Lead alloy in Manitoba

Scrap yards or as they are now called Recycling Depots will have pure lead in the form of vents for bathrooms and other plumbing items, this can be mixed with scrap pewter which has a high percentage of tin and because it is not very durable is often scrapped out due to dents etc. another source for pewter are second hand stores. I have been using this mixture for some time now for .45 Colt and .45ACP bullets and have not had any indications of leading in the barrels.
I work in a scrap yard and have set aside some choice chunks of pure lead but can't help you out due to the high cost of shipping.
 
Ok, Skinny, you sound like you know what you're talking about. How confident are we in the purity of "pure" scrap lead? I have a stash of old toilet elbows and roof flashings, but have no way of knowing how pure it is. I am putting together a kit for a muzzle loading slug gun, and consistency is totally the name of the game. I have no problem using scrap, and likely have no problem sourcing it, but I am pretty sure I am in for lots of ass-ache if I can't come up with consistent alloy. I have considered a hardness tester, but thought I'd opt for the sure thing to start with. Oh, here's a question...how pure is the lead in lead/acid batteries?
Glen
 
Check your local roofing supply companys . Here in calgary its not a problem finding roles of lead . Do you have Uni-crete there. Its a roofing tile distributor, any roofing tile or slate dis should have it as it is a commonly used pruduct. In the
Industry.
 
More people are getting into casting bullets and it's getting harder to find lead now days. There hasn't been a good supply of lead available in scrap yards for a while but if you keep looking there is some available. Keep looking and you'll find something eventually. Leave your ph# & name at local scrap and metal recycling businesses and let them know you're looking for lead maybe they'll call you when it comes in.
 
If you absolutely need pure lead ie:99.98% then buy ingots from a lead recycling plant such as Metalex, they also have lead with various amounts of Antimony in it which is the preferred hardening element.
 
jethunter said:
More people are getting into casting bullets and it's getting harder to find lead now days. There hasn't been a good supply of lead available in scrap yards for a while but if you keep looking there is some available. Keep looking and you'll find something eventually. Leave your ph# & name at local scrap and metal recycling businesses and let them know you're looking for lead maybe they'll call you when it comes in.
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i know im getting sick of telling what my sorces are theres a few
 
One way to get a consistant alloy is to mix it in big batchs then for the amount of bullets you make from that batch it will be the same weight and hardness.
The lead in a car battery is a pain to get out and you get very little of it doing it at home. Most of the lead is basically a powder when you melt it down and you get tons of slag and a little molten lead. That and it allways costs me a pair of jeans when I do it.I have done batteries that it took two people to lift even and you get some lead but a lot compared to the weight of the battery. Then you have all the crap left over to dispose of.
 
To the OP, if you are anywhere near the border, Rotometals in Arizona has free shipping on anything over $100 to a US address. Shouldn't be difficult to set something up. I think their alloy is just under $3.00 a lb. Now metallex is even cheaper, but it's in BC and you would have the shipping issues same as from Hamilton.
 
burnaby said:
^Isn't battery the number one NO NO for home smelting with all the nasty chemicals ???
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yep but some still do ityou really need to put heat on battery lead when i did it i used a piece of sheet metal that i made a bowl shape with small hole i it and put direct heat on the lead i then found out cadmium is also used so all i used that lead for is sinkers

some of the new lead free stick on wheel weights are tin it will have the Sn symbol o them reason for stick ons to have pure tin its soft like lead
 
Automotive batteries can be hazardous. There's a lot more than just lead in there. Like Antiqueguy said - it takes serious heat to smelt this lead and you are basically boiling off various chemical impurities. These impurities break out as a gas and can be toxic.

If you just have to mess around with car batteries then at the very least smelt outside in a breeze and stay upwind. The toxicity level of the gases will vary but it is safe to assume that none of it will be good for you.

I don't bother with battery lead - the little bit of lead you get is not worth the hassle and possible long term health hazards IMO. Here is a good read: Why-Car-Batteries-Are-Dangerous
 
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