Ingot Storage

[IraqVet1982]

I need some storage ideas for my lead ingots.

I prefer something that's stackable (see thru also preferable) but I tend to label everything.

So far, I've only purchased ingots from here and all so far have came in SFB. So anything that will accommodate that size or slightly larger would be preferable. My biggest concern is being able to stack multiple storage containers on top of each other - I can't believe how dense/heavy lead actually is.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Digger]

don't do it in milk crates stacked ....[smilie=b:
or you will crack the slab ...
108314

[lightman]

I use plastic milk cartons. They stack well and you can see in them. A scrap piece of plywood in the bottom helps make the bottom stronger. When full, they weigh too much to move. Like 600-700#. Five gallon buckets are common too, and some even make wooden boxes.

[Mk42gunner]

Too bad we can't get metal milk crates any more, Dad had a few of those and they were just about stout enough to use as jack stands.

Whatever you do, if it is going to be raised off the floor it needs to be strong.

Robert

[flyingmonkey35]

108326I prefer the scrooge Mc' Duck method of smelting into coins and swimming in it.

108325

[mold maker]

I've got milk crates (older stronger with fiber reinforcement) stacked 4 high, and full of nested ingots. so far everything is stable.
The newer injection molded crates probably wont stand stacking more than two high. Like stated above a piece of plywood in the bottom is a good idea. From now on I'll put the empty crate, on a HF dolly so I can move it.

[Tazza]

Wow digger, that is a pretty nice pile of ingots there.

Sadly mine are stacked in buckets that have split their sides, some long ones on top of some shelving and some stacked in a cupboard in my shed. Not ideal, but it will do till i melt them down to prepare to be flung down range.

I like the idea of milk crates, but as already mentioned, once full, you won't be moving it without hydraulic assistance.

[floydboy]

I store mine out in the shop between wall studs. My walls are unfinished on the inside so I stack the ingots between them. They are out of the way, easy to get two and I store pure in one slot and WW in the one next to it. Just look at the height of the stack to see if I'm getting out of balance. Can't move the pile but never need in between the studs anyway.

Floyd

[RogerDat]

I use partly filled buckets, sticker on the side for a label. Sheet of paper inside with the same information. I keep the weight down (50-75 lbs.) so I can move them and since they are not full they stack pretty well nesting inside each other. Can go 3 high with 3/4 bucket at 75 lbs. or 4 high with 50 lbs. in half full bucket. Someone recently suggested 1 gallon paint cans, not see through but they stack well and are a manageable weight. I use red coffee cans for smaller quantities of special stuff such as mono/lino type.

Another fellow used spot of colored clear paint to mark the ingots for easy identification. I thought that made good sense if one only had a few different types of alloy to mark.

The stuff that I find difficult is the solder bar stock and ingots. Have yet to find a good container long enough for the bars yet small enough to sort them into without having too much weight. For now they sit in a broad flat box on a shelf, clearly not ideal.

+1 on use plywood in bottom of milk crate, the weight will eventually distort or bust out the bottom otherwise, don't ask how I know.

[skeettx]

Whatever you do, put it on a pallet so it can be moved.
I use GI footlockers on pallets
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MVC-049S.JPG

And before I was smarter, used truck storage boxes for linotype but no pallet :(

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/MVC-055S1.JPG
Mike

[376Steyr]

A set of Harbor Freight (i.e. cheap) number and letter punches to stamp a code on each ingot is nice. Sooner or later one pile will get mixed in with another. Write down something like L1 is soft sheet lead, smelted Jun 14, 100 lbs total weight in the lot. Just remember to not lose the piece of paper that has your codes on it.:oops:

[RogerDat]

A set of Harbor Freight (i.e. cheap) number and letter punches to stamp a code on each ingot is nice. Sooner or later one pile will get mixed in with another. Write down something like L1 is soft sheet lead, smelted Jun 14, 100 lbs total weight in the lot. Just remember to not lose the piece of paper that has your codes on it.:oops:

Well if you are married or have kids you can save yourself the bother of losing it yourself. Just print on bright purple paper so it is easy to keep track of and identify, then put it anyplace in a shared domicile and mention that the purple list is really important. Poof it will vanish on it's own.

