Any bullet casters here?

[kingstrider]

Hey I'm new here but curious if there's any other casters hanging out. Where are you guys getting your lead from? Have you noticed any changes in getting raw materials, ie harder to come by or more expensive?

 

[red_zr24x4]

Haven't bought lead in forever, when I bought my house the guy left me a 55 gal drum of wheel weights.
That being said I have checked at a few tire shops in the past and all of them said they either reuse them or corp.(discount tire) makes them send them somewhere.
With the price of all metals going up I'm sure its not as cheap to cast anymore.

 

[Iroquois]

Unfortunately there's one smelter of raw lead in the USA now, and the EPA would like to shut them down. You can buy it but I don't see the pay-off there. Most of us scrounge it
where ever, try your local tire stores, commercial roofers, maybe a plumber. Where ever
you get it, get Lyman's cast bullet handbook so you can learn how to cast/blend lead-tin-
antimony properly. And use lots of ventilation....

 

[SmileDocHill]

check with the dentists in your area. If they use traditional x-ray film (as opposed to digital radiographs) then they have a steady stream of pure lead that they would love for you to take. The little film that gets placed in your mouth has a piece of pure lead foil sealed in it so after the radiation hits the film it is somewhat blocked from continuing on past the film. When the film is processed it is torn apart in a dark room and the film is put in the processor, the paper and plastic outer shell is thrown away and the little lead foil sheet is kept separate. (Or at least they are supposed to not throw the lead away) The cost of transporting it and recycling it is usually not worth the hassle so it is more of a nuisance to the office than anything.
I'm sure if you asked them to keep it aside (they are doing that anyway) so you could stop in every so often and pick it up for them they would love to do that.

I'm not a caster but I'm told you would want to alloy this with something so it isn't so soft since it is pretty much pure lead. Now, in a separate conversation, I would like to talk about making Zirconium cores using Cerec machine. This is thee machine that mills your crown chair-side from a solid ingot of zirconium. You would have to cast a softer copper alloy around the core to prevent ruining your barrel but I think it would be one amazing AP round.

 

[Clif45]

I was able to get a hold of a few hundred pounds of pure sheet lead. It came from the xray room of an old doctors office. Its going to hit the classefieds in a few days once I can get the actual weight of it. If anyone is interested in it shoot me a pm.

 

[silyashy]

There are many bullet casters in all the places. I get my mw from a local tire store as they are drying up after being outlawed. I get a large supply of lead wearer service pipe from work and a local excavator. I usually mix 50/50 ww to pure for my pistol stuff everything else I cast for gets ww with just a nit of tin Please produce some more attachments for the more detailed view.

 

[Slim400]

LEAD

Lead
best local place. I have found to get it is your local independent tire shop the going rate is between 60 and $70 for 5 gallon bucket somewhere between 100 in 120 pounds of wheel weights will lose about 30% clips then if you truly want to make a number two alloy you will need to do business with a company called Roto metals out of California for several different formulas on the Internet if you go to cast bullets.com I have found their information to be very reliable the only other place. I know to get it and I just know their location is a Granite city Illinois the smallest quantities you can purchase from them is 1000 pounds about a 1.70 a pound plus freight which comes to write at $1705 for the skid if you purchase a complete skid of 2000 pounds it's $3150 and doesn't get much better than that if you purchase a tractor-trailer load of 44,000 pounds the best you going to do is a 1.46 a pound and no freight for a total of 64,240.00 also the product you purchase a Granite city is a number two alloy that comes with the C OF A also requires a forklift at delivery for unloading to not have to have the.we will be purchasing one skid next week if you would like some of the alloy off of it just give me a call or send me an e-mail or PM will get worked out where you get some number two alloy very reasonable provided you're only looking to get a few hundred pounds if you are looking for bigger quantities let me know maybe we can work out splitting some of the things also you need to be aware of your molds exactly what makes there were manufactured for different molds are manufactured for different mixes this particular product is blended as it sits for a 92-6-2 MIX that would be considered 92% lead 6% antimony and 2% tin I do not know how much knowledge you have on casting but what the molds were designed for is very important for instance if you have 94-4-2 mold and attempt to run the other alloy and it you will have all kinds of release problems on what I have found if you're trying around strictly awake led in which one of the BHN right around 12 bullets actually fall out of the molds that I have easier than they do have normal
just information I thought you might want to have
feel free to contact me at any time I will be glad to work with you you may e-mail me at davidowenibc@yahoo.com
or call me at 317-549-5012 first name is Dave
or as I'm known on the form slim 400
thank you very much hope I have helped

 

[pdg45acp]

I get most of my lead by surface mining the Izaak Walton League range in Kokomo. They've been shooting there for so long the the berms ooze lead.

I used to use wheel weights but they have almost completely dried up, what few lead wheel weights I can find are hopelessly mixed in with wheel weights marked Zn.

 

[yxc301]

I have an independent tire dealer that is saving the weights that they cannot use and I pick them up every two weeks or so. You just need to talk to them (usually the owners). Last week I got around 250 lbs. for 26 cents a pound and it saved the owner a trip to the scrap yard.

 

[Shroom]

So I'm a noob with reloading and everything that comes with it including casting. But is it really that much cheaper to hunt lead down and learn to cast your own than to buy? Sorry just want to know.

 

[dak109]

So I'm a noob with reloading and everything that comes with it including casting. But is it really that much cheaper to hunt lead down and learn to cast your own than to buy? Sorry just want to know.

Maybe, maybe not. It is more about the thrill of the chase than the kill. If you know what I mean. It is just part of the addiction

 

[T/C Guy]

. . . is it really that much cheaper to hunt lead down and learn to cast your own than to buy?. . .

If your free time is limited, you really don't enjoy casting, or you would rather spend your free time doing something else then you would be much happier buying your bullets (or factory ammo, for that matter). Acquiring casting alloy is just one step down a slippery slope to casting your own bullets. You will also need to acquire bullet molds (which can also become a never-ending pursuit), sizing dies, lube sizers, assorted bullet lubes, melting pots, etc. I think bullet casting is a great hobby and I enjoy all of the challenges involved in making an accurate bullet but I realize it's not something everyone would enjoy.