I think I got lucky on this

[GRUMPA]

Not going into our rather small town
and the fact that when I do it seems the owners of tire shops know how much to charge for WW I decided to run my own ad in the local Craigs list just to see for myself what would happen. I got a call and arranged for a place to meet and I advertised I'ld be willing to pay .15LB for scrap lead, and this is what I got for $72...

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764fdd084a9a638.jpg

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764fdd084ae64fc.jpg

The guy I bought this from told me his dad had a tire shop back in the 90's and had the kids melt it all down to try and condense the pile of old WW that seemed to be accumulating in the shop. He told me they had all kinds of fun smelting it back then and has been sitting in the backyard ever since, so when he saw my ad his dad told him to call that guy up and sell it. I got 480LBS of this stuff and now it's time to figure a good way of getting chunks small enough to smelt it down into 1LB ingots.

[oneokie]

Nice score. You did good.

[Wally]

I was given a 150 block of lead---tried all sorts of things to get it into convenient chucks--the only thing that worked was a oxygen-propane torch...good luck...

[gbrown]

Man, you did good. From all I see on the forums, you got a deal. Am I jealous? YES!!! Just use and axe/hatchet/reciprocating saw to cut into useable lengths. Way to go!

[zomby woof]

Good job. Craiglist is your friend!!

[melloairman]

Beats digging in the dirt brim thats for sure .Marvin

[Ole]

Harbor Freight dutch oven should be big enough to handle all of those blocks individually.

You're welcome to borrow mine for a little while if you're going to be in the Phoenix area.

[Longwood]

Harbor Freight dutch oven should be big enough to handle all of those blocks individually.

You're welcome to borrow mine for a little while if you're going to be in the Phoenix area.

Cast iron pots are fairly well known for cracking.
Looks can deceive.
Before you buy the one from Harbor Freight, go to walmart and weigh one without its lid with a bathroom scale.
Do the same at Harbor freight to compare how much iron is actually in them.

[Ole]

Cast iron pots are fairly well known for cracking.
Looks can deceive.
Before you buy the one from Harbor Freight, go to walmart and weigh one without its lid with a bathroom scale.
Do the same at Harbor freight to compare how much iron is actually in them.

Mine has melted about a ton of lead into ingots without a single issue.

I'm cautious not to bang mine on the sides when it's hot.

If you want to worry about my cheap Chinese dutch oven cracking, you're welcome to, but I'll pass.

[GRUMPA]

I actually do have a large dutch oven but I use it primarily for annealing cases for swagging. That thought didn't occur to me, thaks Ole. If I used that for smelting I thin I would have an issue with getting it out of the pot and into the mould, I don't have a ladle that big, I currently use a cast iron pot that holds around 10lbs and it has a handle and I just pour into the moulds with that.

1 Person mentioned how it's better than ming from berms, well out here being so wide open most folks just step out there front door and away they go. The 1 place that I was told where folk go and practice shooting is a 3hr round trip for me, heck it takes every bit of 45min round trip just to get to my mailbox and back. So with the cost of the trip, whatever is in that berm can stay there I'll just get lead from the folks here it seems to be cheaper.

I have 1 of those electric air hammers with a couple of chisel attachments, but living on solar power I have a small time frame that I can use it, so sometime later I'll give it a whirl and see how it goes with that.

[canyon-ghost]

That's a sizeable score. I'm a little amazed at how people come up with lead when you tell them you want it. I've gotten a few good deals just here locally. I'm pretty sure that helpfulness and the American spirit aren't dead, folks seem to be keeping it alive!

I use a horizontal bandsaw sometimes at work, just sweep up all the cuttings with it. About any aggressive steel saw will work. If you're handy with a sledgehammer and chisel, that can work too.

Congratulations on a lead stash, always good to come across.

[Springfield]

Go to the goodwill and get a 12" steel pot, all that should fit one at a time. You really need to get a large ladle. Let me look arond, I know I have a spare I can sell cheap. Why cut stuff up if you can just melt it down? I have some cast iron cornbread moulds if you want them at the same time as the ladle.
.

[mold maker]

Sawsall, hand saw, limb saw, chain saw, circle saw, They all work. Put down a tarp to collect the bits thrown from the saw. Kitchen spoons and ladles work great to transfer to the ingot mold, just make sure they are sturdy at the junction of the handle.

[GRUMPA]

I have that large Ditch oven like I said so I'll give that a try, and I do have a large ladle that I found out in the shop. Why is it I have more stuff in there than I remember? CRS sucks at times. But I'll need to wait for a bit, still have to make 300 Blackout and that for me is real time consuming.

[Longwood]

From all of the reports here of cast iron pots breaking, my advise is to smelt outside if you use one so a bad spill of molten lead would be lot less of an issue.
What ever you do, don't do it on a concrete slab that has had water on it recently.

I have a dutch oven. It is my second. The first one broke but not from smelting. I use it to keep my fluxing pellets in.
I now use a 12" stainless cooking pot that I got for free when a lady friend bought better pots for cooking.
I also have a modified Propane tank for really big jobs but usually use the 12" pot which will hold plenty of lead.

