Taking apart a lead slab?

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Odnar

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I have two slabs of lead, approx. 18x12x2 inches. Any idea on the best way to cut them into usable chunks? (Preferrably not more than 4" on a side)

I tried a Sawzall but gave up when it took 10 minutes to get about 3" into the first cut (using coarse tooth blade).

Lay it out on a train track? :D

I don't have a band saw.
 
Put it on something really solid, like concrete.

Use a type of wide cold-chisel usually called a "brick chisel". Set the chisel firmly on the line you wish to cut and smack it as hard as you can with the heaviest hammer you can swing. (Probably a 3-lb drilling hammer or small sledge. Not a framing hammer, that's just wasting your time!)

If you can strike in a line across one face you may be able to get it to break along that line if you keep working it for a while.

Maybe. The softer and more malleable it is, the less likely it is to fracture. The harder it is, the less you're going to feel like whacking it.

If at all possible, try to avoid hitting your fingers.

Let us know if it works!

-Sam
 
I swung an axe at it a couple times but I didn't want to chip up my garage floor. Plus, I had trouble hitting it directly in the place I wanted to.

I have a good variety of chisels, but the biggest hammer I have is a 24 oz ball peen. (guess I've always been more of a finesse guy)

BTW, it's pretty soft lead, I think it's pretty pure.

Harbor Freight is calling my name!
 
You can't saw lead with a saws-all or band saw.
It gums up in the saw teeth faster then you can clean it out.

Maybe if you used a constant flow of cutting oil on the blade, but I doubt it?
Maybe an abrasive cut-off wheel would melt it in two, but I have never tried it?

I have used my acetylene torch & a rose-bud tip to melt chunks that were too big to get in the lead pot.

Maybe a hammer & chisel will work to get a groove started where you can break it?
But by the time you get a few chunks chisled off, you will be strong enough to tear the rest of it up by hand like the phone book trick!

rc
 
Here's how I do it, and it's fast and efficient. Lay out a cheap blue tarp and put a couple of 2x4's down. Lay the lead sheet on top of the 2x4's and use a coarse tooth carbide tipped blade in a regular Skill saw. Just saw along the lines for the size chunks you want and you'll be done in a couple of minutes. The blade will got through the lead like hot butter.

This will produce a large pile of lead shavings, which is why you do it on the blue tarp. The shavings will be "fluffy" and you can collect them in the tarp and melt them with the rest of the lead.

This is the only method I've found that will make short work of cutting up lead that is too large for the pot. Don't waste time pounding on it with an axe or hammer and chisel, as all you'll get is a sore back.......

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Really? Just a handheld circular saw? I think I have a carbide tooth blade for mine, I'll try that first.
 
Yep, that's all I use anymore. Just hold onto it tight and make sure the blade doesn't bind. As long as you make straight cuts, it will go right through it. Be aware that lead shavings are going to be flying, so wear eye protection.

The reason I use the carbide blade is the carbide tip is wider than the blade, so it's less likely to bind during the cut. You don't want to use a blade with a narrow kerf.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
At my place of employment a few years back, two lead scale dampners were being scrapped.
12" x48"x1".
I cut them both into melting pot size chunks using the toolroom bandsaw, a new 4pitch blade with a moderate blade speed.
Had no problems at all exceot for the initial heavy "lift".
 
The skill saw and carbide blade is the way to go. The carbide blade is important for the reason he stated. If you don't have a skill saw, an ax is the next best thing--provided you can consistantly hit the same place with full swings. Don't do it on concrete--put it on a block of wood, like a 24" diameter block. I cut up one with a splitting wedge and a double jack, but it was a lot more work than with an ax.
 
Odnar said:
I have two slabs of lead, approx. 18x12x2 inches. Any idea on the best way to cut them into usable chunks? (Preferrably not more than 4" on a side)

I tried a Sawzall but gave up when it took 10 minutes to get about 3" into the first cut (using coarse tooth blade).

Lay it out on a train track? :D

I don't have a band saw.
Click to expand...
At Missouri Bullet, we cut our 58 lb. antimonial (6%) pigs with a Milwaukee sawzall, no problem at all. We use a demolition blade and anoint the cut with motor oil. The pigs are 4" thick by about 3 3/4" and we get through them in under 30 seconds.

We haven't had to change the blade after hundreds of cuts.

Just FWIW.

Brad
 
You can always melt off chunks and blobs with a propane torch.

Tim
 
When cutting soft metal or for that matter any soft material you need to use a saw blade with a wide gullet between teeth to allow the material to clear out of the blade. Fred described the right type rotary saw blade to use and MissouriBullet described the correct type blade for a sawzall. A typical metal cutting sawzall blade will have 14 to 24 TPI (teeth per inch) while a demolition blade will usually have 5 to 8 TPI.
 
Band saw and/or reciprocating saw. With big teeth. I've used both successfully.
No reason a circular saw won't work, too.
 
We want pictures of you useing a chain saw. I would try the skill saw with carbide blade. I use one to open up safes that people screw the doors up so bad you can't open them any more so lead should be easy.
 
"Would a chain saw work?"

I would not. Chain teeth have an agressive bite angle, likely would dig in and bind terribly. We can drill holes in thick lead with a sharp spade bit fairly well but NOT a common metal bit because it will dig in too badly.

For a two inch slab I would try the Sawzall with a 'pruning' blade, they have very coarse teeth and should be a bit less likely to clog. And I'd still want someone to be dribbling a light oil, kerosene perhaps, into the cut to prevent lead from galling onto the blade.

Thinner slabs would do well with the circular saw or demolition blades tho.
 
Here's how *not* to do it: ;) Drill a line of close-together holes with a 1/2" drill and then connect the dots with a cold chisel. It's a bad idea because the drill bit will grab, spin the 50 pound block of lead around and hit you in the shin. Don't ask me how I know this...

If it was only 1" thick you could cut it with an axe.

Best thing I found for cutting up a 2" thick slab of lead was a carpenter's hand saw, using long slow strokes so the teeth don't clog up. Much faster than an electric saw (unless you have a bandsaw with a coarse blade)
 
large dutch oven + heat source (coleman stove, turkey frier, etc). Melt them down, then cast them into cupcakes.
 
interesting thread...

i aquired a big BAR of linotype from a friend a long time ago.... it's about 2ft long and is a 2"flat on one side tapered round on the other..... i have always wondered about how get it into usable chucks...........


LIFE IS SHORT.....
 
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