WidenersReloading EverythingTitan ReloadingRotoMetals2
Load DataInline FabricationRepackboxLee Precision
MidSouth Shooters Supply
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 29

Thread: Methods to remove lead

  1. #1
    Boolit Man godzilla's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    SE Ohio
    Posts
    90

    Methods to remove lead

    Hi Guys,

    I have machinery base that has been poured full of lead. Aproximate demensions of the lead are 15x15x15. The base is basically a square with an open bottom. I would like to remove this lead. What would be the best method on a block of lead this size? Mechanical, heat etc? Any ideas would be great.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    New Market, Iowa
    Posts
    1,466
    If the base is made of cast iron, maybe take a BIG hammer and start beating on it? The cast iron should break. Just a thought.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Goodhue County, SE Minnesota
    Posts
    3,080
    Quote Originally Posted by godzilla View Post
    Hi Guys,

    I have machinery base that has been poured full of lead. Aproximate demensions of the lead are 15x15x15. The base is basically a square with an open bottom. I would like to remove this lead. What would be the best method on a block of lead this size? Mechanical, heat etc? Any ideas would be great.
    A cubic foot of Lead(Pb) weighs 707.7 pounds. Your block of lead would then be approx. 900 lbs in weigh so not easy to move or put on something to melt it inside the frame or box it is in for the average guy, if it is in a metal container.

    One idea I thought of was since it is in a container & would be difficult to lift, but has one side open, I would probably take a drill & a decent sized bit, like a 3/4 (spiral type, not a "spade"/"flat" bit) & start drilling holes in a close pattern in the surface. Saving the shavings to melt.
    Once I had riddled the surface, I would take a "weed burner" propane torch & melt down the leftover parts between the holes & dipper it out until the majority was removed. Let it cool & repeat the process layer by layer , until it could be lifted & placed on a sturdy enough heat source to melt & either dip/ladle or pour out the remaining lead.

    That idea came to mind in about 2-3 minutes of consideration & while it may not be the best idea anyone comes up with, I know that it is likely how I would do it as those items needed are in my possession right now.

    If I come up with something better I will let ya know, but that is all I have for ya in the now 5 or so minutes I have considered the task.


    G'Luck! what ever ya try.
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  4. #4
    Moderator Emeritus


    JonB_in_Glencoe's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Land of 10,000 Lakes
    Posts
    15,832
    Soft Lead?
    can you get at it from the "open bottom" with a chain saw? (plunge cuts)
    after a few cuts with the chain saw, maybe a little cold chisel work to remove some pieces.
    That's my 2˘
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    “If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
    ― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    South Jersey
    Posts
    6,314
    What would be the best method on a block of lead this size?
    Blow Torch

    https://youtu.be/a_R8QxsUSr4
    Regards
    John

  6. #6
    Boolit Master redhawk0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    North East, USA
    Posts
    1,419
    If you can flip it over and "crane" it over a heat source it sounds like it's already in its own ready made cauldron. Heat it from the bottom and at least two sides and then dip it out with a ladle into ingot molds.

    redhawk

    The only stupid question...is the unasked one.
    Not all who wander....are lost.
    "Common Sense" is like a flower. It doesn't grow in everyone's garden.

    If more government is the answer, then it was a really stupid question. - Ronald Reagan

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Goodhue County, SE Minnesota
    Posts
    3,080
    Quote Originally Posted by John Boy View Post
    That video shows what I was talking about in my post about a "Weed Burner" propane torch.



    From experience, I know that it is easier/faster to melt the lead when it is in large chunks, by creating more surface area exposed to the heat & the thinner lead walls made by the hole drilled into the lead block would help remove some of the lead thru shavings & then provide more surface area to the heat with the torch.

    JonBinGlencoes idea might work as well, if you do that, by cutting an upsidedown "pyramid shaped" chunk out in the middle with the chainsaw & then pool the lead to dipper out until you could not get any more out. Then let it cool & repeat until you can only melt it out. Of course, being careful not to hit the sides of the container it is in as you go.

    Maybe even a combination of the two, chain sawing & drilling both would help.

    Once again, G'Luck!
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  8. #8
    Boolit Master OldBearHair's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Conroe TEXAS
    Posts
    671
    Picture of the machine base might be helpful.

