What do you use for protection?

[redbear705]

What do you use to protect your self from hot molten lead?

Eye protection for sure!

But how about your hands, arms, legs?

Just Wondering......

JR

[Blammer]

Trojan!

oh wait,

I use gloves, the light wt working kind, long sleeve shirt of some sort, jeans, shoes, I wear glasses already...

that about it.

oh yea, and some common sense...

[mooman76]

I just use a pair of Military gloves. The iside of the hand is thin leather for dexterity and the rest is cloth. Just my normal cloths. Lead is heavy and isn't likely to go anywhere except a few minor splatters as long as you are careful. normal cloths frotect you from the little splatters.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Normal work clothes including long sleeves, ball cap, glasses, moderately heavy work glove on the strong hand. NEVER ANYTHING POLYESTER.

[Coastie]

Glasses, work clothes, long sleves, leather gloves or a cheap pair of Harbor Freight welding gloves, work boots and keep your pant leg outside the boot - a little splater inside your moccasin makes it hard to concentrate on casting.

[fiberoptik]

NOnoNOnoNOnoNOnoNOnoNOno

1 small mexican wife to cast the boolits sen~or!:drinks:



(mebbe I better ask her real nicely 1st............)

[flyingstick]

Gloves, Always glasses, long sleeve jean shirt, no shorts:-D (Florida heat you know). I had my first blow up yesterday, or splatter up. 15 years casting and I've read about it but never had it happen till yesterday, There was a drop and i mean just a drop of water on my fluxing ladle. I went to push the ladle down in the lead when I saw it but it was like It was too late to stop, kinda like a car wreck your in and everything starts going in slow motion. Any way when I heard the first crakle I jumped and WHOOMP! Lead went everywhere. No burns but I got lead stuck all over my clothes. Probably kinda like my flight instructor used to say. "It's not if your gonna lose your engine, it's when". And he was right. Melt the lead long enough and chances are you'll make a mistake sometime and those gloves and glasses will pay off!:coffee:

[redbear705]

Myself I use a Canvas glove in a lightweight fabric, an old camo shirt medium fabric and work boots and an old pair of jeans.

But I dont wear a glove on my strong hand......I do better with the touch with no glove.

I was just wondering if someone had a favorite heat protective glove that was light weight and still had a touch through it....gotta protect the good hand dont'cha know! :)

JR

Oh Yeah...I wear glasses so I forgot to add them as protection! :)

[mooman76]

redbear705

I use pilots gloved. They protect and have dexterity. The inside hand is thin leather and the rest is cloth plus they are long so they go past the wrist. You could possibly get them in a military surplus store. I also forgot to mention earlier I use heavy gloves when smelting.

[Dale53]

One thing I have not seen mentioned is a cap. A cap is a must (ever try picking molten lead from your hair (or in my case, scalp[smilie=1: )?

I wear bib overalls, long sleeved shirt, AND a cap. I use "fireplace gloves" of leather that have cuffs that come up over my sleeves). They are really welder's gloves. I twist off the sprue by hand (no hitting) so the protective glove serves double usage. Pant legs should overlap the shoes also (don't want the instep exposed to lead). Of COURSE, I wear glasses.

I fine a long shop apron is quite useful. When, as occasionally happens I get some hot lead in the lap, it doesn't present a problem (I cast sitting down).

Dale53

[Sundogg1911]

I wear long sleeves (usually) and usually eye protection (I know I should always wear safety glasses) I don't usually wear gloves and right now I have one heck of a burn on my thumb to prove it. The alloy was 650F but it felt more like 660F on my thumb :-?

[Sundogg1911]

what are you guys doing that causes you to get lead in your hair? I've never had that happin, and i've been casting for a while. When I started this hobby I had hair down to my waist (I played in a rock band....had to look the part) I do sometimes wear a do-rag when I'm riding.

[GSM]

Splatter to the hair (scalp in my case as well) usually happens when I dump the sprues and rejects back into the pot - sometimes the log jam in the bucket breaks free and everything rushes into the pot.

FWIW: If you have a band-aid on your finger, be sure to wear a glove over it. Lead splatter just burns and burns when its trapped beteween the band-aid and the unsuspecting finger.

For the more experienced casters: When the hell do you stop picking up hot bullets with your bare hands? I must be slow......

