Lead for Bullets?

[logan]

Where can I buy pure lead so that I can make minie balls for civil war reproduction rifle?

 

[F.G. Ford]

Any scrap metal dealer, will have lead pipe ( the best ) scrap x-ray sheathing, lead from roofing.
Battery lead not too good! Wheel weights are ok for smooth bore, but not the best for cap & ball pistol, or patch & ball rifle.
Wheel weights are great in Sharps type breech loaders, but not so, for muzzleloaders.
I hope this helps
Old Ford

 

[Raider2000]

Actually Adhesive Wheel Weights are fine for C&B revolvers & muzzleloaders because they are 98.5% pure lead with .25 Antimony & 1.25 trace elements making it have a hardness of 6, Pure Lead has a hardness of 5.

Clip on Wheel Weights are what you want to avoid but many tire shops & what not will sell all the Adhesive Wheel Weights that you want usually pretty cheap.

 

[Don B]

Old Ford,

It sounds like you've been more successful finding scrap lead than I have. The 10 or so scrap metal dealers that I've contacted in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area claim to have none. I've begun trying to find a source for new lead (from roofing products distributors, for example), but they don't want to deal with a little guy like me.

Any suggestions?

Don

 

[bingo1952]

If you want good lead and don't want to do a lot of scrounging go to rotometals.com. You can get 50 lbs delivered to your door for $95.00 including shipping.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hi Don,
I live near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
We have only two scrap dealers, so the choice is limited.
But I find, that if you speak to the yard manager (foreman) tell him your needs, and they will usually help out.
Ottawa is not a shooter friendly town, but the "Good Old Boys" will usually help out.
I can't get get any cooperation from the front desk, mostly from the back door.
Another really good source is the telephone linemen, as they often have sheilding from underground lines, try them.
City workers aften have lead pipes from older installations. Once you get some lead from these guys, a 12 pack of beer will do wonders!
Old Ford

 

[Blizzard of '93]

any sheet lead is dead soft. you might go to roofing cos. and ask if they have any or try the scrap yard. plumber's ingots are soft lead also if you can find them.

 

[Oldnamvet]

There are a number of shops that restore stained glass windows in the Minneapolis area. Check with them to see if you can get the old lead came from the windows. It is pure lead and something they just have to get rid of.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Actually Adhesive Wheel Weights are fine for C&B revolvers & muzzleloaders because they are 98.5% pure lead with .25 Antimony & 1.25 trace elements making it have a hardness of 6, Pure Lead has a hardness of 5.

Clip on Wheel Weights are what you want to avoid but many tire shops & what not will sell all the Adhesive Wheel Weights that you want usually pretty cheap.

Watch out for zinc stick on's. The last 5 gal bucket I got had almost 50/50 zinc stick on wheel weights. Ron

 

[sidelock]

Just go to your local plumbing supply. good luck with your shootin.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Watch out for the local Plumbing Supply, in Central Oregon the lead goes from $3 to $5 a pound for 99.8%, just ordered 85 pounds sheet lead off of e-*&% deliverd @ $1.32 a pound. When going the e-*&% way just make sure it is still in the sheet form, that way there is no ? as to the purity.

 

[rebel727]

What Raider said. Stick on wheel weights make fantastic minie balls.

Same style minie made from stick on wheel weights after 300 yd. impact in soft dirt with a 70 gr. charge.

 

[logan]

Thanks for the iformation. I looked on the web site and noticed that it had 99.9% for the fifty pound sale. Would it be correct to assume that the percentage is that it is almost pure lead? Is that a hardness of five.

 

[Moloch]

@ rebel,

is that a .69 conical? Surely looks like on of my 730 grain .685 concials from the Lyman mold I shoot with my 1842 rifled. :thumbsup:

 

[Rafsob]

I'm a little confused. I was told that lead is down to under .90 a lb. Our local bullet maker told our gun shop owner that lead bullets will be going down in price very soon. All the new lead he has purchased was under this low price.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Not sure about the confusion as the price may be a location thing, I do know that with the sagging economy and the fact that China got busted with lead in the paint things are starting to come down a bit, but if a supply house paid $1.75 when things were at a premium they are not going to lose money on purpose because the bottom fell out. Just like the gas stations, just because they paid less for the fuel currently in their tanks they will still pass on an increase when it comes down the pike.

I will call for current prices on Monday and check back.

I do know that our local scrap yard tells me they never get lead in :bull: , some friend of the owner/employee put a standing order in.

 

[rebel727]

@ rebel,

is that a .69 conical? Surely looks like on of my 730 grain .685 concials from the Lyman mold I shoot with my 1842 rifled. :thumbsup:

It's a .58 for my 3 band Enfield. :thumbsup:

 

[Idaho Ron]

Thanks for the iformation. I looked on the web site and noticed that it had 99.9% for the fifty pound sale. Would it be correct to assume that the percentage is that it is almost pure lead? Is that a hardness of five.

If you are talking about rotometal lead yes. it is NO more than 5BHN on my tester.
I add between 400 and 600 grains of lead shot to 5 pounds of roto lead. This will bump the hardness between 7 and 8.5 BHN.
I like to do this because It helps the BIG moulds I have to fill out better. I have a 475 gr 45 cal 385 gr 45, a 456 gr 50 and a North South skirmish mould that goes up to 535 gr. I found that when I added the "pinch" of lead shot I got better bullets. They shot better, and I think it was because they were filing better. I weigh each bullet. I only keep the ones that are within +-.3 of a grain of the target weight. Adding the lead shot helped me to get my numbers easier.
Ron

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ron: A 1:20 mix of tin to lead will produce perfect, large bullets. BHn is better than pure lead, but I have forgotten exactly where it fits in. 6 or 7 is what is coming to my old brain.

The only problem I see using the lead shot added is that you are putting antimony in the lead as well, and that makes the lead harder, but more brittle. If it works, do it, of course. But I think a small bit of tin added to your pure lead would give you the benefits, without the negatives.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Ron: A 1:20 mix of tin to lead will produce perfect, large bullets. BHn is better than pure lead, but I have forgotten exactly where it fits in. 6 or 7 is what is coming to my old brain.

The only problem I see using the lead shot added is that you are putting antimony in the lead as well, and that makes the lead harder, but more brittle. If it works, do it, of course. But I think a small bit of tin added to your pure lead would give you the benefits, without the negatives.

Paul, 20-1 mix is about 10BHN. That is a little harder than I like for my 385's. My gun likes the 475's to be in the 12 range.
I am not worried about the antimony at all. As long as I can hit the BHN I want it dosen't matter how I get there.
In my opinion "brittle" CAN'T happen with lead that is between 7 to 8.5 BHN.
I have shot bullets that are 22 BHN out of my 45 into frozen dirt. The nose was gone but the lead was mushroomed back. Even with lead that hard there were no breaks to prove it being brittle.
I personally have never seen it. Ron