Casting Lead Safely

[musketman]

There has been several post on casting round balls and bullets lately, leave us now talk a little on lead safty and procedures...

Adequate ventilation is a must, molten lead gives off all kinds on nasty fumes and toxins...

Long sleeves and heavy gloves, it only takes one drop of 750 degrees Fahrenheit, molten lead to ruin your whole day...

Use a caster's mallet to open the sprue cutter and tap out stubbern projectiles, I use an old tomahawk handle (without the head), it works well...

Wear a sweat band or equilavant, sweat is water based, water in molten lead will result in an explosion of lead...

Safty glasses, what is your eye sight worth?
You go blind, you don shoot those little cloverleafs patterns anymore...

Have another adult guard the molten lead and hot molds if you have to step away for a minute (bathroom break), it just takes a second for a courious kid to try and pour a bullet and get disfigured for life... (I'm not trying to be gross here, but the fact is, molten anything will disfigure and/or kill someone if it is handled wrong)

Once you are done casting, wait for the extra lead and the casting equiptment to cool down before cleaning and leaving the area... Don't want any residual burns or fires...

No HORSE-PLAY if casting with your buddies... No lead fights or sneaking up behind a jumpy friend with a blown-up bag ready to pop, just as he's starting to skim the molten lead after fluxing...

Give it your Undivided Attention, if you can't devote the time and attention needed, don't cast today...

This is just the tip of the iceberg, or leadberg as it may be...

Anyone care to add more?

 

[Stumpkiller]

Be real careful with liquids around lead. A poor idea anyway to have food or drink nearby, but a drop of water will spatter violently, and a drop of lead in water will actually cause an explosion. Use a candle flame to burn off any oils on the mold and leave a thin, protective coating of soot. It actually improves the casting qualities to boot.

Drop your cast bullets & balls on a folded towel. It will prevent them from the 'dinging' they get on hitting a hard surface. If the towel chars or bursts into flame you'll know you're not allowing the lead time enough to cool between castings. A frosty surface on the lead also is an indication the mold is overheated. A swirly or creased surface on the ball means it's not hot enough (the lead is cooling before it fills the mold).

 

[gordy]

Anyone who has ever seen what moisture will do in ten pounds of molting lead won't forget it soon.I posted this on the CVA Forum awhile back.I was working for a electrical contractor at the time,I was finishing up the lt. fixtureon the medicine cabinet in an upstairs apartment when a plumber brought up the lead pot to make a joint into the old castiron drain for the shower stall,Being it was winter and about 10 degrees temp,I still had my heavy coat and hat on.Anyway the plumber lit the pot and went to doing somthing else while the lead melted.Some minutes later there was a loud sound like a shotgun going off behind me.The entire contents of that lead pot scatterd over the bathroom and me.Because I had left my coat and hat on I didn't get any severe burns,but the entire bathroom had to be redone.Mar-lite was a fairly new product at the time,everywhere that lead hit it took the surface off it.What had caused the lead to explode was frost from being stored on the cold truck all night and as the lead melted the frost turned to water and dropped into the lead.I am still very very carefull about liquid around molten lead.As was mentioned even a drop of sweat can cause a spatter.Kids and pets should be kept out of the work area also. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gifGordy