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old casting stuff

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nick_1

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friend of mine found a really cool old casting pot and ladle in a 200year old house he was demoing. the ladle was really big like soup pot big. The big rusty chunk of lead came out of the melting pot. you can see on top of it what came out of one of the ladels. big ladle. what would they have been casting with a ladle that big?
IMG_4217.jpg
 
Wondering how I am going to get that big chunk of lead into my melting pot.. don't really want to deal with cleaning up the cast iron rig and heating up in the old rig
 
Get a bucket 5 gal. size, 1 can of lye fill bucket enough with water to cover the pot completly, put in the lye and mix with the water, put pot in the bucket and let it go for a few days will clean it right up As to the lead a old axe will chop it in pieces, or a saw. If you saw it wear a dust mask.
 
The lye will also put a nice matt grey patina on the cast iron. My uncle used to rehab old skillets this way back in his flea market days.
 
The easiest way I have found to handle TOO big Lead. use a propane torch to melt it off into the pot......I've leaded Miles of pipe and poured hundreds of Bearings.....Balls & bullets are a piece of cake... You can always season you pot by throwing it in a campfire then Lard or cooking oil. keep them dry and never use any soap or cleaner on to tools....treat them like a fryin' pan........Be Safe>>>>>>>>Wally If YOU Don't Want it ship it to me postage paid
 
friend of mine found a really cool old casting pot and ladle in a 200year old house he was demoing. the ladle was really big like soup pot big. The big rusty chunk of lead came out of the melting pot. you can see on top of it what came out of one of the ladels. big ladle. what would they have been casting with a ladle that big? View attachment 176709
I am glad that it was "really COOL" --- or you could have got injured ;-)
One of my bugbears is the way in which the "young whippersnappers" have changed the meaning of words, so that grumpy old geezers such as myself don't know what they mean. At least I "woke" up this morning, which is a bonus !
 
That doesn't look like casting stuff. More likely old school plumber. Back in the day, waste pipes in houses were cast iron and had joints sealed by oakum and molten lead poured from a ladle. The fact that it was found in an old house just supports that. Since I work on old houses fairly often, I get to see the range of techniques used through the years.
 
I use this method, using a battery charger for the power. This guy says to grind a clean spot on the metal. Not necessary! Just move the clip if necessary to clean there. On very rusty old relics, it can take up to a week to clean the piece, but no damage to the base metal happens.

https://smartdiyer.com/electrolysis-rust-removal-explained/
 
I use two cast iron pots that held 40 pounds each of lead to cast modern pistol bullets with 8 and 10 cavity H&G gang molds for .45 & .38 caliber cartridges. They sat on top of a 20-pound propane plumber's tank. Sure did cast a lot of bullets in a weekend.
 
I would check that material, might not be pure lead. Could be Babbit for bearings, could an alloy for something else.

As far as cutting off chunks, a hatchet and hammer would make quick work if it is pure lead.
 
Most lead for cast iron piping is cast into semi square lengths and hammered into the joint. Ya just can't pour lead into a horizontal joint.
 
Most lead for cast iron piping is cast into semi square lengths and hammered into the joint. Ya just can't pour lead into a horizontal joint.
Plumbers poured lead in all sorts of positions with specialized pouring tools. BTW hammers and cast iron drain pipe don't mix well.
 

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