Where do you cast in the winter ( northern guys)

[JWFilips]

OK another "NuBe to PB" question:
Where do you folks cast in the winter time? I just set off every fire alarm in my house trying to melt some old lead pipe I had.
(Granted, my pot had a nice preserving coating of oil on it) Don't think this is going to happen in my basement in the winter.
Plenty of places when the weather warms but ...Winter time? I need some hints
Thanks

[btroj]

I cast in my attached garage. I flux lightly so not much smoke. If it is warm enough, above 30 or so, I open a garage door. Same place I cast in the summer.

[JWFilips]

Do the unheated conditions affect the casting?

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I cast in my attached garage. I flux lightly so not much smoke. If it is warm enough, above 30 or so, I open a garage door. Same place I cast in the summer.


i do the same also use a kerosene heater

[btroj]

Being unheard affects me far more than it does the castings. 750 degree lead is 750 degree lead. Get the mould hot and get a good rhythm. Not any issues at all.
Biggest concern is not adding cold ingots to a pot. Small amounts of condensation can be a huge problem. I set ingots on the edge of the pot and add those first. I then add warms spruce until it won't melt instantly. Cold ingots go on top on that, gives them plenty of time to warm before hitting the melt.

[40Super]

I do all my winter smelting(minimum) and casting in my heated garage. I try to minimize smelting until it is maybe above freezing so I can crack open the top of one garage door. I made a ventilation fan and shroud that hangs over the pot and runs out a window, I then open a window a bit on the other side of the shop so the air is moving straight out the vent. It works ok, I do need a faster fan, but works as long as I don't keep throwing to much sawdust in the pot. Most of my smelting I am trying to do in the summer so I can do it outside though. Just can't seem to get enough done before winter to hold me through always.

[MT Gianni]

I cast in my unheated shop. The temp difference between 20 and 70 is minimal when the melt is 700F. It is a lot easier with the small two cavity molds like my bator 22 dc as the molds cool quickly. I must be getting up in years as I now limit my time out there to 4-5 hours.

[longbow]

I cast outside year round. I will be casting later today, most likely. It has been running around 0 degrees C to about -8 degrees C. I have cast at down to about -10 degrees C.

I never find the outside temperature has any significant effect on the casting except for my temperature! It can get a little cold on long casting sessions.

Longbow

[fcvan]

When I lived in Tehachapi CA, it got rather cold at 4000+ feet. I cast in the driveway summer or winter. My Lee 10lb pot sat on the tailgate of my truck. I had a painters tarp coving the tailgate and the ground under the lawn chair. I eventually built a carport and so I was still outdoors but covered. As a previous poster noted, the pot will be set to the appropriate temperature and the mold will cool somewhat faster so adjust accordingly.

I then moved to the Northern CA coastal town of Crescent City. It doesn't get as cold there in the winter but they do have some horrific rain storms. I would cast on the back porch at my house or my brothers house, both of which are covered. 45 to 55 degrees is pretty average during the winter months. Colorado Springs is a different story. I cast in the driveway on sunny days and there are way more sunny days in Colorado Springs than in Crescent City. In fact, it is frequently warmer in the springs than it is in Crescent City, at least during the daytime.

I will be building a shop for my reloading and other hobbies. The shop will have a casting station which will include a metal top for the bench and a range hood with a vent to the outdoors. With good lighting and an ergonomic setup I should be able to cast of an evening in relative comfort.

Winter or summer, I cast while wearing protective clothing, safety glasses, and good gloves. The physical activity is enough to keep my upper body warm. On really cold days I wear a second pair of oversized pants and my boots do a good job of keeping my feet warm. I don't think it will ever be as cold as the U.P. of Michigan but I'm sure I'd figure out a way to keep casting in a safe and comfortable way.

[d garfield]

I cast in my cellar the year round, I put a 21" fan in the bulkhead and don,t over flux.:Fire:

[wyoduster]

In my basement .. I have a small kitchen there and its my domain...

