dchance Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Where do you all get your lead from? I am nearly out of some I got from a buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Remodles of homes and hospitals have gotten me over 100 #. Radio active medicine containers another 100. An old print shop 75#. Recycle place 25#. Tire shops all that I could carry off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psv Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 Ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight cougar Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 call the scrapyards around you. Its all cleaned n melted into molds. it cost about 50 cents a pound around here. havent got any yet but i called around to 3 and found the 1 that sells it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerworm Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 batteries can be melted down just do it outside and dont stick your head over the pot your using. shaower basins in old houses are good usually for 40+ pounds each. old roof flashing is great really soft. if your making bigger types of sinkers and such theres nothing wrong with all the wheel weights around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cz75b Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 bad advice on melting batteries, don't try it....any moisture can produce arsine gas and its a nasty one....stick with wheel weights, old pipe and flashing or buy ingots or scrap. Start at the place you buy tires or have auto work done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerworm Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 we have melted down batteries for over 2 decades without any problems the key is to split the top and allow them to drain completely. we usually allow them to air dry for over 6 months as that just works with my schedule we only have to worry about them twice a year. and they are very soft lead and have yet to find even the smallest ice jig that wont pour with the lead from old tractor and car batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitbull Baits Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Tire store will give you wheel weights or sell you a 5 gallon bucket full for $30 to $50 depends on the store. You get about 75 to 100 pounds once you get it all melted and cleaned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLT Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Some of you are lucky, it's really hard in my area to find a place to get wheel weights that aren't spoken for. Most have someone that claims them already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve187 Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Some of you are lucky, it's really hard in my area to find a place to get wheel weights that aren't spoken for. Most have someone that claims them already. Same here. When I asked around that's what I was told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 I have the same problem as BLT and Steve 187. Tire shops and or repair shops will not give me their lead, they have scrap removal at their facilities. I've asked many times and many places and they said plainly no. I buy mine from Roto-Metals on line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchance Posted January 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 Tire store will give you wheel weights or sell you a 5 gallon bucket full for $30 to $50 depends on the store. You get about 75 to 100 pounds once you get it all melted and cleaned out. is the only option to clean it out fluxing the lead in the melting pot? I was hoping to find cleaner lead, but I have access to as much wheel weights I can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedyarb2000 Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 I melt my dirty lead outside, on a turkey frier, with a cast iron pan. Wheel weights are really dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 I'm lucky in that I've NEVER had to buy lead. I have a small independent repair shop in my town and he just bought a tire shop owner out and he HATES to pay to take tire weights to the recyclers. I've even got him sorting the Z and ZA ones out so that I don't have so many to go through. I also get a bunch of pure lead from my Brother in law every time I go home to visit as they mold musket balls and cannon balls for their Civil War re-enactment group. My BIL here in Vermont once in a while gets me the lead containers from the hospital, and recently they re-did they're xray lab and I went with him and got a few hundred pounds. Luckliy the workers there cut a bunch of it up into 10 lb blocks as they have a bunch of guys on their crew who reload ammo, so I got them to drive by and drop it off and gave them tire weights for the delivery, saves me alot of cleaning time as now I have the pure stuff. Lots of free lead out there you just have to look real careful. Fatman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight cougar Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 I'm lucky in that I've NEVER had to buy lead. I have a small independent repair shop in my town and he just bought a tire shop owner out and he HATES to pay to take tire weights to the recyclers. I've even got him sorting the Z and ZA ones out so that I don't have so many to go through. Fatman Whats the difference in the Z and the ZA tireweights? I have prob 10 pounds here and my friend said he has about 30lbs for when we make them. I was thinking about just quickly cleaning them off with a wire brush first. I know they only give you 8-12cents per pound for wheel weights at scrapyards if there still on the metal clips I got a box of really small splitshots that you cant get back off. someone gave me them in a metal box that were covered in rust and dust. Threw them in a bottle with water and shook em and let them sit for awhile. just to clean them up some. My dad and his friend ended up buying 100-200lbs of lead probly about 10 years ago. I still havent had to buy lead or sinkers yet, and my friends ussually just end up using mine. I still have a small plano box full, but ive been looking into the prices for when i do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Whats the difference in the Z and the ZA tireweights? I have prob 10 pounds here and my friend said he has about 30lbs for when we make them. I was thinking about just quickly cleaning them off with a wire brush first. I know they only give you 8-12cents per pound for wheel weights at scrapyards if there still on the metal clips I got a box of really small splitshots that you cant get back off. someone gave me them in a metal box that were covered in rust and dust. Threw them in a bottle with water and shook em and let them sit for awhile. just to clean them up some. My dad and his friend ended up buying 100-200lbs of lead probly about 10 years ago. I still havent had to buy lead or sinkers yet, and my friends ussually just end up using mine. I still have a small plano box full, but ive been looking into the prices for when i do it. Z stands for Zinc. They will mess