Posted: 11/28/2012 2:09:29 PM EDT
| I was wondering if any of you have had success getting wheel weights from tire shops. I've been shooting pistol quite a bit and would like to start casting. Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. |
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Unfortunately, when I tried to ask, it was usually "Oh, we got a contract with some company".
Gotta be careful with WW's these days, lots of them are zinc, which will contaminate the lead if melted. Checkout cast boolits, lots of info there. Last couple of batches of lead, I bought on ebay. You can fit 50# (or more) in a flat rate shipping box. I've bought pure lead, and monotype. With what lead I have now, I have enough for awhile, but I'll certainly take any I can find. |
| The lead tire weights are a thing of the past. All new ones are steel. I have asked multiple shops up in North centeral Wisconsin. I then talked to the manager of Pomps and he told me about them being steel. You might want to try salvage yards that buy scrap. That is were I had luck in buying lead. |
I've had no problem getting them from a good friend who owns a tire shop. Right now I've probably got about 600-700lbs. of them. I don't melt them all down for bullets. I melted some for duck/goose decoy weights (I've got over 150 decoys, so using "store-bought" weights was too expensive). I used most for "traction weight" in the back of my 2 pick-ups (one has a snow-plow). 20mm ammo cans are a perfect fit behind the wheel wells of a full size pick-up. I've got a can full of wheel weights behind each wheel well (and they're securely tied down to the side of the bed). I don't know how much a full can weighs, but it took the better part of a 5 gallon bucket full of weights to fill each can... I had to fill the cans after putting them in the truck while empty, no way could I lift them that high when full. 
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Quoted:
The lead tire weights are a thing of the past. All new ones are steel. I have asked multiple shops up in North centeral Wisconsin. I then talked to the manager of Pomps and he told me about them being steel. You might want to try salvage yards that buy scrap. That is were I had luck in buying lead. We get restocked with lead all the time. Though a lot of the factory new cars come with steel weights. OP; maybe try smaller low volume shops, they may be more cooperative than a chain type store. |
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Quoted:
I've had no problem getting them from a good friend who owns a tire shop. Right now I've probably got about 600-700lbs. of them. I don't melt them all down for bullets. I melted some for duck/goose decoy weights (I've got over 150 decoys, so using "store-bought" weights was too expensive). I used most for "traction weight" in the back of my 2 pick-ups (one has a snow-plow). 20mm ammo cans are a perfect fit behind the wheel wells of a full size pick-up. I've got a can full of wheel weights behind each wheel well (and they're securely tied down to the side of the bed). I don't know how much a full can weighs, but it took the better part of a 5 gallon bucket full of weights to fill each can... I had to fill the cans after putting them in the truck while empty, no way could I lift them that high when full. I'll promise to take you duck hunting for a pail 
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I've had no problem getting them from a good friend who owns a tire shop. Right now I've probably got about 600-700lbs. of them. I don't melt them all down for bullets. I melted some for duck/goose decoy weights (I've got over 150 decoys, so using "store-bought" weights was too expensive). I used most for "traction weight" in the back of my 2 pick-ups (one has a snow-plow). 20mm ammo cans are a perfect fit behind the wheel wells of a full size pick-up. I've got a can full of wheel weights behind each wheel well (and they're securely tied down to the side of the bed). I don't know how much a full can weighs, but it took the better part of a 5 gallon bucket full of weights to fill each can... I had to fill the cans after putting them in the truck while empty, no way could I lift them that high when full. I'll promise to take you duck hunting for a pail There's two half-full 5 gal buckets in my pole-barn I'm not going to use (I split them up into half buckets... full ones are too fricken heavy  ). You're welcome to them. You'd have to pick them up, they're obviously too heavy to ship. Don't know where you are, I'm east of Eagle River.
Most of what I've got now is in the back of my trucks for traction. I can usually get more if I need them, but I've been using much softer (plumbers) lead lately (I scored about 100lbs of "scraps" of pure lead from a plumber buddy ). I bought a mold for making the strap type decoy weights, and wheel weights are much too brittle... doesn't bend around the deke's neck without breaking. Last summer, I replaced most of my wheel-weight-cast decoy weights with the softer lead straps. So I melted down the old decoy weights again, and made a dozen or so big weights (about 5lbs each) for holding down the tarp edges on my firewood pile. I also made a 35lb weight for my Caldwell "lead-sled" rifle rest with them (I filled an old bread-baking pan, that my wife was throwing out, about 3" deep with molten wheel weights, and "molded in" a piece of 1/8" cable for a handle). They've got lots of uses besides bullets.
BTW... No need to take me duck hunting (I've got that covered, trust me  ).
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