plumbers lead...

[quiknot]

does all lead have to be smelted, in particuliar plumbers lead?...i have some 5# blocks and was wondering

what is the best way to cut down larger pieces of lead to fit in a melter?

thanks

[wills]

That will be pretty near pure, you will probably want to add some tin to improve the casting qualities.

Five pounds is not much lead, how small do you want the pieces?

[randyrat]

Don't ruin pure lead the black powder guys are always looking for pure lead for their musket bullets. I can sell pure lead for more than WW alloys. I'm not sure how to cut it into smaller blocks.

[454PB]

It's easier to get a bigger pot than to cut up 5 pound ingots.

[Treeman]

It's easier to get a bigger pot than to cut up 5 pound ingots.

True ,but you could cleave them with a sharp ax.

[snuffy]

If I may suggest, you can use a common circular blade skill saw to cut lead. Just about any blade will work. Reloader Fred over at THR sugested it to me and others when replying to a thread on smelting lead. He used a somewhat dull carbide blade, mine has a much used common crosscut steel blade. Be sure to put something on the ground to catch the "sawdust". Makes for a good quick melting contact lead in the bottom of the pot!

I was faced with a problem of reducing 90 pound counter weights that I got from my job as scrap. They were counter weights for a huge multi-spindle drill, used when the massive head had to be raised or lowered. I wanted to find out what I had, as to it's characteristics. Turns out to be real soft, but not pure lead. It casts real nice shiny boolits, that fill-out pretty nicely, not like pure lead would behave! I have 15 of them, so I hope it turns out to make good boolits!

BTW, first post here, glad to be around, NOT my first visit by a long shot!

Oh, I've been casting lead boolits since 1976. Started when I got into IMHSA,(silhouette) shooting The required practice was very limited if I had to shoot jacketed. So I bought a lee production pot and a lyman 44 240 SWC mold, and a 450 sizer.

[ARKANSAS PACKRAT]

I have cut some fairly thick blocks 2", with a wook cutting bandsaw with a "skiptooth" band, don't "hog it" and it wll cut fine. Metal cutting bands want to fill up and clog. Hope this helps!
Nick

[dragonrider]

Snuffy
Welcome to the forum.

[MT Gianni]

If you live where they burn wood try a splitting wedge to cut it without any lead dust. Set the block on hardwood and work it with a two lb hammer or so. Gianni

[jhalcott]

I have to say that SOME of us casters aren't as young and healthy as others. I wold melt them down and recast into usable sized ingots.This would prevent me from dropping an axe on my head or foot! Not having access to a machine shop,There are places to rent an acetylene torch and gas bottles by the day. Many years ago a friend got a lead keel from a large sailboat. They boat yard loaded it on his flatbed truck for him. About 3-4" thick ,it was too heavy to move when he got home. He simply started melting it with a "rosebud" tip right on the truck. He put a large frying pan under the keel to catch the dripping lead.He bought a pile of muffin tins to use as molds.As the frying pan filled several of us ladled the melt into the tins,removed the muffins and returned the tins to the "ready " pile. That slab was about 4 feet by six feet by about 4 inches.We worked on it all day.

[snuffy]

Snuffy
Welcome to the forum.

Thanks!

I looked into borrowing a plummers pot that is fired by a huge propane jet, BUT it was too small on the top to allow the weights to enter. I then asked the gunshop/machine shop owner, ( a long time best friend), if I could use his rose bud to melt it. He said sure, but he'd keep track of the LP and O2 used and charge me for it! While I don't expect something for nothing, I like cheap ways to do things. He has an iron worker that has a shear. I asked if it could be used to chop it up. He looked scared, then said it could ruin it, costing thousands to fix.

The skill saw does NOT make sawDUST It makes a pile of nice shavings, like a machine tool does to steel. A band saw would work but the blade would tend to plug up. The beauty of a circular saw is the centrifugal force throws the shavings away from the blade cleanly, allowing it to cut fast. Those weights a 1.25 inch thick, I was cutting across 9 inches of lead in less than 30 seconds!

While it IS possible there was SOME airborne lead around when I cut the blocks, It was outside with a breeze blowing. I've never had my blood tested for lead levels, I not paranoid about it. A friend said if you have access to a wood splitter, try that to see if it would work, I do and I may try it.

[mazo kid]

Snuffy, you are a better man than I if you go outside today to use your wood splitter. I am in Wis. also and at 2 degrees today and a 20 mph wind it is brutal out there! Emery

[snuffy]

Nope not today, or even very soon! The splitter is 50 miles away and I don't know if it is even in running condition. I do think it would work, but as long as the skill saw works as good as it does, I'll probably keep using it.

[jrfixer]

I just started casting and found my first challenge was cutting up the 400lb lead counter weight I had. At first I tried to use a map gas, but the block was to much of a heat sink to make this worth wild. So the next step was demolition hammer rented for $30 for 4 hours. Once I got the hang of it I was able to trim about 50lbs per hour. The scary parts is that I have 7 more blocks to go!!

[ace1001]

I have a friend who sets up boat ballast weights on a hill, digs a channel and divides it into sprues and ingots. Then he aims propane burner at it and lets it cast his crude ingots. The dirt doesn't stick. You can cut/break the sprues up too. Ace