Creating  A  3.5  Ton  Lead  Ingot

 

 

 

 
 
Casting the lead keel was an interesting project.

Sailboats need a heavy weight attached to the bottom of the keel called ballast.  It's serves as a counterweight to keep the boat stable in an upright position.  The physics are exactly like the "Weebles-Woobles" toy.

 

 

 

 


 

I knew that I needed lead, and lots of it.  I had been collecting small ingots and tire weights off of the streets for years, but still only had about 1,000 lbs.
So I bought three 55gal drums full of used tire weights.
The casting had to be made solid by doing it in one complete pour.

An old cast iron bath tub was the perfect size to melt everything together in. (I did wonder if it was going to be strong enuf to hold all that weight.)

I had a wooden mold of the ingot's shape from when the
 main keel was laid.  Irvington Marina welded steel plates 
together around that to make an exact fit, steel mold.
Here you can see where I buried that into the 
ground completely surrounded by dry sand.

 

 

 
 
 
Early morning we fired up the LP furnace.  Lead melts at 327deg. Celsius, and since it's heavier than steel, the metal tire-weight clips floated to the top and were skimmed off.
 
 
 
 
 
Here the plug was pulled, and the silvery liquid poured into the mold.  It looked like liquid silver and took overnight to cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day the marina hoists the 3.5 ton package out of the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's one massive 9' long nugget! Note how the 4x4's are being crushed by the weight.

And poor Elsa has to lug this thing around for the rest of her life.
Hope it doesn't fall off!

It also doesn't want to be moved very  easily either..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easier to move the boat and position her directly on top of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great  Fit !!



I used six- 1" stainless steel thru-bolts which took three men on a massive wrench to tighten.
Hope the damn thing never falls off!