How to cut up a chunk of lead and antimony alloy?

[hoppy]

A friend of mine gave me an 80 lb bar of lead and antimony. Does anybody have any ideas on how to cut it up into smaller chunks so I can make ingots out of it? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jmort]

Would be a good reason to get a smelter set-up, as if you need a reason to get a smelter set-up. You could just melt the whole thing and pour some ingots.

[badbob454]

my thoughts exactly aquire a propane tank and safely cut it in half toss the ingot in and apply heat

[hoppy]

Thats what I was asking is what is a good way to cut it in half? Would a plain hack saw serve the purpose?

[bgoff_ak]

What are the dimensions, yes a hack saw would work as would an ax, chisel etc. all have been tried here with varying success. There was some concern about dust etc, I subscribe to that theory so I use a lead only ax.

[CGT80]

bass pro fish fryer on sale for $30 and a $30 harbor freight 6.5 quart cast iron dutch oven combined with a 20% off coupon from their web site. I am still waiting for the fryer to get delivered to the bass pro store, but there is another thread here. Others say that dutch oven will hold about 100 pounds of lead. I have a couple 70 pound bars to turn into ingots and a bunch of 5-20 pound chunks.

A small MAPP gas torch, used for copper plumbing, will melt 15 pound chunks pretty well. A cutting torch might let you melt through the center of the large brick. I tried a sawzall with a coarse blade, but it jammed up after a bit. The teeth were offset and I think the lead warmed up and then glued the teeth to the ingot.

If you cast from a 10-20 pound pot, you will still need a good way to clean up some bigger pieces. $60 isn't bad for a smelting setup.

[ffries61]

Notch it with hammer and chisel,or ax,then lay it on a step or brick and give it a good smack with a BFH, it'll break.

[fryboy]

Thats what I was asking is what is a good way to cut it in half? Would a plain hack saw serve the purpose?

hacksaw aint the best tool to cut a propane tank in half ( a sawzall would be better ) nor is it the best thing to cut a ingot in half with , not to say that neither cant be done ( if you have the time the desire and a bit of patience ... ) to cut lead with any kind of saw fine teeth clog up fast so at least for lead a rougher blade would be better ( even a hand saw usually has coarser teeth than a hacksaw )

[hoppy]

Thanks to all that replied. You have given me some good ideas.

[Changeling]

Thanks to all that replied. You have given me some good ideas.

Just use a "SawsAll" and cut it up into any configuration you want! There is NO dust, just cut particles!

However, it always is a good idea to wear a quality breathing mask when dealing with any such materials!

[Alan in Vermont]

Skilsaw works better than a Sawzall and won't vibrate your shoulders out of joint. Faster, by about a factor of 10, as well.

[merlin101]

If ya got a big melting pot like a propane tank, just hang from an engine crane or something overhead and have it sit in the pot. As it melts just lower slowly, course thats assuming a lot![smilie=1:

[hickfu]

I agree with Alan in Vermont, a skilsaw with a metal cutting blade and it goes right through it!! yes the blades are pricy between 30 to 60 bucks depending on brand. My BIL's friend borrows his and cuts up old lead keels from boats with it.


Doc

[bangerjim]

if you use a power saw of some type, use a blade that has VERY few teeth per inch. Lead fills a 24 or 32 tooth hacksaw blade up real fast! I use a wood-cutting bandsaw with 6 teeth per inch in my portable bandsaw. Not really any dust....only filings. And it cuts like butter. Lead will not dull the saw much if you use a quality blade.....not HF!

A sawzAll will cut it .........and most of your fillings too! Bad vibes! I hate those saws.

Or you can notch and whack as suggested above. Very crude, but it shoud work.

[Old Caster]

A skilsaw or a table saw with any kind of blade will cut it but it of course throws a lot of chips that will hurt if you let yourself get hit by them.

[TCLouis]

Turn a skilsaw plywood blade around backwards.

Hearing and eye protection.

cut over someething to catch "sawdust" and cut to size needed.

Watch out for the saw and soft body parts!

