I have a 500lb lead ingot

[mdw]

it's from a decommissioned sea buoy any suggestions on cutting it into smaller more manageable pieces,..was thinking of trying to use the log spliter

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170519_191640_zpsc1wk8zhg.jpg

[Reddirt62]

Nice problem to have.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[NavyVet1959]

From what I've heard, a log splitter works great.

Some people without a log splitter put it on a tarp (to collect the chips) and then use a chain saw on it.

If you use the log splitter on it, make a video and post it so that we can refer others to it the next time someone asks.

[Lakehouse2012]

Electric chain saw is what the sailboat guys use to cut up their keels.

Sent from my ME302C using Tapatalk

[triggerhappy243]

If you have a weed burner, melt it with that.

[mdw]

From what I've heard, a log splitter works great.

Some people without a log splitter put it on a tarp (to collect the chips) and then use a chain saw on it.

If you use the log splitter on it, make a video and post it so that we can refer others to it the next time someone asks.


glad to hear log splitter may work,..will get vids when I attempt this

[gtrpickr]

That is one big ingot!

[Sasquatch-1]

If that was on the outside of the buoy you may want to test it for zinc. If it is usable lead great score.

Check the third post in this thread:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?332922-Testing-for-Zinc&highlight=zinc+test

[Smoke4320]

yes save you much aggravation and confirm its actual lead first.. saw a small corner off and check with diagonal cutters .. if easy to cut you should be good ..

[NavyVet1959]

yes save you much aggravation and confirm its actual lead first.. saw a small corner off and check with diagonal cutters .. if easy to cut you should be good ..

If you've dealt with lead and zinc a bit, you can tell which is which by just scratching the surface with a pocket knife. Lead will scratch deeper and more easily.

With an object like that though which is pretty close to a rectangular solid, you tell if it was lead or zinc just by the dimensions and a bit of calculation if you are sure about the weight.

What are the dimensions of the block?

Take the the weight and divide by (length * width * height). If that is around 0.4097 you have lead. If it is around 0.2575, then it's zinc. It's going to be slightly off because of the holes in it and the chamfers along the edges.

[mdw]

it's not a zinc anode from outside the buoy it's the lead ballast weight from inside,.. it is lead it's soft I can easily shave it with my pocket knife

when the XO on the USCG buoy tender stationed here is your shooting buddy and he calls you and says they decommissioned a marker buoy and he has the specs of whats in it is good info to have, quite interesting actually the ingot weights they use range from 500lbs down to 25lbs,..all the smaller manageable chunks got claimed by the crew members,..they melt them down and make troll weights for fishing,..and various other things,..if i'm successful in cutting this down into manageable pieces I will go out and get a few more

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/Attach17418_20170519_160824_zpsvmnrtolm.jpg

[Markedoutdoors]

I'm fairly low budget so my first reaction is to grab a chopping axe.

[PaulG67]

If using the log splitter be sure to use plenty of lubricant on your wedge and file the edge smooth before using. Large burrs and bent section of edge will increase the pressure needed to cut.

[NavyVet1959]

If using the log splitter be sure to use plenty of lubricant on your wedge and file the edge smooth before using. Large burrs and bent section of edge will increase the pressure needed to cut.

Taking thinner cuts will also allow the metal to bend / curl as it is being cut, so less force will be required.

[Jal5]

Good find and an even better buddy!

[mdw]

If using the log splitter be sure to use plenty of lubricant on your wedge and file the edge smooth before using. Large burrs and bent section of edge will increase the pressure needed to cut.



Taking thinner cuts will also allow the metal to bend / curl as it is being cut, so less force will be required.

good info Thanks!

was looking at the hot knife I made for cutting foam,..need to make another on a much larger scale,melt right through it slice it like bread..lol

[psweigle]

How come I always miss the cool stuff? Awesome score.

[308Jeff]

How come I always miss the cool stuff? Awesome score.

You're not cool. Like me.

[psweigle]

Lol. Guess I have to try harder.

