First Lead Haul. .. . .

Yeah, if you're paying for WW you're doing it wrong. Once you sort out the cigarette butts, valve stems, candy wrappers and zinc, free is about the right price.

Local scrap yard pays $0.15 for lead WW. That's AFTER they've been sorted. For $0.15/lb sorted, the right price for unsorted is zero dollars/lb. If your local shops are selling them for scrap, go to where they sell to and buy them already sorted for less than you paid at the shop. $100 for those five pails should buy you like 500 pounds of sorted WW at scrap prices.
 
Chas59 said:
The softness of the material is usually the simplest way to tell but to be sure, you may wish to melt the material while keeping the temp below 700F. Zinc melts at a higher temp, so you should be able to skim it off after the lead melts. Key is managing temp, last time I checked, zinc melts near 800F but you can verify that.
Click to expand...
Testing each wheelweight for hardness is a brutally slow job. Since there is a considerable difference in the melting point of zinc vs. wheelweights (something in the order of 150-200 degrees F) I just keep the temp low enough to not melt the zinc. If you keep the temp around 600 degrees the WW will liquefy very quickly while the zinc just sits there. Then I scoop the zinc WW out while they are still solid. Zinc doesn't melt until around 790 degrees F so your melt has to be extremely hot before it melts. Keeping the temperature down also minimizes the vaporization of the other various alloys in wheelweights.
 
Chas59 said:
I would use cast iron to melt the lead in, agree about any water or moisture being extremely dangerous. Fluxing with wax or dry sawdust works well for me. Watch out for zinc, a real enemy of melting lead. Have lots of ventilation.
Click to expand...

Would an aluminum pot work ok...Steve O
 
cast iron can crack when heated

if using cast iron pots, do NOT tap your ladle on the top edge.

also, if you have ANY concerns about moisture, just fill your pot ( remember, always leave an inch or two of melt to start anew ) with the weights, and as they slowly warm, they drive off any moisture

once they start to melt, cover them with pine sawdust, chainsaw dust works ok.

raise your heat slowly and when they start to melt, stir in your sawdust.
When all the WW are melted, scoop out the clips and any other stuff floating... such as the zinc, the stem brass, etc.... and the sawdust/dross

ladle this into your moulds, and finish up all your lead in the pot leaving that 1" or so. let that cool til solid, and start again.

once you have cleaned all the weights, you can clean out your pot, and start again, this time paying close attention to cleaning your alloy.

once you have it cleaned, and still liquid, now is the time to add your "Other" stuff...

for standard hunting, a 50/50 mix of WW and pure lead, with about 2% tin is a very common alloy.

also, if you are into high velocity cast, check out the addition of copper... guys are getting near factory velocity with PLAIN BASE cast using the copper alloys, and if you powder coat... no leading!
 
flashman2 said:
Yeah, if you're paying for WW you're doing it wrong. Once you sort out the cigarette butts, valve stems, candy wrappers and zinc, free is about the right price.

Local scrap yard pays $0.15 for lead WW. That's AFTER they've been sorted. For $0.15/lb sorted, the right price for unsorted is zero dollars/lb. If your local shops are selling them for scrap, go to where they sell to and buy them already sorted for less than you paid at the shop. $100 for those five pails should buy you like 500 pounds of sorted WW at scrap prices.
Click to expand...


I"m not sure where you live, but I have NEVER seen free weights in YEARS

the fishing sinker casters are "Stealing" all the good alloys!

and our local scrap yard will NOT part with ANY lead alloys.
 
nanuk said:
I"m not sure where you live, but I have NEVER seen free weights in YEARS

the fishing sinker casters are "Stealing" all the good alloys!

and our local scrap yard will NOT part with ANY lead alloys.
Click to expand...

I picked up 3, 5 gallon pail from 2 mom and pop garage's and a Canadian Tire in the past 2 week's. For free
 
nanuk said:
I"m not sure where you live, but I have NEVER seen free weights in YEARS

the fishing sinker casters are "Stealing" all the good alloys!

and our local scrap yard will NOT part with ANY lead alloys.
Click to expand...

Bummer.

I'm in the sticks in NS. I hit up the local garages once in a while and off by asking how much they want for their scrap. 100% of the time they say take them, no worries. If anyone ever gave me a price, I'd just politely say no thank you and move on. It's the same outcome, but not rocking up and asking for something for free has proven to be a winning tactic. One guy wanted venison if I blasted anything with the lead, six months later I brought him some nice blackstrap. Now I get updates on the ww status at his shop when I bump into him at the store.

Local scrap yard sells sorted for cheap too, easy enough to pick up a few hundred lbs in a few minutes.

Casting fishing sinkers has to be an even dumber hobby than this bullet nonsense. That's a level of cheapness even I couldn't fathom. Usually it's the reverse, plenty of old guys selling hundreds of pounds of fishing weights out here. I figure if the wheel weights ever get scarce it's out with the chainsaw and on to one of the thousands of derelict sail boats :p
 
Last edited:
I get sailboat ballast from boat yards, and roof flashing from roofing companies (lots of cleaning tar off), last spot is local recycle depot. I have about 600lbs of soft lead and 400lbs of WW. Always wear gloves and mask. In Ontario, lead WW is getting harder to find.
 
I just got a half bucket from my mechanic yesterday. I haven't had time to really go through it, but it is the cleanest bucket I have ever acquired. No valve stems, caps, light bulbs, hardware, cigarette butts, etc. Just some backing paper from stick on weights and the odd tire sticker label.

Auggie D.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom