Avoiding a visit from the Tinsel Fairy

[sniper]

Fall has fell. Is there any danger of condensation from ingots that have been stored in an unheated shed at low temperatures,when adding them to my pot ?

Is there some sort of procedure to follow, or can I just add them to the pot, and go about casting as usual? How about pouring ingots in a cold mould? Will the temperature difference cause condensation and a resulting eruption?

Would moving a casting session's worth of alloy into the house a day or so before a session help, or warming the ingot mould on the pot before pouring?

What has been your experience?

Thanks.

[Wayne Smith]

I) pouring lead into a cold mold results in very poor boolits, don't bother to try.

2) Yes, condensation on ingots can cause a visit from the fairy. Warm your ingots before adding them, either in the house or on your pot.

You got it in one! Congratulations, your answers are the correct ones. Keep thinking that way and pay attention to what goes into your pot and the Tinsel Fairy will stay away.

[docone31]

Yes, condensation is an issue!
I did some pouring on Monday after our weekend at the shop.
I had a good melt going, great pouring, it was going well.
I went to recharge the pot. I had found some ingots I had made 8yrs ago. I had melted them in a small cast iron frying pan I got at a flea market. I had melted them, and let them cool in the pan. Sometimes I use that shape as a lead pad for planishing silver.
I plopped the ingot into the melt, it slid into the melt, I heard bubbling! No tinsel, nor any issues, but I heard bubbling! I had not preheated the ingot, nor was it the long thin shape like I usually use.
I am thinking, condensation entered the porosity in the old ingot.
No issues, but, it got my attention.
I have had silver buttons from a previous casting come to life when I put them in my furnace for a pour. Those I now preheat in my kiln before putting them in my furnace!
1650* makes fires not strings!
Preheating makes sense, especially if the environment is humid.

[UweJ]

Yes , condensation is a matter as I have found out. I had my melt going and already poured some ingots when I decided to a some old ingots which where of the same alloy. I carefully let one slide into the pot, when I heard the same bubbling noise. Had just enough time to turn my face away, but I got it on the cheek and the neck. Luckily no scars but been burned pretty good, the sweat shirt , pants and shoes looked pretty. I looked like a christmas tree , sparkling and all.
So be carefull when adding any alloy which has been laying in the open for some time.
Uwe

[NuJudge]

I let them sit on the edge of the furnace for awhile to heat up, before adding them.

Sort of on the same subject, I bought a bunch of 1 inch round Solder balls awhile ago, and each of them have a void in the middle, which bursts at some point during the melting process, spraying hot solder over a small area. I take pains to melt them with a big dipper over the pot.

[Kraschenbirn]

Was smelting range lead last weekend and was touched ever so lightly by that spatter-slinging little witch, myself. Scrap had been washed a month or so previously and spread on an old tarp to dry in the sun for a couple of days. The first batch melted out with no problems but when I added the next 3# coffee can of scrap to the pot the air quickly came a-glitter with silvery droplets. I suspect that some of the mangled bullet jackets may have had water trapped inside that didn't evaporate out during the drying process.

After I cleaned the worst of the spatter off the walls, workbench, and inside of the exhaust duct over my casting set-up, I fired up the other burner and began preheating the remaining scrap...10#-15# at a time in a separate pot...and the rest of the afternoon went quite smoothly.

Bill

[Johnch]

LOL
A year or so back I started a tread about just about emptying a Lee 20 lb pot
When a ingot fell into the pot from the rim

I had brought in some ingots from outside 0 to -5 degrees out side
They were dry , but COLD
So I was going to warm them up on the rim of the pot
Only thing that could have happened was the cold ingot got condinsation on it setting on the bench and when it fell into the almost full pot
It produced steam deep in the pot

Luckey for me , it happened as the door slamed , as I went upstairs for something

I still have lead on the ceiling and walls
I was able to salvage the lead off the floor and bench

I now bring in enough ingots the night before and allow them to warm up

One time being visited by the Tinsel Fairy is enough


John

[Boerrancher]

The only time I was ever visited by the tinsel fairy was when I was melting range lead out side. It was hot and a great big drop of sweat fell off of the bill of my cap and dropped right in the center of the melt. I never would have thought that a drop of sweat could go so deep into the melt and never thought it could blow out as much lead as it did. That pair of pants and shirt still has lead sparkles all over the right hand side of them.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

[monadnock#5]

The only time I was ever visited by the tinsel fairy was when I was melting range lead out side. It was hot and a great big drop of sweat fell off of the bill of my cap and dropped right in the center of the melt. I never would have thought that a drop of sweat could go so deep into the melt and never thought it could blow out as much lead as it did. That pair of pants and shirt still has lead sparkles all over the right hand side of them.

Best wishes from the Boer Ranch,

Joe

You might want to reconsider this post Joe. I mean don't get me wrong, I certainly don't doubt your veracity Master Hiram. BUT. Some time ago I posted that the man who inspired me to take up casting told me that he wore a headband while casting to keep drops of sweat out of the pot and avoid a visit from the tinsel fairy. WELL, I was told post haste that sweat falling into a pot was about as harmless as harmless could be. A totally unfounded fear.

I'm thinkin' that perhaps what fell into your pot was maybe a stray drop from your wife watering the garden, or one of your sons sniping at you from an upstairs window with a squirt gun, or maybe pidgeon poop. You got pidgeons at your place?

I sure hope this helps you to avoid making a huge faux paux. :-D

[DLCTEX]

Sniper, I believe your cold mold queation related to an ingot mold, not a boolit mold, in which case the answer is that any moisture that is trapped under molten lead is going to erupt. To be safe, warm any really cold ingot molds before using, the same goes for ingots.
Monadnock#5: One should never say never. I have had sweat drops sizzle on the surface of the melt, but larger drops may penetrate deeper and cause eruptions. It may not occur in a thousand times, but once in a thousand is enough. DALE

[HABCAN]

I smelt WW ingots out in the garage with door(s) open as necessary for ventilation, and maintain a stock of several hundred in boxes on the floor. This part of Alberta is comparatively dry. That said, my casting is done indoors. Fortunately my 'casting bench' is located under a window and directly over a hot-air heating vent on the opposite wall from my loading bench. I cut its base to form a tunnel and lined it with aluminum foil. Now I keep a running stock of 60 ingots on the bottom shelf over that tunnel, warming every time the furnace comes on. Even with that precaution, sometimes I get a tiny bit of bubbling when (cautiously!) adding an ingot to the melt in the old LEE pot. The Tinsel Fairy has never paid a call in many decades of casting, probably because I'm terrified of her!