[uncle dino]

Log splitter works good. Lead cuts easier than splitting oak...your biggest challenge will be holding that big ingot in place...D

[psweigle]

You might try a sawzall

[merlin101]

You might try a sawzall
Or he could just give it to me and be done with it! I'm such a nice guy I'll even send him a gift.

[NavyVet1959]

You might try a sawzall

Why? He's already got a log splitter.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1UPjFgISJc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZjveXhYhfk

[mdw]

Log splitter works good. Lead cuts easier than splitting oak...your biggest challenge will be holding that big ingot in place...D


thinking I could place it length wise on the end of forks of the skid steer at close to balance point and ratchet strap it down and feed it into the splitter

[mdw]

Or he could just give it to me and be done with it! I'm such a nice guy I'll even send him a gift.
LOL,...I'm in Alaska,..but if you wanna come pick it up, you can have it

[CLAYPOOL]

I was reading this and it "Came" to me why I don't ever git any thing like this. I'm being punished because I live in "DEMOCRAT" Illinois. Even being down here in Central Southern Illinois those "BRAIN DEAD" northern IDIOTS cause us grief.......!!!!!! Succeed from the state.....

[CLAYPOOL]

P.S. I have a ingot laying by my back yard Dog Pen that scaled out 97 Lbs. It has handle like ends and has some letter and marks for codes on it. I thought it was for Linotype machine.

[wills]

Linotype ingots weigh about 18 to 20 pounds.

[reddog81]

Just get a bigger pot...

Nice score. I hope the log splitter works well

[54bore]

Log splitter first, Sawzall second

[lightman]

Any of the above methods discussed should work, just choose the one that you have tools for. Myself, I would hoist it up using the I-Beam in my shop and lower it into my smelting pot. My pot would not hold the whole 500# but it would be close. The bad thing about large chunks of lead is how to handle them. Having things like tractors, skid steers, fork lifts, hoist, ect make it easier.

[Sasquatch-1]

I think the hardest part in melting that down would be the size. Not because it would be hard to handle but it would take a lot of heat to get that to the melting point.

[lightman]

No doubt it would melt a little slower than something that had full contact in the pot, but my pot would have it melted in 20 minutes or so. The slowest thing I ever melted was a bunch of 5/8in bolts that had lead threads. About 4 oz of lead per bolt and very little contact with the sides and bottom of the pot. Took awhile.

[toallmy]

I have a 65 lb block that was some type of counter weight that I can't generate enough heat to melt down , I have dropped it in my pot 2-3 times but it sucks up the heat and freezes up the whole pot . I am glad you all brought this topic up , I think it's time to saw it into little pieces . The weather is about right to do some outside cooking and I have accumulated a few hundred pounds that needs to be cleaned up .

[NavyVet1959]

Sometimes I get lead in larger bricks or pigs. The bricks are small enough to fit in my smelting pot, so I can recast them into smaller ingots if necessary. I've tried using a hatchet (as a wedge) and a hammer to drive it though the brick. It works, but it is a lot of work. A log splitter would make short work of something like that, but around here, a fireplace is decorative (i.e. a complete waste of wall space), so I have no excuse to buy a hydraulic splitter. The pigs are too thick to try splitting by hand and they're too big to fit in my smelting pot.

One thing that I've wondered about is whether steel "wheel" could be created that would fit on my truck and I could just drive over the chunk of lead to possibly shear it off after a couple of passes. If I stumble across a piece of 1/2" steel that is around 33" in diameter, I might consider trying it.

[psweigle]

Navyvet, if you had a flat thick plate of steel to use as a ramp, you might could weld a wedge on one end, and thus make a pressure splitter.

[toallmy]

I am going to try the reciprocating saw with a wood blade .

[psweigle]

I am going to try the reciprocating saw with a wood blade .
A demolition blade works very well. It may not clog up as quickly either. Go slow.

[bpatterson84]

Sawzall has worked fine for me with smaller things.

