cutting lead bars

[gns4me]

Two long (18"+) bars Approx 4" x 4" Probably raw ingots from factory. Only have a small 8 qt sauce pan as my melting pot. How do you guys cut it into smaller chunks??? Sawall? Course blade? Skillsaw? Does lube (oil) on blade help with cutting? Bogging down? ' not worried about oil/lube , just good flux in the end product.

[Froogal]

Sawzall works good as does a jig saw. Use a coarse blade designed for cutting through nails.

[Barry54]

I’ve only tried savagery. Wood splitting maul will break Linotype bars and the sharp side chops cable sheathing easy enough.

4” is bigger than I’ve tried. Acetylene torch?

[Sasquatch-1]

I would hang them over a pot and use a torch (propane will work but can take a little time to heat up the bar) and melt off desired amount that will fit in pot.

[Dusty Bannister]

Since I already have the sawzall, I would use that with a coarse blade along with wax to lubricate the blade. You might have to stop and clear the blade with a very thick piece of stock, but the wax would make that a lot easier.

[gifbohane]

Excellent question, I have tried many methods and always gave up after a few inches.

[Sasquatch-1]

A while back there was quite an extensive thread on different methods of cutting lead. It has been discussed a few times over the years.

[Rickf1985]

At 4x4 I might be reaching for the chain saw. You would be surprised at how easily a chain saw cuts lead. And it does not dull the chain any faster than cutting wood. You will need a tarp to catch the chips, which of coarse are still lead and castable. And very heavy pants you don't care about since the lead chips will shred them. Or put the lead on the other side of a piece of plywood and reach across to cut. Wood blocks chips.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've used a skillsaw on some old DIY lead tractor wheel weights. I used candle wax as a blade lube.
I've also used a hydraulic wood splitter on some dimensional Lead.

[jdgabbard]

I'd probably just use a sawall... But you could possible use a mitersaw with the right blade... I've seen guys cut aluminum extrusion with one of those. Which is substantially harder than lead. But if you went that route I'd obviously take it slow... Honestly a hand saw would probably work fine, though with some additional elbow grease...

[country gent]

A sawsall will do fine go slow use a coarse blade and light oil or kerosene to lubricate the cut. By go slow Im meaning let the saw do the work dont try and force it. With out the light oil the lead will stick to itself and the blade. Look for one of the destruction blades meant to cut thru wood nails fairly coarse with a heavy set. The newer carbide ones may be better. The problem with the saws all is the 1" stroke on a 4" bar dosnt clear chips good.

I cant recommend a torch of any kind as lead transfers heat to well youll have the bar 1/2-3/4s hot before it starts to melt on the end.

A miter saw might work but be very careful as it may want to grab and suck you in.

an eyebolt in one end and hung into your pot with a heavy wood fire and blower would possibly melt it down.

One of the portable band saws would be my choice, a medium coarse blade it runs in one direction clearing chips.

[Rockingkj]

I used hammer and a cold chisel and my anvil to cut up some big chunks. Into manageable pieces. Actually didn’t take much effort or take too much time. Just have to reposition the cutting edge as you whack your way through.

[schutzen-jager]

angle grinder with eye + breathing protection ?

[PhilC]

Don't remember where I read this, a hydraulic log splitter if you have one. Need to try this myself once temps cool down. Goes without saying you need to keep fingers away from the cutting parts. Am confident my 16T splitter will make short work of the Rotometals 25lb bricks I bought 18mos back.

[dondiego]

Build a campfire and melt the lead bar. It will be a puddle and you can use tin snips to trim it down and a lot less work.

[The Appalacian]

I just did half a 2.5 x 4.5 x12 inch counter weight. Stood it up on end in the pan and clamped a large Besse clamp (adjustable C clamp) on the top end as a handle. Lots of mass to heat to initiate the melt on the bottom but i got it done. I scratched a line at 6 inches so I knew when I had approximately half melted off. With large thick welding gloves it wasn't much problem to balance and steer keeping it melting straight down to the line, other than being time consuming.

An oxy/acetylene torch will work great if you have a metal container to catch the splatter.

I think back on my aluminum trailer building days where we cut lengths of extruded aluminum to length for trainer parts using "wood" chop saws and 10 and 12 inch carbide tooth blades lubed with lots of WD40. I can image that would eat any lead alloy like butter.

I have a supplier of boat keel lead that cuts it into manageable chunks with a track hoe and a pincher/cutter attachment.

Lots of ways to skin that cat but personally I would rather just melt off what would fit in my smelting pan/pot and be done with it.

[HWooldridge]

I use oxyacetylene with a rosebud tip. Doesn’t take much dwell time to get it running - I can quickly melt 5-10 pounds into a pot for secondary processing.

[poppy42]

angle grinder with eye + breathing protection ?

Lead Will clog that angle grinder wheel up so fast it makes it almost useless! He almost be better off with an ax

[JimB..]

If you’re near Charlotte just bring it by and we can melt it and cast redneck gold ingots for you.

[P Flados]

I did some boat keel lead once. Multiple cuts were needed. It had steel (threaded rod) in it that messed up my initial attempts with a reciprocating saw and ruled out any use of a chain saw.

Eventually I drilled a series of close together holes along my "cut line". I started at something like 1/4" and then re-drilled bigger. I had to go slow and I used soapy water for lubrication. I then went back and did sawing and/or chiseling as needed to finish the "cut".

The finished chunks were pretty big. I melted these down in a big pan using my combination pine cone disposal / smelting facility.