cutting lead

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  • Last Post 05 January 2023
99 Strajght posted this 04 July 2010

I have about 10 lead squares 1 in. thick and 8x8 in. I need to cut them in half to fit into my melting pot. I have tried a Hack saw, jig saw and a band saw. They work but at a cost of a lot of time and saw blades. Is there a easer way to cut lead?

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larryfisher posted this 04 July 2010

Yel,Take a cold chisel and hammer.

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LWesthoff posted this 04 July 2010

You don't need to cut it all the way through. Just get it notched all the way across and it will break (regardless of whether you notched it with a chisel or a saw).

Wes

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bushranch posted this 04 July 2010

Sharp axe , a big hammer and a solid block of wood to sit the lead on. Sharp axe cuts a lot quicker than a chisel . A extra person to hold the axe helps.

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frank l jr posted this 04 July 2010

     one might locate a friend with a hydrolic log splitter, just use a great deal of discresion.. no fingers in the way. we cut up a bunch of babbit bars with this method..  works for me.

                               see ya

                                          frank l jr :) :D:firefire:fire

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runfiverun posted this 04 July 2010

a dutch oven will make smaller ingots pretty handilly.

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jhrosier posted this 05 July 2010

99 Strajght wrote: .... They work but at a cost of a lot of time and saw blades. Is there a easer way to cut lead? A band saw will cut lead like a hot knife through butter, but you need to use coarse pitch wood cutting blades. I cut a bunch of 1-1/2” thick ingots with no problem.

Jack

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99 Strajght posted this 05 July 2010

My band saw blades would stick and bind and come off the wheels. This would kink the blade and then the blade would would not be useable again. The best I have found so far is the score with a chisel and then put in a vise and bend back and forth with a pipe wrench two or three times. Brakes right off.

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72coupe posted this 05 July 2010

I have a 72 pound 5 inch thick lead cookie. How should I cut that up?

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jppr26 posted this 06 July 2010

i use a chop saw with a carbide blade just make sure you have glasses on and put some wax on the blade befor you cut, helps clean the teeth out

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tturner53 posted this 06 July 2010

Ditto on the carbide blade. A Skillsaw will cut full depth, about 2 1/2", but makes a lot of chips. Put down a tarp to catch them, and don't rush it. Anybody tried a chainsaw? I have some to cut that's about 10” on the narrow dimension.

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canalupo posted this 06 July 2010

I hang big pieces over an ingot mold and melt with a torch. It will drip into mold and all that hammer swinging and ax chopping will be avoided.

Bob D

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Hammer posted this 24 September 2010

Sawz-all works well on any size ingots....

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Dale53 posted this 24 September 2010

I had 750 lbs of large ingots (65-92 lbs each). I used my standard smelting set up (a Turkey/Fish fryer burner and a six quart dutch oven from Harbor Freight):

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James Ball posted this 24 September 2010

if you have a lot of lead,freeze it then hit it with big hammer in a vise.or submurge in alcohol and dryice for 20 min,get to 32 below,pull it out hit it on the edges,last resort move to alaska or take winter vac red eye in jan.its 70 below then

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Lefty posted this 11 January 2013

Which blade? Wood or bimetal?

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Lefty posted this 11 January 2013

My post is regarding an earlier post which recommended a Sawzall for cutting lead. I picked up a 75# block this morning. It is about 3” thick. So again which blade will work best in a Sawzall? Thanks for any help.

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offhand35 posted this 11 January 2013

a coarse hook tooth wood blade will work the best in a Sawzall....as was mentioned in regard to a Skilsaw, put a tarp under your cutting area to catch the “dust". I cut up a few hundred pounds of Lino a few years ago with my bandsaw. used the coarsest blade I could put on it, worked great!The Sawzall would be better than a circular saw, less scatter of the 'dust'....

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delmarskid1 posted this 12 January 2013

I tried a circular saw and the blade stuck in the block of lead. It looked like something from the “Sword and the Stone". I had good luck with the electric chain saw. It goes slow enough that the lead doesn't heat up and stick the blade. I got a nice pile of 1/8” chips that I was tempted to use for chop shot.

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99 Strajght posted this 12 January 2013

If you are going to use a saw blade spray it with WD-40 and on the line you are going to cut. It will keep the lead from sticking to the blade. Cuts much faster also.

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rockquarry posted this 12 January 2013

Someone mentioned using a torch; don't know if they were referring to a propane torch or oxy/ acetylene. The latter works very well and quickly if you have access to such equipment.

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