Bolt knob inlay and rosette

There are a lot of lead sheets inside a car battery. I had a school in one of the Delco Remy battery plants and got about 10 feet of the lead sheeting rolled up from one of the employees

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Fred, there are no lead sheets in car batteries, nor have there been since "sealed" batteries, aka wet charged, were introduced. The plates consist of grids enclosed in plastic envelopes and in addition to lead contain cadmium and antimony. That's why batteries must now be recycled. If you were to open a used battery and removed one of them, it would crumble in your hands like a cracker. However, large, dry charged industrial ones still contain lead plates.

As for lead water pipe, a friend who was a supervisor for ComEd in Chicago had 1500 lbs collected from job sites and he gave me 500 lbs. It was 6" OD. In areas where they were burying their electric lines, the municipalities would come in and replace their old water lines since they had a common utility easement.

Long range muzzleloader shooters and Civil War musket shooters use a bullet that is around 540 grains so you get 13 bullets per pound. A match can consist of up to 100 shots so you can see that 500 lbs doesn't go far.

If we want to get Carlos started in reloading, I've got milk crates full of dies, presses, brass, and bullets that I haven't used in over 15 years. It'll all probably get sold at my estate sale when I croak.

D Kanger, A half dozen trucks hauling 2000 lb ingots of pure lead per day. These ton ingots were melted and small ingots of additive metal was added and mixed to come to the customers design specs. the lead/additive was then rolled into about 6 inch wide sheet. The last step in the rolling cut and stretched the lead/mix into what looks like plan expanded metal. from there it went into a clay substance and was incased in what a[[ears to be a pink plastic sleeve sealed at both ends as it is cut to size. Fred

An interesting tidbit about the lead discussion. The pipes of Rome, being lead, many of the dishes and cups being made of lead lead to lead poisoning of the wealthier Romans. During American expansion period both lead and mercury in the for of pills, blue and purple respectively were thought to be curative for lots of sicknesses. Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston and Santa Anna to them daily for years. We all no what mercury will do, and lead has similar effects. Fred

for those who don't care for sardines, Spam cans work well, too.

Fred,
I'm glad you enjoyed your brief tour of a battery factory, but I was in the battery business for 35 years. It's those small ingots of toxic additive metals that render battery plates unusable for any common purpose we might have. Take my word for it, it's a fool's folly to think otherwise, not that anyone here would attempt to bust open a battery and melt it down.

Thanks Barry

Latergators any time call email etc

Brian when I took the plumbing test in Colorado mid 1970s , caulking a lead joint in cast iron pipe and connecting lead pipes by wiping lead were still part of the practical exam. But lead pipe had not been use here for many years. The unions kept the lead wiping in the test to limit the amount of licensed plumbers. Lead wiping is a lost art now

<"Lead wiping is a lost art now">

Mebee figure out a way to use it nowadays?

Make some "modern" scuptures outta lead sheet and hold 'em together using that technique?

The stuff lasts a long time exposed to the elements.


You could even add engraving!

Since you can gouge into the stuff with a butterknife, I imagine a HSS graver would never need to be sharpened but once!

You'd have a monopoly...


B.

Brian,

Thank you for the tutorial, was very useful.