Huge amount of lead near Santa Rosa, CA

totalloser · December 16, 2013, 10:20 PM

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/mat/4244281882.html

Not mine, just ran across it on Craigslist while looking for alloying materials. A few thousand pounds for the high rolling home caster!

Not sure it's worth .75 though since you can get WW for about $1 a pound off ebay, but seemed worthy of sharing.

Swampman1 · December 17, 2013, 04:42 PM

I wouldn't even attempt to buy that at even at .40/lb. Just the sheer size alone would make it an enormous task just to cut it into workable pieces. Interesting to see anyway.

Mike / Tx · December 17, 2013, 07:40 PM

Looks like sailboat keel ballast to me. Whittling it down to size wouldn't be an awfully hard task, time consuming for sure. It would be easy enough to run through some of the biggest chunks with an electric chainsaw. Another would be, if you could just build a fire around it and melt it into thinner pieces.

Lastly would be to simply break out one of the bigger propane tanks a decent lenght piece of hose and go to work on it with one of these,
Dual Propane Torch Kit

FrankenMauser · December 18, 2013, 01:27 AM

A portable band saw or gas-powered saw would make quick work of that.

But....
I'd be hesitant to buy it even at $0.50/lb, or so. Most boat ballast weights poured from "lead" are poured from whatever scrap the caster could get their hands on. There's no way of knowing what alloy that is, and what contaminants are in it.

Daffy · December 18, 2013, 06:55 PM

A stout meat cleaver and a hammer to make some break lines in it. we bit of effort.

Agreed on the unknown alloy though, there's still plenty of sources for pure lead if ya look around and my new years resolution is to never leave the range without a bucket full and to build myself a trap for what I shoot at home.

reloader28 · December 19, 2013, 09:52 AM

Id like to see you get a pound of lead for a dollar off ebay. Aint going to happen.
The lead costs a dollar and another dollar/lb to ship it. Thats makes it $2/lb no matter how you try and figure it.

Theres no way I would buy ingots off ebay. WAY too many idiots that dont know what they are doing or putting in there, just trying to make a fast buck. I would buy WW, but not ingots.

totalloser · January 21, 2014, 10:44 PM

This discussion spent a fair amount of time covering options to hack apart lead, so I thought I'd tack this in here since I just had the chore.

Handsaw no. Bandsaw no. Drill no. Lead is soft, but very malleable. So when you try and cut it, it binds things up. Won against bimetal blade and HSS steel. Tried to melt it into the pot with a commercial lead pot burner, but the mass of the metal prevented melting before the whole piece got way too hot to fumble with gloves.

Ultimately I put it on a 20k press and pushed a splitting maul through the piece and it was only 102 pounds- about 6x6" and 3' long. A log splitter would have made quick work of it.

chris in va · January 23, 2014, 01:37 AM

I acquired some window counterweights about 3' long and 2" square. I tried using a hacksaw...

After doing a Google search, ended up using a splitting maul and mallet. Still a lot of work.

And yes pure lead is very malleable. It won't split or crack.

FrankenMauser · January 23, 2014, 01:48 AM

Interesting. It must depend on what blade you're using, and how well you keep the cut clean.

One of my brothers comes across large counterweights on occasion, in his work. He has never had any problems hacking them up with a portable band saw. I don't know what type of blade he keeps in it, though.

And, a few years ago, we cut up the lead on a 5" diameter "plumbers mallet" (pure lead cast around a steel pipe) with a rip saw (nasty, gnarly wood-cutting teeth).

reloader28 · January 24, 2014, 09:36 AM

Maybe oiling the blade would do it.
I've cut a lotta lead pipe with a bandsaw without oil.

You can drill lead bricks very easily actually by keeping WD40 on the bit. We do it all the time on stock cars.

December 16, 2013, 10:20 PM	#1
totalloser Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, CA Posts: 679	Huge amount of lead near Santa Rosa, CA http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/mat/4244281882.html Not mine, just ran across it on Craigslist while looking for alloying materials. A few thousand pounds for the high rolling home caster! Not sure it's worth .75 though since you can get WW for about $1 a pound off ebay, but seemed worthy of sharing. __________________ You only truly believe in freedom if you believe in the freedom of those you disagree.

