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A tubed flake white would probably work, but it will be a fatter than the stuff made specially for grounds. There's only a few places that make lead grounds anymore. Off the top of my head Williamsburg does, I think Vasari does and Studio Products makes a lead primer in black oil.
Schmid used a Dutch Boy product if memory serves. Its not made anymore which may well be why he quit using lead grounds. As I understand it the SP primer is similiar to it.
If you're starting with raw canvas it will need a glue sizing to keep the oil from attacking the canvas fibers. I'm told that is not necessary if you use polyester since it is not a natural fiber, but cotton or linen definitely size. On the other hand you can use an acrylic preprimed canvas and just put a coat of white lead over it. You'll probably get an argument from a purist on that, but for experimentation purposes at least it works quite nicely. Before you go out and buy primers and canvas you might want to try putting a layer of flake white on a couple small preprimed canvases just to see it you like the feel of a white lead oil ground. I think at the very least you'll find that is easier on brushes.
One last thought just occured to me. Do not sand a lead ground. You run the risk of breathing lead dust and getting a layer of it over everything. Most definitely a bad thing. Handled correctly lead is not a problem to use. Being suspended in oil you should be able to brush it out smoothly enough that sanding really isn't necessary anyway.
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