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I cast in my storage shed, about 12x12 non insulated. I usually don't cast if under 20 degrees.
I use a propane camp stove to cast on, its warm on the knees and chest cold on the back.
I have not mastered casting behind my back yet, to warm the other side- I keep missing the sprue hole!

[JWFilips]

Well I'm thinking of opening my blacksmithing shed for the winter Plenty of air ( very cold air!) Got to run an electrical cord for the pot however!
May save a lot of complaints from the wife.

[Cherokee]

Melting unprecessaed lead and blending alloys I do in the warm weather outside. I get everything ready so that I can cast boolits in my heated/cooled basement year round.

[dragonrider]

Heat and A/C in the garage so outside temps do mean a thing. Smoke from fluxing with sawdust isn't much of a problem either as I don't flux my casting pot very often at all. I flux repeatedly when smelting.

[zuke]

I do all my casting in the summer.
It's suppose to drop to -25 here tonight, it was -16 this afternoon.

[Boolseye]

I cast in my daylight basement right next to the door, which I keep open. I ventilate to the max and don't worry about it.

[ipijohn]

I do all of my smelting outside in Spring through Fall. In the Winter I cast in my basement workroom. I installed a PVC drain pipe that goes up and out through the sill plate of the house with a screw in plug outside for when I am not using the system. I installed a 15 CFM inline fan in the pipe to suck air out of the house. The inlet is about a foot over the top of my 20# bottom pour pot. I have checked the inside of the inlet (after several hours of use) with my IR thermometer and have never gotten a reading over 150* F. It works very well year round. I only cast about once a month. When I get low on something I will cast everything I think I will need for a month or so.

[wallenba]

I try to get my winter shooting boolits made by late fall. Right now I have enough to last through next summer. Occasionally, if it's warm (near 40f), and the wind isn't blowing, I'll do some in the garage with the door open.

[runfiverun]

i smelt scrap lead out back in the summer,and cast in the garage in ,well,, all year round.
i lube,and reload shot shells in there too, but that's what the garage is for.
i will even pull the cooker in there and alloy different melts if necessary in the winter.

[Jon]

I cast outside. I try to get enough ahead so that I don't have to cast in the middle of winter when there is the most snow on the ground (Jan-March) Cold air does effect the melt, but if it's not windy, it's not too bad.

[dale2242]

I smelt on the cabinet behind my shop on a 2 burner propane stove.
I cast inside my 32'X32' shop using a lee drip-o-matic.
I heat with a wood stove and use a 12" fan for ventilation.
In the summer, I cast early in the morning before it gets hot.....dale

[cbrick]

Guess I have it tough, in the winter I turn on the heater in the shop, summer requires the A/C be turned on. I have enough ventilation that when I flux it sucks all heated air out of the shop so once finished fluxing I have to turn down the vents. It's tough. :mrgreen:

Rick

[btroj]

Sure Rick, rub our noses in it.
We have snow and some cold weather.
I don't cast if it is exceptionally cold but as long as the temp gets above 20 the garage will be plenty warm to tolerate.
Now shooting is another story entirely.

[mpmarty]

I have a 100 foot by 24 foot truck shop ( very high ceilings) with a lean to carport on the north side where I do all my smelting and casting year round if the rain isn't blowing in on me.

[dverna]

Casting indoors does not seem like a good idea unless there is a smoke hood and ventilation system. Smelting indoors is something I will never do.

I am in the process of moving and the new place has a pole barn with half the space finished (heat, lights, power, drywall, insulated). The plan is to set up a smoke hood and vent fan to use when I want to cast indoors. When the weather is decent, I will cast in the unfinished section of the pole barn with both garage doors open.

I have done all my casting outdoors under a porch and must admit I did very little casting in really cold weather. I would cast enough bullets ahead to see me through the winter. It is a matter of setting priorities and making time to get the job done.

Frankly, I see very little need to cast in horrible conditions. I try to keep at least a one year supply of "stuff" on hand.

