Good lead find, hard work required.

[Revolver]

This might be a source that others in coastal areas can persue.
This was an exciting find but will require much hard work before I'm done.

My buddy who works at a boatyard knew I was hunting for lead. They had this sailboat that mechanically wasn't worth fixing, was in the way, needed it out of there because it was blocking access to other boats. I of course am in it for the lead so I found another friend that wanted the boat (The interior is nice... Possible Playhouse, Stationary Camper, Scrap, etc). Had the boat dropped at his place today, will be removing the lead keel in near future. [smilie=w:

Hard to judge but I would say the keel easily exceeds 1 ton, maybe 2. I will definitely have to cut it up to get it home. In the bottom picture that is a dollar bill at the for scale. Anyone care to take any guesses on weight?

According to the boat manufacturers website... "The keels are solid lead hardened with 3% antimony." What might this alloy need to make good boolits?

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j407/mainejunker/32b84d5b.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j407/mainejunker/68fb85ac.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j407/mainejunker/5d5c0d28.jpg

[Mk42gunner]

According to the boat manufacturers website... "The keels are solid lead hardened with 3% antimony." What might this alloy need to make good boolits?

Maybe nothing, once you get it into ingots, cast a few boolits and see what it does.

I would almost bet you are going to have to add some tin to the mix though.

Robert

[mold maker]

Tarps and a chainsaw coming right up.
All you'll need besides labor, is some tin from Linotype or other source.

[greenbud]

I get to play the part of the friend making the play area for the kids.

Hope you all stay tuned to see the pics and videos. As we give this good old boat a new life!!

[dpaultx]

Anyone care to take any guesses on weight?

Scaling, from the pic of the dollar bill, I'm gonna guess that the visible part of the keel is around 9,000 cubic inches which would put the weight, in pure lead, at about 3,700 lbs. Pretty close to two tons. Of course, I'm just looking at the visible projection. No way of knowing how much of that keel is hidden inside of the hull.

Not much experience with that sort of boat. That keel would be stuck in two feet of mud in any lake close to me. Great find.

All good . . . Doug

[runfiverun]

lead, airc, is 730 lbs a square foot.
so measure, do the square inches, divide by 12, and times by 700.
you'll be right close.

[KYCaster]

OK, 3700 lbs. (according to Doug).....3% Sb.......

.....add 2% Sn........that'll give you an alloy slightly harder than WW........

.....02 X 3700 lbs. = 74 lbs. of Sn.............

.....WW Grainger has Lenox lead free solder (95% Sn) for only $42.40 per lb......

.....that's only $3137.60..............................plus shipping...........:shock:............

.....plus your labor.....................:groner:

......sounds like a heck of a deal to me! [smilie=1:

Jerry

P.S. If you shop around you can probably find Sn a bit cheaper. :bigsmyl2:

[imashooter2]

Time to start browsing the yard sales and thrift shops for pewter...

[Iron Mike Golf]

+1 on imashooter2

By going to flea markets, thrift shops, and antique malls I have about 40-50 lbs of pewter on hand for probably an average of $4 to $5 a lb. That's after having used about 5-10 lbs making alloy during that period. It's not hard to accumulate it faster than I cast and not pay much.

[Nazgul]

Hit radiator repair shops. I scored 200 lbs of 50/50 scrap solder from their tanks. Cost-$0.

Don

[Moonie]

Growing up we had a 21' sailboat with swing keep, 400lbs of lead in that one. Had an uncle with a 28' at the coast, probably similar to that one, he said it had about 4,000lbs in its keel.

[Revolver]

I have been gathering pewter have a small pile, guess I need to look harder now as it sounds like the most cost effective tin source.

[Echo]

I have bought solder on eBay, will pay up to $10/lb for Sn delivered, so 10 lbs of 50/50 solder is worth $50 to me, and that will augment a lot of WW's! Five pounds of Sn will handle 250 lbs of Pb/WW to 2%.

[mdi]

My 30' Catalina sailboat had a 10,000 lb. keel. Looked slightly larger than one pictured...

[Revolver]

My Trophy... tomorrow going to try the chainsaw.

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j407/mainejunker/a5b9044b.jpg

[Alchemist]

Nice score, Revolver! You might have enough lead to spare that you could trade for tin.