up the whole melt. Get rid. Do the drop test onto concrete. Lead makes a 'thud' sound. If it 'pings', it is suspect. The shot that you washed will have to be melted starting with a cold pot. Do not add to a hot pot, incase they are still wet. Nothing is achieved by washing lead, only danger. Dave Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 Yeah Vodka is right on the Z, just came back onto the board so I'm glad he gave you the answer before you tried to melt and messed up your lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerworm Posted January 30, 2011 Report Share Posted January 30, 2011 ZA is probably zinc alloy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Derek check your pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight cougar Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Z stands for Zinc. They will mess up the whole melt. Get rid. Do the drop test onto concrete. Lead makes a 'thud' sound. If it 'pings', it is suspect. The shot that you washed will have to be melted starting with a cold pot. Do not add to a hot pot, incase they are still wet. Nothing is achieved by washing lead, only danger. Dave Dave Wow im so glad that i asked that. I didnt know they used anything but lead on tires. Guess im happy we didnt melt any down last year. Were not gonna do anything until late spring or summertime, when its warm outside. We just put a pot on an old whitegas coleman grill outside. So ide rather do it when its warm outside and not windy. Ill make sure the shot is dry beforehand, thro them on an old towel in a sunny window or on the fridge for a few day. I figured that ide start with the splitshots in the pot first, Being very small and most likely still dirty, it'll give a good melting point to start with. Cleaning the crudd off and be a good start for doing the wheel weights. Doin those first i think will be a very good idea for some practice since i havent done it on my own. Plus my father past away last year, and he was the only one that i know of that has done it. Depending on how many we get from the shot, broken sinkers, wheel weights and some scrap my dad has in the basement. Thatll give me a rough estimate on how many lbs will make how many sinkers, without having to do the math and try to guess how much will me krud on top. Just one more question. I know the nys laws have changed, saying any lead weigh under (i think it's) 1/8 ounce (but might be) 1/4 ounce cannot be bought or sold. It doesnt say anything about not using them. I didnt see a game warden the last few years fishing to ask. If they just cant be bought or sold, Or if what we already have cant be used. All splitshots bought now arent lead. So ive bought some just to be on the safeside. If small sinkers or splitshots cant be used i have tons of them that can be melted down, but that means i cant use the small chambers on the mold either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Wow im so glad that i asked that. I didnt know they used anything but lead on tires. Guess im happy we didnt melt any down last year. Were not gonna do anything until late spring or summertime, when its warm outside. We just put a pot on an old whitegas coleman grill outside. So ide rather do it when its warm outside and not windy. Ill make sure the shot is dry beforehand, thro them on an old towel in a sunny window or on the fridge for a few day. I figured that ide start with the splitshots in the pot first, Being very small and most likely still dirty, it'll give a good melting point to start with. Cleaning the crudd off and be a good start for doing the wheel weights. Doin those first i think will be a very good idea for some practice since i havent done it on my own. Plus my father past away last year, and he was the only one that i know of that has done it. Depending on how many we get from the shot, broken sinkers, wheel weights and some scrap my dad has in the basement. Thatll give me a rough estimate on how many lbs will make how many sinkers, without having to do the math and try to guess how much will me krud on top. Just one more question. I know the nys laws have changed, saying any lead weigh under (i think it's) 1/8 ounce (but might be) 1/4 ounce cannot be bought or sold. It doesnt say anything about not using them. I didnt see a game warden the last few years fishing to ask. If they just cant be bought or sold, Or if what we already have cant be used. All splitshots bought now arent lead. So ive bought some just to be on the safeside. If small sinkers or splitshots cant be used i have tons of them that can be melted down, but that means i cant use the small chambers on the mold either. When you are ready, melt each batch separately, ie. lead shot, broken sinkers, wheel weights etc are all separate batches. Pour them into small ingots (fairy cake tins work well). Mark or record each batch and its history. Each batch will be made from a slightly different lead alloy and will have different pouring characteristics and hardness. When you start pouring baits with them, you can mix different batches to get exactly the qualities that you are looking for. Before starting, read up on fluxing. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacklecrafter Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Try shooting ranges if you can gain access. Where do you all get your lead from? I am nearly out of some I got from a buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomer Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 Try shooting ranges if you can gain access. Ask the shotgun shooters around you if there is a trap range around. They often will sell reclaimed lead shot, which is a pure form of lead. It will be cheaper to use than buying commercially, and handy to use. Usually sold in milk jugs or something similar. Indoor shooting ranges will usually give you their scrap, but it is way dirty with bullet jackets and such, and the lead tends to be hard -- along the line of wheel weights. Also you should melt this lead outside when you clean it, as it is not uncommon to find a loose round in it. Such a round is not really a personal hazard, but it can cause the lead to splash if it goes off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight cougar Posted January 31, 2011 Report Share Posted January 31, 2011 When you are ready, melt each batch separately, ie. lead shot, broken sinkers, wheel weights etc are all separate batches. Pour them into small ingots (fairy cake tins work well). Mark or record each batch and its history. Each batch will be made from a slightly different lead alloy and will have different pouring characteristics and hardness. When you start pouring baits with them, you can mix different batches to get exactly the qualities that you are looking for. Before starting, read up on fluxing. Dave Really, just for making sinkers? If i melt down the small sinkers and good clean small splitshots that'de be the way to do it. But i wouldnt think it would matter much just fo pouring 1/2-1 ounce sinkers. i could see it for pouring jigs or lures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
