Originally Posted by
Knightflyer
If it were me, I'd start with a seam ripper and just tear one apart, then go from there. Where the heck did you score used lead aprons??
Update: I did a search and found this on HPS.org: Protective clothing worn by radiographers contains lead and often other metals (e.g., tin, tungsten, antimony, barium) to shield the wearer from radiation. These metals are homogeneously mixed with synthetic rubber or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Between two and five thin sheets of metal-impregnated rubber/PVC are placed between sheets of nylon fabric coated with urethane on the side against the lead-impregnated rubber/vinyl. The materials are cut into a pattern and sewn together to form the protective garment. The manufacturers of these garments vary the number of sheets, the percentage of metal, the grade of rubber or PVC, and the mixture of metals to affect flexibility, durability, radiation absorption efficiency, and weight.
So... you could get the lead by melting the whole thing down I suppose, but it would be a tedious and stinky operation, and potentially dangerous from the junk in the smoke of burning PVC.