I have been writing on the ingots with marker 96/2.5/1.5 or Sn 30 or pewter etc. just whatever will let me figure out what it is. But I do fear it getting mixed because it would be painful to sort back out. Not to mention having it wash off would be pretty bad. Stamps might be better.

[dragon813gt]

I use footlockers, real deal and ones I make from scrap laying around.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/TimeToMakeAmmo/16F61808-85F4-4324-B649-6A50ECBF3BE3-14876-00000BB065D98F5E.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/Mobile/D6A4D962-87FF-4E1C-841D-198F1599D826-15256-000008D2532CC41F_zpsd9220a32.jpg

Anything smaller doesn't work w/ the quantity that I own.

[Brenden]

55 gallon drum. They hold about2200 lbs of 3 lb ingots.

[Valley Forge]

I made this awhile back with wheels and covered it with spar varnish so I could leave it outside and move it around when I wanted. The inserts slide in and out as desired and I use it to store segregated wheelweights, lead, Lyman#2, and typemetals.
108872
108873

[MrWolf]

I use the plastic milk crates. I do stamp my roofing lead as roof and my soww as soww. My coww is not marked but since the other two are, no worry if they get mixed.

[MRBACKHAND]

Some very impressive amounts of lead there.

[TenTea]

I store mine out in the shop between wall studs. My walls are unfinished on the inside so I stack the ingots between them. They are out of the way, easy to get two and I store pure in one slot and WW in the one next to it. Just look at the height of the stack to see if I'm getting out of balance. Can't move the pile but never need in between the studs anyway.

Floyd

My system too, Floyd.

I label some ingots in each smelt group with a Sharpie in order to easily tell WW from pure, by sight.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

There are no 6 men going to pick up my stash and carry it away.

Told the son when it is time to make the clean out here to bring a big truck. Not so much because he needs lots of room, but rather weight carrying capacity.

In the last couple of months, and thanks to the son giving me a turkey fryer, I now have all my alloy smelted and cast into ingots.

Then, almost like some other posters, my shop is a pole building and all the ingots are stacked next to one of the poles on an outside wall.

There is just no way to carry that much weight in a container unless it is on a pallet or you have a forklift or pallet jack.

One of the best suggestions was the set of Harbor Freight metal stamps. I Bought a set of 1/2" stamps before the big smelt and while they'd not likely last long stamping steel (they are cheap), they are just fine for the lead alloys. Now not only is everything cleaned up and stacked, it is all marked as to WW or lino or lead.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[kryogen]

Oh god this is epic hoarding ;)
I though that I had too much with my 800 pounds of ingots but you have much more.


don't do it in milk crates stacked ....[smilie=b:
or you will crack the slab ...
108314

[RogerDat]

I bought one of those knock together metal shelves from Gorilla Rack that use keyhole slots to support the cross pieces. The 14 inch deep one I purchased is rated at 200 lbs. per shelf BUT that is evenly spread weight. The 3/8 inch thick shelves will bow pretty easily if one puts a heavy coffee can of lead in the center so....

I decided to beef up the bottom shelf for storing lead filled coffee cans, at first was just going to replace shelf with some 3/4 inch particle board then I came up with the idea below that I think will not only prevent shelf from bowing but increase it's weight capacity because it adds two additional legs to take some of the weight.

Ripped a piece of wood 1 x 1.5 inch from the edge of a 2 x 4 then put two 5/16 inch T-Nuts in it. Glued that to the bottom of the bottom shelf, used a few (4) finish nails to help hold wood in place. Now I can run a two bolts with locking nut into the T-Nuts and adjust bolts to just make contact with the floor to provide an additional two legs under the shelf. Tighten the locking nut and it should stay put. Don't know about your garage floor but mine is not perfectly flat so being able to adjust the supports made me think bolts would work better than wood blocks.

Shelf sitting face down on bench with center support rail glued to the bottom.
109400

Closer picture of the T-Nuts and bolts as legs.
109401

[Digger]

Oh god this is epic hoarding ;)
I though that I had too much with my 800 pounds of ingots but you have much more.

Just a little bit ? ...:oops:

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Like food, fuel and loading components, hard to have too much bullet alloy on hand!

