The tinsel fairy came to visit!

[oldred]

Well it finally happened and I don't have a clue as to what went wrong, I was melting down a small batch of wheel weights and all of a sudden without warning PLOP and the lead was everywhere! Fortunately it was a very small amount being melted since I was only casting 50 350 grain 45's and as always I was wearing my gloves, apron and safety shield which was ruined by the splatter. The bad part is I don't have a clue what caused this, the weights had all melted (I think anyway) and I simply had leaned over the pot (gas fired cast iron) and was about to stir it with a wooden paint stick and remove the steel clips. I guess I will never know what happened to cause this but if nothing else just seeing the splatter on that plastic face shield and knowing where it would have been if I had only been wearing goggles makes me all the more aware of using the proper safety gear. I think back on the times I have just used safety glasses and in my earlier years nothing at all, and it scares me to think of what might have happened.

[Hamish]

:2_high5:

Many times when stuff like this happens when we are younger, it get's little more than a "Huh, that was kind of weird".

@(:^]#>:::

[youngda9]

Sweat drop? I think the moisture has to be beneath the surface to cause the tinsil fairy to appear due to rapid expansion of the moisture.

[stubshaft]

Thank goodness you weren't hurt.

[beagle]

I cast with a small piece of SS screen over my melt hooked under the lever linkage on my Pro Melt. THis somehwhat contains any "tinsel fairies". Just a precaution against my dumbness.

Any lead I have that I suspect has moisure goes into the pot during warmup and it has a chance to "boil off" before the melt gets molten.

Range scrap is really bad in this manner and I once had a .50 tracer go off in the pot. That was real exciting./beagle

[oldred]

I have heard differing opinions on the sweat drop scenario but what ever may be the case on that one it's a sure thing that sweat was not involved. The most likely cause that I would venture a guess is that maybe there was a void in one of the weights with moisture, but that's entirely just a guess. One thing for sure never again will I take the safety thing lightly, it scared the you-know-what out of me there for a few seconds!

[Outch]

(just seeing the splatter on that plastic face shield and knowing where it would have been if I had only been wearing goggles )

Now that's a scary thought . Glad to hear you were not hurt.

[R.M.]

Did you actually get the paint stick into the melt? Those sticks retain a bit of moisture. Every time I stir with mine, I have to insert it slowly, and it still bubbles a bit till it's totally dry.

[Bill*]

Had that happen back when I still used Marvelux-it must have been on my clip spoon and soaked up moisture from the air. As asked above, had the paint stick entered the melt yet? Anyway, glad you're OK

[oldred]

Yes I had the paint stick in the pot for a few seconds when this happened, now that you guys mention it I had only scooped up a few of the clips but until that point I don't think I had started to stir the mix yet. I wouldn't have thought about there being enough moisture in that wooden stick to cause a problem like that but just thinking back now I bet that is what happened.



I had on a pair of new jogging shoes and I have been the better part of an hour now trying to pluck loose all the shinny lead flakes that are stuck to the fabric parts of the shoes, guess I'm lucky a pair of shoes was all that was damaged!

[Hardcast416taylor]

After the last batch of paint sticks I got from Home Depot that snapped and crackled when I used them for fluxing. I have taken an approach of pre-heating them in an old frying pan on an electric hotplate (old 2 burner type) on low heat to help dry them out more before using the "snap sticks" as I now call them.Robert

[Dan Cash]

Sticks and saw dust/shavings hold lots of moisture. Worse is a resinous stick. A pocket of resin within a stick. When placed beneath the melt, you have explosion just as with water. I will stir with something besides a stick.

[white eagle]

sorry it happened
but we all need a wake up call
every once and awhile
gets to same old same old and we get careless

[williamwaco]

Well it finally happened and I don't have a clue as to what went wrong, I was melting down a small batch of wheel weights and all of a sudden without warning PLOP and the lead was everywhere! Fortunately it was a very small amount being melted since I was only casting 50 350 grain 45's and as always I was wearing my gloves, apron and safety shield which was ruined by the splatter. The bad part is I don't have a clue what caused this, the weights had all melted (I think anyway) and I simply had leaned over the pot (gas fired cast iron) and was about to stir it with a wooden paint stick and remove the steel clips. I guess I will never know what happened to cause this but if nothing else just seeing the splatter on that plastic face shield and knowing where it would have been if I had only been wearing goggles makes me all the more aware of using the proper safety gear. I think back on the times I have just used safety glasses and in my earlier years nothing at all, and it scares me to think of what might have happened.


