Stupid Question: Lead Management

[Guy La Pourqe]

Good afternoon Gents.

I am new to casting and in the past, all my lead has come to me in small, bite sized ingots that go right into my lead pot as slick as can be. Unfortunately my supplies ran out and I am seeing a lot of great reasonably priced lead around but in very odd shapes. A year or two I tried to cut soft lead on the drop saw but it bunged up the teeth on the saw. How do you guys cut up big chunks into smaller ones?

Sorry if this is a dumb question...

[Stewbaby]

Sawzall or recip saw, remelt in a bigger pot and repour into small ingots (see Redneck molds on this forum) or if they’ll partially fit, hold one end in the pot with pliers till portion you need melts off. Easy to weigh a bar and mark off rough lbs, partial or such with a marker (like divide a 2lb ingot into 1/2 lb increments by marking it into 4 equal sections)

If they fit, here is how to quickly partition them equally if they are somewhat uniform in cross-section:

-draw line off end
-pivot ruler so ‘10’ or other friendly division hits the end line
-transfer divisions to paper (use a straight edge if desired)
-mark on ingot

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[Winger Ed.]

^^ this^^

You can also use a wood/brush cutting blade in a 'sawz-all' type reciprocating saw.
Just don't go so hard & fast the blade heats up and melts the Lead or it will clog too.

I've done that, and sometimes I have carved off chunks that would fit in the old Pro-Melt with a torch.
A hardware store propane torch will work, but a Plumber's 'B' tank & turbo torch is better.

Depending on what size the block is, some guys have had good luck using an ax or hatchet.

[onelight]

I have never tried it , but would an air chisel work at a speed that was reasonable ?

[Winger Ed.]

I have never tried it , but would an air chisel work at a speed that was reasonable ?

It sure does.
But its more labor intensive and isn't as fast as a sawz-all,,,,
or as much fun as using a torch- which also leaves one hand free for the occasional sip of beer..:bigsmyl2:

[onelight]

It sure does.
But its more labor intensive and isn't as fast as a sawz-all,,,,
or as much fun as using a torch- which also leaves one hand free for the occasional sip of beer..:bigsmyl2:
Sounds like you have a proper handle on the process :)

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve heard of people cutting up sailboat keels with chainsaws. Maybe it could work on smaller stuff too.

[gwpercle]

Don't try and cut lead up if you can . Get a gas jet burner (the kind used for boiling big pots of crawfish or for deep frying turkeys) and get a large cast iron or steel pot . One can be made from half a propane tank .
Put the big pot on the burner and stand the lead up in the big pot ... hold the lead up and down , with gloves as it melts . A very large piece of lead can be melted this way ... cast into small manageable ingots .
Gary

[fcvan]

Dad had a pure lead foundry pig given to him by a commercial plumber. Deciding he was no longer going to cast (brother and I did all his casting) he gave all of his stash to us. I needed some pure for RB and Conicals for a few friends and myself for our percussion revolvers.

90 pounds was a bit much for be to handle without taking one of my Dutch ovens out of food service. I should have looked for one at a yard sale but decided to use a tin coffee can. I also had a sheet metal 'cone' that was almost can diameter at the smaller end, 2" wider on the other. That really focused the heat on the bottom and sides of the can.

I cut one third off of the pig with a hack saw (pruning saw would have been better) and put it in the can on an outdoor stove. I watched it as it approached melting with large pair of channel lock pliers, safety glasses, and welders gloves. One third did not fill the can.

I ladled out the can into ingot molds until the can was half full. Placing the 2/3rds sized piece, I sat by and waited until the melt came up to the rim and pulled the unmelted piece. This did not take long. Ladled out as before, repeat.

I have since scored a plumber's pot filled with boolit alloy, stove, propane tank, and some large cannon ball boat anchors. All of this was Dad's leftover stash he didn't give me with the pure lead pig. I haven't had to get into that stash yet. Point is, I made due with what I had, now I don't have to make due.

[Conditor22]

Try turning the saw blade around, hammer and chisel.

[Brassmonkey]

I would use a splitting wedge and a sledge. Should be neat and tidy.

[44magLeo]

If the pieces of lead are just a bit to big for my casting pot I toss them into my big pot. Made from a propane tank and set on my turkey fryer. Then ladle it into the 2.5 lb. or 1 lb. ingot molds I have.
For large chunks I set up my saw horses and a piece of 3/4 plywood high enough so I can put my big pot under one end of the chunk. I use my weed burner to melt the chunk into the pot. When the pot gets full or the chunk gets small enough to fit the pot I then ladle it into the ingot molds.
If the chunks are to big for me lift on the saw horses by myself, I use hoist to lift and hold it over the pot.
Doing it this way may be a bit slower than a chain saw but I don't have to clean up lead shavings.
Leo

[Texas by God]

I used my cutting torch the other day to turn a frying pan sized chunk into poached egg size ingots. Just the oxy/acetylene flame, thumb away from the fun button. It went quickly.

[Drm50]

Cheapest, axe & sledge. Most big stuff I melt into ingots outside in wood fire. A cut off propane tank for pot.

[charlie b]

I've used an axe too. Can be a bit tedious with larger stuff, like a 4'x4'x1" sheet I had one time :)

[Alferd Packer]

Find an old rusty cross cut saw for cutting green trees.
May have to clamp down pieces of lead to hold it still.
Use light pressure
Let weight of saw drag thru the cut
kerosene can help for lube.

[richhodg66]

Big camp fire, thrift store pot and muffin pan. Beer of choice while you wait. problem solved.

