real price of lead

[frugal]

I'm purchasing about 1000 lbs of isotope lead and wasn't sure what it was worth per lb so I checked the Kitco spot price for lead and it closed this week at .87. When I called a local scrap dealer on what they are paying for scrap lead he quoted .30 to .45 depending on the purity. .30 if its contaminated with steel like wheel weights. I don't want to pay any more than I can sell it for to a scrap dealer. What is the real price of what people are purchasing lead for?

Thanks
Frugal

[41 mag fan]

About $1/lb is avg.

[MBTcustom]

Yeah, I dont get it either. I think It has to do with how many middle men there are, but I dont know how that works either.
All I know is that the scrap yard is buying for $.40, and selling for $.60
RotoMetals is a crock when the cheapest lead on their sight is $1.89 per Lb. !!!
We sell it all the time here for about $1 per pound + shipping give or take a couple cents.
The real price of lead has been hovering around $.90 per pound for a while now, but what does that mean? Probably all kinds of cool if your trading in walstreet but how does a guy get his hands on that deal? I aint got a clue.
I'll tell you this much, the next time I have a couple thou layin around, I'm going to invest heavily in lead and get a couple tons so I never have to worry about it again.

[41 mag fan]

Tim, I'd be happy just to have a couple of thou laying around!!

[UtopiaTexasG19]

Last year I bought 800 pounds of lead ingots from a scrap dealer at 1.00 a pound and he was buying at .55 per pound and would not budge on his prices no matter how much volume you wanted to sell or buy. I went for the price because I have really become weary over the years of buying tiny bits and pieces of lead over and over always having a different BHN for each batch. This supply was melted into exact 5 pound ingots by one person and they all have the same BHN. I have a backstop set up at my place that collects lead shot at my targets so since I can recycle this supply it will last long after my life time. I would love to see the look on my nephew(s) faces after I die and they find the neat pile of lead ingots stacked up in the corner of my barn like they do at Fort Knox for gold bars! I suppose by then any form of lead will be illegal and the boy's can sell it on the black market for some big bucks. I'll call it their inheritance.....

[1Shirt]

This is what happens when we are sending lead to China. Remembe the scrap metal to Japan before WWII folks!!!!!!
1Shirt!

[TommyT]

I can't really comment as I get my lead for about 20 cents a pound these days. I do, however, see it selling for about $1 per pound on average on the net.

[Beagler]

My Work (Deka Battery) Is paying over 1.00 a pound for either pure or alloyed lead. I asked if I could buy a 100 pounder of 6% antimnoy about a week ago. They wanted 140 for it. I'll made due with what I got. Years ago I bought 200lbs pure for 150.00. Wont see that again from work

[Uncle Jimbo]

Clean lead from the metal scrap yard around here is selling for 64¢ a pound. WW sell for about 44¢ a pound.

[just.don]

Tim, I'd be happy just to have a couple of thou laying around!!

Last time I had any money anywhere that was just "laying around" was exactly 1 April '87, our wedding day.

[max it]

I wish all you guys would at least put the state that you live in on your profile. That would help in evaluating your input.

Much obliged,

max

[imashooter2]

The "real price of lead" is what you can buy it for. It is nice not wanting to pay more than you can sell it to a scrap yard for, but that isn't realistic.

[mold maker]

Comparing what the scrap yard pays, with what ROTO Metal sells it for isn't realistic.
The scrap yard is buying unknown lead, while ROTO metals sells lead that is pure or a specific alloy. You just cant buy a new Bentley for a wrecked Ford price.

[Jack Stanley]

I used to take a few eight and a half pound ingots with me to the gunshow . Both to sell some of the extra I had and to give a fair price to casters that might happen by . I must have been wrong pricing that 92-6-2 at seven-fifty a bar because invariably someone came by wanting to buy it for a dollar , maybe two bucks if he was feeling generous .

The only thing I could think of was that lead must be in abundance in this area . I found out one guy wanted it for cheap so he could take it to the scrapyard . Maybe I'll just hold onto the stuff and shoot it and when I'm gone somebody else can think they got fort knox too . All I need is a can o' spray paint huh?

Jack

[Old Caster]

Check the price at Midway if you think RotoMetals is high. If you go into the middle of an old city where lead plumbing pipe coming out of torn down buildings is common, you will likely get the best deal. No one there is using it and consequently they will be glad to sell it to you for what they can get for it because there is then no deliverly involved. You will have to add some tin because the lead is pure except for the solder joints. -- Bill --

[imashooter2]

Check the price at Midway if you think RotoMetals is high. If you go into the middle of an old city where lead plumbing pipe coming out of torn down buildings is common, you will likely get the best deal. No one there is using it and consequently they will be glad to sell it to you for what they can get for it because there is then no deliverly involved. You will have to add some tin because the lead is pure except for the solder joints. -- Bill --

Folks seldom include the cost of travel and the like when calculating the real cost of such lead. And let's not forget that you'll strike out much more than you'll score.

[10 ga]

I just compare my price/$ input on the lead and cost of propane and compare it to cast boolits/CU condom bullets and what it cost me to produce a boolit vs cost at the big box store etc... I'm a ML guy and ml boolits are (cheap ones) $11 for 20 or up to $27 for 15 so ... so I make my own for 1/5 to 1/10 the cost of commercial boolits. AND mine are GOOD boolits! Besides I'm retired and scrounging lead and pewter gives me something to do when the wifey is doing her shopping and traveling thing and I'm cheaufferin her around. Lotsa "no we don't do that" but 1 yes makes it a good day and another stop on the route. As for Ks and Ks of whatever, I have over 1.5K of ingots now and about 7C to "smelt" into ingots. I feel rich! LOL, if the greenies or Clinton/Obamist ......... Good scrounging to all! 10 ga

PS. I save all the metal I get of any kind, even cans, and make a trip to the junkyard and turn all I can into lead.

[lead chucker]

I'm pretty lucky where I live, there are a lot of old commercial fishing nets. A guy can strip the lead line off and burn off the rope part to get the lead. It's a lot of work but it is a source. I scored some lead off an old boat keel that was a good score. WW are hard to come buy here. I traded a guy on this sight pound for pound pure lead for WW. All I have invested is some flat rate shipping, the rest is all scrounging. The guy at the tire shop has a little cannon so I make him pure lead bullets for it and he saves me the WW.

[jcwit]

I now know why I help clean out the backstop at our indoor range and mine the berms if I have time. I've got a few tons, all free. If I factor in the cost of fuel to smelt it, It takes about a quart of gas in my dual fuel coleman single burner to smelt 100 lbs. So thats less than $1.00 per 100 lbs.

[lead chucker]

I mine the berm at the range. We had a lot of snow this winter and that helped capture a lot of bullets so when it all melted there were bullets laying all over I picked up about 15 pounds last weekend. I don't pick up the j bullets. Some one in town must have a 45/70 there were a bunch of them. The poundage goes up fast when you find them. There is only one other guy in town that I know of that casts I can always tell when he has been out there. He uses a lot of Linotype so I'm happy to pick up his. One mans trash is another mans treasure.