tinsel fairy

[rancher1913]

well it finally happened, got my first visit from the tinsel fairy. been smelting all my scrap for several days now to get my smelting area cleaned up and was working on my pewter stash today, new "p" mold must have had something in it because after pouring about half the cavities it blew up and tin went everywhere.

you know what happened to me-----not a thing because I was wearing full length welders gloves and face shield and all the other proper safety gear. had to clean up some mess on the ground and it sure surprised me how fast it can happen. so the moral of this story is to use your PPE, I can guaranty it saved my eyes today.

[copdills]

Glad you were not hurt, can happen to anyone

[Virginia John]

Glad to hear you dodged the fairy dust.

[skeettx]

Well done, well done
Thank you for sharing
Mike

[leeggen]

Will happen to more people yet. Glad you were coverd up. Alittle on the ground or shop is better than all over the person.
CD

[shoot-n-lead]

Glad you were not hurt.

I have had a near miss, also.

[woodbutcher]

[smilie=1:When you melt that pile,the neighbors are going to think Pepe Le Pews big brother just wandered by.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[lightman]

Glad you were not burned. Thanks for posting, we all need a reminder.

[Suo Gan]

Anything that sees hot lead needs to be preheated. Indoors you can use a hot plate, or just put the mold on top of the pot before it sees lead. Any lead that goes in the pot needs to be preheated. I use a small torch indoors. Outdoors I use a propane weed burner to blast away the condensation from scrap lead. I use it to pre heat the ingot molds.

It's easy to do. You can see the line of condensation vaporize as a chunk of lead or scrap pieces heat up. Weed burners are 15 bucks at harbor freight.

If you do this, it will never happen.

If you are cooking down range scrap. Make sure to cut any fmj bullets or they will pop like a 22 going off in the pot.

[farmerjim]

Must have been the day, I had one on Thursday too. Mine was small putting a heated lead ingot into the furnace. I preheat all my ingots in a 10 lb pot on an hotplate. I must have not let heat long enough. I was wearing safety glasses and only a few small drops on my shirt. Most of my lead got wet in the flood with an inch of water in my barn.

[Victor N TN]

Congratulations !!! The fairy has visited me in the past. Being lucky or God looking out for me are the only reasons I can figure I wasn't hurt. I've seen others get hurt with lead before. I hope no one else gets injured with it.

[mold maker]

Another case of it had never happened before but. Thanks for posting it as a warning. PPE is more important than pride or being bullet proof. If it hasn't happened to you YET, just be patient and prepared. Your number is getting closer each time you fire up the pot. Or the witch may come back for a second go at it.

[Blackwater]

Glad you weren't hurt here, too. As long as we live, even the best among us is and always will be, still fallible, and that's why we use the safety gear. I guess this is where I have to admit I never tend to use it, but when I am "naked" like that, I am as safety conscious and wary as a man can possibly be. I'm always sure (yeah, right!) that my WW's are dry before putting them in a hot pot, and almost always put the WW's in and THEN heat up the pot, so as to drive off any water that might be present, and this works extremely well.

FWIW, your post reminded me that it's way past time for me to go pick up those safety items you mention. Mostly, I just never think of it when I'm in town, so I owe you a "Thank you" for prompting me specifically on this. So, thanks!

[EDG]

Glad to hear you were not maimed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11JWAWOU6Nw

[bedbugbilly]

Glad you didn't get hurt. It can happen . . . and reminders like this are a good "jar" to everyone to not get lax, wear protective gear and be awake and alert when you're fooling with molten metal that could cause serious burns and injury. Be safe!

[jimb16]

No matter how many years you've been doing this, it can still happen to you. I had a very minor pop last thursday too! All I got was a tiny splash on the tip of one finger, not even enough to raise a blister, but it stung just the same. And the bad part is that I can't figure out what caused it. It can happen to anyone. I've been doing this stuff for over 45 years.

