Lead sources?

[Vidar]

I have this little DIY project idea that requires a fair bit of lead (about 10-20kg), and certainly more than I have around. On the flip side the minimum order from the metal distributor is way higher than required. Thus I'm looking for any other easy source. Any shape or form is fine as I'll likely melt it first anyway, but it shouldn't include much other stuff.

So far I've come up with car tire installers (no go), old lead batteries (promising but acid mess), roofing material (expensive), diver weights (expensive) or fishing weights (maybe). I've also thought about keels of old sailing boats or similar, but sadly a lack of such boats around it seems.

Anyone have other sourcing ideas? Lead is likely used in more places than I know.

[kirk13]

Lead fishing weights would have been my first thought. Old print type might be another, I think printing technology has moved on from that.

See if there's a model shop that speSmurfpillses in home casting. Prince August in Ireland sell a speSmurfpillst casting alloy. Its only 60% lead. The other constituents drive the price up, but maybe a toy soldier fair or model railway show might have a supplier for lead ingots

[IMR4198]

   One of my friends gave me a bunch of lead containers from a hospital.  Radioactive vials were shipped in them.  Hospital had a fancy decontamination washer set-up to process them.  The ones he gave me passed a Geiger counter test.  Some were soft lead, and others were hardened with something.  You could tap them, and they would ring.  I had maybe 100 pounds of these things.  Maybe you know someone in a radiology lab?  Best wishes.  G

By the way, it takes quite a set-up to melt and cast that size chunk of lead.  Dangerous too.  I would strongly recommend you think of some other way of doing what you are planning.  G

[Vidar]

Old print type might be another, I think printing technology has moved on from that.

Yes, I think so too. The last ones I saw were sold as collectibles for way above the lead price. (Not to mention the typesetter furniture which was silly expensive last time I saw one).

After checking Prince August some more they had some pure lead pellets for sale at roughly USD 10 per kilo, which is less than expected given the model world context. But they were also sold out.

There seems to be some that sells lead for home made ammunition that sell in semi-bulk for USD 5-6 per kilo. And some private people selling leftover building/ boat materials for roughly USD 2-3 per kilo. I might just try convincing those to send some rather than the preferred pickup.

[Vidar]

Maybe you know someone in a radiology lab?

Yes, they would use a fair bit of lead I guess. Sadly I can't say I know any. Knowing how stuff works around here it is likely recycled or sold to scrap dealers if there is any volume.

[IMR4198]

   If you know someone at a gun club, they salvage lead out of the bullet traps at the range.  There was quite a barrel of the stuff at our indoor lanes.
Best wishes.  G
 

[Vidar]

By the way, it takes quite a set-up to melt and cast that size chunk of lead.  Dangerous too.  I would strongly recommend you think of some other way of doing what you are planning.  G

Ah, but I do have quite the setup and the safety gear to go with it. And not all need to be melted at the same time.

Lead is a fair bit down the ladder compared to casting aluminum, bronze and stainless steel - I do try to avoid the latter though.

[Vidar]

   If you know someone at a gun club, they salvage lead out of the bullet traps at the range.  There was quite a barrel of the stuff at our indoor lanes.

I'll go raid the local military base at night!

No, seriously that might be an option, although I think the local field just shoot into a sand bank rather than bullet traps.

[nate j]

Commercial fishing weights - a quick search revealed 50 lb lead weights for $130

Muzzleloader round balls - probably going to be more expensive, but might be easier to process than one large chunk

[Vidar]

Yes, commercial fishing lead seems to be the cheapest commonly around. 

[Farmer X]

The dirt berm at a shooting range was my first thought, though you may find a lot of jacketed bullets. I don't know if separating the copper from the lead would be worth the hassle. Fishing weights would probably be your best bet. If reloading has any prevalence at all in Norway, you might try bulk shot or lead for casting bullets.

And I'm surprised nobody asked this: what is the project?