BTW,
Lead is a lot harder to cut and melt if it is in a large slab with dirt, rocks, etc, etc, mixed in with it.

[Longwood]

I have that large Ditch oven like I said so I'll give that a try, and I do have a large ladle that I found out in the shop. Why is it I have more stuff in there than I remember? CRS sucks at times. But I'll need to wait for a bit, still have to make 300 Blackout and that for me is real time consuming.

-----------------------------------

Sound like you need to do like I did and have a garage sale, so you can sell what you don't need, and find what you do need, then buy more stuff you don't need, with the money you made.:bigsmyl2:

[leadman]

I have melted at least 5,000 pounds of lead in my cheap HF cast iron pot with no issues.

[bslim]

20 lb. propane bottle cut in half works just fine.

[Longwood]

I have melted at least 5,000 pounds of lead in my cheap HF cast iron pot with no issues.

[smilie=w:
Excellent!
I shall know you as Mr Lucky from now on.
I did not say they will break,,, only that they have.
I had a Chinese made cast pot break about 25 or so years ago while making sinkers, but it had one wood handle and was not a Dutch oven.
I am not fibbing, Go back through the archives and you will read about cast pots that cracked and or broke while using them for smelting lead.
I worked in a nickle smelter for about a year in the 60's where they had a crew of welders working full time welding up the cracks in the big cast pots they used. Sure, the nickle was a lot hotter but the pots were 2" thick and only held material and were not heated but they sure cracked.
I am an old retired welder that has tried (sometimes successfully) to fix a lot of broken cast items. The stuff will break like a glass bowl if you cool a section of it too fast when it is hot.

[Wayne Smith]

Don't overlook an ax or hatchet and maul when considering hacking away at blocks of lead.

[One Gun Andy]

You done good! How about a sledge and a wedge?

[sargenv]

I use a hatchet and a 3 pound sledge... the hatchet is basically a wedge with a handle in my eyes ;)

[Defcon-One]

I use a Lodge 7 quart dutch oven with lid, cast iron, has had 3,000 pounds plus of lead thru it no issues. Buy a good one, it will last forever.

I paid about $30.00 at Walmart online. I could have purchased a similar sized Chinese made one for $6.00 less. Not worth the savings.

I scrape and bang mine to get the crud out and have never had a problem. USA all the way.

Answer is, don't buy Chinese. I bet most, if not all of the stories that are told about cast iron pots cracking are Chinese made pots/dutch ovens!

[GRUMPA]

Well I have this at the moment and I'm sorry to say it is Chinese.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764eb1c552a311d.jpg

I use it to anneal cases with and take it upwards of 950deg when I do it, I figure if it was going to split it would have already.

Been so busy with making 300 Blackout brass lately, and not to mention it's just over 100deg on the patio right now. And doing a clutch job on the tractor is real time consuming, I got everything for the clutch put in but the tractor is basically in 2 halves at the moment and I need to get that put back together.

[Defcon-One]

Looks pretty solid to me, Chinese or not. My guess is that if they don't break/crack in the first few uses, they probably are not going to. That one should work fine for your big chunks of lead.

[GRUMPA]

Still haven't smelted it down yet, but found this in a junk pile and was wondering which of the 2 would be better, the Chinese one in post #24 or this one below. Just looking for some educated suggestions on this, I've always done WW with the clips still on and the ingots I got are 75LBS each.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764fedea32afd9c.jpg

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764fedea32eb6af.jpg

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/162764fedea332c020.jpg

[Salmon-boy]

Grumpa.. Nice find!! On both accounts.

Personally, (and if they fit) I wouldn't have any issue with melting the chunks down in the chinese pot. If you can start with a small pool (called a heel) it'll melt quicker.

I wouldn't worry about it splitting unless you've abused it by beating the tar out of it while it's still hot/warm..

[mold maker]

Maybe ignorance is bliss, or I'm just lucky, but I've melted many tons, in either of 2, cast (no name) pots. One is a 6 qt, and the other is about a 9 qt. I have tapped my ladles and other tools on the inside of both without a problem. I doubt either are from HF, but very well may be Chinese. Both are very heavy so i assume they are rather thick.
Just yesterday on the way to take grandkids to camp, I spotted a CI wash pot at the curb for trash. Before I could turn around, someone beat me to it. Guess that proves I aint lucky.

[guidogoose]

I have put chunks in a vise and beat them with a sledge hammer. By the way, nice score!

[GRUMPA]

I'm adding this little note: I now know first hand why it is people that get large chunks of lead cut it up into smaller chunks. I put in a 70lb chunk and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally I remember what Salmon-boy said about using a "HEEL" so I grabbed some 1lb ingots I have close-by and those melted real fast, but I waited, and waited,and waited, finally after 45min to an hour I had 75lbs of melted lead. The kid I got all the lead from must have done a good job of smelting, after it melted down I fluxed it and out of 75lbs I only skimmed off 1/2lb of crud.

Now I only have 400lbs to go, but it's still hot here so I think I'll wait till the highs are in the 50's to finish it off.

[Master Chief]

Nice find !!