[Idz]

When we machined lead we used kerosene as a lubricant.

[Mal Paso]

Pure lead a hatchet and hammer or hydraulic wood splitter.

Hardball, #2 or harder can be scored and broken. Superhard alloy just put the ingot ends on a couple wood blocks and hit with a hammer in the middle.

I have used saws but there are the chips to contain.

[beagle]

Amen on the wood splitter. Had some 2" stuff and the splitter chopped it into manageable chunks after about 15 minutes work for an 18" square chunk./beagle


Pure lead a hatchet and hammer or hydraulic wood splitter.

Hardball, #2 or harder can be scored and broken. Superhard alloy just put the ingot ends on a couple wood blocks and hit with a hammer in the middle.

I have used saws but there are the chips to contain.

[Martin Luber]

Use a cable to lower into your pot and melt off chunks. Assuming it fits. Same deal for big pots

[Alferd Packer]

Find an old rusty cross cut saw for cutting green trees.
May have to clamp down pieces of lead to hold it still.
Use light pressure
Let weight of saw drag thru the cut
kerosene can help for lube.

[Rcmaveric]

I have a large enameled stock pot from the salvation army. Haven't found anything that won't fit. It will hold over 100 pounds of lead.

I got large sheet of lead once. I just rolled it up and plopped it in. Covered and let it melt.

Once molten I pour 2 pound ingots from it.

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[ABJ]

I have tried all the above methods and they all work, but here is the way I do it.
One- if its small enough to fit my dutch oven then thats my first choice.
Two-If not and it will fit my table on my cut-off saw equipped with a wood blade with as FEW carbide teeth as you can find, then I cut them using WD-40 or any spray lube. Do not use a standard finishing blade and yes chips go everywhere so wear a face mask and glasses. ( I have a box built to contain the chips)
Three- the wood splitter works great on heavy and hard to handle shapes as well as very thick pieces like keels.
Tony

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I used a wood splitter on clean dimensional lead (manufacturer drops), it worked great. I didn't want to smelt it, wasting time and energy, since it was already clean. In a couple hours, I made one to two pound chunks out of all the 450 pounds of it.

I have also used a hand held power circle saw on some tractor wheel weights, I used wax to lube the blade to keep it from galling, I made several shallow cuts, then broke it using hammer/chisel.

[robg]

axe or hatchet or a bigger pot

[quail4jake]

By far the best way I've found is the log splitter. If the wedge doesn't come close enough to the anvil lay a piece of steel plate behind the lead you want to cut to bring the cut closer to complete. I took the time to file the wedge to take out nicks and sharpen the edge and it really helped. I roll lead sheet up as tight as I can get it then cut bite size sections...you know, much like a pumpkin roll!

[Froogal]

I've been buying lead from Roto-Metals. It comes in 5 pound ingots. !/2 of an ingot is a lot more manageable in my 10 pound pot, so I use my hand held jig saw to cut the ingots into 2 pieces. I use a coarse, all purpose blade. I clamp the ingot in a vice and then just cut through the ingot. It goes fairly quick and does not damage the saw blade. It does produce some small particles, kind of like sawdust, but that "dust" can easily be swept up and dumped into the pot. I suppose if the ingot, or large chunk chunk was big enough, I would use my sawz-all.

[Guy La Pourqe]

Thanks for all the ideas, gents!

I should be good to go now!!!:drinks:

[fredj338]

I have traded for alloy & some guys, I just fail to understand, will cast in huge 10-20# frying pan ingots. How does anyone cast with those? So I have a large Dutch oven I can sit them into & melt down for casting into smaller 1#-3# ingots. I have heard a chain saw works well but I havent gotten into anything that large to try it.

[Charlie Horse]

Harbor Freight weed burner. Put the chuck of lead on a sheet cake pan and melt off pieces with the torch. It goes very fast. Wish I could post a pic.

[Win94ae]

I use a hammer and chisel.

[Wooserco]

The last range scrap lead that I got was in 40+ bread loaf pan ingots. My 5 qt dutch oven would hold at least one. Having three of those large ingots, I melted them down into 2-1/2 pound ingots marking as to which loaf they came from. I then added equal amounts from each loaf to further melt them down so as to have a basically homogenous stash of ingots. Hopefully all of about the same alloy.

[Rcmaveric]

I have these mini bread pans that cast a large ingot. I use it when I pre mix alloy. 2 ingots will fill my Lee 20lb bottom pour pot. Call me lazy. I also use em when I drain the pot for a different alloy.

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[milsurpcollector1970]

I cut a shower pan up with a hatchet, try cutting or chopping first sawing gets lead chunks everywhere. Hammer and wedge is good idea too

[fredj338]

I melt scrap in a large dutch oven. So if I can get it into a 10" pot, gtg. I really dont understand anyone reducing scrap & putting it into large 20#, frying pan ingots, but it takes all kinds.

[white eagle]

Good afternoon Gents.

I am new to casting and in the past, all my lead has come to me in small, bite sized ingots that go right into my lead pot as slick as can be. Unfortunately my supplies ran out and I am seeing a lot of great reasonably priced lead around but in very odd shapes. A year or two I tried to cut soft lead on the drop saw but it bunged up the teeth on the saw. How do you guys cut up big chunks into smaller ones?

Sorry if this is a dumb question...

Guy
the way I do it is with a miter saw
I listen to the saw while I am cutting if I hear it start to bind I slow down and withdraw the blade and start over
Normally I cut lead bricks and anything that will fit in the saw this way.It works give it a try