[Vidar]

Reloading is not big here, and it would require a fair amount of shipping from the few suppliers down south. I think fishing weights sounds good. I might even find some on the property with some effort. Treasure hunt included 

I'm seriously considering making a Gamma Spectrometer to identify the atom composition in various materials. For me that is interesting both for identifying metal alloys and minerals. The commercials ones are very expensive (as in USD 15000-30000), and then also with a fairly limited lifetime according to use or and age. The commercials ones operate almost instantly, but as my use is not very rushed overnight results are fine by me - and thus a DIY version might just do.

The lead is too keep outside influences out for more precise results, and (if used) to keep any active gamma source well shielded. 

I think it sounds like an interesting thing to have a go at, and if it works it could come in quite handy at times. It might be just me though

[Farmer X]

If reloading isn't big there, I'd go with the fishing weights. You may well pay extortionate shipping costs for reloading lead and/or drive yourself batsmurf crazy looking for a semi-local supplier.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I may have a source you can try in Norway.

Pardon me while I call a Medic.... 

Def

[Vidar]

Not the friendly guys in white coats and a weird thing for bondage I hope? Not again? 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Not the friendly guys in white coats and a weird thing for bondage I hope? Not again? 

I mean.... maybe... ?

I'm not sure what he does in his off time.....

 

Def

[Medic82]

No BDSM for me, I am a pretty vanilla guy 😋

Where in Norway are you located?

[Vidar]

Vanilla too? I thought this was a lard only place.

Far north - western Finnmark.

That said I do think commercial fishing weights will be a good solution. And there are likely still some around here somewhere.

[Medic82]

Damned, pretty far from my network of shooting ranges, I live in Østlandet and the bullet traps in the indoor shooting ranges I use are ripe for some lead picking.

You could always check out https://www.kammeret.no/ if there are anyone there that know of anything more local.

[Vidar]

Yes, Østlandet is far.

There are certainly shooting ranges here too, but the most active ones are in military restricted areas. It was more activity when everyone in the home guard had assault rifles or submachine guns at home and a duty to shoot up their quota of training ammunition each year. For some reason one guy had even gotten some grenades and a M72.

There actually seem to be some ok instruments listed on Ebay, so with some patience, luck and money I might not even have to build the thing.

[LoopCutter]

Have you checked with tire stores? 
Wheel balancing weights are lead, and when new tires are sold and balanced the weights are removed and new installed. 

A coworker's side hustle was cast miniatures for gaming conventions, and this was his lead source .

[Vidar]

Yes, I checked the local one. They have an agreement for collection and sale with some travelling scrap dealer - as do most in the area according to them. I'm sure the price is low but they had already sold it per agreement.

Anyway, I will take a deep dive in the old fishermen cabins on the property. There will likely be some old lead around there somewhere. (If I'm not back within 3 days collapsing junk got me. Send mine rescuers to drill in some air..

[Vidar]

So I ransacked some old buildings around here, and came up with an assortment of lead for a few kg worth. There was also a kettle with something already melted looking like lead stuck in it, but as it might be lead solder I'll leave that alone for now.

I tried melting it and did a test of making thin plates by just pouring some on the table. Quite a few impurites and it cooled too quick to get even thickness. It was more like painting by melting candle lights - it runs rather thick. Rather than free pouring on the table I will likely need to make some preheated moulds if I want even flat plates. And some filtering of the other scrap floating around in there. But all in all fair enough test

[Grant Lamontagne]

I always enjoyed the experimentation part- seeing what works and what doesn't is always more interesting to me than actually doing the work!   

Def

[Vidar]

I'm happily making mistakes so you don't have to!

[LoopCutter]

Thought another possible source for lead.

In the states older homes used lead counter weights for windows.   

Demo firms taking down old homes or buildings will come across these.   I many such counter balance weights were attached to ropes and used as anchors on rental fishing boats.

[Vidar]

That sounds like a source, but sadly sash windows don't seem to be a thing here. I can't remember ever having seen one around here. That is a curious difference actually? Never thought about that. I guess it might have something to do with maximum opening, insulation (air tight seals, double or triple glazing or possibly snow/ ice issues?

But having twisted my head a little bit I've remembered that there are no less than three old boat wrecks within walking distance. All likely have (or had) lead in the keels. Might be worth checking out. Save the environment a bit and get lead at the same time - possible win win.