Now I need a good Demolition Hammer

[jrfixer]

Hows this for a supply of lead ?



The only problem is moving them (500lbs each) and chopping them up to usable pieces. If figure this should keep me in bullets for the next few years or so

JR

[jawjaboy]

Holy Moly! What them critters be?

[Wayne Smith]

Remember that a Sawzall really is! One should cut those chunks up nicely, just be careful of dust. Or a splitters maul, either one.

[Goatlips]

jrfixer, if you use a sawzall like Wayne Smith suggested, kin I have the chips?

Wonder if it would be worth while to weld up a box or something to smelt them down in, so you wouldn't have to cut them at all?

Goatlips

[Sam]

I set them up on 2 chunks of railroad rail and melt them into a cast iron pot with a weed burner.

Sam

[VTDW]

Sam,

Ya forgot the hoist or forklift.

[Johnch]

Some where there is a crane missing it's counter weights

Now you didn't just borrow those weights , now did you

I have melted a few weights that look like that years back
1 was between WW and cable sheathing in hardness
The other was like cable sheathing ( just harder than pure lead )
IMO they used what ever cheak scrap the junk yard had

I used a old chain saw to cut mine up


I would test each ingots from each weight .
As they may be different

John

[jrfixer]

Yes, They are counter weights from a few machines we scrapped.

I have already tried a sawsall with a few different blades, and it didn't work to well. I found the demo hammer worked pretty good, but it was $40 bucks to rent for 4 hours. If you look at the block in the rear right of the picture you will see what I removed from it. In 4 hours I got about ~125lbs. The nice thing was the pieces fit right into my 20lb pot and the stuff is real clean, no smoke or fluxing needed.

I found the engineering drawing for them and it said they were 95/5 ~500lbs each. I run the pot about 700 degrees and it casts real well with my Lee 6 hole 9mm mould.

I wish I could melt them down one block at a time, but I would need quite a rig to do it with.

[twotrees]

A chunk of chain on those end bolts and lift them with and engine hoist. I see them at flea markets a lot and price is $50 or so. I didn't see where your located, but down south there are big ol iron pots they did wash ( and boil peanuts in) Most of them go for $100, but now the Yuppies buy them to plant flowers in. Some concrete blocks for a lifter and a fish cooker burner will melt them suckers.

You better have a big ladle and some time on your hands.

A pick up would realy sqat if you loaded more than 2 at a time.

Good Find !!

TwoTrees

[montana_charlie]

I wish I could melt them down one block at a time, but I would need quite a rig to do it with.

Since you have so many, it might be worth the effort of putting something together. I can imagine a couple of 'stovetops' which might be easy enough to build and strong enough to support one 'ingot'.

A 'block sized pot' would be nice but I'm thinking of a device which just has the molten lead 'dripping off' one edge while you catch it in an array of 'ingot moulds'...working fast enough to keep up with the flow.

But, you would need to devise a way to MOVE those hunks to the cooker.

Something like an engine hoist might lift it up, swing around, and set it on the stove. Assume the 'stove' is two feet tall, or less...just high enough to get a modified weed burner underneath.

Want to discuss it further...?
CM

[sundog]

You need the MOAS.

[snuffy]

The best way I've found to cut lead is with a common skil saw. The rotation flings the lead away from the blade, a common reason why recipocal,(sp), saws get plugged up with chips.

From the pic of the blocks, it looks like they may be too thick to get a 7 3/4 blade to go clean through. Cutting from both sides may work IF you can meet the cuts in the middle. Be sure to catch the shavings, makes good contact lead for starting a melt. Also stay out of the way of the shavings coming off that blade, they STING. Of course eye protection is mandatory.

[44woody]

Jrfixer if I were you I would go down to my local pl gas co and see if I could get a old 100 lb gas tank have them pull the gauges out of the and any plug they can take it home put a whole bottle of dawn dish soap in it and fill it with water this will purge the tank in about a week to where you can cut it safely then I would weild some legs under it after I cut the piece I will be using as a melting pot get a turkey fryer under it then you will have to get a chain hoist to put the 500 lb ingots of lead in then melt it into ingots I would also make a lot of angle iron ingot moulds old bead frames work real good for that that is what I would do if I had all that lead I would not even bother with trying to cut it up pm me if you want some help in designing this to where you can do it safely I will be glad to help 44Woody

[imashooter2]

If that back block shows all you managed to carve off in 4 hours with a demolition hammer, you have about 100 hours of hard work ahead to bust them up. I recommend you explore the "progressive melting" ideas.

[wire nut]

I had a block of lead that weighted around 300 lbd and was 3 inches thick. Used my brothers wood splitter to cut into managable pieces.The splitter did a great job. It sure beats trying to cut with an axe or hammer and chisel.

[jrfixer]

Yep, I used an engine hoist to move them from the folklift to the pallets.

Wire Nut, you might be on to something there. I never thought about a power wood splitter. That would definitly be faster then the demo hammer. Either way I will find a way to push it all down range

The way I see it, I shot about 300 9mm rounds a week which equates to about 5lbs or so. That is about 260 lbs a year. In the picture there is about ~4250 lbs, which means I have lead for the next 16.3 years

[OBXPilgrim]

Sounds like one of you more inventive-sparktriction types needs to come up with some kind of stove heating element, that can be plugged in and run into that block at an angle.

Call it a low-tech wire EDM (on steroids) for lead.

Guess you'd have to have a pan under the thing to catch all the 'run-off'.

Someone used a single burner over a #10 can a while back - that's what gave me this idea. Would it be cost effective?

[Goatlips]

Hmmm. Could you slice them blocks up with an electric charcoal fire starter, just a loop that gets red hot like a stove burner? Would the block heal itself behind the cut or would it drool off like OBXPilgrim suggested? Using the 'hot knife through butter' approach.

Goatlips

[357maximum]

jr...I believe you have found the perfect reason to combine a set of chainfalls, and a rosebud tip on an oxy/acetelene torch...catch the lead as she pours off the block in ignot moulds(angle iron if you have em)...the ignots will be kinda ugly at first, but they will get better as you progress... This is how I did two 3'X4'X4" hard lead counterweights from a forktruck and it worked great once I found my "groove".

[garandsrus]

Jr,

You need to be careful with any of the cutting methods using heat. My understanding is that the guys who cut up lead in salvage work didn't used to live very long after starting their jobs! They were vaporizing the lead and breathing in the vapors. I saw a show where modern day people were doing the same thing and they were outfitted with respirators and other protective gear.

John