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Buying waste lead - prices

J

Jon Whelan

Senior Member
Dear all,

I have just bought my first lead mould to make some feeders & would be grateful of some advice on present prices per kg of waste lead.

I appreciate that prices go up & down but on the last time I borrowed a mould & went into a scrap merchants I was unsure & doubtful of the price I paid. I am looking to make approx one hundred 150-170g leads so will be looking to acquire up to 20kg.

Acknowledge it could be how much for a length of string question but I would be grateful of any advice on this or any info/tips on what to watch out for.

Many thanks,

Jon
 
might be worth ringing up your local scrap dealer Jon. I am sure they will sell to you.
 
Are they allowed to sell direct to the public now? The last time I tried to buy some from my local bloke he was very apologetic and said he was no longer allowed to sell to the public. All to do with metal theft and traceability apparently.

I know its no help to the original poster but my last roll of lead came from an elderly neighbour who saw me casting a few leads in the garage one day and offered me a roll which had been left behind by the guys who built a conservatory, at her old house, twenty years earlier. I never have found out why she decided to keep it when she moved here.
 
Befriend a roofer!
 
Adrian Williams said:
Are they allowed to sell direct to the public now? The last time I tried to buy some from my local bloke he was very apologetic and said he was no longer allowed to sell to the public. All to do with metal theft and traceability apparently.

I know its no help to the original poster but my last roll of lead came from an elderly neighbour who saw me casting a few leads in the garage one day and offered me a roll which had been left behind by the guys who built a conservatory, at her old house, twenty years earlier. I never have found out why she decided to keep it when she moved here.
Click to expand...

Well if he only wants to buy 20kg most scrap dealers won't mind, we have to keep records who buy from and sell to.
 
The trouble with scrappy lead is its oxidised and usually causes a hell of a lot of scum on top of the melting pot which makes moulding tough. I went to Midland Lead and bought a couple of hundred kgs of edge cuts which is the bits trimmed off the sides of the lead sheets when they`re rolled out. The quality is good and the lead is clean.

If you`re struggling to get some good stuff Jon let me know.
 
A big thanks to all for the responses made - all angles on this covered by the looks of things: Cost of new, offcuts, reclaimed & possible sources. As Matthew said, the previous scap metal merchants took my car reg upon buying (5kg) tho cannot remember the price (nice one for the resell price).

I know a couple of roofers but things are a little slow presently & I want a good bag full for my new moulds - going to ask them for future reference to save me a small stock pile. And good thinking on damaged rolls from merchant / cut offs - good option as Martyn highlighted the scum factor - thanks for the offer if struggling to source. I will have a look at the ebay & it will be interesting to see what the postage is!!

The next stage on my cage feeder production line is not far off. Before work this morning, I worked out that a 5.35oz feeder will cost me 44p based on the tidy, indestructible design by Jon Frisby.

Thanks to all again,

Jon
 
Jon Whelan said:
A big thanks to all for the responses made - all angles on this covered by the looks of things: Cost of new, offcuts, reclaimed & possible sources. As Matthew said, the previous scap metal merchants took my car reg upon buying (5kg) tho cannot remember the price (nice one for the resell price).

I know a couple of roofers but things are a little slow presently & I want a good bag full for my new moulds - going to ask them for future reference to save me a small stock pile. And good thinking on damaged rolls from merchant / cut offs - good option as Martyn highlighted the scum factor - thanks for the offer if struggling to source. I will have a look at the ebay & it will be interesting to see what the postage is!!

The next stage on my cage feeder production line is not far off. Before work this morning, I worked out that a 5.35oz feeder will cost me 44p based on the tidy, indestructible design by Jon Frisby.

Thanks to all again,

Jon
Click to expand...

Just buy cheap lead and skim the scum off.
 
Five years ago I bought a man, the owner of a small building firm, a guy I half knew years ago, plus his three men, who I found were doing up and extending a house just down the road from me, bought the four of them three pints each of Fosters on a hot Friday mid-afternoon, then on Monday collected 80 to 100 pounds of the sheet lead, a bit clagged-and crusted-up with some kind of exterior paint admittedly, but.....
 
Try a few council tips,I got lucky with 1/2 a roll for £3 and a plumbers merchant as previously mentioned ,let me have remains of a roll.
If you dont ask !
5.35 oz Wow ! That will weigh a bit when loaded.
Biggest problem I have is finding somewhere that sells a suitably small cast iron melting pot ,,,anyone ??
 
David Gribble said:
Just buy cheap lead and skim the scum off.
Click to expand...

Very true - its what I did before. Got a cheap ladle especially for this de-scumming to allow the clean pour. The whole idea for me is about cheapness (hopefully this statement does not reflect character!!) but I will certainly be looking at a range of different qualities at (hopefully) more or less the same cost.

Agreed, lead used as lead is pretty much well like .... lead..!

Cheers, Jon
 
Mark Thompson said:
Try a few council tips,I got lucky with 1/2 a roll for £3 and a plumbers merchant as previously mentioned ,let me have remains of a roll.
If you dont ask !
5.35 oz Wow ! That will weigh a bit when loaded.
Biggest problem I have is finding somewhere that sells a suitably small cast iron melting pot ,,,anyone ??
Click to expand...

Use a thick based saucepan with a lid, works well for me.
 
Thanks Tom,handle fell off last one.

I stand to be corrected but I was told different codes /grades of lead used in building industry simply refers to thickness .
 
Fair comment Paul, that's what the end of week weigh in's about is the Friday afternoon drink till one drops, and if sponsored on the weeks collections all the better. How it should be!

Yup - 5.35oz (150g) or the 6.1oz (170g) packed takes a fair hurl. Need a slightly unconventional river rod to throw this 40 - 60 yards. Going back to the early days, 2oz ball lead was what I then thought was a proper anchor... Now I am seemingly lobbing half bricks. Thanks for tip on the local tip!

Re proper lead melting kit - damn expensive stuff & heavy duty. I will be popping into wilco's or asda to see what they have got.

Interesting point on the grading too.

Thanks again, Jon
 
Just come back from one of my local (scrap) metal merchants. He buys at 75 pence per kilo & sells at £1.10 no matter the quantities that we deal in. The only thing was that due to commodities crashing this week, he emptied all his stock just as prices dropped so there was none in his yard for me to buy!! This crash might explain the cheaper price.

Anyway, phone number left to pick some up in the week. Another bonus was that as I went in I clocked a load of kitchen equipment in one of his skips & got myself two pans, one to melt & one to pour as well as two spring loaded clamps to hold the lead moulds together - he initially said £2 then said £1 - I was that chuffed I gave him £3 - at least he could have a beer.

Got myself a pipe slice, cable ties & have a small amount of lead from a year ago. Mould feeder mission on.

Cheers all,

Jon
 
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