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Lead Drain Trap

The Dutchman
Our company bought an old building in Cleveland. We were performing an inspection and I noticed an old lead drain trap. I grabbed it and brought it home. Melted it down into 3 five pound ingots for bullets. Some of the best lead I have ever seen.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • kiwibird1
    I remember my dad picking up wheel weights when he saw them and melting them down. I figured it was just lead, until I had to start buying my own bullets.
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  • gjshaw
    I saved a bunch 200 lbs or more of lead covering old electric lines from a factory. I made sinkers for salmon fishing and tryed making some bullets from it but not all lead is the same. Wheel weights are different from plumbers lead and so not all lead is good for making bullets, different ingredients make harder and softer lead, becareful of the lead you use.
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  • The Dutchman
    How do you test lead for hardness?

    quote:Originally posted by gjshaw
    I saved a bunch 200 lbs or more of lead covering old electric lines from a factory. I made sinkers for salmon fishing and tryed making some bullets from it but not all lead is the same. Wheel weights are different from plumbers lead and so not all lead is good for making bullets, different ingredients make harder and softer lead, becareful of the lead you use.
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  • brier-49
    Brownells sells a hardness tester. Plumbers lead is good for bullets for black powder cartridge ammo,wheel weights are #2 alloy which is good for smokeless powder bullets.
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  • Johnnylikesguns
    Around here if ya go to a tire shop they'll give ya all the wheel weights ya want. They are happy to see them go.
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  • Gregor62
    John,

    You should be scarfing them up then, at the current scrap prices, nobody around here gives it away.[;)]
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  • Johnnylikesguns
    I might need correction on this (foot in mouth) a few years have passed sence in picked up any. I'll check next trip to town and let you know. Last time I got some I made 8 downrigger weights 10# each. Had some left don't remember what I did with the leftover.
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  • 41 nut
    Pure lead. Great for muzzleloaders or is excellent for mixing with tin and antamony to cast hard bullets. Another great source for pure lead if you can get it is telephone cable sleeves. I got a bunch of it a few years ago when they were changing the lines around here. [:p] [:p]
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  • fishkiller41
    quote:Originally posted by The Dutchman
    How do you test lead for hardness?

    quote:Originally posted by gjshaw
    I saved a bunch 200 lbs or more of lead covering old electric lines from a factory. I made sinkers for salmon fishing and tryed making some bullets from it but not all lead is the same. Wheel weights are different from plumbers lead and so not all lead is good for making bullets, different ingredients make harder and softer lead, becareful of the lead you use.

    With a hammer.No bull. Or with a pair of dykes(wire cutters).
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  • fishkiller41
    quote:Originally posted by Johnnylikesguns
    Around here if ya go to a tire shop they'll give ya all the wheel weights ya want. They are happy to see them go.

    YEP[:D] I have well over a ton of'em .My buddy works at Econo tire, in Jupiter fl.Every few weeks he brings me a 5gal. bucket.I have about 60 buckets full.
    I make "deep-drop" sinkers and Down-rigger balls.
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