Get The Lead Out

Semisane · 10-11-2011, 01:02 PM

About two or three times a year I get an email saying "Get The Lead Out" from a buddy who is a roofer by trade.

That means the recycle bin sitting next to his garage is full roof jacks from roofs he replaced, and he wants me to go empty it. When full, that bin holds about 60 lbs. of those pure soft lead roof jacks.

I recently got a "Get The Lead Out" message and picked up the goodies. They've been riding around in the back of my pick-up for over a week. So today I decided to process them.

Here's what a bin full looks like piled in my yard.

I stomped them kind of flat then folded them up and flattened them a little more with a hammer. This makes it easier to fit them in my melting pot.

Then I set up the natural gas jet burner that I use for boiling crabs and crawfish. I use an old stainless steel bowl for melting bulk lead. Here's the set up in action.

After all of the lead is melted I give it a good stir with a steel rod, which leaves about an inch of trash and slag floating on the lead. This is what it looks like.

I skim that off with an old steel spoon, then stir & skim again. After three or four stir & skim cycles the lead is really clean and looks like this.

Then I start casting ingots using a mold made from angle iron from a bed frame.

I ended up with 49 nice triangular ingots averaging around a pound and a half each. They stack real well.

Total elapsed time - from first stomp to last pour - about an hour and a half. That stack is going to make a LOT of balls.

pluckit · 10-11-2011, 01:10 PM

That's really cool and awful handy of you. But, doesn't fooling around with all that lead worry you at all?

Nimrodder · 10-11-2011, 01:14 PM

Thats a DWB's wet dream LOL

Semisane · 10-11-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

But, doesn't fooling around with all that lead worry you at all?

Not in the least. Just stay upwind of the fumes. A box fan does the job if necessary, but I had a nice steady breeze today.

ALTERNATE RESPONSE: The road to Semisaneville is paved with lead.

HEAD0001 · 10-11-2011, 01:28 PM

Semi I have a full sheet of X-Ray room lead sheathing sitting in the bed of my pickup. It has been in there for over a year. I need to get it out and melted down. It is just too heavy for me to lift. And everytime I have help I forget about it. Must be getting old.

There is no real need to worry about the lead. What you mostly have to worry about is getting it on your hands and clothes.

Pure lead does not give off any fumes. The fumes you see coming off a lead pot are the impurities in the lead that are burning or smoking. And simply staying upwind of that serves the purpose.

What you have to worry about with lead is ingestion. And that comes from your hands. Always wear gloves. Long pants, and long sleeves. Then wash those clothes separately in the washer. And wear gloves. When done take a shower and wash hands very well. You will never have any leading problems if you follow those steps. Tom.

Semisane · 10-11-2011, 01:40 PM

Quote:

The fumes you see coming off a lead pot are the impurities in the lead that are burning or smoking.

You're right about that HEAD. Some real nasty smoke comes off of that pot from the tar and roofing cement clinging to the jacks. Sometimes the surface starts flaming a little when I add a chunk of folded up jack. I even light it myself on occasion because there's less smoke when it burns with flames.

nchawkeye · 10-11-2011, 01:44 PM

Most of us smoked stuff in our early years that was more harmful than lead fumes....

Semisane · 10-11-2011, 01:44 PM

Quote:

I have a full sheet of X-Ray room lead sheathing sitting in the bed of my pickup. It has been in there for over a year.

Dang HEAD! That's been killing your gas mileage.

flounder33 · 10-11-2011, 01:46 PM

That is cool Semi. I need to get started casting. This winter I hope.

HEAD0001 · 10-11-2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semisane

Dang HEAD! That's been killing your gas mileage.

Not really. I have only put about 1,000 miles on my truck in the last two years. I don't drive very much, and never go very far. Heck most of the miles on my truck are put on it by friends. I think they believe the lead is there for extra weight in the winter??

And I have so much lead stock piled up that I really don't need any more. It is just hard to get away from being the lead scrounger that I have been for the last 30 years.

I bet if I add up all my lead, including the different bullet alloys, pure lead, linotype, Tn., and wheel weights I have close to 6,000# of alloy. Tom.