Lead Moving Day

[skeet1]

Today I got in on moving two very large pieces of lead. Friends had been given these and it was time to move them. We were told that they had been from a seismic machine used for looking for oil. Total weight 7,500 lb. of soft lead.

Ken

127660127661127662127663127664

[trapper9260]

You had to do show the pics. Just joken but would be nice to have but to cut it to use for boolits is another thing.Thank you for showing.

[Beagle333]

Why look for oil when you've found gold!!!!! What a haul of nice lead. :drinks:

[skeet1]

The chunk that has the jagged edge someone has cut some of it with a circular saw but didn't get all that much of the total. Looks like some good chain saw work ahead.

Ken

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

A good torch will cut through lead like a hot water jet through ice.

Put a good tip on the torch and start cutting off chunks.

The bases for lots of good shooting there!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[labradigger1]

I call BS, where's all the snow?
Kidding, nice beautiful hunks of lead there.
Lab

[skeet1]

labradigger1 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?30090-labradigger1)
We haven't had any snow yet this year.

Ken

[62chevy]

Very nice but I like to think of it as 262500 200 grain boolits. Might be a lifetime supply, na.

[bullet maker 57]

Nice haul. Should last acouple of weeks.

[jonp]

Nice haul. I'd put in in the front yard on edge like a mill wheel. Every now and then I'd take a torch to it. when the neighbors drove by they would think "now what is he up to"?

[tbj555]

That's going to one BIG mold to cast that into a BOOLIT......:castmine:

[Trapperscott]

Dang, and it was so close to me and I missed it. LOL. Great haul.

[OnceFired]

From the photos, that thing looks to be about half the height of a 6' tall man, broader, and thicker. Jeez.

Not only is that a lifetime supply all at once, it's definitely not something that will be stolen easily! hahahahah

[jmort]

That is a beautiful sight, big hunk 'O lead

[fragman]

Gonna need a bigger pot.....

[Ole]

I guess the oil business is still good if they can give away well over 5000 dollars worth of metal. :mrgreen:

[skeet1]

Ole (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?8128-Ole)
Just by the look of this lead and where it was, I would say that this lead was from an oil boom from a long time ago.

Ken

[thompsonm1a1]

one thing I can say is that you do not have to worry about anyone walking in your yard and stealing your lead, if anyone picks up the rounds of lead you are not going to stop them. :)

[leadman]

A torch may cut it fine but the heat will make it necessary to wear a respirator and also contaminate your clothes and surroundings.
Better to use a saw of some type or chisel..

Nice score though!

[RogerDat]

Does NOE make howitzer boolit molds? Because 158 gr. at a time is going to take a looong time to work through that chunk!

[40-82 hiker]

A torch may cut it fine but the heat will make it necessary to wear a respirator and also contaminate your clothes and surroundings.
Better to use a saw of some type or chisel..

Nice score though!

Correct advice, but use only respirator filters made for use with lead vapors. 3M makes them that I know of. Otherwise a respirator is useless.

This idea of using a torch to "cut" lead keep resurfacing, and I really wish people would get away from that thought for good. Lead vaporizes at cutting torch temps, and nothing good comes of it.

Think this is THE record score for Castboolits?

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Cutting a large hunk of lead with a torch works fine and seems that most of us should know by now that smelting/melting lead needs to be done with proper ventilation.

CDOC

[40-82 hiker]

Cutting a large hunk of lead with a torch works fine and seems that most of us should know by now that smelting/melting lead needs to be done with proper ventilation.

CDOC

Got to try one more time... Professional welder for a number of years, and really would like to help people not get sick.

The temp of an oxyacetylene torch approaches 6400 degrees F. The BOILING point of lead is 3180 degrees F. I do not think we can compare the fumes from melting lead at 700 degrees F. to the amount of fumes created by torching lead at 6400 degrees. The torch is turning tremendous amounts of lead into vapor as it cuts the lead. There is no such thing as safely using a cutting torch to cut lead, as there is no way to safely ventilate even if doing it outdoors, except to wear a proper respirator. You are just too close to not be inhaling fumes in quantities greatly exceeding anything you can imagine.

I am respectfully trying to help here. Some people will still do this and think they are fine. This process is one of the most dangerous ways I know of to inhale HUGE quantities of lead fumes. Casting and smelting are not even a consideration by comparison. Period. Water at 100 degrees (bath water ?) is 112 degrees F. removed from the boiling point of water. Lead at 700 degrees F. is still 2480 degrees removed from the boiling point of lead, and we still get some fumes. Now, let's heat it to 6,400 degrees?

I gracefully bow at this point. This surfaces now and then on Castboolits, and I am still amazed...

[Garyshome]

Lifetime supply?

[62chevy]

Lifetime supply?

No he will find a way to use it up and need more.

[KohlerK91]

Got to try one more time... Professional welder for a number of years, and really would like to help people not get sick.

The temp of an oxyacetylene torch approaches 6400 degrees F. The BOILING point of lead is 3180 degrees F. I do not think we can compare the fumes from melting lead at 700 degrees F. to the amount of fumes created by torching lead at 6400 degrees. The torch is turning tremendous amounts of lead into vapor as it cuts the lead. There is no such thing as safely using a cutting torch to cut lead, as there is no way to safely ventilate even if doing it outdoors, except to wear a proper respirator. You are just too close to not be inhaling fumes in quantities greatly exceeding anything you can imagine.

I am respectfully trying to help here. Some people will still do this and think they are fine. This process is one of the most dangerous ways I know of to inhale HUGE quantities of lead fumes. Casting and smelting are not even a consideration by comparison. Period. Water at 100 degrees (bath water ?) is 112 degrees F. removed from the boiling point of water. Lead at 700 degrees F. is still 2480 degrees removed from the boiling point of lead, and we still get some fumes. Now, let's heat it to 6,400 degrees?

I gracefully bow at this point. This surfaces now and then on Castboolits, and I am still amazed...


I have an old electric chain I have used on lead and that would be my first choice over a torch. I does make a mess with lead chipps everywhere, but better than lead fumes.

[Sgt Petro]

Nice haul!

[woodbutcher]

:smile: Good grief.What`s he feeding?A Gatlin gun?Great score.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo