keep recommending PURE lead for BP, but I also think many people read casting ball threads and automatically presume its for a rifled gun.... However im only casting balls for my Brown Bess, which is a smoothbore. Does anyone see any problems with using semi hard lead to cast balls for a smoothbore ?? and no I wont be using these balls for hunting. Thanks
Click to expand...

The only time when the hardness of lead becomes a concern is when it must contact the rifling. When used in centre-fire, the harder the better. In a muzzle loader it’s the opposite... only because it’s difficult to get the rifling to engrave at loading. (Hard to start.) In the case of patched round balls, use whatever you have. And hunt with it. You could even use glass marbles (if you were lucky enough to find them with a perfect fit for your barrel and patch.) My point is: lead hardness doesn’t matter when there is a patch .
 
If ever CGN needed a like button, this is the post for it!

Congrats on your catch, Bro!


tacfoley said:
After the Church Roof Emancipation troop of the local Gypsy clan freed our 13thC parish church of the burden of carrying all that heavy lead, for the third time in five years, the Parish Council and Church Commissioners decided that instead of providing them with almost annual entertainment, the church roofing should be replaced with an almost valueless lead subsitute that looks like lead and ages like lead, but costs a third as much.

The upshot was that around a third of a ton of lead was legally removed from the church - the remains from the last robbing session - and sold to needy locals, namely, moi. It's really good stuff, too, and meets all my needs for ball and Minié bullet casting, and, at the present rate of use, will continue to do so for the next 125 years or so.

tac
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom