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looseprojectile
02-16-2009, 01:51 AM
I just had a call from a friend that has found some.
This is three, one thousand pound blocks, shielded in steel.
How will I get it out? Thinking of cutting a hole in a corner and using a weed burner and casting ingots at the same time. Don't know how I would handle a thousand pound piece of anything. Hope the price is right enough for me to buy it all.
Right now it belongs to a scrapper that scrounges metal of any kind and he was offered scrap steel price for it. Offer twenty cents a pound, maybe? Less? More?

Will I be put on the terrorist list for having that much lead?
Anyone had a problem such as this? [Not the terrorist list one].

Life is good

HeavyMetal
02-16-2009, 01:58 AM
I don't think the weed burners gonna work for you!

A 1000 pound block is going to absorb heat like a sponge! I think I'd hit this with an acetylane tourch.

Much hotter much faster, wear a resperator you will be hot enough to create fumes! Might be able to set up trough to "bleed" the lead from the large block into a "smelting" pot that will hold 200 pounds or so for making ingots. This is where your weed burner will get it's work out!

Figure this to be a two man job, and more than a Sat afternoon in time as well.

Good luck!

snaggdit
02-16-2009, 02:10 AM
Are we talking pure lead? Sounds like you have a "good" problem. I agree with the torch and channel idea. Can you cut off sections of the steel with a grinder? What are the dimensions of the blocks? I tried to cut some lead strips today with my sawsall and it was hard (slow) going. I think the lead sticks in the teeth (then the blade sticks on the sides). Maybe a bandsaw, but who will hold the block up for you while you cut it? Cheaper than dirt has some old military gas masks cheap that might be useful if you are getting it hot enough to vaporize lead.

nicholst55
02-16-2009, 03:34 AM
Cheaper than dirt has some old military gas masks cheap that might be useful if you are getting it hot enough to vaporize lead.

Have they got fresh filters to go with the gas masks? It says that 'both date from 1980s to 1990s; the filters have passed their shelf-life date. I wouldn't try that on a bet!!! Military gas masks are made to do one thing, and one thing only - to protect you from poison gas and bio agents. When they are 'surplused,' there's a reason - like they're unserviceable or obsolete.

Buy a respirator; you'll be glad you did - and they're not that expensive.

defib
02-16-2009, 03:53 AM
I have an idea ( if this is unsafe or stupid let me know) put the block up on fire bricks drill a good size hole or make one with a torch. put your dutch oven under the hole so the lead will drain into it and build a fire under the block. once you get coals use a fan or pipe hooked up to an air compressor to increase your heat it should melt from the bottom up just like all of our smelting pots. you might have to put some vent holes in the top though.

just an idea. let me know what you guys think.

snaggdit
02-16-2009, 03:54 AM
nicholst55 might have a point. Although I can't see that a filter would break down over the years but I guess who knows? Our (and other) military surplusses stuff all the time to make room for new (and help out the defense industry) when it is still very serviceable. Still, without knowing the particulate size you would have to do some checking. A respirator would be a sure thing. Always better than an iffy one, I guess.

snaggdit
02-16-2009, 04:00 AM
defib, problem is that lead is a VERY good conductor of heat. It is not like ice. In order to get the lead to start melting with a heat source under it, the WHOLE block needs to be heated to near melting. Using a torch puts so much high heat in one spot that it melts before the heat has a chance to spread out into the surrounding block, allowing you to carve off sections. If you could heat the whole block to melting, making a hole in the steel would give you a drain, but you would have no way to stop the flow until 1000# of lead flowed out.

insanelupus
02-16-2009, 04:17 AM
Buy a jackhammer with a chisel attachment. Chisel off the steel, then use the chisel attachment to cut chunks desired size for smelting pot.

Suo Gan
02-16-2009, 05:33 AM
This will be a headache. I would not offer .20. For the hassle it is worth a lot less, believe me. Cutting lead is really not an option. Chipping it would work much better. As I have also posted previosly, once small enough (100 pound chunks) it can be split in a log splitter.

Tom Herman
02-16-2009, 10:20 AM
I'd offer ten cents a pound, maybe 15 considering the quantity. He'll be offered MUCH less by the scrap yard, so it's a slam dunk that you can get it from him and save big $$$.
I agree with the others: Breach the steel, and melt out the lead a bit at a time with a very strong flame. I've tried cutting lead, and it's hopeless.
Good Luck!

