Lead Clean Up

[tding]

After reading through the site for several weeks and lots of web and reading research I ordered my initial casting equipment today. I'm certain to have more questions once my "Xmas Package" arrives.

As a result of my reading I feel ready to tackle most issues. However, I have not run across any advise for lead "clean up". I'm fairly anal about keeping my dies and other reloading tools in pristine condition. I know boolit making is going to be messy and there will be the invitable spills. How do you clean the mess up? How will I keep the messes off of the RCBS furnace I have ordered?:confused:

[Springfield]

Just scrape the mess off the table or furnace and toss it back in the pot.

[Cherokee]

You will, from time to time, notice little glittery spots on the floor and bench. :-D Even if you clean up, they will still appear. [smilie=1: I just try to keep it to a minimum. Nice thing is you can reuse it.:castmine:

[nvbirdman]

I have a great solution for you.
Send me your RCBS furnace, all your moulds and all your lead and I will cast a few boolits for you and send them to you COD, and I won't worry about spilling a couple of drops.

[Jon K]

tding,

Welcome Aboard, lots of experience and info here, and some you gotta take like a grain of salt. Drippings, spatter, whatever you want to call it, it's the nature of the beast(casting), you just learn to live with it, try to be careful, and clean up your mess.

I'll go one better than nvbirdman, you send me that nasty RCBS pot COD, so I can pay the shipping, I'll cast you a few boolits, and ship them- I pay the shipping. No lead mess to clean up, problem solved, and you don't have to pay the shipping.HA,HA,HA,HA, lol
All kidding aside just jump in get your feet wet, and ask lots of questions, lots to learn and there is always more than one way to do it.

Jon
:castmine:

[DLCTEX]

I was planning to cover my casting bench in my new reloading building with galvanized metal, but I scrounged a stainless steel drain board from a restraunt sink that I'm going to incorporate. That should make spills and splatters easir to clean up. I covered the wooden floor with a sheet of concrete board (1/4 in. 3'X5').
My current casting is done in the garage and lead spills have been easy to peel
off. I will not fasten the concrete board so I can take it out and hose it off occasionally. DALE

[Lloyd Smale]

Ill do better yet send that rcbs pot to me and ill clean it up and return it. It may take two or three years to do a proper cleaning of it though as i would want to feel responsible for you if you got lead poisioning

[arkypete]

tding
I do all my casting out doors, the big chunks go back into the pot, the little stuff I don't worry about. My pots have stains, lead smears, etc and it keeps on casting. The molds are pretty clean inside may need to annual heat them up and burnish them with copper chore boy to get off any lead flakes.
I got my fill of polishing buttons as a cadet. You know buttons still work even if they don't shine.
Jim

[monadnock#5]

Wear long sleeve shirt, long pants, sturdy leather shoes, gloves, and don't forget your safety glasses. Also, don't cast in an area where something you care about could be destroyed by 800° liquid metal. No matter how anal you are, sooner or later Worst Case Scenario will come for a visit.

Ken

[montana_charlie]

I do my casting on my main workbench out in the shop, but I store the equipment on a side bench so I can work on 'real' things when not casting.
Part of my casting equipment is a sheet of aluminum than gets laid on the bench prior to placing the pot, and other tools.

When lead spatters, splashes, or gets spilled, it cools quickly on the aluminum so it is easy to recover. But (like you) I don't like to have the top surfaces of the pot covered with smears, dribbles, and dollops of alloy. It looks messy, and it makes an un-level surface when laying the mould there to keep it up to temperature.

I flux with a stick. My sticks are scrap from my table saw, so they are square in cross section and around a foot long.
With square corners on the 'cool' end, I can ususally use the stick to nudge lead from the top surfaces back into the pot.
Only takes a moment, and doesn't screw up the rythmn 'cuz it's part of the fluxing routine.
CM