[32 20 Mike]

Last summer I bought a Cimarron (Uberti) mod. 1773 P- Jr. in 32-20/ 32 mag. After filing the sights to bring it on target it shoots great. My complaint was that I could not get a hold of the Co. for any type of service. (For $600. you should at lest get an email) I'm on the "Texas Jack" store web for sales as offered. They carry Cimarron firearms and to my amazement, I found a real live phone number to a guy that was helpful and apologetic for their past problems. He stated that a high turnover in staff had caused most of the problems, and was sorry for the inconvenience. When I first bought the pistol, I wanted a manual, as one was not provided with the gun. That was what started my hunt for the Co. After talking to the Cimarron contact person, " Rich", and speaking to him in a civil manner he said the the manual would be mailed. CIMARRON contact number is 830-997-9090 "RICH's" ext. # 25. Rember!!! Even when the blood boils, people are more likely to be helpful, when addressed in a nice manner. NICE COUNTS.
Mike STEWard

[pdawg_shooter]

Glasses, no gloves, and whatever i have on at the time.

[jonk]

No glasses. I'm bad. A shop apron. Sometimes. Sometimes a long sleeve shirt, sometimes not. Sometimes just a T shirt and shorts. I'm pretty cavalier. I've spilled molten lead on myself before. Not fun, I grant you, and it killed me on wearing just shorts with no shop apron for sure (and left a nice scar on my knee) but it wasn't unbearable either; it burnt less than the steam burn I got when I was 12, I tell you what!

I should be more careful I know, but at least I'm honest..... :-/

[Dale53]

I haven't had a "tinsel fairy" visit in more than 25 years. However, I have an excellent memory. While I have a high pain threshold, I have no desire to explore the limits. I stand by my casting "uniform" and would suggest similar for others.

There is absolutely no need for most of the burns associated with casting bullets. A little protection goes a long way "Said the Bishop to the actress"...

Dale53

[redbear705]

For the more experienced casters: When the hell do you stop picking up hot bullets with your bare hands? I must be slow......



Ha! I got a chuckle out of that one!

As stated before I cast with no glove on the strong side and sure enough I will drop a sprue or boollit on the ground and reach down and pick it up......with the hand with no glove on of couse! :)

In my favor though...I work on hot stuff all day at work so the hands are kind of scarred up....:)

One trick I found out is to not hold on to the hot items too long or hold it too tight!


:roll:


JR

[redbear705]

I wonder where Mike wanted to post this? :-D

JR



Last summer I bought a Cimarron (Uberti) mod. 1773 P- Jr. in 32-20/ 32 mag. After filing the sights to bring it on target it shoots great. My complaint was that I could not get a hold of the Co. for any type of service. (For $600. you should at lest get an email) I'm on the "Texas Jack" store web for sales as offered. They carry Cimarron firearms and to my amazement, I found a real live phone number to a guy that was helpful and apologetic for their past problems. He stated that a high turnover in staff had caused most of the problems, and was sorry for the inconvenience. When I first bought the pistol, I wanted a manual, as one was not provided with the gun. That was what started my hunt for the Co. After talking to the Cimarron contact person, " Rich", and speaking to him in a civil manner he said the the manual would be mailed. CIMARRON contact number is 830-997-9090 "RICH's" ext. # 25. Rember!!! Even when the blood boils, people are more likely to be helpful, when addressed in a nice manner. NICE COUNTS.
Mike STEWard

[Kraschenbirn]

Glasses, cotton gardening gloves with non-slip palms, shop apron, over a set of old work-out sweats...with leather work shoes!! (At one time, I was in the habit of wearing old running shoes because they were more comfortable for standing on the concrete floor of my workshop...until I dropped a freshly filled ingot mould!!)

Bill

[Bigjohn]

Glasses, goggles and/or face shield, welders gloves, no apron (yet), steel capped boots and a set of working man's clothes (heavy grade material). If there is a reduced draft to move the air through the workshop, then I add a filter mask.

To cover the head a cloth bandana. With all this on it looks like I'm doing a moonwalk.:-D

And I don't think we ever stop picking up HOT boolits with bare hands but the first for a session certainly reminds you how 'heavy' they can be.[smilie=1:

John.

[MT Gianni]

Cotton cap, glasses, long sleeved cotton shirt and pants or carhart coveralls in cold weather, welders gloves to cut sprues with, leather boots or tennis shoes. I have to wear non flamabiles to work 100% cotton or nomex and long sleeves most of the time so it is easy to find. Gianni.