December 17, 2013, 07:40 PM	#3
Mike / Tx Senior Member Join Date: April 8, 2000 Posts: 2,101	Looks like sailboat keel ballast to me. Whittling it down to size wouldn't be an awfully hard task, time consuming for sure. It would be easy enough to run through some of the biggest chunks with an electric chainsaw. Another would be, if you could just build a fire around it and melt it into thinner pieces. Lastly would be to simply break out one of the bigger propane tanks a decent lenght piece of hose and go to work on it with one of these, Dual Propane Torch Kit __________________ LAter, Mike / TX

December 18, 2013, 01:27 AM	#4
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	A portable band saw or gas-powered saw would make quick work of that. But.... I'd be hesitant to buy it even at $0.50/lb, or so. Most boat ballast weights poured from "lead" are poured from whatever scrap the caster could get their hands on. There's no way of knowing what alloy that is, and what contaminants are in it. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

January 21, 2014, 10:44 PM	#7
totalloser Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2007 Location: Fort Bragg, CA Posts: 679	This discussion spent a fair amount of time covering options to hack apart lead, so I thought I'd tack this in here since I just had the chore. Handsaw no. Bandsaw no. Drill no. Lead is soft, but very malleable. So when you try and cut it, it binds things up. Won against bimetal blade and HSS steel. Tried to melt it into the pot with a commercial lead pot burner, but the mass of the metal prevented melting before the whole piece got way too hot to fumble with gloves. Ultimately I put it on a 20k press and pushed a splitting maul through the piece and it was only 102 pounds- about 6x6" and 3' long. A log splitter would have made quick work of it. __________________ You only truly believe in freedom if you believe in the freedom of those you disagree.

January 23, 2014, 01:48 AM	#9
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	Interesting. It must depend on what blade you're using, and how well you keep the cut clean. One of my brothers comes across large counterweights on occasion, in his work. He has never had any problems hacking them up with a portable band saw. I don't know what type of blade he keeps in it, though. And, a few years ago, we cut up the lead on a 5" diameter "plumbers mallet" (pure lead cast around a steel pipe) with a rip saw (nasty, gnarly wood-cutting teeth). __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

December 17, 2013, 04:42 PM	#2
Swampman1 Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2013 Location: South Louisiana Posts: 432	I wouldn't even attempt to buy that at even at .40/lb. Just the sheer size alone would make it an enormous task just to cut it into workable pieces. Interesting to see anyway.

December 18, 2013, 06:55 PM	#5
Daffy Member Join Date: December 24, 2012 Posts: 63	A stout meat cleaver and a hammer to make some break lines in it. we bit of effort. Agreed on the unknown alloy though, there's still plenty of sources for pure lead if ya look around and my new years resolution is to never leave the range without a bucket full and to build myself a trap for what I shoot at home.

December 19, 2013, 09:52 AM	#6
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	Id like to see you get a pound of lead for a dollar off ebay. Aint going to happen. The lead costs a dollar and another dollar/lb to ship it. Thats makes it $2/lb no matter how you try and figure it. Theres no way I would buy ingots off ebay. WAY too many idiots that dont know what they are doing or putting in there, just trying to make a fast buck. I would buy WW, but not ingots.

January 23, 2014, 01:37 AM	#8
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I acquired some window counterweights about 3' long and 2" square. I tried using a hacksaw... After doing a Google search, ended up using a splitting maul and mallet. Still a lot of work. And yes pure lead is very malleable. It won't split or crack.

January 24, 2014, 09:36 AM	#10
reloader28 Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2009 Location: nw wyoming Posts: 1,061	Maybe oiling the blade would do it. I've cut a lotta lead pipe with a bandsaw without oil. You can drill lead bricks very easily actually by keeping WD40 on the bit. We do it all the time on stock cars.

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