[Suo Gan]

Weed burner. You'll have it done in no time. Harbor fright has them for like fifteen bucks. Don't do it over concrete. I know what your thinking. But it will be a bear to get it off the concrete. Do it over dirt or better yet a scrap piece of plywood or even cardbaord. That way any drops can be salvaged too. Go to the thrift store and get some stainless bowls and such for catching the liquid metal. Don't make them too big. You're welcome. A sawsall is terrible for cutting big lead. The blade will bind. It will bend. And after a couple blades there is the price of the weed burner. Don't even bother. I've cut pure big lead like that with a chainsaw. It can be done but it ain't ideal, you got all those little lead chips piled around everywhere. I already plowed this ground years ago and the weed burner works fan fricken tastic. Get a scrap piece of gutter or channel iron to channel that there lead to your mold. As a benefit that weed burner can be used to cool off the water that is in your other smaller scrap lead you are rendering down. Just give the pile a blast and you can see the condensation boil off.

[m.chalmers]

Cheap HF chop saw or chain saw.

[mdw]

well I set up today to cut this thing down

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170521_114611_zpsl6nkueqz.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170521_121723_zpsdgzmr6kz.jpg

it's pretty thick and the log splitter was struggling,..so I stopped before I broke it, but managed to shave off a few pieces,..I may try again when I have some help I think I can work it from all 4 sides, but at 30 inches long 9 inches thick and 7 inches wide it's just too much for my splitter to cut all the way through..my other thought is to use the torch set and melt a grove down the center splitting it into 2 thinner slabs then chunk it up with the splitter,.. or go after it with a weed burner as also suggested

[NavyVet1959]

Lead is fairly easy to drill, so if you log splitter is not up to the task, you could drill a line of hole along the line you intend to cut so that it would be easier on the log splitter.

What is the ton rating on that log splitter?

Maybe that Case unit behind there could run over it a few times and flatten it out a bit?

Got a friend that is a locomotive engineer and some train tracks nearby? I have to think that the weight of a locomotive on those narrow steel wheels would shear off any lead put there.

[lightman]

I would try to split it length ways with some type of saw. Then your log splitter would have an easier job of it. With your toys around, I would pick it up with that skit steer and hold it over my smelting pot to melt it.

[Mytmousemalibu]

I had an "ingot" that weighed in at 1300lbs. that I made more movable by cutting it in half with a Sawzall and on of those big burly Rescue blades. You will want pretty coarse tooth and used a cutting fluid of some kind. I just used some used motor oil. It will help to keep the chips clumped up to collect and toss in the smelter.

[woodbutcher]

:-D Some folks just have all the luck.Happy casting.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[deadeye ruck]

I echo the log splitter. Makes quick work of the bigger stuff

[Jack Stanley]

Problems like that are interesting , I solved mine by building a pot big enough to hold it .

Jack

[Lakehouse2012]

Set a tarp down to catch the shavings and use a chainsaw. Lead is about same density as oak. The sailboat guys do this all day long when shaping their keels.

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[NavyVet1959]

Set a tarp down to catch the shavings and use a chainsaw. Lead is about same density as oak. The sailboat guys do this all day long when shaping their keels.


Uhhh... No... Definitely NOT the same density... Oak will float in water, lead will most definitely sink... :)

[mdw]

I attacked it with my cutting torch today and melted a grove down the center funneled the melt off into a pot, worked it from both sided and split it into 2 thinner slabs, I think the log splitter can handle it now,..we'll see in the next couple days

[Drm50]

I had 2 big ingots, take up weights. I started with a saws-all which cut it ok but was taking forever.
I ended up over a period of time kind of peeling it with a axe and a sledge hammer. I still have one
left, haven't worked up the energy to cut it up. I have been thinking of building a hot fire and let
it melt off the end. We melt lead sheathing of cable that way, when fire dies done pick it off the
ground. You have to remelt to clean because a lot of dirt gets in it this way, but is in managable
pieces.

