Tuesday, May 27, 2014

The Sustainable Armory - Wheel Weights and You





Most long term readers may remember that hand loading is a big part of my sustainable living strategy. Nothing new about that, of course any shooter out there with an eye towards survival/sustainability or even just costs is interested in reloading. However part of the sustainable side is finding cheaper sources for the materials needed.

Casting your own bullets is an important part the process as well. In a collapse situation we are not going to have the luxury of ordering our bullets on line and having them delivered. If you want to cast your own bullets though you need a good source of useable Lead and these days that isn't always as easily done as it is said.

Back when I was a kid picking up scrap Lead was easy. It was literally everywhere as I remember it. However these days it has not only become expensive but it seems everyone and their mother wants it and worse for us, the government seems intent on making sure no one sues it.

I fear due to the final Lead smelting facilities in the US closing because of EPA regulations, Lead is going to become even harder to find in the future. Some places I used to buy Lead ingots have quit carrying them and ordering ingots for delivery is pricey. The last source I have found for scavenging lead is the old standby wheel weight.

Sometimes you can still find a shop somewhere that will give you some discarded old wheel weights but that's pretty rare these days. Most every one I talk to already has someone who claims their weights or  they sell them outright to scrap dealers. Finding a source however is not the only problem because once again we have the wonderful EPA and government intervention at work.

Lead is not the only material used for wheel weights these days and being able to what material any wheel weights you acquire becomes especially important.

Wheel weights now come in the old standard Lead but also in Zinc, steel and plastic. Plastic is of course easy to pick out and the steel ones are pretty easy to spot as well but the Zinc ones are a little tougher.

There are a couple of ways to identify the Zinc weights. You can tap them against a large steel object like I use my bench vice or anvil and the Zinc will make a distinctive "Ping" sound while Lead kinda goes thunk. You can use a pair of wire cutters and see how easy they bite into the weight. Lead is easy to mark up while Zinc is much harder. You could try and melt them all together as Lead melts long before Zinc but if you are not using a temperature controlled melting pot this becomes problematic too.

The easiest way though is to just look at the wheel weight itself. I have yet to find a Zinc weight that didn't have a Z or Zn symbol on it.

Keep in mind I also have not scavenged any of the stick on wheel weights either, all of mine have been the traditional clip on variety. I have read the Lead stick on wheel weights  are a much softer Lead and should be used for projects that require lower hardness ratings. I am unclear if the stick on Lead weights are useable in muzzle loading though.

So if your plan is to scavenge wheel weights to stretch out your shooting time being able to identify the various types becomes an important skill to have. Smelting Zinc into your bullets can cause some serious hardness issues and is a real bi#tch to flux back out.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!

 

11 comments:

  1. Good one I have been studying reloading for awhile I'm close to jumping in.

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    1. Bubba - It is actually not as hard as it first appears. To me the hardest part is always remembering to trim your cases.

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  2. old fashioned window weights from old house (pre 1950) are often big torpedo shaped hunks of lead. They used to be a primary source of scrounged lead, so if anybody is tearing down an old home place it might be worth asking if you can check the window weights. That could be enough lead, just from one house, to keep you going for a long while. I don't cast bullets, but I will keep my eyes open and if I see a house being torn down I'll ask the people about it. I guess shipping lead could be expensive but sometimes you have to spend a little green to take advantage of something like that.

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    1. Harry - Ya know I have never seen a window weight made out of lead. I have all kinds of iron and steel ones but never come across a Lead one. Which is odd you would think with all the Lead mines Missouri once had they would be all over.

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  3. If lead is getting harder to find and use?? What can be used in its place??

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    1. Rob - Nothing for hand loading that I know of.

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  4. It really depends on what you need the bullets for. If it is for hunting then it doesn't take much lead. If it is for an armed conflict as in collapse then you will need a militia not more bullets. When my ancestors were invaded by US troops 150 years ago they got the ammunition from the enemy casualties and US supply depots along with purchases from foreign countries.

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    1. Sf - I was more thinking about the lead for a long term "you're on your own type situation" Not for fighting. Honestly hand cast bullets are not the best for high velocity rounds really. I mainly only use em for .357 and .38 calibers. Some ,45

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  5. Good reminder, vis-a-vis sources for lead. Plumber's lead from old fixtures isn't a bad way to go, either.

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    1. RP - I am not sure of the content of plumbers lead. I know many reloaders like the wheel weights because they claim they are all the same alloy mix. 90% Lead, 5% Tin and 5% antimony.

      Plumbers Lead might be pure Lead which would good for muzzle loaders.

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  6. There are lots of "stained glass" hobbyists around, and a few real studios in just about every city now. They make lots of small lead scraps. Mostly pure lead. When I closed my studio a few years ago I scrapped out about 5 or 6 hundred pounds. It along with the old aluminum church frame scrap paid for fuel for the trip to Oregon.

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