I will soon receive a new mold for my .308, but will wait until better weather. Doing serious load development in northern MI during the winter is not my idea of fun. So why worry about casting a few hundred bullets now that I will not use until spring?

[nhrifle]

Outside all year long unless it is raining or snowing. If it gets much below -30F, I have to take an extra ManPill and put on gloves.

[hydraulic]

I cast outside in the basement walk-in year around. I'm as far north as you can get in Nebraska, half-mile from the Missouri River, but there are plenty of days in the 20's & 30's when the wind isn't blowing and with insulated coveralls and long underwear I'm comfortable. It helps to be retired so I can pick the days I cast.

[Nocturnal Stumblebutt]

As long as its above freezing (for my sake) I cast in my carport, covered but not enclosed. I'd rather cast in the cold than in the heat of summer.

[captaint]

No garage, so I melt all my lead out back. I was casting yesterday for a couple hours. It got up to 40 for a while, so not a big deal really. Went pretty well. Mike

[runfiverun]

the only 40 i see this time of year is on the football field on the tv in the shop.
err garage.

this is the time of year to cast the rifle boolits for the summer it gives the waterdropped ones enough time to normalize the batch.
i'm mostly doing a bunch of lubing this time of year, then i will start on more casting about february through about april.

[**oneshot**]

Smelting/blending is done outside so it can be fluxed really good, not to mention the burning off of paint and tire gunk. Casting is done inside my large shed with lots of ventilation and an exhaust fan.

[JWFilips]

Well this gives me plenty of good answers and options...no more setting of smoke alarms!
Do most of you smelt in a different pot and cast in another? Is it a bad idea to smelt in the casting pot?

[imashooter2]

An unheated outbuilding. I like to do my casting in the winter and my shooting in the summer...

I smelt in 400 -600 pound batches on a turkey fryer with a Dutch oven. Only clean ingots go into my casting pots.

ETA: The smelting is done outdoors. Way too much smoke and flame to do indoors.

[Jon]

Well this gives me plenty of good answers and options...no more setting of smoke alarms!
Do most of you smelt in a different pot and cast in another? Is it a bad idea to smelt in the casting pot?

Smelting in your casting pot will put too much junk in your pour valve. I wouldn't recommend it if you can help it. That being said. If that's all you have, then try to make sure your lead is as clean as you can, and leave a good layer in the bottom when you put in another batch of WW.

[bobthenailer]

I only cast bullets in the month of Febuary , and make enough bullets + for the whole year, I usually cast & L/S between 10 to 15 K . been doing inside casting for 30+ years. and low PB levles when i get routine blood tests , usually once a year.
I had a friend who is HVAC technican make me a casting area hood that attatches to a flexable car exhaust pipe that fits on to a cast aluminum housing that has a cage fan , thats mounted to a piece of plywood that just fits into the lower half of my basement window opening with a little wiggle room .
Ive made many 100k bullets this way, i also have the alloy for casting allready smelted into 1 lb ingots . and crack a window on the opposite wall for some fresh air to enter the room.

[captaint]

I really don't have the space for casting inside, in the basement. Maybe one day I'll create some space and get some kind of "super range hood" setup downstairs. It'd be nice to cast in relative comfort in the winter. Man, I'd have them piled up then.... Mike

[stocker]

I cast in the basement which is heated as it's too cold in this area to cast outdoors in winter. I'm a confirmed user of Marvelux for indoor fluxing and apart from stirring the melt with a now well-charred oak strip use nothing that will set of the smoke alarm. Has worked well for me for years. As my large ingot storage is outdoors I keep half a dozen 4 pound bars holding room temperature on the bench at all times. Bringing an ingot in from -15 will put an immediate heavy coat of frost on the ingot and that is not something you want to drop into a pot.

[Freischütz]

I cast in an unheated garage. When my feet get cold, I know it's time to go back into the house.

[dakotashooter2]

I cast in the garage. I actually prefer casting in the winter I have an old stove hood hung over the bench and vented outside. I like to keep the garage temp about 45. At 45 the mould temp is really easy to control and I can cast faster than I would in the summer. I also have the option of casting in the basement. I have an unused chimney that I can connect the stove hood to.