[country gent]

Had a gentleman come out to cast with us. Hes a retired gent and also a newbie to casting bullets and molten metal. My other casting partner gave him the run down on what was needed ( he was going to use some 45 cal moulds of ours to cast test bullet for a 45-90 he just purchased). He showed up wearing Shorts sandals and a light tee shirt. I wouldnt let him near the pot dressed like that for several reasons. Wearing / using the correct PPE fopr the job at hand can save you many times over and not just casting but at alot of things. Im really glad you werent hurt and things turned out as good as they did. Preheating moulds ladles and ingots goes a long ways and dosnt take that long to accomplish. Whats really amazing is how long a bucket or pile of range lead or recovered lead can hold moiture in the bottom of the container.

[mozeppa]

my visit consisted of lead on all 4 walls of my 10 x 16 reload room...a 6 FOOT diameter splash on the ceiling
a 10 foot diameter splash on the floor.

oh ....and i got this...i was a split second faster than losing my eye.

[varmintpopper]

Guess I'd better quit casting while barefoot, Not getting hurt is a Happy Happy.
I'm Happy You didn't get Burned !

Good Shooting

Lindy

[mold maker]

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but.
Those fortunate enough not to have personal experience with such happenings may tend to think the extreme PPE is unnecessary and foolish looking.
Granted when fully suited and clad in goofy gear in the summer, we do look rather ridiculous. It's not a fashion statement, it's a necessity.
Don't do it for others benefit or because we/they say so.
You only have one set of eyes, and burns are the worst and most dangerous injury you will ever sustain.
It's just an extremely dangerous chance you don't need to take.

[woodbutcher]

;-) The Tinsel Fairy is the reason that when I smelt,I wear my regular glasses,safety goggles AND a full face shield.Over kill?Not even a little bit.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[mustanggt]

Glad it wasn't a bad wake up call but "just" a wake up call. I've seen so many guys on youtube or reading about them in various forums that wear no safety equipment whatsoever. I'm truly alarmed when I see this. No gloves, no eye protection nothing. Are you stupid!!! I yell at the screen. I wear welders coveralls(you should see the lead splatters on them) welders gauntlet gloves, face mask, safety glasses, boots, hat. Never ever do I not deviate from this PPE, EVER. Even as careful as I am I've put lead in the pot that was too cool and I got some vigorous boiling.

[mjwcaster]

Glad your safe.
My biggest issue is raising my face shield up while taking a break and forgetting tobput it back down.
I just picked up some real nice and comfortable over the glasses shooting glasses that I might start wearing under my shield.

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

[RED BEAR]

i just cant seem to figure it out . every time i say i am only going to do this or it will only take a minute and do not use my apron face shield and protective clothing i get a visit from the fairy the garage door looks like a good place to find some extra lead . when the pot goes off and coats the open door pretty good. i hope i have learned my lesson but i doubt it. please use all the protection you can get and do not learn the hard way. i have plenty of scars to prove i cast it would be a lot better just to tell some one.

[OS OK]

What are you fellas doing to cause these volcanoes like this? Are we smelting with a bunch of dirty or moist lead, or putting FMJ's in the pot without clipping them or, just putting clean ingot lead into the pour pot?

Youse guys are freaking me out here...

[rancher1913]

I had been smelting for several days and switched to melting pewter and had a new mold, been sheltered and heated and all the things to do to molds so the only thing I can think is maybe an air pocket in the mold that blew up. my face shield took the brunt and it is almost impossible to see through it so I know it saved my eyes.

[Bullwolf]

This is exactly the reason why I pre-heat my ingot moulds with a propane torch before filling them. It's a must do for me during cold weather lead melting sessions. (The best time to melt lead in my opinion)

If your lucky, on a cold day you might hear some crackle and pops if you don't do this, instead of a visit from the tinsel fairy. I'd rather heat the ingot moulds with the torch, than with molten lead for that first pour though.

If your unlucky, you may get a nasty lesson about condensation and lead explosions by not doing this.

Just because it has never happened to you yet, doesn't mean that it can not happen.

It's less likely to happen if you live in a warm, arid, non humid climate.

Those of us who have preheated a lead ingot, and watched the condensation heat off of the lead probably already understand this.

