Darn boat keels anyways !

[Digger]

Finally got around to the last of the keel lead .... ouch ! , those darn boat keels !
been putting it off but got it knocked out Sunday afternoon.
some of those chunks 200 lbs plus ,.... thank goodness for the fork lift !


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Oh .... the results , give or take approximately 920 lbs
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[Mica_Hiebert]

What did you use to cut the keel up? Chain saw?

[Digger]

Yep , did not cut it up myself but yes , a chain saw was used.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Nice haul. How hard is keel lead?

[Digger]

Nice haul. How hard is keel lead?

This batch was a bit on the soft side .... about 8 bhn or less.

[Budzilla 19]

Im just jealous, that's all!! Man, what a score! (im still looking for one down here in Louisiana) Good luck.

[Nose Dive]

Yup...Keel lead is good stuff. Got three 'boats' full after hurricane Alicia way back when.

Chain saw, ax, trailer to haul off stuff....

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly Pick two.

[barrabruce]

well how do you chop them up or make useable ingots out of them?
i can get 50 kg size cheap enough but manhandling and smelting maybe an issue for my cast iron camp oven and two muffin tray assembly line!
Plus I am not as strong I think I should remember I was.

[PbHurler]

THAT is one beautiful stack of ingots! Great job.

[Sasquatch-1]

I should be so unfortunate!:groner:


Finally got around to the last of the keel lead .... ouch ! , those darn boat keels !


Oh .... the results , give or take approximately 920 lbs

[Digger]

I should be so unfortunate!:groner:
Yeah ,, I was a bit sarcastic in the title , wasn't I ...[smilie=1:

The entire process was for my friend Ian at his reloading shop, "Bear Bullets" here in Gardnerville , Nevada.
He had obtained the lead from an individual that lives out in the desert ,east of here , go figure !

[Toymaker]

They got water for boats in NorNevada??????

Yea, all the keels I've come across have been BHN 8. Once I did an analysis for a guy to get the exact composition. It had a trace of Fe, but otherwise was perfect.

[Digger]

well how do you chop them up or make useable ingots out of them?
i can get 50 kg size cheap enough but manhandling and smelting maybe an issue for my cast iron camp oven and two muffin tray assembly line!
Plus I am not as strong I think I should remember I was.

Yes , it is a "project"! ...especially for us older gents.
With the chain saw approach you have your choice as to how big , plus you can go thru a chain or two , depends ...
The pot in the pic is a section of 10 inch steel pipe I had my welder friend fab for me with handles , it holds about 200 lbs a pop .
I used a 3 lb "rowell " ladle that I picked up some time back, next size up has the bigger handle with sleeve to rotate , but for a variety of melts that I get into , it has worked out well.
The burner is a barbecue from Wal Mart , it cost around sixty bucks but it has turned out very good for my purpose and it came with two foot long legs but I cut them in half for my purposes for the weight it has to hold and ability to work with out lifting high.
I normally use the Wall Mart muffin tins that come out at about 2.5 lbs apiece , 9 to a tray , the steel tins coated with the layer of Teflon release that everyone talks about.
Just give them a once over with propane torch for the initial burn and avoid the vapors when you do , after that your good to go as I keep using them over and over .
The small ones I describe stack nicely in a milk crate for efficiency .
The molds in the pics also are from Wall Mart , a larger muffin tin so to speak , the same coated steel and these drop at this time about 11 lbs or so , just depends on how full you fill.

My patience was getting a bit thin on that afternoon and was a bit sloppy compared to times before but it is important to pay attention to every step for your safety , most important.
The Molds that were used have been a bit of controversy lately as I noticed in another thread , but they have worked very well for me as you can see.

Just a tip ... back when I was contemplating doing this for a hobby , all the information was gleaned from the really good people on this site and I put all this together from the get go and not starting out small so to speak , just made my estimate and it has worked out well for me and my friends.

[RogerDat]

Anytime the words "forklift" and "lead" are in the same post I get a little tap on the shoulder from the green monster. Nice pile of ingots, I think I will go take a couple advil just from looking at it. Come to think of it you probably had to move it from where it is stacked in that picture... ouch.

[g17]

That's great. I'd love to have a pile of lead like that.

[Digger]

Anytime the words "forklift" and "lead" are in the same post I get a little tap on the shoulder from the green monster. Nice pile of ingots, I think I will go take a couple advil just from looking at it. Come to think of it you probably had to move it from where it is stacked in that picture... ouch.

yes , you are right as it took everything I had just maneuver those chunks up on end so I could get the chain around them ! ...:roll:
fortunately Ian came out to help with the end results and stacked them on the pallet and rolled them into the shop.