[Boolseye]

Well this gives me plenty of good answers and options...no more setting of smoke alarms!
Do most of you smelt in a different pot and cast in another? Is it a bad idea to smelt in the casting pot?

Smelting and casting are completely different operations for me. Smelting is always outdoors (with a respirator!)
in a big steel pot, a 20# propane tank cut in half, on a big propane burner. There are plenty of variations on this, but the idea is strong and big. There's dirt, rocks, tar, all kinds of **** that can find its way in there when you're melting down range lead and roof flashing. Casting is refined in comparison, with a bunch of pretty ingots free of impurities. All that's left is a little light fluxing and you're good to go.
-jp

[Boolseye]

shoot, I'd fire up the pot tonight if I didn't have such a bad cold:coffee:

[JWFilips]

I hate to ask another question with out starting another thread..... but since you are all being so helpful here
Does a fella need a Lead thermometer to start out smelting & casting?

[Boolseye]

Not a bad idea. Rotometals sells the same one as RCBS but without a brand on it for about $30 less.
I use mine every time I cast, just keep it in there. I think there's another place you can get a good one even cheaper.

[jonk]

I melt and blend lead in the garage, temperature not withstanding. I just turned 50 lb of dead soft lead sheeting with glued on paper backing into ingots- would have smoked the house up something awful. However for casting, always in the basement; I have a window above me that I set a high velocity fan in front of to suck up any smoke from flux.

[bobthenailer]

IMO yes to a thermomter , even when smelting you can keep the temp at the correct temp ( 600/650) degrees so those EVIL ZINC WW dont get into your alloy

[dragon813gt]

Weekend before Christmas at around 25 degrees.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/Firearms/Reloading/EB9A1060-24E4-4283-8B9D-B66761DB7C1F-23892-00000D4B9EBD9C5C.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/Firearms/Reloading/5928177D-052B-40DD-9E2A-6D1024D757C9-23892-00000D4BA91548D7.jpg

That's only for processing into ingots. I can't do it as long due to the tank freezing up.

For casting bullets I do it in my unconditioned garage year round. Use a fan in the summer if it's to hot. And a torpedo heater this time of year to keep it just above bearable. I can't put in all day sessions due to the exhaust from the heater. One day I'll fix the water/mold issues in the garage basement so I can build a 14'x24' conditioned reloading room :)

[Boris]

hmm, I don't get it ... outside of course! ... unless it's snowing or raining. The difference in temp is insignificant, i.e. human body goes bonkers over a few degrees but it's fine for lead. Just dress warm and get the fire going hot.

[Jal5]

Melting ww and range scrap outside, early spring and fall activity for me.
Casting boolits, inside in the garage anytime except summer! I can raise the garage door an inch in the winter and use some fans to keep the air blowing out. I plan to set up a hood and fix one of the garage door windows so that I can attach a vent hose to it. Joe

[mongo]

I cast outside on days that are above freezing and not too windy. The one thing that I use is a hotplate. I got one at Walgreens for under $10. Really makes a world of difference, especially in the colder months..

[Lizard333]

Guess I have it tough, in the winter I turn on the heater in the shop, summer requires the A/C be turned on. I have enough ventilation that when I flux it sucks all heated air out of the shop so once finished fluxing I have to turn down the vents. It's tough. :mrgreen:

Rick

I am with you Rick. It does get a little dicey when walking to my shop there is snow or ice on the ground. I usually get the wife to put down some salt do I don't slip!!

My shop has a 240 volt heater and a swamp cooler for the summer months, it's a dry heat.

A hood vent from a range stove is wired into the outlet so when my pot gets turned on, so does the vent/light.

I cast year round.