[river-rider]

I wear a cap, Welder's leather apron,slip on heavy cloth arm protectors,welder's gloves, full face shield,leather boots. If you go to a welder's supply store you will see most of the protective gear that would be useful. I made the mistake of using a cutting torch with tennis shoes on one day. Takes forever to get them off when you have something hot on your foot. If you wonder if it is worth the time to put on the face sheld , try walking around the house with your eyes closed for ten minutes.

[Freightman]

Learned young to protect myself, in 1966 I was working at a ZINK smelter, well lead contaminates zink so to get the lead out they have a 20'x20' furnace that you stood on a platform and threw in 80# slabs of off-grade zink in and on the oposite side from you there was a spickot that was blocked by some clay. After you had thrown sufficient plates in and got the furnace pot to a certain level you ran the pure zink out the other side. It had been raining for two days and some of the pallets of zink had been set outside(I wasn't aware of this) I was throwing plates in when there was a huge explosion, liquid zink everwhere. I got a severe burn on the back of my hand as the zink slid down the protective facemask (shield) into my glove. I had suficient protective equipment on to prevent further injury thank goodness as I was covered in zink from head to toe.
Now I am not going to be smelting in a 500,000# pot but still cover up thoes things I do not want burned.

[DLCTEX]

Hat(ball cap), gloves( heavy work gloves), glasses( easier to remember since I now have to have them to see), long sleeve cotton shirt, jeans over pull on boots. Saw a tinsel fairy event at a factory I worked in once, never want to be part of one, but if I am, I want at least some protection. DALE

[flyingstick]

Ok, I have to ask. Why is She called "The Tinsel Fairy"?

[Blackwater]

Maybe this is confession time for me, but the simple Truth is that other than glasses, I often don't take many other precautions against splatter. When it's hot here in Ga., which is much of the year, I wear a towel around my neck just to wipe sweat with, and besides the glasses, I'll often be wearing shorts and a T-shirt, no socks and some moccasins. I don't recommend this, of course, but I can take an occasional miniscule spatter better than the oppressive heat that's already there. Add in standing over a pot of molten lead, and .... well, you get the idea.

However, though I hadn't thought of it as such before, this is probably a large part of the reason that when I'm casting, I N-E-V-E-R get in a hurry. I'm very deliberate, though I don't waste any time when casting in hot weather. Whenever I add to the pot, I'm always double and tripple checking that there's no moisture in the ingot, AND I always place the ingot on the top of the pot to warm and dry before adding it in. The heat from the ambient weather keeps me from getting in a hurry, believe me! When I get tired from the heat, I go inside and cool off, and see if I feel like a round 2 later.

Though some may take me to task for such methods, I doubt they've ever tried to cast when it's 100 degrees and 100% humidity. If they had, they'd probably understand better. I'm thinking of getting a small, maybe used 110 v. A/C to cool me and keep any fumes flowing.

You really have to love casting and/or shooting to cast in 100/100 weather!

[flyingstick]

I understand blackwater, Pensacola, Florida gets the 100/100 from june through September. It feels like you can't breathe. I do my casting at night starting about now. I always worry about the sweat in the heat, but after my lead splatter up a couple of days ago I'll just have to go in with sopping wet clothes. That lead would have burned me bad without being covered good. I never thought about the 110 unit. I may have to rig one up in the barn just to blow on me in the coming summer months.

[targetshootr]

The other day I was halfway through a pot and realized I had no gloves and was wearing a short sleeve shirt. Must come with the years. Some day I may be standing there in diapers.

[smilie=1:

[MT Gianni]

Ok, I have to ask. Why is She called "The Tinsel Fairy"?

It's a wee magic fairy that sneaks in on a drop of moisture and spreads lead around as if it were fairy dust. She makes sure it gets everywhere and that it is hot enough to burn it's way into any surface that would not clean easy. Bit of a cantankarous old gal really. Gianni

[buck1]

Always Glasses!! If I cant see ,I cant shoot. Light leather gloves,long sleeves,and sometimes boots and a apron. ..........Buck

[schutzen]

I always wear safety glasses and high-topped leather work boots. When casting, I wear blue jeans and a long sleeve cotton shirt. I may or may not wear a medium weight leather glove on my off hand. When smelting, I wear a fire-retardant smock over my jeans and shirt. I also wear "hot work" gloves. They are about double the weight of welder’s gloves, but you can pour molten lead across them with no damage to the hand. The smock and gloves are available at welding supply houses. Like most bald guys, I wear a cap to protect the head.