Please tell me that every newby learned this lesson.

NEVER "LEAN OVER" THE POT.

I know the oldies already knew it.

[oldred]

Yep, guilty as charged! I was definitely looking directly down into the pot since as I said it was only a small melt and the pot was way less than half full, I guess the full face shield gave me a sense of security and I got careless. The shield did it's job BUT you are certainly right and I should never have been in that position in the first place. Rest assured I learned a valuable lesson and I feel I got off easy this time, I won't be doing THAT again!

[Bret4207]

It's possible it was a resin pocket int he paint stick I suppose. Could have been anything that got under the melt. Usually if there is a resin pocket you'll see the pitch streaks running in the paint stick, they aren't very thick.

[milprileb]

Paint stick is my guess. For all reasons already noted.

Thank you for posting your incident. I think we all gain from
reports like this and can air what lessons learned can be derived.

Face Shield: always wear one.

[Texantothecore]

During my last pour I dropped a bad bullet into the mix and a drop of 600 degree lead popped up and landed on my nose. It didn't do much damage but I will never cast again without a safety shield.

By the way, I have been looking for a good safety shield but the only thing I can find are welding face shields that are not at all suitable. And expensive to boot. Anyone know where to get a safety shield that is both light and cheap?

[palmettosunshine]

Harbor Freight has two different kinds here on the SC coast. One is about $3 and is very flimsy. The other one is about $15 and is very sturdy with a flip up function. That's the one I chose.

[Grandpas50AE]

Yep, guilty as charged! I was definitely looking directly down into the pot since as I said it was only a small melt and the pot was way less than half full, I guess the full face shield gave me a sense of security and I got careless. The shield did it's job BUT you are certainly right and I should never have been in that position in the first place. Rest assured I learned a valuable lesson and I feel I got off easy this time, I won't be doing THAT again!

Two reasons not to lean over the pot: besides reason number one of not placing your face in a dangerous place is reason two: perspiration droplets can fall on the stirring utinsel and get sucked under the melt surface, causing exactly what you experienced.

[plainsman456]

I have some sticks that when put in the lead causes it to boil.
I have taken to using a SS spoon when scraping the pot and cleaning the grunge off the pot.

[Stick_man]

+1 on Harbor Freight. They have all kinds of equipment and their motto seems to be "Cheap". And as long as it does the job intended and will likely get ruined anyway, cheap is as good as expensive.

Glad to hear the lesson learned was a "cheap" lesson. Just think how much it would have cost had you not had the face shield.

[SquirrelHollow]

Last Saturday, I was smelting some Linotype, and had a minor tinsel fairy visit. It was a good reminder, though, why I refuse to stir with anything but hot metal tools (spoons, ladles, etc).

While pouring an ingot, I had a wood flake (large saw dust "flakes", like Pat Marlin's CFF) blow into the mold, under the stream of lead. At the speed that I was pouring, I couldn't stop instantly. About 3/4 lb of alloy painted a post-modern interpretation piece on my gloves, coat, boots, driveway, and garage.

I don't put wood products under the surface of my melt, and that tinsel fairy visit was a good reminder of why.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

I have an aluminum pie plate attached to a somewhat larger round of plywood with a handle attached like a ping-pong paddle and I hold it in front of me over the pot whenever I add an ingot or some cut sprue pieces. I also preheat ingots on the pot edge prior to adding them. Never had an incident, but just in case there is a "first time", I don't want to experience the event nor have a story to tell. Better safe than sorry! LLS

[dragon813gt]

The ones at Harbor Freight specifically say they are not for melting metal. Same with all the safety glasses I found. I'm new to this hobby and finding a rated face shield has eluded me so far. I can imagine that the hot metal will melt the plastic quick and offer no protection if it's not rated for it.


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[nicholst55]

By the way, I have been looking for a good safety shield but the only thing I can find are welding face shields that are not at all suitable. And expensive to boot. Anyone know where to get a safety shield that is both light and cheap?

I bought mine at Home Depot for not very much money, and wear it always when casting. For that matter, I have taken to wearing safety glasses whenever I'm working with anything harder than a sheet of paper, just because. Just like soldiers wear safety glasses/goggles in combat (and training) now. It takes a second to put them on, versus a lifetime of wishing that you did.

[nanuk]

even a cheap plastic shield not designed for metal will save your eyes and face.

the shield may be ruined but so what. THAT can be replaced.

they haven't figured out a way to replace eyeballs yet.