  9. #9
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Goodhue County, SE Minnesota
    Posts
    3,080
    Quote Originally Posted by OldBearHair View Post
    Picture of the machine base might be helpful.
    Absolutely, they would.
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  10. #10
    Boolit Man godzilla's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    SE Ohio
    Posts
    90
    Im trying to upload a pic but it keeps telling me it failed?

  11. #11
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Goodhue County, SE Minnesota
    Posts
    3,080
    Quote Originally Posted by godzilla View Post
    Im trying to upload a pic but it keeps telling me it failed?
    Try making it a bit smaller in a MS Paint or something like that. Do a little "crop" to one side. That might help.
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  12. #12
    Boolit Man godzilla's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    SE Ohio
    Posts
    90

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    2,659
    Sorry, I'm foggy on the geometry here. Did you say it has an open bottom and top both, i.e., the four sides we see are covered with cast iron, but the top and bottom are completely open?

    If open top and bottom and assuming the sides are true, maybe heating the exterior of the cast iron case with a weed burner or two would melt the lead in contact with the case all the way around and then the case could be lifted off. Of course, you'll have a puddle of lead to deal with along with a large hot block of lead sitting in the middle of it.

  14. #14
    Boolit Man godzilla's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    SE Ohio
    Posts
    90
    The top has a small opening in the middle. The bottom is open all the way around. It looks like they poured it in from the top. I use the machine and would like to remove this without damaging the base.

  15. #15
    DOR RED BEAR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    1 mile from chickahominy river ( swamp) central va
    Posts
    2,162
    Is it possible to lift base a few inches and heat it with a torch until the lead drops out?

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master

    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    England,Ar
    Posts
    7,687
    I probably would hang the base from an "I" beam in my shop, put a container under it and heat it with a weed burner. Be very careful! My method has the potential for some of the lead to trickle out and then release the whole chunk.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
    JBinMN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Goodhue County, SE Minnesota
    Posts
    3,080
    Quote Originally Posted by godzilla View Post
    The top has a small opening in the middle. The bottom is open all the way around. It looks like they poured it in from the top. I use the machine and would like to remove this without damaging the base.
    Well, I reckon I will step away from attempting to help out any further than I have tried to do. I offered what I thought would be a good way, but it will take moving the item from its' current location to do what I suggested since the larger opening is on the bottom. Right now I do not have anything else to offer as a solution other than what I mentioned before.

    Anyway... Remember to be "Safe"...

    Don't get hurt or anything trying to salvage the stuff...

    That the lead alone without the weight of the cast iron around it is approx. 900 pounds, so this "box" makes it close to a 1/2 ton in weight. In order to get the lead out "safely", it is likely going to have to be removed from its' location.
    { Note- a cubic foot of lead, 12x12x12 weighs a little over 707 pounds. don't know how thick the cast box is, but adding a bit of weight for a 15x15x15 cube probably pushes the whole thing to about 1000lbs, IMO.}

    G'Luck! & Be Safe!, whatever ya do!
    2nd Amend./U.S. Const. - "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

    ~~ WWG1WGA ~~

    Restore the Republic!!!

    For the Fudds > "Those who appease a tiger, do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last." -Winston Churchill.

    President Reagan tells it like it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MwPgPK7WQ

    Phil Robertson explains the Wall: https://youtu.be/f9d1Wof7S4o

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Lenoir NC
    Posts
    142
    You might could lift it with a cherry picker an then melt it out from the bottom in to a smaller container. I would use the biggest ones I could comfortably carry

  19. #19
    Moderator
    RogerDat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Michigan Lansing Area
    Posts
    5,751
    Engine hoist or cherry picker to get it up and possibly on it's side or angled to the side so you can access the bottom. Then weed burner (see Harbor Freight) is probably your best bet for heat source. If the melting lead runs out on anything metal, concrete or even sand you should be able to lift up the hardened rivulets of metal. You do want it to be running out on something dry not damp. When it comes to the tinsel fairy just say no needs to be the mantra of the day.

    Might want to check with some acid first to insure it is lead without any zinc. Just to be sure since as a weight it wouldn't have mattered to the manufacturer if it was pure lead or zinc contaminated lead.

    Good luck. 900# of lead is a pretty significant score.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  20. #20
    Boolit Man godzilla's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    SE Ohio
    Posts
    90
    Thanks for the input guys. It sounds like melting it out will be my best bet.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check