[wolf3006]

If you are going to make a propane melting pot ! Before cutting into it remove the filler valve, fill the tank with water, it the only way to get all of the propane out ! Propane is 1.5 times the weight of air!!!

[bangerjim]

Just cut thru an 8" diameter by 4" thick hunk of soft lead last nite using an old woodcutting blade with 6 TPI in my 14" woodcutting bandsaw. Cuts like butter! Just feed rather s-l-o-w-l-y or the friction will melt the lead at the point of cut and you will have a gaulled mess then! Used an old blade that is a bit too dull for woodcutting.....I don't use one of my good ones!

[freebullet]

80 pounds is small enough to melt, I wouldn't be messin around cutting it. Apply heat , flux , remove dross , make ingots simple.

[Cmasailor]

really??? no one has suggested shooting it in half yet?

[bear67]

I think I have posted this here before, but if you have a log splitter or a friend with one, just put a wood block on the anvil for a spacer--firewood or a block--and hit the lever. I have cut some big lead pieces--think sailboat keels in the past. I have a piece I picked up recently that needs cut the next time I am splitting wood--almost too hot here now as wood pile work is winter work like blacksmithing.

[mikeym1a]

my thoughts exactly aquire a propane tank and safely cut it in half toss the ingot in and apply heat

You might find a used Freon can to cut in two. Not as much to be nervous about....

[GLL]

I welded up some scrap (thick-wall) square tubing and used a plasma torch to cut some holes to grab with an engine hoist.
The high-pressure Camp Chief cooker makes quick work of 100 pound blocks. It sounds like a 747 when opened to full throttle ! :)

http://www.fototime.com/FA460DE8C435B56/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/81709C22AE6BD45/large.jpg


5 pound ingots
http://www.fototime.com/5A6777B8FA7EE62/orig.jpg

Jerry

[Idz]

Hoppy
We always used kerosene as a lubricant to machine lead. Without it the tools would gum up and become useless.

[bob208]

it all depends on what you have at hand. if it has to be cut up like right now and all you have is an axe or hammer and chisel then have at it if you have a sawsall then that is what you use. i have an air chisel. for the melt i have some cast iron pots i put in the forge that melts it fast. have also used the coal furnace in the house .

[2wheelDuke]

You might find a used Freon can to cut in two. Not as much to be nervous about....

I have a helium tank that they use for blowing up birthday balloons. The girlfriend tossed it in the trash, but I got it out and put it in the garage. There's still a bit of helium left in there that I haven't gotten around to using up yet. I guess I could make some target balloons to use it up.

[Alan in Vermont]

[QUOTE=The Real Doc Holliday;2220423]I agree with Alan in Vermont, a skilsaw with a metal cutting blade and it goes right through it!! yes the blades are pricy between 30 to 60 bucks depending on brand. My BIL's friend borrows his and cuts up old lead keels from boats with it./QUOTE]

No need for a metal cutting blade. Any of the modern, thin kerf, carbide framing blades( maybe 12-15 teeth total) do just fine. Lead is so soft that nothing special is needed. The next one I get I'm going to try increasing the set so it will open a wider kerf. That would allow more room for the chips to get out and might make it easier to cut thick sections. I'm not sure if a wider kerf design would give any more clearance or not, the wider tooth set might be accompanied by a thicker plate which would cancel out any clearance improvement. The hard part of increasing the set is that I would have to bend the plate below the carbide insert. It would have to be hammer set and if you smack that tiny carbide chip it's likely to break/break off, ruining the blade.

[rr2241tx]

I had been through about half a dozen of the ideas posted here when I stopped making progress on a big chunk of keel with my skilsaw and plywood blade. Later, discovered I had cut about 1/16th of an inch into a 1" copper bolt. Danged bolt was worth more than the lead. I no longer bother cutting keel pieces, just stand them in the Dutch oven and turn up the fish fryer. There's often little surprises floating on top when I melt a big hunk. Still hoping for a diamond ring in the dross but so far the big copper bolt is the best find.