Lead is a heavy metal with the symbol Pb. It is a major component in Lead-Acid Batteries as well as plumbing, bullets and shot, weights,solders, pewters, fusible alloys, paints, leaded gasoline and radiation shielding,

We buy all types of lead. In addition to selling direct to smelters, we also re-sell lead to the general public to use to make weights and bullets as well as other items. Proper safety precautions are strongly advised when handing lead as inhalation, ingestion, or absorption through the skin or eyes can cause an assortment of health issues.

Clean Lead

Clean soft lead is pure, or close to pure, and is pliable and impressionable.  If it can be scratched easily, it can be considered soft lead. Pure lead has a melting point of 621 F and is desirable for people looking to make their own weights and bullets. 

Clean hard lead is mostly pure, unrefined lead, that may contain some impurities, including but not limited to 5% or more of antimony, zinc, aluminum, iron, and/or tin. The presence of these metals makes the lead harder and lighter.  Most solid lead will be considered clean if it contains minimal amounts of other metals, but will not be priced the same as clean soft lead, which is closer to purity.

Dirty Lead

If lead is mixed with metals of lesser value such as aluminum, zinc, iron, or steel, or is contaminated with foil, paper, plastic, tar, shingles and other non-metallic items, it will be considered dirty lead. Roofing sheets, lead pipes, and wheel weights that are contaminated would be considered dirty lead.

Range Lead

Range lead is lead that can be recovered from bullets that have already been fired at a target.  Indoor and Outdoor gun ranges often contain thousands of these bullets, and range lead recovery companies provide services that swiftly and efficiently remove the lead from the ground.  

Many bullets have a lead core that is jacketed or plated with copper, brass, zinc, nickel, and steel.  Sometimes lead is mixed with a small amount of antimony and tin. There are many types of bullets and not all contain lead, however they are found in many handguns due to their effectiveness at firing speeds of 850-1300fps. 

Lead Alloys

Dross, or lead solder drippings, contain varying ratios of lead and tin, and sometimes small amounts of antimony, silver, and/or copper.  Some common ratios include 50-50, 60-40, and 63-37 lead to tin.  63-37 is most commonly used in electronics shops and printed circuit board assembly and repair.

Some Babbitt metal alloy's contain lead.  Lead-based Babbitt alloys are used in bearings, and are found in general purpose machinery, line shafting, and machine shops. Babbitt metals often contain lead, tin, antimony, arsenic, calcium, or one or more alkaline earth metals. Type metals, used in the printing industry, contain lead-antimony, tin, and some copper for hardness. The presence of tin in a lead alloy will increase the value of the metal. 

Fusible alloys are employed as coolants for the particularly low melting point (sometimes lower than boiling water) in boilers, nuclear reactors, and automatic fire sprinklers.  These alloys contain select combinations of lead, tin, bismuth, cadmium, indium, or other elements. Lead-calcium-tin, and lead-silver alloys are used in anodes to provide resistance to sulfuric acid in electrolyte solutions.

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