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Thread: Got a keel, got a keel, got a keel

  1. #21
    Boolit Master Retumbo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    If it is lead it doesn't really matter what the alloy is, you can make bullets from it. Not that many things get mixed in with lead. Antimony and tin are most common ones for the historical uses of lead. Makes it a really good bet that what you have is a lot of bullets after a lot of work. After all even Lyman #2 is 90% lead so even plain soft lead gets you 90% of the way to Lyman #2

    I might mention there is a member that sells some really nice cast boolit and redneck gold embossed molds. Allows one to cast 10 pounds in 4 ingots with each fill. I bought some in order to clean up all my scrap into ingots of known alloy. I was doing 110 lb. batches so the capacity and good stacking made the molds worthwhile. In the past I used bread loaf pans from Salvation Army or garage and estate sales for bulk lead storage. Filled about an inch they make nice slab ingots that will stack and weigh between 10 - 12 pounds. Too big to fit in pot though, harder to use to blend into some other alloy. Could only make big batches and couldn't easily fine tune things to get say a 60/40 mix of two batches.

    You have your work cut out but I'm betting you will really like sitting back and looking at a nice stack of completed ingots. I seem to recall enjoying very much sitting in a chair sipping coffee and gazing at this lovely stack of Wheel Weights. Don't know your keel size but would guess it would be a good deal more than this, which as I recall was around 300 to 400 pounds. Gotta love those Harbor Freight furniture moving dolly's. It may not be really "portable" but I can move it around the garage and it sits on floor under a shelf where I can roll it out as needed. Has a board under the ingots with a rope so I don't have to bend down to move it. Bending is NOT one of my strong suits.

    Attachment 272580
    Keel is likely in the 800-900 lb area and would push my lead reserves to about 2 tonne

  2. #22
    Boolit Buddy pacomdiver's Avatar
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    do like i did about 15 years ago when my buddy got one. pick it up out of the truck with an engine "cherry" picker on one end, hang it over the turkey frier burner (i use a half 20lb tank) lower it in and let it melt, when you have enough melted, lift it up so you have room and ladle it into molds and repeat the process. it took 4 or 5 hours to do the one we did. im sad to say, it all got made into diving weights, since it was before i started using cast

  3. #23
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Nice score!

    I've never scored a keel but at 800-900 pounds I would pick it up with my tractor and suspend it over my smelting pot and melt it with a weed burner, letting the smelting pot catch the molten lead.

  4. #24
    Boolit Man
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    Very nice score! Being in the sailboat biz, I've recycled quite a few keels. Getting the keel off the boat and getting rid of the boat are the toughest part. Apparently that is done.

    How I do it:
    I use a chainsaw to cut the keel to pieces approximately 300 lbs to fit my pot. Have extra blades or a way to sharpen the blade. Use a tarp to catch the chips. My last keel (~1000lbs) generated ~50lbs of chips. An engine hoist is used to get the lead to the pot. My pot is a homemade bottom pour from a 20lb propane cylinder. Put some of the chips in the pot with each chunk of lead. The chips melt first, form a pool and help transfer the heat to the big pieces. On my turkey fryer burner I can melt ~300lbs in about an hour, and about another hour to pour into ingots.
    Mentioned up thread was to be careful of bottom paints. The tin based paints were banned quite a few years ago. But the current paints, epoxy and polyester fillers and primers are full of toxic stuff. Stay upwind!

  5. #25
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Conditor22 View Post
    Pictures or it didn't happen
    And still no pics.
    “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan


  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master
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    15 years ago I would have been very envious...now just envious.

    Great score if it was free or cheap. I already have a lifetime supply of lead. So, for me it would come down to what I can sell the ingots for. I would still process it, but I am lucky and have a tractor so I would hang it over my smelter and lower as needed. If you have access to a tractor, be aware that cylinders can lead down so do not leave it hanging there unattended.
    Don Verna


  7. #27
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Yeah, cylinders can bleed down and hoses can break.

  8. #28
    Boolit Master Retumbo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by oley55 View Post
    And still no pics.
    I am laid up, had a mass removed from my hip last week. Asked the owner to send me one but he is older than I am. lmao.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by Retumbo View Post
    I am laid up, had a mass removed from my hip last week. Asked the owner to send me one but he is older than I am. lmao.
    Heal up quickly!
    "There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something."
    ~Thorin Oakenshield

  10. #30
    Boolit Master Retumbo's Avatar
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    Click image for larger version. 

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  11. #31
    Boolit Master Half Dog's Avatar
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    And I didn’t know it was keel season yet.
    The sooner I fall behind...the more time I have to catch up with

  12. #32
    Boolit Master

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    Having watched the demise of Blackbeard on Black Sails, I'd have to say that being keel-hauled is pretty bad.

    You'll have to tell us if hauling a keel is worse.
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

  13. #33
    Boolit Master Rapier's Avatar
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    A Keel is a tough nut. Living in FL I have seen several in or near boat yards in various stages of dismantling, most only 20-25% cut up before being abandoned. I got some big counter balance weights one time and finally used a fire axe to cut them up.
    Good Luck.
    “There is a remedy for all things, save death.“
    Cervantes

    “Never give up, never quit.”
    Robert Rogers
    Roger’s Rangers

    There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
    Will Rogers

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check