Moving lead ingots - ideas? Staying organized?

[psychbiker]

I'm dreading the day I have to move my lead pile. I'm in a townhouse and built a box in the yard its all stacked in. It's been a long time since I looked inside BUT I remember stacking the lead in piles according to their kind (hardness, where I ordered from, and when I made them). It's probably 1200lbs and most of it in 1-2lb ingots.

Any thoughts on how to move and keep them organized or is it not a problem? Some of the lead, like 500lbs was hardball bhn. I'd hate to get that mixed up with pure or lower bhn.

I was thinking to get milk crates and spray paint the lead ingots different colors. The paint would melt off during casting.

[Conditor22]

I mark ALL my ingot with a sharpie



milk crates will hold way more lead than you want to move.

MFRB hold 60+ pounds , good size/weight for moving

I store lead in HF small ammo boxes, I buy them on sale

[farmbif]

5 gallon buckets? by the time they have too much weight to lift the handle will pop off and they can be moved on hand cart easily nested into one another

[pjames32]

I've found Sharpie to fade out. I'm stamping my ingots now. 25-30lbs is about all I want to move at this stage of life. My stash will probably be left to my nephews to move when I'm done and gone.

[frkelly74]

You are on the right track, When we moved I sold my stash with the intention of replacing it with the same money. Didn't happen, other things popped up and the money disappeared and i have been scrounging ever-since. Mark them as best you can and take them with you somehow.

[PJEagle]

I use a set of 1/8" number stamps to stamp a batch number on each of my ingots. I can reference the batch number in my database. A good friend says I have pedigreed alloy because it can be traced back to the original source.

You could use a hand written list or a spreadsheet to keep track of your batches instead of a database.

[quilbilly]

There is quite a difference in sound if you drop hardball and soft ingots on concrete. You probably don't have to mark those. It is the moderate hard ingots that need to get marked.

[Czech_too]

I've gone to using a set of numbered/lettered punches, without the "" from HF.
"R" = range lead
"WW" wheel weight
"PB" pure/soft lead

[osteodoc08]

Mark them while you can. I’d also recommend the punch method. I’ve had some with sharpie fade over time

[dverna]

I have three types of alloy so it it easy to tell them apart. Linotype, hardball and range scrap .

I have over 4000 lbs and I moved it when I retired about 8 years ago. That was a bit of work out!!

Milk crates should not be loaded with more than 100 lbs or they might break on you, Not very efficient space wise loaded like that. I would get some medium Flat Rate boxes at the post office and put about 50 lbs in each. Use the SFR boxes as dunnage, or whatever you have on hand. Mark the boxes instead of the ingots.

[NyFirefighter357]

I too stamp all my ingots- "RL", "COWW", "SOWW" or "PB" ect. I hold 2 stamps together for faster operation.

[Dusty Bannister]

5 gallon buckets? by the time they have too much weight to lift the handle will pop off and they can be moved on hand cart easily nested into one another

5 gallon buckets, cut scrap wood into discs that fit inside the bucket for support. Stack enough ingots to still be able to carry the bucket, insert a scrap wood disc. This will provide flat support for the next bucket you "nest" in the first bucket. If you leave out the wood disc, the bottom of the bucket will pierce and be useless. I recently moved 600 pounds in buckets at about 50# per bucket. If you have alloy by ingot shape, no issue, if all the same form, paint to color code as you load the buckets. It will be dry when you have to unload them. Postal boxes would be fine too, cut some sheet cardboard to stiffen the box bottom for handling.

[lightman]

Mine are stacked in milk crates and if I ever move mine again I plan to take the time to stamp them as I move them from the milk crate to probably buckets. I won't fill the bucket full when I do. A full milk crate with ingots stacked neatly weighs over 700 pounds and I have a few of them.

[cabezaverde]

Did any of you guys do a longer distance move? How did that work?

[FLINTNFIRE]

I used to use milk crates and 5 gallon buckets , they were heavy , then I bought a cheap little dolly at a garage sale , it was sweet , oh buckets and milk crates get old and brittle and bottoms and sides break . I do store under stairs in buckets as they do not get moved and the other hand getting in there to fill coffee cans with ingots is no fun .

Do mark them with a stamp for identification , boxes deteriorate over time but they are handy for stacking and marking , I am curious as to why they have been stored so long without using out of but then I did get some ingots of wheel weight out from stairwell that were cast into ingots in mid 90's , man time flies .

Your idea of color coding is a good idea , quick identification as long as you remember color to hardness , which brings the question what color for what hardness .

Only local moves for me under 50 miles , poor truck has had to haul ingots , and ammo a few times , makes it squat down .

[lightman]

Did any of you guys do a longer distance move? How did that work?

My moves were all pretty short. Across town, then about 30-35 miles and then across town again. I did purchase over 2600 pounds two different times that was about 400 miles away. I hauled it in my pick up.

[skeettx]

GI ammo cans, the smaller ones so you can lift them.

And 3x5 stick on labels

Mike

[jsizemore]

Plastic 5 gallon buckets break down and split over time. I keep them around to move stuff though. I store mine in 55 gallon steel drums with lids. No issue with sharpie marked ingots with the abbreviations like others use. I load to 75-100 lbs in a 5 gallon bucket to move and use a hand truck as much as possible. Nest the buckets inside each other when loaded onto the hand truck makes them easy to manage.

Until I got the steel drums I used those cardboard/fiber drums. A business closed up and needed to get rid of a bunch for free. the largest was 30 gallons. They all had lids and a steel sheetmetal bottom that handled the weight well. I put about 700lbs in one and it did fine. They were stored on a concrete floor that never got wet.

[country gent]

If you can get to the box with a truck or small trailer on a lawn tractor that makes it much easier then stack the "piles in milk crates or boxes right on the truck or trailer. As a just in case a few cans of spray paint in different colors and paint the ends. If you can get hep then one removing and one stamping with the letter stamps. Make sure to have a note pad handy to mark what code is what. Make several copies so if ones misplaced or lost you still have one.

[Mk42gunner]

I like the idea of using GI ammo cans, but since I retired from the Navy I lost my cheap source of them.

My ingot molds are home made from angle iron. I mark each ingot with a stamped letter, P for pure(ish), WW for wheel weights, and if I ever get around to remelting the linotype pigs an L.

Any binary alloys will be marked as to what it is i.e. 20-1, 40-1 etc. Specialized stuff like the recommended 50/50 +2% tin will be marked 50-50.

Since my ingots are significantly larger than the one pounder from store bought molds, I usually use a large screwdriver (the most misused tool, ever) as a punch to form the letters, it really doesn't take that long and is easy to see.

Robert