Getting lead to hot.

[relic]

It was discussed at some point but I cant find it.My lyman #2 alloy is in 8 inch long bars.Will not fit in my lead pot.I drill a pilot hole and screw in a plain old wood screw about 3/4 inch,I lock a pair of vice grips on that,I welded a piece of light chain on the adjusting screw of the vice grips and I hang everything from a nail in the shop doorway.I then fire up my weed burner and melt the bar from the bottom and let it flow into my lyman ingot mold.Works just fine and really takes less time to do than it took me to type this. You have to be careful as you get close to the end with the screw because it melts out and a little chunk of lead falls.Lets get to my question.Am I over heating my lead and changing the alloy??I dont just run the weed burner full blast, just enough to get the melt going. Also do not suggest saws,axes, chisels etc, been there tried that, melting with torch works good for me.

[leadman]

You could easily get the lead alloy too hot. More than that though if the lead is hot enough you are creating vapors that can lead to lead in your blood.
Why not go to a garage sale, Goodwill, etc and try to find a ferrous metal container and a dipper of some kind to melt your lead in? You can still use your weed burner as a heat source.

[mongoosesnipe]

Properties of melting will not let the alloy get to hot short of heating it with oxyacetylene torch or the like as the metal melts it will drip and stop being heated just like if you heated up an ice cube with a torch the water dripping off will be cold the lead probably stats to solidify effort it even hits your mold that said I wouldn't be a terrible idea to just melt the large bars in a big pot and ladle them into your mold but your not hurting anything the way your doing it

[truckjohn]

Right... You are probably at more risk from melting too cold and separating out the alloy from the pure lead....

"Too hot" in this context is a melt that is >900F or so... It becomes liquid much before that...

I personally get more concerned about the flame burning lead and sending fumes/dust all over your workplace - which is a no-no.... Never mind the splashing...

As everyone else says... Be safe - Just get a good melt pot.

Thanks

[popper]

I just stick the end into the pot with vice grips on the other end so I can pull it if it would over flow. I've used a MAPP torch to melt into the pot, no problem. It runs off into the pot and never gets too hot.

[1Shirt]

IMO, hotter the better! like a little frosting on the blts, think it holds lube better.
1Shirt!

[leadman]

I was an OSHA certifed hazardous waste worker and also was in safety on the job. I also tested my work area with the chemical swabs for detecting lead. You would be amazed at where the lead ends up. Even though I had a 20" box fan pushing air from behind me and a 5,500 cfm evaporative cooler on in my garage I still picked up lead at least 10' behind me. This was with running 2 pots at 800 degrees and a Littleton shotmaker. This was all set 1' inside the roll-up door but lead traces swirled around me.
This testing was spurred on by my blood level rising. If you want to check your work area these test kits are available at most home improvement stores and other places like Graingers that sells safety equipment. A very good investment.