How to cut lead?

[Baryngyl]

What would be the best way to cut a large chunk of lead?
I am not sure what shape it is in (ingot/blob/or what) just was told it weighs 3,000 PLUS pounds.

My turkey fryer can not hold it, LOL.
I do have a chainsaw.

So what have others here actually done to make a huge piece of lead into smaller lead?


Thanks
Michael Grace

[Hunter57dor]

normally a hammer and a chisel, but for a 3000 pound block, that presents a challenge.

perhaps an acetalyne torch would make quick work out of making it into smaller chunks.

edit:
on second thought, i would hate to lose all that lead through melting it.

maybe a cut off saw would do it better. those cut through anything.

[merlin101]

Chain saw and a tarp to catch the saw dust will work fine.

[Alan in Vermont]

normally a hammer and a chisel, but for a 3000 pound block, that presents a challenge.

perhaps an acetalyne torch would make quick work out of making it into smaller chunks.

edit:
on second thought, i would hate to lose all that lead through melting it.

Why would you lose anything? The melt will just pool, and cool, on the ground, just waiting to be picked up. It's pretty hard to do anything to a quantity of lead that will render it useless beyond salvaging


maybe a cut off saw would do it better. those cut through anything.

Anything as long as it's hard. I'm pretty sure they make abrasive blades for cutting aluminum with them but as soft as lead is it would just gum the blade solid in seconds.

Skilsaw works if you have a blade that has a lot of set on the teeth, otherwise they pinch pretty bad once you get an inch or so deep, BDDT.

My money would be on a chainsaw as others here have used on sailboat keels. Kinda rude and crude and will probably need frequent tightening. Bright side is that the "sawdust" will be big enough to gather up fairly easily. Doesn't take long to make a fair quantity of lead sawdust either, I cut up some 1/4" sheet lead with a narrow curf blade on a skilsaw and got a pretty impressive pile, all of which went into the pot quite nicely.

[Baryngyl]

Chain saw and a tarp to catch the saw dust will work fine.

Nice freshly sharp chain or a used but not ran into dirt/rocks dull one?


Michael Grace

[gunrunner8]

I would imagine that HD jackhammer would make that kind of work quite easy. No lead dust, no acetylene torch splatter (moisture inside) and no risk of brocken power tools.

[uscra112]

I've never done it, but I believe the chainsaw would work. Lots of extra oil? Sharper the chain is the better, as always.

Lucky man - 3000 pounds !

[Starvnhuntr]

logsplitter

[DavZee]

Light Saber

[craig61a]

Light Saber

1+ :mrgreen:

[craig61a]

Perhaps using a 12 volt charger and an element from an old toaster or somesuch like a hot knife through butter...

[lwknight]

Weed burner. Just put your large skillet molds under the stream.
It takes awhile to get started but it will render plenty once you get it melting.

I would try melting a hole into the big chunk. Less heat would be lost as it burrows in somewhat.

[hd09]

A sawzall, a wedge and a sledge hammer works good.

[sqlbullet]

About 2 months ago I got 2200 lbs of sheet lead. about 3/8" thick, 4'X4'.

I tried an axe, which worked but was VERY labor intensive.

Tried a reciprocating saw. Worked good for about 12" then the blade got hot and began to gum up.

Finally, with some reservations, I tried a small electric Ryobi trim chainsaw. Worked great, but ate the batter really fast.

Out came the Husqvarna. Buzzed through it with no issue. Also, the chain has not been so clean since it was new. All the pine resin that was gummed up on it is GONE.

My experience, only way to go is chain saw, assuming the bar will reach all the way through the chunk.

As mentioned, it does spray chips everywhere. If possible use not only a tarp, but a backstop behind you. I had lead chips up to 30' away

[Nose Dive]

yea...chainsaw is best. Not knowing size and cofiguration, tough to say. I took a 'square block' once to a buddy, a welder and we wacked it up pretty fast with a gouging rod. But, he has a 400 amp diesel welder which is usually not a common house hold item.

Nose Dive.

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.

[I'll Make Mine]

Perhaps using a 12 volt charger and an element from an old toaster or somesuch like a hot knife through butter...

Even with 120 volts, you'll find the portion of the resistance wire in contact with the lead won't be able to stay hot; the big mass of lead will conduct the heat off and act as a heat sink. Even if you do melt some lead, it will just weld together behind the hot wire. The lead will, however, carry a potentially lethal voltage over its entire surface; best make sure your rig is plugged into a GFCI so that if it grounds out through your body, your rig will just shut down instead of frying you.

One way this method might possibly work is to use an oven heating element; those are internally insulated, so as long as you shield the connection, it should be safe to handle with just ordinary heat precuations. They also produce a lot more watts than a toaster element, and will melt wide enough kerf that (providing you keep the contact line sloped) the lead will run out instead of resolidifying inside the cut.

[HARRYMPOPE]

I use a sharp hatchet and hit it with a sledge hammer.Works fine even with 2"-3" thick pure lead sheilding bricks.If its too hard for you than you probably aren't strong enough to shoot guns.

[sw282]

l helped shield a HI-RAD line a couple years back. We were adding an inch of shielding to a 12in pipe about 40ft long. The shielding would come to us in half-round slotted sections 30in long from the foundry. Cutting and trimming was done with an electric chain saw with a 12in bar. The little saw did quite well and stayed surprisingly sharp. We just changed blades when it got dull and kept on working. Not really pleasent working conditions as we were inside a plastic tent dressed in plastic suits w/scba air to breathe. Top that off we had to shower in a shelter next to tent. The GOVT does take things a bit far some times l think.. Sadly l had to turn ALL the shavings/scraps, but somehow ended up w/some pieces of lead wool used to chink the shield joints.
Getting back to the electric saw--lt worked great---they are cheap too

ps
Lead wool works GREAT for removing rust off blued steel. Doesnt leave scratches like steel wool

[Baryngyl]

Lucky man - 3000 pounds !

