Finally said so long to my wheel weights...

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  • Last Post 12 May 2021
LarryW posted this 02 April 2021

Well, finally got out the turkey fryer & cast iron dutch oven & cleaned up all my lead.

A bunch of previously smelter ingots that were caked with who knows what, cull & reclaimed bullets,

& last but not least??? The last lead wheel weights I will most likely ever see?? 

It was kind of sad, so I went & Made some gas checks, that made me feel better ????

 

A day late & a dollar short, story of my life ???

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Eutectic posted this 03 April 2021

Yup, that last batch is my last also. Too much trouble and mess sorting. Too bad, WW's were perfect add a little tin and cast away. Good for 90% of my shooting.

There are still good sources for pure lead, but then you need to buy type metal or antimony alloy to harden it.

Steve

 

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RicinYakima posted this 03 April 2021

Anyone want to buy a kerosene lead plumber's heater? Or a propane one? I'm done with WW's also, as they are now all ingots.

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JeffinNZ posted this 04 April 2021

I said goodbye to WW too. They all left my possession at supersonic speeds.

Cheers from New Zealand

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mashburn posted this 04 April 2021

I am still able to locate a few wheel weights occasionally but they are getting very scarce, even here in Hill Billy Country.

Mashburn

David a. Cogburn

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max503 posted this 04 April 2021

These are the days we've been stocking up for.embarassed

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cbshtr posted this 04 April 2021

I'm the mechanic for our township so I purposely ordered lead wheel weights for balancing tires. Unfortunately, my last order showed up lead free. With a fleet of less than 20 vehicles it takes forever to accumulate enough to even fire up the pot. I know of no other source for weights unless I happen to find one in the street. I've been collecting range lead when possible and blending it with wheel weights to make what I have last as long as possible. When I first got out of college, many years ago, I worked at a tire store but my boss traded in the weights for battery credit. If I only knew then what was going to happen I'm sure I could have worked out something with him to get a lifetime supply.

Robert Homan

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Qc Pistolero posted this 04 April 2021

Same story up here in Canada.But I'm being told that for balancing truck tires they still use lead.Only problem is every truck garage I show up to there seems to be a bullet caster that beat me to it!

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Dukem posted this 08 April 2021

Man I still have 5 gallon buckets to melt down into ingots before I can remodel my casting/shooting shack. I stacked them in there on pallets  with a tractor and forks and the plastic buckets busted and spilled. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds yet to go. Of course I have been hoarding since the 1970's.

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jimfain posted this 08 May 2021

Can anyone explain why the wheel weight that I have collect will not melt in my plumber's pot?  
Are current wheel weights not lead anymore?  All the weights have clasps so I assumed that they were lead.  some of them melt while others others will not melt and I get a yellow deposit on my pot and a lot of smoke. If they are different how do I sort what I have?  Any help would be appreciated.

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Wineman posted this 08 May 2021

Most modern WW's are now made of Zinc or Zinc alloys. Zinc is the bane of bullet casting, as even a small amount will contaminate a pot of lead and fill out becomes an issue. Usually the Zinc WW's float on the melted lead and can be skimmed off before they melt (Zinc melts at 787 degrees F, Lead melts at 621 degrees F) especially if you have just enough heat to melt Tin/Lead WW's. Your pot probably needs a good power wire brush cleaning to remove all traces of Zinc (wear dust protection, shouldn't be too hard to find a mask). Zinc is harder but a scratch test may not be enough to sort them out. They may also have a more of a "ding" sound if you drop them vs Lead's more "clunk" sound.

Dave

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Boschloper posted this 09 May 2021

Some, but not all modern wheel weights are marked. Zn = zinc, don't put it in the pot.  Fe = iron, it won't contaminate your alloy, but it won't melt either. I still have about a half a bucket of mixed wheel weights that I sort as I put them in the pot. Sure miss the old days. 

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358156hp posted this 09 May 2021

Maybe this will help some of you identify zinc & steel WWs. There are many other different versions, but these appear to be among the most common markings. It would almost be possible to write a book with all the different versions of wheelweights and their markings. FWIW, most of my reject wheelweights are steel. I really had to dig to find enough zinc wheelweights for this pic.

Zinc WW (Zn)

Zinc WW

Steel WW (Fe)

steel WW

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Wineman posted this 10 May 2021

Good to know about the Fe ones. I have not used WW's for a while except what I had smelted down years ago.

Dave

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GregT posted this 11 May 2021

I'm old enough to remember what was called a "coal hauling bucket". A metal bucket 2.5 feet in diameter, that gently rounded down and ended about 2 feet tall. Had two heavy rope "grip handles" attached to the top edge. I know, lousy description but mine is full of wheel weights from the early to mid 70's. I added to it bit by bit for the last 30 years and I no longer can move it anywhere. It is now permanently located under one of my benches in the basement and when I need a slug of wheel-weights, I put on some gloves and pick away. I usually have about 50 pounds "picked and washed" and spread out to dry for weeks. I get rid of 90% of the crap before I melt them by washing and rinsing. Also copied a lead fume exhaust system as presented in the Fouling Shot a few months past and now can melt them in the pot as needed. My Lee 20# bottom feed melting pot holds all the alloy I need for some time.And the fumes go out the window. The fake wheel weights are discovered and thrown out as I clean them prior to melting. Also have several hundred pounds of almost pure lead. Got that while I scavenged away when the little village of Lomira, Wisconsin, (not so little anymore) was tearing down a mid-1930's concrete bridge more than 30 years ago. The lead was in sheets and used in various ways when they built the concrete railing that went the length and height of the 3/4 mile long bridge. Couldn't get many of them in my car but I made many trips. When I made the trip from Lomira to Hayward, Wisconsin, in July of 1990, it all came with me in one of the moving vans. There is some real satisfaction now in that I can make bullets of many sizes that can't be bought and do it at my leisure. (My 73 year old leisure hopefully will last some time yet...). I'm not giving up anything yet!

GregT

Hayward, Wisconsin

[email protected]

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max503 posted this 12 May 2021

So far I have access to all the backstop lead I can mine.  Seems like there aren't many casters around here, and the recyclers apparently work in spurts.  

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