[greenbud]

and the idiot that helped
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc179/greenbud23/2012-05-18_19-55-32_133.jpg

[MGySgt]

I would be very careful with a chain saw on that keel - looks like you have a number of bolts where it was attached.

Not sure how I would handle it Maybe a torch with a cutting tip? Plasma cutter?

Just don't know.

[Mykos]

I think I'd be inclined to melt it off with a cutting torch into ingots. That looks pretty substantial for a chain saw. I don't think I'd subject any saw I care about to it.

[runfiverun]

sawzall blades are cheap.
then the circular saw for the middle.

[Oreo]

Sawzaw. I concur.

Get a handfull of good sharp, long blades too. Probably make the work go quicker.

[jeepguy242]

after trying the saw method, i am going to cast my vote for the cutting torch and melting it into ingots

[Huntducks]

Last year I got into a keel my share was 12> 3/4 full 5gal buckets of shot which I figured the weight at appox 1100lbs it was a mix of 4-5-8-9 the doves and crows did not seem to mind.

My cost was about $125 buying some buckets and lunch for two 15 year olds + gas.
They also went thru about 20 box's of shells.

[a.squibload]

Nice score!
Hard to imagine that much lead on something that's intended to float.

I would saw off a piece off for testing, see how it casts, etc.
Then you'll know if sawing is how you want to cut up the whole thing.
It's already one big ingot, no need to melt and re-ingotize if sawing works for ya.
Melting and pouring would cost a lot of fuel.

[Littlewolf]

my vote is on the torch

[blikseme300]

my vote is on the torch

Nah, I would just make a large enough melting pot.:bigsmyl2:

Bliksem

Ps What a score

[blackthorn]

I think I would build a BIG bonfire over it and then the run-off should be easier to handle.

[greenbud]

so how much does it weight and what is it worth....

The as far as my wife is concerned answer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJjdzi3Y8fk)

[Revolver]

Chainsaw wins. Cut about 1/4 of it off today and hauled home just under 1000 lbs. BIG JOB! Greenbud and I worked together and we were pooped! Cutting it was not very hard compared to loading it on the truck, next time will cut it smaller. The saw cut about 60" then needed to be sharpened. The blades weren't dull, they were rolled, strange... greenbud sharpened it up good for next time.

I took video, will post it up soon if you all are interested.

[mold maker]

Cutting torches that would do the job are too hot. You will vaporize lead and produce a dangerous fume.
I'd use a mechanical cutter of some sort. A chain saw over a big tarp will produce collectible chips. Cut around the fasteners and expect there to be angles bent, or heads, on the embedded ends.
Thats a great find

[Revolver]

Here is todays haul...

I calculated the big one to weigh 673 lbs, small one 272 lbs, and the bucket of shavings weighs in at 47 lbs, which is from 2 cuts.

992 lbs.

I have an old 1 ton truck and it was dogging pretty hard going up hills. The big chunk slid to one side when I turned a corner (even though I went slow to avoid this) and the truck was sitting very crooked. Took 5 minutes on the side of the road to re-center the load.

http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j407/mainejunker/e5c5ae28.jpg

[Fishman]

Those chips would make some interesting shotshells. Wonder what they'd be good for?

Anyway, congratulations are in order. You may have a lifetime supply.

[canyon-ghost]

Good going, that is a LOT of lead!

[Revolver]

The chainsaw vid... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5oz9IJ_5O0

[a.squibload]

Not bad, I vote for chainsaw!
Doubt the respirator was necessary, how big was the
smallest bit you found? Thinking that even a tiny piece
would not become airborne.

[greenbud]

Not bad, I vote for chainsaw!
Doubt the respirator was necessary, how big was the
smallest bit you found? Thinking that even a tiny piece
would not become airborne.

There was alot more dust from the chain saw then you would think. The resperator was needed big time.

[greenbud]

Click for video of us removing it. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy_6nmxCGko)

note filming was limited do to safty concerns that the keel could let go at any time. This is by far one of the most scary things I have ever worked on. The thump when it hit the ground reminded me of godzilla in the old films!!!!

[Lizard333]

Maybe it's just me, can't view the video, says it unavailable.

[greenbud]

Maybe it's just me, can't view the video, says it unavailable.

nope its just you just checked all of them :killingpc