[mdw]

didn't take long with the torch it was easy and pretty clean

progress so far

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170525_173151_zpslj0llmk1.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170525_180557_zpspjgd3nw8.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170525_190616_zpsgdhhca9y.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170525_210937_zps0ueu24k7.jpg

[Mgvande]

Wow. I thought I was cool when I 'found' about 50lbs of forgotten lead in fishing pyramid weights. Looking for lawn mower gas I noticed a jug with the top cut off, under closer inspection it was lead weights. That was last week. Today I headed to the barn to move some bales and tada a 1/4 5gal or more lead weights. I wish I had the whole 500 lb problem. I do have a 40lb block do you guys think my table saw can handle it? It's book shaped and about 1 1/2" thick.

[NavyVet1959]

I do have a 40lb block do you guys think my table saw can handle it? It's book shaped and about 1 1/2" thick.

How many fingers do you have?

How many do you want to have afterwards?

:)

Besides, you're going to end up with lead chips all up and inside of the mechanism of your table saw.

Personally, I wouldn't do it with *my* table saw, but I have other options that would probably not be as messy.

[mdw]

torch set worked pretty good so I just kept going with it, have manageable pieces now, and very little to no loss

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170526_115949_zpscxwuzjh3.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170526_115954_zpsomcj3m6o.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170526_120238_zpsxcum4bkb.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/wplowing/base/20170526_120248_zpsspkwni4m.jpg

then my buddy tells me there are 2 more the same size and he'll see what he can do to get them for me :shock:

[trails4u]

I'm going to be really disappointed if you don't get another and try flattening it with the dozer.

[mdw]

I'm going to be really disappointed if you don't get another and try flattening it with the dozer.

while that would be fun,..I think it would push it into the ground vs squish it

[NavyVet1959]

I suspect that the concern many would have on using a oxy-acetylene (or oxy-propane) torch on lead would be if you tried to cut it the same way you cut steel (i.e. cause the steel to *burn*, not just *melt*). That would heat the lead up to boiling point and you would get lead vapors. That's more dangerous that just solid or liquid lead. But if you just work the flame back and forth along the groove that you are trying to cut and let it heat up enough to melt and flow, but not boil, the risk of lead vapor would be reduced.

I've wondered what striking an arc with a stick welder would do with respect to being able to cut lead since there is a lot of heat generated by an electrical arc, but I'm pretty sure it would be also generating lead vapor, so I've avoided the temptation to find out. :)

[mdw]

no I didnt try to cut it like steel I just got it flowing worked the groove in an up and down motion melting it deeper and deeper

I did think of going to a welding shop and getting a couple stainless steel rods and do just that with my arc welder making a make shift hot knife

to my calculations this thing is 3.5 million grains,..thats alot of boolits,..but the thing is I'm a noob and have yet to cast a boolit,..I'm guessing next step is to make a few ingots and should test the lead for hardness,..any simple way of doing that?

[NavyVet1959]

no I didnt try to cut it like steel I just got it flowing worked the groove in an up and down motion melting it deeper and deeper

I did think of going to a welding shop and getting a couple stainless steel rods and do just that with my arc welder making a make shift hot knife

to my calculations this thing is 3.5 million grains,..thats alot of boolits,..but the thing is I'm a noob and have yet to cast a boolit,..I'm guessing next step is to make a few ingots and should test the lead for hardness,..any simple way of doing that?

It's a lot of bullets if you're casting for .223 (63.6K at 55gr), but if you're casting for .45-70 (8642 at 405 gr), those bullets eat up your lead supply pretty quickly...

You can test for harness with a set of different hardness pencil leads. Lee also makes a device that you can buy. If you have a scanner for your computer, and a small diameter steel ball, and a scale, you can make the indention in an ingot with a known weight applied to it, scan the ingot at a high resolution, measure the diameter of the indentation, and then plug in the values to a formula that will give you the hardness. Since I have a scanner, stainless steel ball bearing, arbor press, and bathroom scale, that's the solution that I use.

[D Crockett]

I got a big chunk of lead a few years back and it had a hole in one end the other end looked like it had been sawn off . I took it and pulled it up on a oak tree branch set up my melter and lowered it down and started to melt it and make ingots out of the lead it worked real good for me just my 2 cents worth D Crocett