Big Bucket o' Lead

[jeffwhetstone]

A while back a co-worker gave me a full 5 gallon steel bucket filled with "lead".
He told me it was from a decommissioned wave solder machine so I assume it
has a significant amount of tin.

So I have two questions for you boolit masters:

1) How do get it out of the 5gal bucket?
The bucket is rusty so I don't trust throwing it up on the turkey fryer (plus it probably weighs close to 175lb)

2) How can I determine the composition of the alloy?
I was thinking of measuring the temperature at the melting point. If it really is solder it should melt at a much lower temperature than typical boolit alloy.

any ideas? Should have some time off over t-giving to tackle this ingot making project.
thanks, Jeff

[Three44s]

Are you talking lead that's melted and poured into that metal bucket and then solidified???

......... IF so ..... you have your work cut out ........

And ONE thought is to cut the bucket off of the lead mass. And then cut the lead into manageable chunks.

Sawzall with long metal cutting blade???

Three 44s

[mooman76]

Sounds like the best thing is cut off the bucket. Lead solder is usually 60/40 mix but that doesn't make this so. Ask your buddy, I would think he should know since he new what it was. The extra tin makes it more valuable than ww lead at least as far as us casters go. You might be able to make ingots and swap for more lead and come out ahead.

[randyrat]

Some how get a chunk of it make a couple bullets out of it and a couple bullets of WWs or pure lead then weigh them and compare weight.
If your alloy bullet weighs considerably less than the others, chances are it's has a lot of tin in it.

[testhop]

i think you might cut the bucket off then use a weed burner (from harbor freight or some other tourch i was given a 90 lbsheet of pure andi cut it with a ax what a job a cutting torch should work i have seen lead cutters in the shipyard do it

[Down South]

If you have access to a torch you might be able to lay the bucket over on it's side and melt out small quanities at a time.

[imashooter2]

If you have access to a torch you might be able to lay the bucket over on it's side and melt out small quanities at a time.

This was my thought as well. Lay it on its side, hammer a "pour spout" in one edge of the bucket rim and set an ingot mold under it. Then have at it with a weed burner torch.

[compass will]

I would put it on the turkey cooker and just watch it. What do you have to loose. I would not worry about the rust, it will come out when you skim the pot.

Setup your workstation area with safety Dams around the cooker in case your fear of the bucket coming apart is true. Maybe but a sand dyke around it covered with paper.

Solder and lead melts at temps that paper will not burn. on here I read where some one used to use news paper for a thermometer. Stick it in the pot, it should turn brown but not burn. This reflects my experience of what cigarette butts do in my mix. (when I melt wheel weights I remove the stickon, and valve stems but the one place I get them from will have around 100 butts in them so I just leave them)

The other options of cutting the can off it, then cutting it into chunks is going to be messy with lead dust from the saw.

[StrawHat]

If you do use a saw of some sort you do not want to use a metal cutting (hacksaw) blade to cut the lead. The fine teeth will fill with lead, clog and render the blade uselees for the operation until cleaned. A coarse wood blade will be better for cutting lead.

[James C. Snodgrass]

I tell ya I must be gettin' weak because I just went and got a full 5 gallon bucket it weighed 172 lbs I thought it was heavy but not that heavy . I sure hope that yours is 60/40 that would be a real find .Good luck James:coffeecom

[4t5]

I was wondering how to get lead out of a bucket too, after I ran across this: http://cgi.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=2061650&convertTo=USD. It is a government auction for 36 lead lined 55 gallon drums to the tune of 58000 lbs! If it wasn't so far from Texas, I would be tempted to bid on it.

[jeffwhetstone]

thanks for all your ideas guys. yeah, it's definitely melted in the bucket.

I did ask the guy that gave it to me and he said they normally used 60/40 solder so I could be sitting on a serious pile of tin.

Right now I'm leaning towards cutting the bucket off w/ a cutoff wheel on the grinder.... then having at it w/ 12" blade in the sawzall to take off chunks small enough to fit in my 2 gal pot.

Will give it a try this Friday when the boss is out shopping...

Jeff

[JIMinPHX]

I've seen some guys hack chunks off a block like that with an ax before. Personally, I'd turn the bucket on it's side & go the torch route if one was available.

[runfiverun]

torch and pour, i have cut pure tin with a saws all and a metal blade.

[dominicfortune00]

If the bucket is rusty inside, chances are the solder isn't fully soldered to it.

Try turning it upside down and hitting the bottom with a sledge hammer.

Maybe that will break the bond to the bucket and cause the whole thing to come out in one piece.

[Mohillbilly]

I cut a 15-20 gal drum in half and punched holes in the bottom of the 5 gal bucket.I also punched a hole in the bottom of the half barrel. then made a stand of cinderblocks and old rerod to put the barrel in th middle and built a fire under the barrel.Did I forget to mention I use steel C channel as a trough to drain away the lead? Also have a couple of muffin tins to catch with, And a garden hose to cool things down.used motor oil is a fire starter and a sorta flux . works fur me.....

[Fixxah]

thanks for all your ideas guys. yeah, it's definitely melted in the bucket.

I did ask the guy that gave it to me and he said they normally used 60/40 solder so I could be sitting on a serious pile of tin.

Right now I'm leaning towards cutting the bucket off w/ a cutoff wheel on the grinder.... then having at it w/ 12" blade in the sawzall to take off chunks small enough to fit in my 2 gal pot.

Will give it a try this Friday when the boss is out shopping...

Jeff


I might be tempted to try a chainsaw. Almost no dust whatsoever and it may be fun.

[EchoSixMike]

A grinder or cutoff wheel to split the bucket into halves or quarters would be faster/easier then a saw. S/F....Ken M

[Rottweiler]

chances are it isn't a SOLID chunk once you get the bucket off. Most likely it is in "layers" where every time the machine overflowed it made a layer. The soldering machines I've been around don't melt much more than they need at any one momentIf it is a solid chunk one of 2 things happened, either the machine malfunctioned and melted a whole roll of solder or operator error caused it to melt WAY more solder than it needed to at once.

Solid or not, it's quite a nice chunk o' lead you have there

Happy casting

[jeffwhetstone]

Hey all... tackled the bucket project this afternoon. The cutoff wheel made real short work of the bucket.... and the solder wasn't stuck to it at all.

As Rottweiler pointed out, the big lump of solder was actually many "layers".
so I was able to break it into chunks with a combination of hammer, ax, and wonder bar.... still a good workout though. Fixxah, you almost convinced me to break out the Stihl.

Unfortunately, I didn't end up with the stash of tin I was hoping for. It was mostly a powdery dross when I melted it. Glad the wife was out of town 'cause it was messy.

In the end I was able to salvage around 65 pounds of clean solder and that should take care of my needs for a real long time. Thanks again to everyone for the advice in getting it out of the bucket...