lead question

[Gindog]

How much do you say you pay for your lead purr pound? I have found some 97% bars for 3.00 a pound. Is this a good price or should I look elsewhere.

[ifish]

I usually pay around .45 cents per pound. I paid .60 cents for some 99% pure but that was a fluke. $3.00 a pound is crazy to me but it depends on your resources. I see it on ebay a lot for $1.65 a pound plus shipping and that seems high to me. I get a lot of mine from roofers. The old vent pipes are very soft lead but I have to remelt it and that can be dangerous . Had one pot to explode with just a few drops of water. Lead Products from Rotometals
lead ingots | eBay

[Bobo Greybeard]

I agree with everything that Ifish just said. Always have a cover nearby when adding new lead to melted lead. I was pouring some heads last night and somehow some moisture got in the lead I was adding and it did the snap, crackle, pop thing. I was using my production pot when this happened. I always keep a small cast iron skillet near it to cover it as I add lead to it.

As far as cost goes. I get most of mine from a local scrap yard or buddies. I only use soft lead and I pay between 60 to 80 cents a pound.


Hope this helps,


Bobo

[Redge]

Been giving 1.00 per pound.

[skeetbum]

Wheel weights can sometimes be gotten cheaper than pure, and I keep them separate. The WW does well over 1/16 but the smaller ones do best with pure. Any scrap lead should be in the pot when first fired up to slowly warm it and help in removing any trapped moisture. Moisture can cause violent reactions as happened to Jungle Jim a few years back. I'm a scrounge and don't pour that much so I have no trouble keeping enough for my needs. I have never had the need to buy pure but around here folks buy from the scrap yard for about a dollar a pound, when they have a mind to sell to you.

[LedHed]

I have a lot of "bricks" and sheets of lead (99% +) that I have been trading @ ~85cent a lb.

[Brimfisher]

I'd add my two cents but

[canebreaker]

I pay $40 for a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights. Some good WW, stick on lead, zinc and scrap. All the clips and crud from the WW go in with the scrap and zinc to be sold to the scrap dealer. Lead stick ons are held back for when I get a few buckets.

[Fatman]

I've been lucky, I've never had to buy lead. Don't have a nearby scrap yard - but I do have my name in at several plumbing places that if they ever come across any old lead pipe I'd take it. Got 20 lbs. so far.

[stillbear]

I have a small amount of lead poured and ready to use. I too need a resource. Gary