I can get as much of this as I want, is it lead?

[NoBodyImportant]

That’s good detective work

 

[satex]

I would happen to say most counter weights for heavy equipment are iron-based or lead-based if not mostly pure lead. Obviously, it's not iron if you can easily scratch it. I have access to a spectrometer that will tell you what it is composed of, percentage wise. All I would need is a small shaving from a pocket knife to expose the clean metal beneath the surface. I would buy it for sure.

 

[Marc Schmidt]

Hello again,
Unfortunately, I have to realize that I'm slowly getting forgetful. It's no good detective work, if the client don't get all the answers.

So all of what the previous speakers wrote is true, taken together. Take a lead test kit and you can tell whether it is or contains lead.
If you have an adjustable furnace, you can determine the exact melting temperature. Should be 324 ° C.
If it is below or above it, you have additions to the alloy.

I recommend the spectrometer, it will deliver the best result.

For us, however, the most important thing is to determine the Brinell hardness.
There is a lead hardness meter from LEE. Those who reload their cartridges know, how important it is to have the correct bullet hardness.
Tin or antimony is usually added to the lead to harden it. And I think it's the same with these counterweights.
For our muzzleloaders, on the other hand, we need lead that is as pure and therefore soft as possible (Brinell hardness 5 - 8,5).
If it's too hard (over BNH 8,5), you can sell it to reloaders. They can use this much harder lead.
So if it were up to me: buy it cause it's cheap, analyze it and see what you can do with it.

Greetings from Frankfurt/Germany
Marc

 

[NoBodyImportant]

So I got the first batch home. I’m am going to try a chainsaw unless some one has a better idea.

 

[Whitworth]

So I got the first batch home. I’m am going to try a chainsaw unless some one has a better idea.

Wear a good mask and spread a tarp(s) out to collect all the "sawdust" from your cutting. That sawdust will be pot ready

 

[Marc Schmidt]

I wish you a strong arm and trust in God. I would recommend a cutting torch.

 

[NoBodyImportant]

I wish you a strong arm and trust in God. I would recommend a cutting torch.

At 922lbs I need to cut them before I can get them off my trailer. Torch would burn the wood.

 

[User_Dan]

Swing an axe to cut up those giant chunks or a sawzall

 

[satex]

I would use a sawzall. It might be a bit slower than a chainsaw, but it won't sling lead debris and smoke everywhere, including into your lungs. Lead also has a tendency to load up cutting tools. And it might want to "bite" your chain. Contact me if you want me to do a spectrometer test on a small piece. All I'd need is a small sliver or bigger with a freshly cut surface. I work in a metallurgy lab if it makes any difference.

 

[josie wales]

I mentioned this cheap way of testing lead before.

Mar 29, 2019

Here is what I use for checking the hardness of your lead. It is cheap....all you need is a scale,(I use an 100# postal scale), a drill press, a ball bearing of a known diameter and a caliper. It is accurate. Check YOUTUBE for the exact procedure.

Brinell Hardness Number Test Equations Formulas Calculator

 

[jefair1]

So I got the first batch home. I’m am going to try a chainsaw unless some one has a better idea.

Use a sawsall with a bimetal blade.

 

[LME]

We are scraping several robots at work and I can buy the counter weights at 25cent a lbs. boss said he can give me a hell of a deal if I take all 8 of them. Probably about $100 a piece. As he just needs the rest of the employees to see me pay something. They are 922lbs each and seem to be lead. Any way to test them. The scrapings melt quickly. All told it’s just under 4 tons for a couple hundred bucks.

Every thing you have said and done points to the material being lead. I noticed that these weights also had steel sleeve inserts which are needed for mounting if my eyes haven't deceived me. Four tons of lead at $.25 a pound would set you back $2000.00 . The last time I checked lead was slightly over $.60 a LB. That four tons of lead would bring you a little over $4800.00 if you were to sell it as scrap. A neat profit for little effort. If you were to take just a small portion of the lead and sell it to all of our people casting balls/bullets the profit increases much more.

 

[jackpine54]

We use an old axe to break large chunks down to manageable size

 

[pwbsmokey]

An air chisel may work for cutting it

 

[FPDoc]

The numbers are specific part numbers for replacement "Balancing Weight". Pictures are exactly as posted here but NO indication of composition. I agree that counter weights are almost always iron or lead and lead is certainly more dense. I do not know of another similarly dense and easily melted/cut or cast material that is cheaper or more available than lead.. ipso facto ish.. likely lead?

If you do a search using the numbers on the piece you have you can find the manufacturer easily and they have contact information for questions... like.. what specific alloy are these made of.. pure lead or close? If it is.. pretty sure you could get a group buy going from all us gullible muzzle loading type folks. Your boss might even be able to give you a quick contact number for the source.

 

[Sidney Smith]

How are you scratching it? If just the clippings, that's not a good indication. Sand off some paint and then try to scratch it with your fingernail.

If you've got other uses for it besides making bullets then go ahead and buy it. If you shoot cast bullets in cartridge guns, then it might be fine. If you want this potential lead for muzzle loading projectiles, then I'd have to make sure it scratches easily with the nail before I'd buy it. I've got some lead alloy that still scratches with the nail, but makes oversized and hard round balls. I use this stuff strictly for fishing sinkers. You have to check.

 

[FPDoc]

Use a sawsall with a bimetal blade.

Cutting lead with axe, chainsaw or circular saw causes (me.. because I've done it) anxiety.. and the desire for a stand-by band-aid, tourniquet or change of clothing. Air chisel should prob work.

I Agree that a Sawzall makes very good sense (fine teeth will clog, coarser teeth of "aluminum and other non-ferrous metals" or a "demolition" style blade would be my first choice).

900+Lbs weights are massive pieces of lead to handle. I might pay some young guy the $2 a pound to cut them up for me.. only partly joking.

If you have a working farm call them tractor weights (put your chunks or ingots in boxes mounted to your tractor) and write them off your taxes.. grin

How much of it did you decide to take in all?

 

[hawkeye2]

I've cut up a lot of lead in a lifetime but if I were presented with that much in that form I would haul it to the scrap yard, sell it and use the $$ to buy new pure clean lead in 1# ingots. You would still have a lot of lead and no work involved.

 

[MooseHunter92]

Bought a counterweight out of a large milling machine. 3300 lbs of lead. All one big piece, cut it up with chain saw.

That would have been one hell of a sight! Haha cutting up lead with a chainsaw

 

[NoBodyImportant]

Cutting lead with axe, chainsaw or circular saw causes (me.. because I've done it) anxiety.. and the desire for a stand-by band-aid, tourniquet or change of clothing. Air chisel should prob work.

I Agree that a Sawzall makes very good sense (fine teeth will clog, coarser teeth of "aluminum and other non-ferrous metals" or a "demolition" style blade would be my first choice).

900+Lbs weights are massive pieces of lead to handle. I might pay some young guy the $2 a pound to cut them up for me.. only partly joking.

If you have a working farm call them tractor weights (put your chunks or ingots in boxes mounted to your tractor) and write them off your taxes.. grin

How much of it did you decide to take in all?

Yes I’m going to get it all. We have four now and 4 more when the new robots come in and we get them changed out. Probably 4-6 months with cargo transportation right now. I got 3 of them one my car hauler with pallets under them. That what I won’t cut into my trailer