I melt a thousand at a time and its a great hobby especially with the little extra money made. Some people swear up and down that you need pure lead or else u will have a bad pour. personally i use tire weights yes you have to get the metal clips off of em after you put em in and have to get a little more slag out but its free and its for me. I can get about a five gallon bucket full a month or more. If you decide that tire weights arent for you ebay is the next cheapest place for pure lead.