[cbrick]

I keep the shop heater on 24/7 this time of year though turned way down. It's raining today, 48 degrees outside (dang global warming) and the humidity is 98%. In the shop right now it's 50 degrees and the humidity is 37%. Guess if I were to cast today I'd have to go out and turn up the heat & wait for the shop to warm up to a sensible temp, life is tough this time of year. :mrgreen:

Rick

[JWFilips]

Now agin not to start another Thread somewhere else: I'm smelting wheel weights/ I need to flux; Some good old" Dry" sawdust.... the stuff lead melts.... Then The hand full of sawdust goes in.... I guess I stir the mix? Then how long of this stirring! Then after flux how long do I start ladeling into my muffin tins to make ingots.
Is there some magical point?

[runfiverun]

let the sawdust turn to charcoal.
i turn the heat up when i am going to start fluxing.
this gets the heat currents going and bring as much gunk to the top as possible.
once the sawdust turns to grey/black ash.
it's then carbon stir the carbon into the alloy
this starts a process called carbourization which helps the mix in the alloy bind together better.
once you have stirred this all in for a bit you'll see a bunch of black and silver stuff swirling around in the middle.
i spread this out on top.
this is when i turn the heat back down.
then add some wax and let it melt on top and swirl it out to cover the whole pot, then light it on fire.
this makes an oxygen free barrier on top of the alloy which will allow all those silver /grey oxides return to the melt.
scrape all the black and other gunk off the top...done.
start making ingots.
the oxidization will come back as you go.
just push it to the side untill it builds up, then burn it down again.

[JWFilips]

let the sawdust turn to charcoal.
i turn the heat up when i am going to start fluxing.
this gets the heat currents going and bring as much gunk to the top as possible.
once the sawdust turns to grey/black ash.
it's then carbon stir the carbon into the alloy
this starts a process called carbourization which helps the mix in the alloy bind together better.
once you have stirred this all in for a bit you'll see a bunch of black and silver stuff swirling around in the middle.
i spread this out on top.
this is when i turn the heat back down.
then add some wax and let it melt on top and swirl it out to cover the whole pot, then light it on fire.
this makes an oxygen free barrier on top of the alloy which will allow all those silver /grey oxides return to the melt.
scrape all the black and other gunk off the top...done.
start making ingots.
the oxidization will come back as you go.
just push it to the side untill it builds up, then burn it down again.

Thank You that is a great explanation!
Just curious....so it's the carbon from the wood that does the magic so would wood shavings or wood chips do the same?
How about activated charcoal like the stuff I use in my aquariums it is fine granules that I buy in bulk to purify the water ?

[Lance Boyle]

Weekend before Christmas at around 25 degrees.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/Firearms/Reloading/EB9A1060-24E4-4283-8B9D-B66761DB7C1F-23892-00000D4B9EBD9C5C.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/Firearms/Reloading/5928177D-052B-40DD-9E2A-6D1024D757C9-23892-00000D4BA91548D7.jpg

That's only for processing into ingots. I can't do it as long due to the tank freezing up.

For casting bullets I do it in my unconditioned garage year round. Use a fan in the summer if it's to hot. And a torpedo heater this time of year to keep it just above bearable. I can't put in all day sessions due to the exhaust from the heater. One day I'll fix the water/mold issues in the garage basement so I can build a 14'x24' conditioned reloading room :)

Duh, just hold the tank over the flame to warm it back up!

:kidding:

[monge]

I do all my heavy melting in summer and flux every bar twice then in the winter i just melt clean lead bars and leave garage door shut, cut down on smoke and fumes long johns and winter jacket !

[Qc pistolero]

I cast in my storage shed, about 12x12 non insulated. I usually don't cast if under 20 degrees.
I use a propane camp stove to cast on, its warm on the knees and chest cold on the back.
I have not mastered casting behind my back yet, to warm the other side- I keep missing the sprue hole!

Try casting with a mirror over your shoulder the way some trick shooters were doing.I'm sure with a little practice,you won't miss the spruehole anymore!