Remember the Clinton error and the two obamanations and stock up whenever possible!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Digger]

Yeah .... Kind of figured I would do my part to help hold down this part of the state when Calif. floats away...

[Static line]

I am greenhorn at casting but I cast in front of my garage and I like my supplies at hand when I need them with just a simple few steps and a reach,I can grab my ingots from between the studs in the garage.Now mind you,I only have maybe 500 pounds of ingots but I also have more studs to go between.I am going to add a hinged door to the studs and enclose the ingots in order to keep them clean.This method aids in two things here,first it makes it convientent for me to get to and second and after I have more smelting under my belt,will aid in ankoring my garage down if there is a tornado.

[1911KY]

I bought these totes.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_136523-1097-1869454_0__?productId=4462429&Ntt=brute+tote&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dbrute%2Btote&facetInfo=

I went with the 14 gallon totes so they don't get crazy heavy.Going to buy some furniture movers on casters from Harbor Freight to put them on so I can wheel them around the garage. I also like how tight they seal when closed.

[dragon813gt]

i went with the 14 gallon totes so they don't get crazy heavy.
Have you ever moved a five gallon bucket full of lead? And you're going to tripple that weight w/ those totes. Don't me stop you but those are going to be extremely heavy.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Not extremely heavy, but EXTREMELY HEAVY!!!! :bigsmyl2:

I don't want my stash in boxes as it just means I'm going need at some point, to unload them.

When it is time for the boys to do a clean out, I told them they better bring a big truck, as in one that is rated for hauling things heavy!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[1911KY]

Have you ever moved a five gallon bucket full of lead? And you're going to tripple that weight w/ those totes. Don't me stop you but those are going to be extremely heavy.

Yes sir I have, just packed one out of the tire shop yesterday!...it was a little more than half my body weight...that's where the furniture movers come in handy!! I have space under my bench open to the smooth floor so I can roll the tote under and pull it out when I need it. The handles are pretty solid on these totes, they should hold up for awhile. If not, then I will go with wood. I just like the seal on the plastic, keeps the little ones hands out!!

[Coffeecup]

The lead I have in 1# ingots is stored in ammo cans. Convenient to grab one when casting, keeps the lead clean, and I just love the look on someone's face when they grab and "empty" can and try to walk away with it."

[zuke]

My 1000 or so LEE ingot's, cast right up to the top edge weigh about 4 lbs each. I have 2 pile's stacked inside 2 stainless steel conveyer bodies/tub's 8 feet long upside down sitting beside a shed at my ex's place.
Their well overgrown with grass and weed's so their camoed up.

[Tazza]

The old range lead I got, I used some old corrugated roofing iron about a metre long with the ends bent up. they each weighed about 8kg. I stored them on top of some metal shelving, was about 800kg in total. I just grab a stick and add it to my pot. Sadly there aren't as many left as there was :(

[twc1964]

Wow! digger, you have one heck of a stash! i can fit all of mine in two full 5 gallon buckets. but the search never ends l

[Digger]

Wow! digger, you have one heck of a stash! i can fit all of mine in two full 5 gallon buckets. but the search never ends l

Yeah , but I think the smart ones here don't always talk about it ....
Have learned a lot since joining up here and always will be.
you have hooked up with a great bunch of people here.
Keep up the search and it will come your way ....;)

[Markbo]

Speaking...where can I buy milk crates cheap?

[1911KY]

Speaking...where can I buy milk crates cheap?

You guys have anything like a Peddlers Mall? There was a booth that had them today for $1.80 here in KY.

[Minerat]

My storage problems has been solved. I have smelted WW 1# ingots in 1/2 a 3 # coffee can, I have tin in a sandwich bag and 10-2 in 3-5 # ingots. I keep the rest stored at the tire stores and recycle yards or in bullits.:bigsmyl2: Yes I am PB challenged and have just been too lazy (cheap) to try to get more for now. I envy the stashes you guys have, maybe some day.

[Down South]

I built a wood pallet out of scrap wood laying around. It's a lot stronger than an ordinary pallet and I built it the size I wanted.

[bobthenailer]

WHAT ! only one picture of your stash i would need more pictures .
For ingot storage i use 5 gallon buckets ,and a few 15 gallon & 30 gallon barrels.