sourcing wheel weights for casting bullets.

jude_00

jude_00

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Hey all!

So, i recently ordered an electric casting pot, and a set of moulds for my 45ACP. I figured since they were in the mail, I better get my hands on some lead so I can start casting and loading up some of these bullets. I went to a few places in town today, and the standard response I seemed to be getting is "someone all ready picks them up, thanks" and a couple "we send them all back to head office, and they sell them for scrap. give them a call" with head office being 3 hours away. Once someone said they think a guy comes to get them, but they have a pile of them out back, so he took my number and told me he'd give me a call if they were up for grabs. Am I doing this wrong?

I know a lot of guys at the club cast wheel weights, but I stopped by 6 places on my little run today, and got the same answer. I explained I was looking to buy scrap lead to cast with, and was wondering what they did with their used wheel weights. Am I approaching this wrong? I've looked around on the internet and haven't found any "guides" for how to solicit for wheel weights. I live in a terribly liberal riding, and have been avoiding the fact that I will be casting bullets. I'm a bearded, burly looking guy in my mid 20s, and people assume bad things when I start talking about guns, despite me being an RSO and always safety cautious. :ar15:

Do we have any tips maybe we can share on sourcing lead for casting our beloved bullets? any tips and pointers for complete newbs would be great!

thanks!
 
Where are you located? I own a repair shop, and accumulate lead wheel weights (at least until they make using lead weights illegal here as well. Gotta love Bantario) shoot me an PM and if you want them you are welcome to pick them up. I'm about 2 hours north of Toronto.
 
Just keep asking more places. Some shops already have bullet casters that pick them up regularily, it's not that theyre sayin no. Some places also want the money from scrap and figure its easier to keep sellin to their scrap dealer too. Keep trying and when you find a source treat them good, take your tire work there etc. Independantly owned shops are usually a better source than chain stores that more commonly have a scrap dealer take all their refuse. You may also want to call auto wreckers and or scrap yards, they sometimes do tire work too and have weights or just have scrap ones people sold them.

You could tell people you're making scuba belt weights or fishing weights etc, but I just tell them the truth that I cast boolits.
 
jude_00 said:
Hey all!

So, i recently ordered an electric casting pot, and a set of moulds for my 45ACP. I figured since they were in the mail, I better get my hands on some lead so I can start casting and loading up some of these bullets. I went to a few places in town today, and the standard response I seemed to be getting is "someone all ready picks them up, thanks" and a couple "we send them all back to head office, and they sell them for scrap. give them a call" with head office being 3 hours away. Once someone said they think a guy comes to get them, but they have a pile of them out back, so he took my number and told me he'd give me a call if they were up for grabs. Am I doing this wrong?

I know a lot of guys at the club cast wheel weights, but I stopped by 6 places on my little run today, and got the same answer. I explained I was looking to buy scrap lead to cast with, and was wondering what they did with their used wheel weights. Am I approaching this wrong? I've looked around on the internet and haven't found any "guides" for how to solicit for wheel weights. I live in a terribly liberal riding, and have been avoiding the fact that I will be casting bullets. I'm a bearded, burly looking guy in my mid 20s, and people assume bad things when I start talking about guns, despite me being an RSO and always safety cautious. :ar15:

Do we have any tips maybe we can share on sourcing lead for casting our beloved bullets? any tips and pointers for complete newbs would be great!

thanks!
Click to expand...

Have a look at the wheel weight sticky I wrote. It's at the top of this section. In the first few paragraphs I give a few tips. Not sure fire by any means, but they might be a bit helpful. Oh...and I finally fixed the lead weight drop test, and the steam explosion videos. Sorry it took so long guys.
 
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got a call back from the place that said they had lots out back. they didn't leave a message, but they did try calling me this afternoon. Been playing telephone tag, but I think this source might work out.

thanks for the words of encouragement! I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into! lol

take care!

edited - just posted when I finally got in touch with the big tire store in town Ive been playing telephone tag with. they said their buckets are about 120 lbs, and they'll hook me up as their lead man. they do a good chunk of the commercial and passenger tire market in town. looks like the stockpiling will begin in about a week! guess you WILL find someone if you keep looking!

blacksmithden - good sticky! I knew I read that information before, but wasn't sure where I read it, and didn't see it in the forum. read it again. all sorts of good info!
 
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jude_00 said:
got a call back from the place that said they had lots out back. they didn't leave a message, but they did try calling me this afternoon. Been playing telephone tag, but I think this source might work out.

thanks for the words of encouragement! I wasn't sure what I had gotten myself into! lol

take care!

edited - just posted when I finally got in touch with the big tire store in town Ive been playing telephone tag with. they said their buckets are about 120 lbs, and they'll hook me up as their lead man. they do a good chunk of the commercial and passenger tire market in town. looks like the stockpiling will begin in about a week! guess you WILL find someone if you keep looking!

blacksmithden - good sticky! I knew I read that information before, but wasn't sure where I read it, and didn't see it in the forum. read it again. all sorts of good info!
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention one thing. If someplace gives you say 3 or 4 buckets for nothing, comming back with a dozen donuts goes a long way the next time you want some. If you want to save some time on your next "fishing expedition" grab the donuts before hand. Even if you get skunked, at the end of the day, you get to drown your sorrow in saturated trans fat and sugar :) Good luck man !!!!
 
Jude_00: Costco is your friend, stay low and work quick, should get a pail full in no time at all. lol


Seriously, it is getting really hard to find WW in Edmonton. 10 years ago you could walk into any tire store and they would give you a funny look of "Why on Earth would you want used WW's". Now it is a rare occasion when you can even get them let alone for free. I had one manager show me the "Corporate Memo" clearly stating that from now on only licensed recyclers are allowed to dispose of the toxic used WW's.

Most big chain stores will not sell them, you have to look for the Ma and Pa type tire shops. Walk into the store with a small 1 gallon ice cream pale and ask for a few used WW's as you are making some down riggers for fishing. Look like it is water you are asking for after walking thru the desert for a week. "Just need enough for a few down riggers". Usually they will say that someone picks them up etc. but insist politely that I just need a handful if you could spare them. Most times you will come back with the gallon pale full. Say thank you and turn and almost be out the door and stop and turn around and walk back to the counter and say "why don't I just buy some off of you and then I will have some when I loose the down riggers". Some times it works, sometimes it doesn't. If it works the going rate is free to 20 bucks a 5 gallon pale.

Did this about 3 months ago and the guy said he had two pales he could sell me for 40 bucks. He rang it in the till as "Shop Supplies" which translates to Coffee supplies and said to take the receipt around back and ask for Fred. Well I get around back and Fred is waiting for me with 12 buckets full. Helped me load them up into the pickup and away I went. Kind of felt like the Ikea commercial "Start the Car, Start the Car".

I have 1.5 tons of rendered lead and I am still on the hunt for more, it will only be a matter of a few years and they will be banned and steel or zinc is all you will see. Just have to look to Europe, they have been banned for 5 years now in most places.

Glad you found a source for lead, when you return to get some more bring one of those square box Tim Horton's coffee containers full for the boys, they will not forget who you are after that.
 
the doughnuts idea is a good one. a lot of people my age tend to overlook the power of a box of tims doughnuts. lol I used to take a lot of the tires from work to my new lead source.

I guess ontario doesn't regulate the recycling as badly as some other places.. I was told there isn't any requirements for recycling them as hazardous materials, at least yet. so I'll get what I can in short order, and hope to accumulate more than I could ever shoot, and store them in loaf pan ingots. I don't think this will be as accessable as it is for much longer.

take care!
 
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