[bart55]

smelt outside in the spring and summer and cast in the basement during the winter with a small exhaust fan over the pot ,seems to work out pretty well ,I do get mesmerized doing it though,sometimes I forget what time it is and its 2am and I have to get up at 5 for work .Gettin old but still kickin

[JWFilips]

let the sawdust turn to charcoal.
i turn the heat up when i am going to start fluxing.
this gets the heat currents going and bring as much gunk to the top as possible.
once the sawdust turns to grey/black ash.
it's then carbon stir the carbon into the alloy
this starts a process called carbourization which helps the mix in the alloy bind together better.
once you have stirred this all in for a bit you'll see a bunch of black and silver stuff swirling around in the middle.
i spread this out on top.
this is when i turn the heat back down.
then add some wax and let it melt on top and swirl it out to cover the whole pot, then light it on fire.
this makes an oxygen free barrier on top of the alloy which will allow all those silver /grey oxides return to the melt.
scrape all the black and other gunk off the top...done.
start making ingots.
the oxidization will come back as you go.
just push it to the side untill it builds up, then burn it down again.

Well I got to do my first wheel weight smelting today outside. It is in the 40's up here so I picked a good day ( however I probably should have gone to the range I probably would have like that better!) Anyway my wife surprised me by picking me up a bargain cast Iron Dutch oven so for my first attempt I felt like I was casting in "Style"

Since my driveway is free of snow I set up there on some cinder blocks I put in about 39 lbs of lead wheel weights ( checked each one individually with cutting pliers just to be sure I only had lead ones for my first attempt) Fired up my "bargin buy" turkey fryer and in about 20 minutes I had molten metal and clips a floatin. Now I was carefully watching my thermometer and I was trying to hold it about 725 deg. I threw in a handful of sawdust & started mixing but it was difficult with all the floating steel clips. So At this point I wanted to run to the computer to reread everything BUT I realized was in over my head. I was attempting to use the above explanation by "runfiverun" since it was very step by step specific....then I realized the clip step wasn't mentioned. So I started rethinking ...do I remove the clips first then flux??? But things were happening so fast. Since I had fluxed I just started removing the clips ( BTW I also threw in a small piece of bee's wax and lit the fumes So here I am skimming off burning globs of steel clips & at that point realized I was over 800 degrees!!! ( glad I checked all those wheel weights individually!) Fumbling with the gas controls I got the flame low....did the whole fluxing again with much stirring then skimmed off the last of the dirt. However the pot started getting thick ....Ugh! Too cool!.... so I bring the heat back up a bit then stabilize it at about 720 deg. I got some gold colored skin on the top so I push it aside & start ladeling it in to my tins ( I was pretty messy)
As the level in the pot dropped I got more & more skinning which was harder & harder to move to the side....by the time I started filling my second muffin pan I was getting that floating crust on my ingots So my second pan ingot tops look "granular" on top So after it was all said & done I ended up with 30 lbs of "muffins" & How do I feel about all this; well I feel like things didn't go right & I hope I didn't wreck my wheel weight lead.
For one : I don't know when to remove the clips Before or after first flux?
For two: I don't know if I stirred all the tin back in! I may have lifted it off with the clips.
for three: I don't think I ever got that oxidation preventing seal thing to happen?
For Four: I got the heat above 800 degrees ! I know I didn't have any zinc wheel weights in the mix so on that I'm not concerned however did it mess with the alloy anyway?

So all in all I'm not thrilled with how my first smelt went. Just don't like when things don't follow the rules. I 'm just not sure how much fudge factor is there before the mix gets ruined? It was a humbling experience I put all my stuff away, my wife told me I smelled funny...so I took a shower at 2 pm on a Saturday ...the sat down and wrote this....now I think it may be time for a pint of ale to forget the experience.

[snuffy]

OK another "NuBe to PB" question:
Where do you folks cast in the winter time? I just set off every fire alarm in my house trying to melt some old lead pipe I had.
(Granted, my pot had a nice preserving coating of oil on it) Don't think this is going to happen in my basement in the winter.
Plenty of places when the weather warms but ...Winter time? I need some hints
Thanks

Same place as any other time o' the year. In my loading/casting room, a spare bedroom. No ventilation.(Well in summertime, I can have a window and exhaust fan in the bat'room next to the loading/bedroom.)

