Sheet Lead

[Jensen]

Would someone be kind enough to let me know if supposed pure sheet lead is suitable for casting? I know someone with a bunch of it. I have never casted but wanted to start. Thanks

 

[RADeO]

Yes!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Take all you can get. Sheet lead is sometimes still used for roof flashing around chimneys, etc. GREAT stuff. Have used it many times.

 

[necchi]

Completely agree with Acorn Mush,,Great stuff

 

[Cowboy]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Take everything that you can get your hands on!

You Lucky Duck! :haha:

Respectfully, Cowboy

 

[Stumpkiller]

Agree. I'd take all I could get.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Get it! I was lucky enuf to get 300 lbs that came out of an X-ray room. The stuff I have is pure lead or danged close to it.
GW

 

[Jensen]

If one were to pay for it what would it be worth per pound? He has over 400 pounds.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Good question. Try to buy it as cheap as possible. Scrap lead wouldn't be worth as much as clean ingots. I'd probably ask them what they have in mind. GW

 

[Many Klatch]

I've seen a lot of lead sold for $1 per pound. I have also seen a lot of lead traded for a case of beer. So 400 pounds of lead is worth whatever you can negotiate.

 

[wattlebuster]

Take it an grin like a mule eatin sawbriars. If its soft enough to scratch with your finger nail then its roundball worthy. If not you might can trade or sell to a modern gun reloader

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Sheet lead was for two applications on a large scale. Roof flashing, and shielding for X-ray booths. In the first case it was very close to pure as it needed to be sort of form-fit. In the second application it was very close to pure as it needed to be as dense as possible while still being thin so it could be mounted.

Today they mix lead into concrete, for the X-ray booths, but about 10 years ago when a local Radiology center was renovating, they found a roll of the stuff, apparently stored in case the company expanded into more X-ray booths, OR for repairs. A friend got the whole roll simply by offering to get it off of their property.

So yeah if you can get it for $400 or even less...JUMP ON DAT!

LD

 

[necchi]

Scrap lead prices vary across the country, you can find out your local price by simply calling a local scrap yard and ask what they're paying.
$1 a pound is the high end of fair market for scrap lead around here.
I know folks that have been casting for decades hedge a bit when the price is that much because lead could be scrounged/had less then $1 or free for a long-long time.
Times have changed, China is buying all they can get.
Pure lead at Roto Metals is over $2 per pound or just under if you buy bulk pigs.
At $15 a box, store bought ball is over $3 per pd.

There is a start-up cost for casting and a short learning curve. But you'll soon be casting high quality ball and will have the comfort of knowing your set for a lifetime being able to cast just about any projectile you want for ml and/or cf.
(No more ammo shortage)

 

[Tinker2]

If one were to pay for it what would it be worth per pound? He has over 400 pounds.

I got 500 pounds at .40 a pound from a construction sight and the scrap yard has some sheet lead I am going to buy at .75 a pound.

get all you can.


William Alexander

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Ok I'm bragging but the iron and metal place in town gave me all 300lbs. CA regulations made it burdensome for them to accept it so they called and said if I could get it out of there ASAP I could have it. :thumbsup: GW

 

[mooman76]

Sheet lead is most likely soft but either way lead is getting harder to come by and is still usable.

 

[smoothshooter]

Sheet lead is the best form of scrap lead.
Get a pair of large tin snips to cut it up with.
As others have said, get all you can, even if it is several hundred pounds.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The problem we have out here with the scrap lead, is that you may have a tough time getting pure lead, and end up with a lead alloy. Old wheel weights, old fishing sinkers, old hardcast bullets, not to mention manure lead from inside broken car batteries :shocked2: :shake: .

Now the lead alloys will work fine. They just don't shrink as much as all lead when they cool, so..., if you have a pet ball and patch combination with all lead, you may find the ball doesn't fit when using an alloy, and you have to work up another combination.

LD

 

[nhmoose]

Todays KITCO.com is .98 lb usa

 

[Ken Rummer]

I bought some sheet lead from a company that produced a lot of roof sheeting many years ago. They gave me an invoice that said it had 4 to 6% antimony.

It seems to me that pure lead sheet would be too weak for most commercial applications so I don't think it would be available very often. You may want to check the hardness.

 

[Billnpatti]

All of the sheet lead I have found is pretty soft. Check it with your thumbnail. If you can make a significant scratch in it with your thumbnail it is pretty soft lead and will work for even lead conicals. Conicals do not use patches so they need to be made of soft lead so they will fill the rifling in your barrel. However, while soft lead is preferred for all muzzleloading projectiles, it is not absolutely necessary for patched lead balls. For them, you could even use wheel weights (back in the day when they were made of lead). If you have a source for sheet lead, grab all you can get. If you manage to get more than you will ever use, you can always sell it to your friends.