Happy Shootin', -Tom


I just had a call from a friend that has found some.
This is three, one thousand pound blocks, shielded in steel.
How will I get it out? Thinking of cutting a hole in a corner and using a weed burner and casting ingots at the same time. Don't know how I would handle a thousand pound piece of anything. Hope the price is right enough for me to buy it all.
Right now it belongs to a scrapper that scrounges metal of any kind and he was offered scrap steel price for it. Offer twenty cents a pound, maybe? Less? More?

Will I be put on the terrorist list for having that much lead?
Anyone had a problem such as this? [Not the terrorist list one].

Life is good

dragonrider
02-16-2009, 10:49 AM
Using Oxy/Acet would be an expensive way to melt that much lead, but I would buy it anyway. Hang onto it as someday you will come up with a way to retrieve it. One idea I have would be to build a fire ring out of pipe and hook to a propane tank and an air line to make your propane fire hotter. It's what I did forr my smelter, works great. Of course you must use a regulator on the tank and one on the airline. I use about 3 lbs of air when smelting. Make the ring large enough to fit around a cast iron pot and as mentioned above support the weight on firebricks and insulate on top and sides with rockwool. Also drill several holes in the top for the release of moisture.

JSnover
02-16-2009, 10:59 AM
I like the jackhammer idea. Make the blocks into manageable pieces and melt them in a dutch oven. I fell onto a stack of lead plates last year that were about 1 foot by 2 foot, 1 inch thick. My air chisel was a little small but it chopped them up pretty well.

looseprojectile
02-16-2009, 01:34 PM
The logistics of handling this stuff is beyond my scope of ambition and ability.
You guys are giving some good advice. I have not seen this stuff and have a lot of questions myself. I can only imagine the dimensions of these blocks of lead, much as you can, and I can only see a lot of problems and expense in gearing up to handle it.
I'll go look at it and figure from there.
Furthermore I just smelted 67 pounds of pure and 125 pounds of wheel weights last week. More wheel weights comming in a couple of weeks. That added to my stash will last me into my eighties, and beyond, probably.
As usual the input from you guys is very useful and I am greatfull.
Thanks!

Life is good

madcaster
02-16-2009, 01:41 PM
You may also want to invest in a cart of some kind to move the lead with-kinda save on your back!

high standard 40
02-16-2009, 01:50 PM
A 1000 lb block of lead will not be that large an object physically. I have 1500 lbs in ingots and it takes up a surprisingly small space. It should be about a 30" cube. Can't deny the weight aspect though. Hard to lift that much. How thick is the steel that it is encased in and is it included in the 1000lbs?

BT Sniper
02-16-2009, 02:00 PM
Maybe the size of a 55 gallon drum. Just thinking if a full 5 gallon bucket weight close to a 100 lbs. Like the camp fire idea, certainly cheep. I melt 100 lbs at a time over outdoor fire pit fast enough for me.

Good luck wish I had your problem.

looseprojectile
02-16-2009, 02:18 PM
says "you don't NEED three thousand pounds of lead", And I think she is right.
How do women know this kind of stuff?:groner:

Life is good

snuffy
02-16-2009, 02:30 PM
I like the jackhammer idea. Make the blocks into manageable pieces and melt them in a dutch oven. I fell onto a stack of lead plates last year that were about 1 foot by 2 foot, 1 inch thick. My air chisel was a little small but it chopped them up pretty well.

For lead of this dimension, a skill circular saw is the cats behind for cutting lead. The centrifugal force slings the chips free of the blade, so they don't gum up and jam like a reciprocal saw would. Be advised though, the chips are hot and moving fast, so wear protection on exposed skin. Sweep up the chips too, don't want to waste good lead!

As for the OP's lead, I'd figure a way to take the steel completely off the lead. Hopefully it wasn't poured in hot so the steel could be removed easily. Then, it's a matter of either cutting it into manageable chunks, or melting it in mass.

angus6
02-16-2009, 02:50 PM
I've got 2000# of 2/6/92 ingots and they take up a space 22"x22"x16" , lead weighs around .41 pounds to the cubic inch

snuffy's right on about cutting with a skill saw works darn good

GLL
02-16-2009, 03:24 PM
A 55 gallon drum size block of solid lead would be over 5,000 pounds !

A 30" cube is over 11,000 pounds !

Better rent a fork lift ! :) :)

I set a 55 gallon drum of WWs in my little Toyota pickup and it settled down on the springs pretty well !

Jerry

high standard 40
02-16-2009, 03:39 PM
Ooops. 11000 lbs is correct for a 30X30. I missed a decimal point in my calculation.[smilie=1:

snaggdit
02-16-2009, 03:58 PM
A little under 14" square, or if say 6" thick a plate 20x20.

NSP64
02-16-2009, 07:49 PM
I would not attempt it, even if it was free.