I am in the sailboat repair business and end up scrapping boats on occasion. I have always sold the lead keels at my local metal recycler. Am I crazy to think about melting and casting into ingots, start casting for my 9mm and 45 and selling the rest? I have a pretty good supply of junk boats coming through. Seems to me soft lead ingots are selling around $1/lb + shipping. That is about double what my yard is willing to pay. I would like to try casting, but don't know how to start. I currently have a 3000lb keel. Where do you start with a chunk of lead that big? Can an acetylene torch be used to melt it into small enough pieces to fit in a pot? Assuming I manage to cast some ingots, how do I know what kind of lead I've got. I think its mostly pure lead(dents easily with a hammer), but don't know enough about it.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
Fred