[rintinglen]

Nanuk said it better than I can. But the simple barrier of plastic, even from a cheapie, will protect adequately from the spray that can erupt when moisture gets into the melt. I stopped using wooden stirrers after a minor spray erupted when the peice of dowel I was using went "pop" and a large drop of lead landed on my glove. Had that hit an unprotected eye--well, I suppose I could have got a patch like that guy in old Playboy shirt ads.

[Texantothecore]

I picked up a good face mask at Lowes yesterday. Fourteen bucks. When you look for them, they come in a plastic bag that really makes it difficult to determine what the product is. You may have to ask a clerk to find one for you. I couldn't find one but found out I had been standing about three feet from them for about ten minutes, just didn't recognize them in their bag.

Never again without a face shield......cheap lesson learned.

[gwpercle]

During my last pour I dropped a bad bullet into the mix and a drop of 600 degree lead popped up and landed on my nose. It didn't do much damage but I will never cast again without a safety shield.

By the way, I have been looking for a good safety shield but the only thing I can find are welding face shields that are not at all suitable. And expensive to boot. Anyone know where to get a safety shield that is both light and cheap?

Been there done that.... now whenever something needs to go back in the pot I put it in my ladle or on my long handled stirring spoon and ease it into the hot melt.

gary

PS stainless steel stirring spoons are good. Stirling silver not good... they conduct heat and get real hot real fast.

[AndyC]

I gently poured some scrap boolits I'd pulled from bad handloads (not mine - given to me at the local range for the lead content) and saw a whole bunch of angry sparks fizzing and popping out of the pot. Took me a second to realise that the wax on the boolits had some powder still stuck to them *doh*

Wasn't the tinself fairy herself, but she obviously has some mean relatives.

[Bill*]

For those using a full face shield, how do you keep them from fogging up in the summer?

[oldred]

The ones at Harbor Freight specifically say they are not for melting metal. Same with all the safety glasses I found. I'm new to this hobby and finding a rated face shield has eluded me so far. I can imagine that the hot metal will melt the plastic quick and offer no protection if it's not rated for it.


Brought to you by TapaTalk.



Mine is from HF and they really are perfectly adequate, maybe not for a ladle full of melted iron but the lead simply fogged mine enough to make it "fuzzy" to see through in spots. The warning is most likely a legal liability thing and I personally will have no problem using another one from HF. Of course the better ones are not much more money (I think the one I was using was about $8?) but honestly the better ones will scratch and dull out as fast as the cheaper ones, they are all made in China unless you want to pay big bucks for an OSHA approved "name brand" safety shield.

[leadman]

Grainger is another place to buy a decent face shield. I have used the cheap ones and they will do the job.

[oldred]

Grainger is another place to buy a decent face shield.



It is at that, and cheap too!


http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/AO-SAFETY-Faceshield-Visor-8UK71

[avan47]

Try Sears

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM6110000401P?prdNo=9&blockNo=9&blockType=G9

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM6526780302P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

I have used/like the second one. It is a flip up type.

[Texantothecore]

The ones at Harbor Freight specifically say they are not for melting metal. Same with all the safety glasses I found. I'm new to this hobby and finding a rated face shield has eluded me so far. I can imagine that the hot metal will melt the plastic quick and offer no protection if it's not rated for it.


Brought to you by TapaTalk.

You don't need a rated shield. Just a plastic face shield will due nicely. The way they work is that the plastic is melted by the lead and it sucks the energy and temperature out of the lead leaving you PbFree.

The rated shields are for welding and they are a whole different ball of wax due to the fact that the steel sparks from a cutting torch are at least 5600 degrees. But you don't need that level of protection.

My cheap plastic shield was a recent addition after I got a 1/16th inch wide bit of melted lead on the bridge of my nose. Ended up with a sore nose for four days and a large dose of newly acquired wisdom. When I went looking for a rated mask the only thing I could come up with was a welding mask with heavily tinted glass and was getting annoyed until I went through the physics of a splatter. Turns out that you want the cheapo plastic of the mask to melt, it reduces the energy of the lead.

So, I bought one at Loews for 14.00 bucks.
Works fine.

[pancho]

Around my melting electric furnace I have build out of 1/2"PVC pipe a simple structure and screwed a piece of plexy glass to it between the pot and me, and a piece of plywood at the top.leaving the sides open so I can add more lead (allways hot and free of mosture)to the melt.No need for face shield,just glasses.