[bart55]

I used to cast in a hurry ,just wear whatever I had on ,no hat no gloves -I do wear glasses to see with so that was always there,been casting for fourty two years and never had a lead blow up . Until now . About two months ago I was casting with two pots a 20 and a 10 lee making beautiful piles of 45,s and 38 wc ,both out of six cavity moulds. The mix goes fast so when I got a little low in one of the pots I addedd some more ingots .Some that I had just recently made and cooled with ( you guessed it ) water . I usually pre heat all the ingots and am prettty careful but this time I was really in a rythim and wanted to just go. The crack made me turn quickly but there was a shower of lead all over the room . Had a long sleeve shirt cap and blue jeans and boots. got minor burns on legs through the jeans couple of pin size burns on the face and the glasses had bits of lead on them. I was real real lucky. All it takes is one second to make a mistake that can change your llife forever. I will never again cast without making sure I have the right clothes hat and gloves . and always be sure of what goes in the pot . I guess I was just feeling smug and that those things never happen to me .I guess the Man upstairs decided to give me a quick lesson.

[trk]

...
For the more experienced casters: When the hell do you stop picking up hot bullets with your bare hands? I must be slow......

A similar situation: 100w barrel-type soldering iron slides off the table heading for the floor - took three times over many years to break the habbit of grabbing for it.

ALSO, I cast and drop the bullets into many layers of towel, often emptying that onto one thin layer of towel which is on top of a 12x12x1"thick aluminum plate (which cools bullets very well).

Protective clothing: glasses, gloves with cuffs, asbestos apron designed for metal casters, smooth LEATHER shoes (so any lead will roll off).

[WHITETAIL]

You guys covered the subject well. Including your selves. When casting there is no excuse for me not to cover myself. I live in north east Penn. and I do my smelting around mothers day. It is usally around 65 to 75 degrees around here at that time. So on with the ball cap non vented. Long sleve cotten shirt, old jeans with no holes in them. Work boots, steel toes. And gauntlet style gloves.And yes I wear glasses. I do have some pic. of my last smelting sesion but I donot know how to post them here.

[Tom W.]

I work with molten babbitt on a daily basis, at work I have a huge pot, maybe 400 lbs. or so, and a big ladle. There I have on glasses and welding gloves(well sometimes) but always gloves and glasses. I get splattered and burned regularly, but babbitt doesn't stick too well on a sweaty arm.

At home I have two LEE pots, one 10 and the other the 20 pound model, both bottom pour. I seldom wear anything special, as the bottom pour pots aren't prone to splatter. As I cast my Boolits onto two double folded towels, I pick up one side of the top towel and roll the boolits out of the way. The wrinkled ones go into an aluminum pie pad, as do my sprues when I cut them off. I pick up the wrinkled boolit with a pair of Channel Lock pliers. A When I have had enough fun for one session, I'll gather the corners of the towel to enclose all of the keeper boolits, and lay the package into a small pre-labeled cardboard box and remove the towel. There they sit, labeled and noted what size top punch to use, until I'm ready to size them.

[MT Gianni]

I used to cast in a hurry ,just wear whatever I had on ,no hat no gloves -I do wear glasses to see with so that was always there,been casting for fourty two years and never had a lead blow up . Until now . About two months ago I was casting with two pots a 20 and a 10 lee making beautiful piles of 45,s and 38 wc ,both out of six cavity moulds. The mix goes fast so when I got a little low in one of the pots I addedd some more ingots .Some that I had just recently made and cooled with ( you guessed it ) water . I usually pre heat all the ingots and am prettty careful but this time I was really in a rythim and wanted to just go. The crack made me turn quickly but there was a shower of lead all over the room . Had a long sleeve shirt cap and blue jeans and boots. got minor burns on legs through the jeans couple of pin size burns on the face and the glasses had bits of lead on them. I was real real lucky. All it takes is one second to make a mistake that can change your llife forever. I will never again cast without making sure I have the right clothes hat and gloves . and always be sure of what goes in the pot . I guess I was just feeling smug and that those things never happen to me .I guess the Man upstairs decided to give me a quick lesson.

One thing i have learned from working with welders and grinders is that when someone else is grinding the safest place to look is at them. I have seen several cases where side shields redircted a piece into an eye. I am glad things turned out for you but the safest thing to do is to duck your head straight down so the brim of your hat redirects the flow from your face. Another reason not to use a polyester hat. gianni