Stupid Question: Lead Management

[Martin Luber]

Use a cable to lower into your pot and melt off chunks. Assuming it fits. Same deal for big pots

[Alferd Packer]

Find an old rusty cross cut saw for cutting green trees.
May have to clamp down pieces of lead to hold it still.
Use light pressure
Let weight of saw drag thru the cut
kerosene can help for lube.

[Rcmaveric]

I have a large enameled stock pot from the salvation army. Haven't found anything that won't fit. It will hold over 100 pounds of lead.

I got large sheet of lead once. I just rolled it up and plopped it in. Covered and let it melt.

Once molten I pour 2 pound ingots from it.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[ABJ]

I have tried all the above methods and they all work, but here is the way I do it.
One- if its small enough to fit my dutch oven then thats my first choice.
Two-If not and it will fit my table on my cut-off saw equipped with a wood blade with as FEW carbide teeth as you can find, then I cut them using WD-40 or any spray lube. Do not use a standard finishing blade and yes chips go everywhere so wear a face mask and glasses. ( I have a box built to contain the chips)
Three- the wood splitter works great on heavy and hard to handle shapes as well as very thick pieces like keels.
Tony

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I used a wood splitter on clean dimensional lead (manufacturer drops), it worked great. I didn't want to smelt it, wasting time and energy, since it was already clean. In a couple hours, I made one to two pound chunks out of all the 450 pounds of it.

I have also used a hand held power circle saw on some tractor wheel weights, I used wax to lube the blade to keep it from galling, I made several shallow cuts, then broke it using hammer/chisel.

[robg]

axe or hatchet or a bigger pot

[quail4jake]

By far the best way I've found is the log splitter. If the wedge doesn't come close enough to the anvil lay a piece of steel plate behind the lead you want to cut to bring the cut closer to complete. I took the time to file the wedge to take out nicks and sharpen the edge and it really helped. I roll lead sheet up as tight as I can get it then cut bite size sections...you know, much like a pumpkin roll!

[Froogal]

I've been buying lead from Roto-Metals. It comes in 5 pound ingots. !/2 of an ingot is a lot more manageable in my 10 pound pot, so I use my hand held jig saw to cut the ingots into 2 pieces. I use a coarse, all purpose blade. I clamp the ingot in a vice and then just cut through the ingot. It goes fairly quick and does not damage the saw blade. It does produce some small particles, kind of like sawdust, but that "dust" can easily be swept up and dumped into the pot. I suppose if the ingot, or large chunk chunk was big enough, I would use my sawz-all.

[Guy La Pourqe]

Thanks for all the ideas, gents!

I should be good to go now!!!

[fredj338]

I have traded for alloy & some guys, I just fail to understand, will cast in huge 10-20# frying pan ingots. How does anyone cast with those? So I have a large Dutch oven I can sit them into & melt down for casting into smaller 1#-3# ingots. I have heard a chain saw works well but I havent gotten into anything that large to try it.

[Charlie Horse]

Harbor Freight weed burner. Put the chuck of lead on a sheet cake pan and melt off pieces with the torch. It goes very fast. Wish I could post a pic.

[Win94ae]

I use a hammer and chisel.

[Wooserco]

The last range scrap lead that I got was in 40+ bread loaf pan ingots. My 5 qt dutch oven would hold at least one. Having three of those large ingots, I melted them down into 2-1/2 pound ingots marking as to which loaf they came from. I then added equal amounts from each loaf to further melt them down so as to have a basically homogenous stash of ingots. Hopefully all of about the same alloy.

[Rcmaveric]

I have these mini bread pans that cast a large ingot. I use it when I pre mix alloy. 2 ingots will fill my Lee 20lb bottom pour pot. Call me lazy. I also use em when I drain the pot for a different alloy.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[milsurpcollector1970]

I cut a shower pan up with a hatchet, try cutting or chopping first sawing gets lead chunks everywhere. Hammer and wedge is good idea too

[fredj338]

I melt scrap in a large dutch oven. So if I can get it into a 10" pot, gtg. I really dont understand anyone reducing scrap & putting it into large 20#, frying pan ingots, but it takes all kinds.

[white eagle]

Good afternoon Gents.

I am new to casting and in the past, all my lead has come to me in small, bite sized ingots that go right into my lead pot as slick as can be. Unfortunately my supplies ran out and I am seeing a lot of great reasonably priced lead around but in very odd shapes. A year or two I tried to cut soft lead on the drop saw but it bunged up the teeth on the saw. How do you guys cut up big chunks into smaller ones?

Sorry if this is a dumb question...

Guy
the way I do it is with a miter saw
I listen to the saw while I am cutting if I hear it start to bind I slow down and withdraw the blade and start over
Normally I cut lead bricks and anything that will fit in the saw this way.It works give it a try