Smelting is outside in my driveway and under a carport.

My lead/blood levels are always under 10.0, last one was 7.0.

Keep the alloy temps under 750, no lead fumes to worry about.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I cast in my heated garage. It's a 3 1/2 car and in it I have a room that used to be for the motorcycle. It has a roll down door and that's where the action takes place. Just above the casting pot, I have a hood and in it is a bathroom vent fan. I ran 3" metal tubing up from that and it goes through the ceiling and into the attic of the garage. I can put all the sawdust I want in there and the smoke will just go up to the attic. I had thought quite a bit about this setup before I retired and got it just the way I wanted. I've been out there the last two days casting and sizing boolits. By Spring I ought to have quite the stash cast up. I pan lube so that will take awhile to get that done. As I got older, I found that warmer is better than colder.

[40Super]

JWfilips, 720F is too hot. I smelt at 575 to 600F, which is on the cool side(pure needs to be higher), but I have complete control. I would think 650F should be your "ideal" temp. It will slow down your oxidation issue(which was a lot of Tin, gold color can be an indication of that). When you get the gold skin, that needs to fluxed back in. If you can, leave some of the sawdust on top of the melt to keep oxygen from getting to the molten lead, just cleam an area on one side to scoop out lead. Better yet is a bottom pour, then you can keep the top completely covered and don't have to worry about oxidation. I also pre-heat my ingots so the whole thing cools more evenly.
Just some suggestions.

[cbrick]

JW, ya done good, you didn't ruin anything. 700-720 is fine with WW, exactly where I keep the alloy temp while smelting. Don't worry about the 800+ since you checked all the weights first and didn't keep the temp that high.

I start plucking out clips with a spoon with slots in it as soon as they are melted free of the weights, give the spoon a lite tap or two and most of the lead comes off. Then flux with the saw dust. If the alloy starts to oxidize while your pouring ingots just add sawdust & flux again but since your using a ladel I would remove all of the sawdust ash before starting to pour ingots just makes it easier.

The next time will go smoother, sounds like you were just a bit nervous being your first time. Kinda hard to mess up the weights if you keep the zinc out in the first place.

Rick

[JWFilips]

I'm still going over in my head the sequences to fully get this one under my belt. I think it was the nervousness of the first time smelting & not being aware of those little subtitles Also getting confidence in my set up ( The pot was given to me by my wife just that morning so it was never even used once. I was worried about it failing on it's first heat with 30 lbs of molten lead.
Things I have learned is read more.... Take my time, it's not going to spoil.... move my tins closer to the pot. Pick the clips off as soon as they float up. Flux good then flux any time I'm seeing colors and An expensive set of welding gloves means nothing to a 700 degree pot handle! Oh yes and I got to find a "non child proof grill lighter" to light the damn burner as well as the smoke from the wax. The coleman lighters I have here make you do 3 things just to get a spark!
Anyway I was too caught up in my mess to document anything except the initial start up which is below:
Thanks for all your help
Jim

58966 58967 58968

[Shiloh]

I cast in the garage. It is single digits now, 4 above but feels like -11. It needs to be a good bit warmer for me to cast. Standing in one placeon frigid concrete and the frigid air gets brutal.

SHiloh

[dudits]

i smelt in driveway. and cast in driveway. i would move the casting to my glassblowing/knifesmithing shop but i am to lazy to move 1800lbs of ingots from garage to shop.

[shadowcaster]

I do all of my casting and smelting in my shop all year around. Here's my setup.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?146065-New-bottom-pour-smelting-pot!&highlight=bottom+pour+smelting+pot!

Shad

:cbpour:

[HABCAN]

It's ALMOST 'Smelting Weather' here........I smelt raw stinky smoky-fluxed WW's in the unheated separate garage in the Spring after daytime temps remain above 20*F. ALL casting is done in the gunroom seated at the dedicated casting bench under the window any time of the year. I live alone, hehe.