A visit to the scrap yard

I hit the scrap yard in my area yesterday - was looking for lead - and I found some - left the yard with 179# of it - mostly soft lead. Spent the amazing sum of $26.85 ($.15 / pd). Cleaned the yard operator out - what I left was hard lead - ie a 5 gal. bucket of wheel weights.

Most of what I found will need to melted down, impurities skimmed off etc, but I can't help feel like a kid in the candy shop....I've got jig makings for a long time to come....

The ice is melting, soft water is around the corner, and it's finally warmed up enough to start doing some pouring again.

Spring is a comin'!!!

UG

Score

Wow, I thought wheel weights @$20 for a five gallon bucket was cheap. What kind of scrap yard was it and from what did you get the most lead out of? I may need to make a trip and try to find some.

UG
Should have taken the wheel wts. Use it for larger jigs or sinkers.

About two weeks ago I picked up ~300 lbs of sheet lead from one of my nephews - he works for a hazardous waste company. One man's trash is another man's treasure.....

Anyone in So Cal - have 4 maybe 5 buckets of wheel wts. to get rid of - send PM.

LedHed:

I did pick thru the bucket of weights and pulled out all the stick-on weights (soft lead) - nearly 3# worth of those, but left the bucket, as I had picked up about 35# of weights from my mechanic last week (5 gal bucket about 1/4 full), and I still have a bunch of unmelted ww lead that I got from him last fall. The cost for the latest batch was $5 and to make some jigs and stuff for his kids (who fish)....

I don't have sinker molds yet, and my largest jig heads (in the molds) is 1 oz, so I think I am safe for awhile....although I do see a bottom bouncer and drop shot mold in my future at some point.

Fish 4 all:

I live in a rural area of a small county - just how small? - the biggest town in the county has a population of maybe 6K. This may have a bearing on the price I pay....

There are two scrap yards in my area - one about 5 miles away, the other about 20. The closer one will not sell any metal they take in - I asked. The further one does - I let my fingers do the walking to find that out.

Both yards buy scrap metal - ie old cars, farm machinery, wire, aluminum, etc. 3-4 years back, we burned the barn my property - we loaded up all the steel from it - nails, door hinges, conduit, any thing and everything - sold it - that's the kind of scrap yard I mean - they deal in salvaged metal.

I went to the 20 mile distant yard 2 weeks ago - after my phone call. It was still cold out (ice and snow), dug thru a 55 gal. barrel they keep the lead in - came away w/ 42# ($6.30) of mixed lead, some hard, some soft. Bunch of ice in the barrel, so I couldn't get all the way to the bottom. The owner told me to come back when it warmed up (barrel thawed out), and since it had, I went back yesterday, and dug.

The lead varies in origin - some was pipe and gasket seals from a sewer/water project in a nearby town - some (prev. trip) was small ingots of lead that I am betting were once wheel weights, one hunk yesterday was about 1" thick and about 10x14", one hunk was 1/4-3/8" thick sheet material of about 10 x 20".... I was mainly looking for soft lead - and it was there, so grab it while the grabbing was good.

And I can't complain about the price - as compared to folks selling it on ebay, etc.

UG

I live in abut the same size community but my town is a little larger, 14K I think but shrinking fast. I will have to call my local scrap yard and see if they have any and what they want for it.

UG
Watch out for the stick on wheel wts. - the adhesive smokes really bad when you melt it. Good lead but a headache to deal with. That's some of the stuff I'm trying to get rid of. Steel clips float up easy enough but you are getting road salts and what ever also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LedHed

UG
Watch out for the stick on wheel wts. - the adhesive smokes really bad when you melt it. Good lead but a headache to deal with. That's some of the stuff I'm trying to get rid of. Steel clips float up easy enough but you are getting road salts and what ever also.

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LedHed

Thanks for the tip - hadn't melted any down yet. I will do that on a warm day w/ both O/H doors open. Flux (thanks Tackle Underground) has made a big differance in what I can do (pour) w/ wheel weight lead...

UG

I picked up 350 pounds at a scrap dealer a while back myself...it was soft lead roofing. When I melt it down...its got that bluish tint to it. Good stuff.

Great to hear you scored UG. I was thinking of starting to pour my own jigs but then decided nah since I work in a refinery and melt metals all day allready lol