Sorry to revive an old thread but I've been looking everywhere for ideas how to cut down unwieldy chunks of lead into manageable sizes without creating a lot of hazardous conditions. I have access to a 600 to 800 chunk buried in somebody's back yard where taking a chainsaw or cutting torch would be a problem since she has dogs running around we don't want to poison. I already have several large chunks that are clean enough to use in my bottom pour pot but too big to fit in it and the whole propane fire dipping process is something I'd rather avoid when I can - that's why I bought the Lee pot in the first place.
I've been wondering if anybody's ever tried making a functional heavy duty hot knife out of plate steel or an old machete and an arc welder? Early Lincolns actually had a low current setting for thawing frozen pipes. It seems there ought to be a sweet spot somewhere on my arc welder where I could clamp either end of machete or lawnmower blade and the resultant short circuit should get it just hot enough to slice through lead without blowing up the welder.
Am I nutz or might this work?