Lead - Best way?

[captain-03]

A friend of mine turned me onto a "lead deposit" today!! A 3,000lb block of pure lead. It was on its way to a foundry and involved in a trucking accident. The foundry would not take it .... it was given away ...... The buddy and I went out today to try to get some of it. We tried an industrial drill in order to bore some holes so we could start breaking it open with wedges. Broke a couple 1" bits!!
Using sledges and wedges we were only able to break away about 60lbs before we just gave up. Too much work!!

The piece is about 18" thick. I would really like to just build a fire around it and let it just melt out, but that is not an option due to its present location (very close to a trailer and in town). Any suggestions on how to cut this thing up? Any ideas??

[Superfly]

chain saw works great

[thenaaks]

i know this sounds crazy, but how about a chainsaw?
last fall i cut down a tree that my brother and i had been tacking targets to for over 10 years. that oak was full of lead. after cutting it into 12" lengths for splitting, i notice all the bullets that had been sliced by the saw. i never even noticed when i was cutting the stuff. i think that a sharp chain with a little extra lube and low-ish speed would slice right through that hunk o' lead. the worst that will happen is it will gunk up your chain a bit. worth trying for 3000 lbs of free lead!

[thenaaks]

dang...superfly beat me to it
next time i won't let the dogs out mid-post :)

[leadman]

Do you have a friendly wrecker driver in the area. He may haul it cheap if he can do it when he is not otherwise busy. Get it to a place you can work on it easier.

[hammerhead357]

+1 for what leadman said. Then look at the MOAS here on the cast boolit site and either build one or have it built. Then ask the wrecker driver to come back out and place the block into the pot and then have lots of time and do it right only once.....Wes

[Echo]

I've heard of using a weed-burner from HF to melt off a corner or whatever - let it run out on the ground, pick it up, put it away, melt off another corner, ad infinitum...

[Bigjohn]

Darn it! Why don't these accidents happen right next to our driveways? It would be so much easier to cart it home piece by piece then. :mrgreen:

But the chainsaw idea sounds very good to me. Lead is soft enough to cut with that type of saw blade. You might want a yard vac to pick up the swaff.

John

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Man oh man get the chain saws going !!! Or a wrecker to move it, then the chain saws like the man said. Wow 3,000#:mrgreen:

[garandsrus]

Captain,

How did pure lead "Broke a couple 1" bits"? That shouldn't happen...

John

[Wilburt]

chain saw sounds like a good option.... But were a mask rated for lead. I'm sure that saw will kick up plenty of dust

[Maximilian225]

Captain,

How did pure lead "Broke a couple 1" bits"? That shouldn't happen...

John


Lead really grabs drill bits. There is no warning gets kinda plasticized acting as it heats up, then snap! You have to back the bit out often. Kerosene or a very light oil helps too.

-Max

[sheepdog]

On something that big might try using a car jack to raise it up, put a axe wedge under it then lower it using its own weight to sheer it. Rinse and repeat. Slow? Yes. But less little lead on the ground and in the air instead of in your pot.

[briang]

If it were me, I'd melt it with a HF weed burner as suggested above. I only paid $10 for mine.


chain saw sounds like a good option.... But were a mask rated for lead. I'm sure that saw will kick up plenty of dust

A chainsaw should just throw chips, not dust. I'd wear a mask anyway.

[Daniel964]

What about a Sawsall.

[Maximilian225]

Doesn't really apply to this big block, but the way you cut it on a metal bandsaw is to cut a piece of wood with it. The wood cleans the lead out of the blade, and keeps the blade from binding and breaking.
As others have suggested. I believe the chainsaw will be your best bet.

:lovebooli

[largom]

A case of beer to a local wrecker driver. Get it home then use chain saw or weed burner. Important thing is get it home!
Larry

[hornsurgeon]

perhaps a portable sawmill? the band saw type set up on a trailer.

[Fatman]

Man I'd jack up two sides of that block get a couple of big kettles underneath and use a blow torch to melt it into the pans. You could at least get it into two pieces this way or just get a bunch of ingot pans you could do cleaning later. I sure as heck wouldn't give up on it.

Fatman

[snaggdit]

Sawsall will not work. The teeth fill with lead and since much of the blade doesn't exit from the chunk to drop chips it just gets warm and sticks in the cut. Especially 18" thick. Do they even sell blades that long? +1 on the chainsaw.

[walltube]

Look in the "Yellow Pages" for a vehicle recovery service that has a 'skid truck'. Easy on-easy off.

Boolit casters are a resourceful, innovative bunch; are we not? :)

Y.T. ,

Wt.

[Sensai]

Oxy-acetalene cutting torch ?? It's what I use to make little pieces out of 1/2" sheet. Just keep a pot in the drip path.

[ghh3rd]

I'd at least get a small blow torch that uses Mapp gas and start a small river of lead. What spills to the ground will be much easier to fold up and put into a pickup truck bed, etc.

I found a nice chunk on the road once - about a foot long, 2-3" thick, perhaps 6-8" wide. It was 33 lbs. I can just imagine what a 3,000 chunk must look like! Lets see, I'm in Florida -- exactly where in Mississippi did you say that chunk is laying?

[Sensai]

One quick note of caution: Remember that if you use a torch, you'll be increasing the possibility of boiling a portion of the lead. Make SURE that your not inhaling the fumes.

[ghh3rd]

Good point!