How to cut up into small chunks 15 pound solder ingots

[ok-22shooter]

I made a pretty good buy this morning. 160 pounds of what I believe to be 90% tin / 10% lead solder. 13 ingots ranging from 8 to 17 lbs. Came from an electronic soldering machine when the company shut down.

I measured 3 of the ingots and entered their size into a spread sheet I developed to give me an idea of the density to compare to a chart from 100% tin to 100% lead. all 3 are very close to the same density of 90/10 solder. A lead ingot the same size as the 17 lbs would weight around 26 lbs. Hardness checked with Pencils puts it in H to 2H range. My chart has H in the 20 BHN range. Melted a known solder source and a corner of an ingot with small propane torch and only the flashing would melt at about the same time in the flame. Used a 1/2" ball bearing and dead blow hammer to imprint against pure, WW, and solder. Harder than COWW and about equal indent with the solder.

The size at 4" wide may or may not fit into my Master Caster pot. It is at friend shop. not even the tip will fit into a Lee pot.

Used a sharp 2-3/4" wide masonry chisel to try to cut across the thinest ingot. While I might have gotten thru, I gave up time wise as its going to take another 51 or so cuts, 4 cuts x 13 ingots.
About to pull a carbide tipped blade Mitter saw down off the self but not sure if that would lock up in the tin/lead. lots of lead chips flying thru the air.

Alloys are lost every time they are melted and not wild about melting this down just to get smaller ingots. Any other suggestions?

 

[rickm]

Any course saw blade should cut it just dont use a fine blade cause it will gum up and i would use a handsaw so i could control the shavings better.

 

[Profreedomokie]

A band saw and spray some WD40 on it often.

 

[Johnny]

I big pair of bolt cutters or a log splitter would probably chew off pieces of it with out creating a bunch of shavings.

 

[TedKennedy]

Hydraulic press and a wedge.

 

[ok-22shooter]

All great ideas. Some of the ingots are 2" thick and 4" across so I don't think anyone in my family will have bolt cutters that big. There are log splitters around. Will have to see what kind of wedge they have. I do now remember guys savaging the lead keel on sailboats, 1,000s of lbs and cutting up both with a skill saw and a chain saw. Also buddy has a big band saw but he tells me the blade will not stay on. Might look at what is the issue is and give it a try.

Thanks for all the ideas

Mike

 

[mr ed]

Don't breathe the dust when cutting.
Wear some disposable gloves

 

[swampratt]

I used a sawzall to cut some bricks of mixed lead that were over 100 lbs and much thicker than you have. about 6"x 6"

I tried a chissel and then a splitting wedge and even tried an axe blade that i modified the other side so i could hammer on it.
No go.
Sawzall worked fine but you must pour/trickle water slowly on the blade to keep the lead from melting into the blade. Or it will not work for very long.

What you have will go quite fast and you could lay a sheet or pillowcase under the cutting area to catch the falling bits and collect them for use.

I used Milwaukee white blades

 

[rickm]

Thats why i suggested a handsaw it wont heat up like a elec/battery saw will and no bigger than they are shouldnt take much.

 

[Ahall]

If you are dead set on not melting the bars, there are ways to do it.

If you cut with a saw, that makes lots of chips, so you lose material unless you have some way to collect them to remelt. Trick is holding the bar while cutting. Use a nonferrous metal cutting blade. Lubricate the blade with something (wax is a common choice for a solid lube)

If you try a press or log splitter to cut, consider how the part will be secured while cutting. Too easy to get fingers pinched in that kind of stuff. Depending on how ductile the alloy is and the angle of the cutter, parts may want to fly as they shear. I would recommend pinching the part and then getting out of the line of fire before advancing the press until you know how it reacts.

If your dead set on cutting the parts without making chips, consider and old blacksmiths technique.
Almost all blacksmiths have a short chisel that fits into the square hole (the hardy hole) in the anvil (a hardy chisel) The piece to be cut is placed on the hardy chisel and struck with a hammer, cutting the face opposite the hammer.

It would not be tough to fabricate something similar with a welder and an old lawn mower blade or leaf spring.
All you need is a vertical cutting edge welded to a flat plate that could mount to a base of your choice.
Mount it to something heavy and stout like a tree stump and beat to your hearts content.
Just get the height where its comfortable and expect to have to resharpen the edge a few times.

I don't recommend trying to drive a single bit ax through the bars with a sledgehammer. for the simple reason that it is likely to damage the ax. The web around the handle is too thin and after repeated blows to the head is likely to bow out and crack. The ax is worth more than the lost alloy.


Frankly, I don't think the lost alloy from melting is worth the effort, wear and tear on tools, and risk associated with any of the proposed techniques.

Personally, I would melt the bars in an old frying pan on a turkey fryer and cast up ingots in one of my many ingot molds, and mark them with alloy content when they cooled. Let the propane do the work.