I do not have it yet, trying to see if it is worth all the trouble to get it, cut it smaller, melt it and sell some.


Michael Grace

[HighHook]

Cutting it is easy. You already solved the hard part, Gett'in it! I wish i had those problems...

[Baryngyl]

A little more info on this, these are counter-weights from cranes, they are various sizes, the smallest is over 4,000 pounds I am told, they are shaped like 2x2x3 feet and bigger.
Not sure if they are pure lead or a mix of ????.

Are they worth trying to get?
I would save some for my self and sell a bunch.


Michael Grace

[I'll Make Mine]

All the crane counterweights I've seen have been stacks of iron plates.

[DukeInFlorida]

Chainsaw! I have done two sailboat keels this way.
The lead sort of cuts like OAK......

Keep the blade and chain well lubed. The tarp is the way to go to catch the shreds of lead.

If slicing up a sailboat keel, watch out for the bronze or stainless steel anchoring bolts which are buried in the lead.

[Sasquatch-1]

A little more info on this, these are counter-weights from cranes, they are various sizes, the smallest is over 4,000 pounds I am told, they are shaped like 2x2x3 feet and bigger.
Not sure if they are pure lead or a mix of ????.

Are they worth trying to get?
I would save some for my self and sell a bunch.


Michael Grace

If they are lead and you can get them for an extrememly reasonable price, go for it. Remember you are going to have to transport a 4000 pound object. That won't fit in the back of the common everyday pickup truck.:(

If you go the weed burner route you better have a good quanity of propane on hand, because once you get that brick heated up you won't want to let it cool down while you run out to get more gas. I have tried the reciprocating saw and the blades gum up pretty quick. Never had a block big enough to use a chain saw. :mrgreen: (That's me green with envy)

One more question. Are these coming from a salvage yard and do they have some sort of galotine or scissor type cutter that might be used to cut the blocks smaller?

[Sergeant Earthworm]

Don't get me wrong, I believe all real men should own a chainsaw (preferably a Stihl or Husqvarna, but I digress) however, it seems to me the danger of generating and inhaling a bunch of lead dust by cutting with any kind of power saw is very real. In addition, that same lead dust will be all over your skin, clothing, and the surrounding area with the potential for distributing the stuff into your house, car, onto the dog, neighbor lady, etc. not to mention absorbing it through the skin. Cutting it with a torch could yield the same or a worse situation as lead vapors are created and possibly blown into the face of the person holding the torch.

Am I overreacting? I don't think so. It would really stink to hear about a fellow caster who got lead poisoning.

As for how to make big pieces into small ones, I think Sasquatch is on to something - maybe there is a metal dealer nearby that has a quick and safe way to cut it. Other than that it seems the hammer and chisel might be the safest route even if it is painfully slow and tedious.

[Sasquatch-1]

Other than that it seems the hammer and chisel might be the safest route even if it is painfully slow and tedious.

I tried this with Isotope cores. I would not recomend it for those and they are only 32 pounds. I ended up using a small propane torch and melting them into a pot.

A sailboat keel may sound like a score, but only if you have the means to transport and reduce it's size.

[I'll Make Mine]

it seems to me the danger of generating and inhaling a bunch of lead dust by cutting with any kind of power saw is very real.

A chain saw won't produce anything you'd really call "dust" -- the teeth are designed to take chips roundly an eight inch wide by a quarter to half inch long. Lead and common (cheap) alloys found in things like isotope shielding, sailboat keels, and so forth cuts cleanly with a sharp blade, and the chain saw teeth will lift the chips and fling them out toward the bottom of the motor.

Wearing gloves would be a very good idea (keep the lead from winding up under your skin), having a sharp chain is a necessity, and a tarp to catch the lead shavings is highly recommended -- but a chain saw isn't at all in the same category as an abrasive wheel or fine toothed band saw in terms of the particle size produced. You can't absorb lead through the skin anyway, and even if you vaporize some, the vapor will condense very quickly (yes, into dust, but lead dust has to be fine to remain airborne for more than a few seconds). Ingestion and inhalation are the main hazards; a dust mask, and washing thoroughly after cutting, are quite sufficient (along with the general lead handling rule of no drinking, eating, smoking, or dipping -- no hand to mouth contact, in other words).

[Sergeant Earthworm]

"A chain saw won't produce anything you'd really call "dust" -- the teeth are designed to take chips roundly an eight inch wide by a quarter to half inch long."

I must respectfully disagree, sir. I have owned and used chainsaws for over 30 years and after a couple hours of cutting I am a dusty mess. I understand that wood and lead are two very different substances and yet the abrasive action and heat of the chain would (in my opinion as I have never attempted cutting lead with my saw) undoubtedly generate a large amount of big and small particles. A guy I know used his miter saw to cut lead weights he got from somewhere and the saw blade threw large and small lead particles in all directions, can't see why a chainsaw would be any different.

[I'll Make Mine]

A guy I know used his miter saw to cut lead weights he got from somewhere and the saw blade threw large and small lead particles in all directions, can't see why a chainsaw would be any different.

Look at the tooth form on a chain saw vs. that on a miter saw. That's why a chain saw is different. The chain saw has nippers (designed to cut the fibers at the edges of the cut) and full teeth (to remove the chip defined by the nippers), where every tooth on a miter saw blade is essentially a small chisel.