You don't have to get it though, just wear the safety equipment just in case. It only takes one time.

Burns really hurt BAD!

Glad that you just got a little wake up call, and were not seriously injured.



- Bullwolf

[lightman]

The closest I have come to meeting the fairy was when a friend that I was casting with turned the table over. We escaped injury but we both had our boots and pants legs covered in lead. I never add cold lead to melted lead, either when casting or smelting. When smelting, I wear long pants over boots, a long sleeve shirt, gloves and safety glasses. The shirt and pants are flame retardant, but thats just because thats what we were required to wear at work before I retired. I warm the ingot molds and the ladle in the gas flame that melts the lead.

[OS OK]

Never casted anywhere but this dried up old potato chip where rain has been a novelty and dew points don't exist. Reflecting the years I lived in Houston which is like a Rain forrest...Now I get your point...condensation and such! Funny how we get acclimated to somewhere and look at the rest of the country with only our limited experience of one area. You'd almost have to leave a tool in the water trough to get anything to rust here in the lower Sierras.
I suppose Arizona might be like here...have no idea of their humidity or amt. of rain yearly.
What's really odd...it look like its going to rain today, wind and dark clouds...prolly wishful thinking.

[RED BEAR]

to answer os ok humidity can get pretty bad here . but i also flux with saw dust and with high humidity you have to be very carefull about stirring it in to quickly or it can be quite unnerving .

[OS OK]

In respect to the saw dust, I get it, I let mine set there for some time and smoke before stirring. I start the smelt with sawdust in a plentiful quantity in the bottom of the cold pot too. When going to the next batch, I'll throw a cup full in before adding material to the pot. I keep my sawdust in a big metal trash can and believe it or not...somehow it does feel moist to the hand even though I'm in this dry climate.

[Lonegun1894]

I have only ever had one visit and it was years ago, but it taught me to use PPE. I was casting wearing a pair of jeans, no shirt, and goggles. Yeah, young and dumb, but you get the point. Anyway, I got a good splash of lead on the side of my abdomen just above the belt line that was about 6" by 2.5", and since it hurt, the proper thing to do was get it off, right? In case anyone reading this isn't aware of this little fact, when you take hot lead off like that, THE SKIN COMES WITH IT! You have been warned! Luckily, I have enough medical training to where it didn't require a hospital visit as I treated it myself, but I still have a scar that will forever be a reminder that PPE only works when you use it. And actually, I feel blessed that that is the only thing that got hit when that pot of lead blew up on me. As it could have been much worse. Skin grows back, eyes don't.

[HangFireW8]

Anything that sees hot lead needs to be preheated. Indoors you can use a hot plate, or just put the mold on top of the pot before it sees lead. Any lead that goes in the pot needs to be preheated. I use a small torch indoors. Outdoors I use a propane weed burner to blast away the condensation from scrap lead. I use it to pre heat the ingot molds.

It's easy to do. You can see the line of condensation vaporize as a chunk of lead or scrap pieces heat up. Weed burners are 15 bucks at harbor freight.

If you do this, it will never happen to you.

Pewter candlesticks with wet sand in the base will make a liar out of you. I know how to handle them, and hovering over them with a torch in hand ain't it.

[country gent]

The last factory I worked in had a diecast dept in it mish metal automotive casting. Those big furnaces were an eye opener. WHen one of the 3 started to runble ( they called it growls) every one scattered. These furnaces were 40,000 lbs units when one went it was a big bang and splash. The company did buy a oven to preheat ingots before adding them. Most of our actual metal came in molten and was pumped into the furnaces while molten. Alot dont realize unlike food or hot oils, when molten metal gets on skin it sticks and burns deeper and deeper until it cools. Its hard to wipe it off when stuck like that. Its better to give it something to stick to that can be removed easily, saftey glasses, face shield, hat, gloves, heavy shirt and aprons. The burn wont be nearly as deep or painfull. Being safe is important, My saftey gear sits in the container with everything else on top of the moulds ladles and such. Its there where I have to put it on to get to the other things when starting.