Lead wheel weights get them while you can...

C

cld

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Hmmm I just invested a lot of money in reloading gear and bullet casting gear, I went on my first trip to tire shops to ask around for their lead weights and 4 out of 6 told me they no longer use lead weights due to a new law, they told me that they are now using metal weights.

Apparently the new law wants to eliminate the lead weights because some detach from the car wheel and get into the sidewalks down the drain and contaminate the soil, water etc. "something like that"

Instead of looking for free lead weights, I ended up buying 50lbs of lead ingots on ebay. I will be buying more in the next couple of weeks before they go higher in price.

Any experiences like this in your state? I'm from Florida
 
My tire guy is an avid reloader/shooter. He says you do not know the metal content of wheel weights today. There are just too many manufacturers and no standards. For guys like me who use only pure soft lead the days of using wheel weights are long gone.
 
I don't cast, but wouldn't soft lead shot be a viable alternative over ordering lead over the internet? Can get lead shot locally, but is it much more expensive than buying ingots? In fact, a friend of mine stopped reloading and gave me all of his stash of shot. About 100 lbs of #6 high antimony, and 100 lbs of #7.5 soft lead. I use the #6, but the #7.5 just sits by my reloading bench. Maybe I should find someone in my area that casts and do a trade...?
 
Stick on weights are 99.5% pure. Clip ons are a good bit harder, around 12 BHN. You have to go to tire shops and talk to the repair guys. They'll come closer to giving you a bucket or two than the managers will. There will be a percentage of zinc weights but keep your heat down and they will float on top.
 
I go the so called "ghetto" tire shops. Especialy the ones that sell used tires. They have always been more than willing to sell me a bucket of used weights. I will also throw in an ice cold bucket of adult beverages as well. (Not too many guys want to turn down ice cold beer after a hard hot day.)
 
Many weights are now zinc or a zinc alloy with something else. CA banned lead wheel weights and the rest of the country is following suit because of the "pollution" from lead weights by the side of the road
 
I don't unnerstand the "pollution" angle. Somebody went to a whole lot of work to mine that stuff, get it above ground, refined, cleaned, formed- or what ever they do to the stuff- why is it so bad to let a little of it get back into the ground from which it came?
 
10-96: I agree with you. It came out of the ground in the first place.

But dont say that too loud. the politicians and tree hugger's will sign a bill that will use your tax $ to mine it all out of the ground for your safety. Then we'll spend a billion for special containers to bury it in :-)

All in the name of saving the environment.
 
I don't unnerstand the "pollution" angle. Somebody went to a whole lot of work to mine that stuff, get it above ground, refined, cleaned, formed- or what ever they do to the stuff- why is it so bad to let a little of it get back into the ground from which it came?
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This is where it was dug out of the ground. After the mines closed, they left tailings in place, open shafts, etc. Lead is everywhere, and it causes brain damage. Kids born here who play in areas contaminated with lead have wound up with brain damage.

Lead is incredibly poisonous. it's in the groundwater here, it's in the topsoil and grass, it blows in the wind, it's in the pavement even. The EPA closed an entire town and the federal goverment bought it all up because there was too much lead on the ground. It's going to be leveled and sowed with salt in a few years.
 
Stick on weights are 99.5% pure. Clip ons are a good bit harder, around 12 BHN. You have to go to tire shops and talk to the repair guys. They'll come closer to giving you a bucket or two than the managers will. There will be a percentage of zinc weights but keep your heat down and they will float on top.
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That' hasn't been true for more than 20 years.

Wheel weight alloys are all over the map. You never know what you're going to get, no matter what type of weight it is.

You can see batches of clip-ons at BHN 7, batches of stick-ons at BHN 15, and anything in between.

Wheel weights are no longer made with properly mixed alloys. They are made with whatever contaminated scrap alloy is available at the foundry, even if it's contaminated with aluminum, zinc, cadmium, strontium, or anything else. Wheel weights don't have to be made with a good alloy, so they aren't.
All of the claims of specific alloys and hardnesses applying to different types of wheel weights haven't been true since the '80s and/or '90s (depending on the type of weight). Don't assume anything...


Lead is incredibly poisonous. it's in the groundwater here, it's in the topsoil and grass, it blows in the wind, it's in the pavement even.
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Some forms of lead are hazardous.
Most forms of lead should be considered completely inert and harmless.
Being afraid does you no good, unless you know what type of lead you're dealing with.
 
What about all the fishing weights? How many ton's of those get tossed into the rivers yearly? And they are worried about a few falling off a car? Yup, sound's like government to me..........
 
I don't get all the EPA bull crap hype either. The crap comes out of the ground its a natural element. I'm just shooting it back in the ground where it came from :D. Back in the day lead was in EVERYTHING, right down to the body filler in your car. And I can't say for sure but seems to me there were NO more birth defects, brain cancers, etc, than there is TODAY, My crib was probably painted with lead paint and I probably chewed on it. But far as I know I'm just fine. Why don't the EPA get involved with the crap they spray on OUR FOOD, and the junk they INJECT into our live stock to make em grow faster, produce more milk, etc, etc :mad:
 
Why don't the EPA get involved with the crap they spray on OUR FOOD, and the junk they INJECT into our live stock to make em grow faster, produce more milk, etc, etc
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That's a political topic, that requires discussion of Monsanto, political pressure from big business, and the magical way in which Monsanto executives bounce back and forth between the EPA and their mega corporation (while accepting massive bonuses for helping approve controversial chemicals or treatment methods)... :rolleyes:

Others are involved, but Monsanto is the biggest player.
 
I picked up a couple of five gallon buckets from my buddy at the tire store about a week ago (two-man lift and we still struggled a little!) I've sorted through about 3/4 of it. Out of that, I'd say about 20% was zinc or steel. Out of the lead, maybe 30% was soft stick on that works great for my muzzleloading guns and the rest was relatively hard clip-ons.

I haven't seen much of a change in the quantity of non-lead weights over the past couple of years. The tire shops here still use lead.

Now, if only there was a way to get clean wheelweights...but beggars can't be choosers!
 
I scored a 5 gal bucket full, and another 2 gal wash pail full at a tire shop yesterday. I showed up at just almost closing time. It has been a bit warm lately. I had a 12 pack of iced down Bud Light in a 5 gal bucket. I offered to trade it with $10 in cash for a full bucket of wheel weights. When I was putting the bucket of weights in the truck, one of the guys came up with another small bucket and said, "here these were by the balancer, thanks for the beer.":D
 
When I was putting the bucket of weights in the truck, one of the guys came up with another small bucket and said, "here these were by the balancer
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Those were probably new ones. I've had that happen before.:D FWIW Franken all my stick on weights have been dead soft and I use a lot of them in muzzle loaders.

Here's a good read. http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm
 
Here's a good read. http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletAlloy.htm
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In several places, the LASC guys discuss the same thing I mentioned: That WW consistency has gone to crap over the last 15+ years, and that you can't count on anything being a predictable alloy or BHN, or even being uncontaminated. Their recommendation is the same as mine - alloy in the largest batches you can safely handle, watch out for contaminated WW ("new" production), and test the alloy afterward.
 
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