Where do y'all smelt/cast?

[Airweight38]

Just curious. I did this outside a few times, which was fine when the temperatures were above 50°, but became an exercise in futility once it got really cold here. Yesterday, it was around 20 degrees outside, so I tried smelting inside my open garage door with a fan next to me, blowing out, but the outer edge of my pot was amassing cooled lead, just from the outside temperature, so finally I moved into the garage on my workbench and had much better luck. I was smelting lead from the trap pits at my local range, so there was a lot of dross to burn off and scoop out (rock, jackets, clothespins, paint chips). As a result, I smelled like I'd been sitting downwind of a campfire, by the time I got done. I wore a decent respirator the whole time (I work at a chemical plant, so this one was easy to come by). But boy, my garage still stunk. Hell, my front yard stunk.

Anyway, I wore a respirator and suffered no ill effects, but I'm just curious: do many people smelt indoors? Is it a horribly stupid idea? Fairly benign?

Thanks for any input.

I do realize that pouring ingots is a lot stinkier/dirtier than actually casting bullets from clean ingots in a furnace...so I'm looking for input on where to do both.

[bbs70]

I just got back into casting after a 15 year absence from it.
Personally if I can smelt/cast somewhere there is a breeze to take the smoke away I'm all for it because of the lead fumes.

What I have started doing is pick a decent day (hard to do this time of year) build a fire in a patio wood burner I have outside and set a cast iron pot 3/4 full of ww on top of the burning wood and let it smelt while I cast boolits in my garage.

This way when I flux the metal I don't have all that somke and stuff in my garage and I can cast boolits while I'm waiting.

[leadeye]

I cast off the tailgate of my Dodge so cold and windy conditions keep me from casting on those days. Smelting I have to do behind the garage when there is a strong west wind or the neighborhood block captains will start ********.

[357maximum]

I smelt outside, I cast in the utility room. Used to cast in the shed but got tired of not being able to cast when it was cold. I installed a range hood and piped it out one of the window panes. I have no concerns...my lead level was only 3 last time i was checked.

[Patrick L]

Over the years I have developed some routines for this sort of thing. This is what works for me. I live in the Northeast, so the seasons do need to be considered in the scheme of some things.

I smelt raw WW outside, period. It is a dirty, stinky job, so I do it in the fall on a cool clear day. I actually prefer to do this at my parent's house since they have a somewhat isolated property, so I don't get nosy neighbors asking what I'm doing. I only render the raw WWs every several years or so, prefering to do BIG batches that then last a long time. In the picture of my smelting setup, the two 5 gallon pails under the shelves in the background are full of clean ww ingots. No thief will carry those away.

I often smelt the clean WW ingots into bullet alloy in the same place, but last time I did it I did it in my own garage. Again, a cool fall day was selected so I could keep the doors open and run a fan. Since all of the metal was already clean it was really quite smoke and odor free. Here is my setup

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Smelting/GunStuff063.jpg


I used to cast in the garage under a makeshift exhaust hood I put in a window, but last fall I built a dedicated casting cabinet in the basement. Many of you have seen the threads I ran on it. It is a sweet setup, and I'm quite proud of it. Here it is

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Casting%20cabinet/GunStuff038.jpg

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Casting%20cabinet/GunStuff005.jpg

This is an hour's production
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Casting%20cabinet/GunStuff014.jpg

I then lube & size on my reloading bench. Here is my setup for when I weigh/sort my SAECO 301 bullets, but this is the only bullet I go to such lengths for since I use those for Highpower.
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb157/patrickl_01/Sorting%20and%20Sizing/GunStuff030.jpg

Everything else just gets checked visually, sized, and packed.

[jhalcott]

patrick
Do you think that .2 grain difference is going to make a BIG difference in your shooting, or do you do it for personal reasons? I used to sort the bullets that way for Sillywets, but quit when I had to shoot a batch I never had time to sort. My score was the best I'd ever done with those loads. After that match I did a LOT of testing to see what the benefit of sorting really was. BTW, I only had a mag dampened scale to sort them! New fangled digitals were not invented yet.

[sundog]

...and that ammo can full of 'cup cakes'..., not to be carried around like a dinner pale, eh?

[Shiloh]

I cast in the garage.

I don't do much when winter sets in so it will be late winter or spring. Pretty well stocked for now.

Shiloh

[Forester]

I just got back into casting after a 15 year absence from it.
Personally if I can smelt/cast somewhere there is a breeze to take the smoke away I'm all for it because of the lead fumes.

What I have started doing is pick a decent day (hard to do this time of year) build a fire in a patio wood burner I have outside and set a cast iron pot 3/4 full of ww on top of the burning wood and let it smelt while I cast boolits in my garage.

This way when I flux the metal I don't have all that somke and stuff in my garage and I can cast boolits while I'm waiting.

Lead fumes? Just how hot do you run your pot?[smilie=1:

I cast in a metal shed with a big open door on one end. When my contractors can't work and its too much mess for real work..I get to go cast:drinks:

I smelt in the open air in the driveway next to the shed.

[Patrick L]

jhalcott,

Its an interesting question. I suspect that it doesn't matter, but it can't hurt. One less thing to show up inside one's head during the slowfire prone stage.

I think the great Jim Clark Sr. once said, if you think it matters, it does!

Sundog,

I can barely get it from the smelting area to the casting area. I set it down to rest at least twice!

[osage]

If the weather is nice I have plenty of other work to do instead of casting. Which causes me to work in an large machine shed when rendering WW and mixing alloys. I cast inside using clean ingots. In the out building I can open doors as needed. I have a exhaust fan ready to install for casting but so far I have not got that done. I also have a full face respirator that I could use.

[targetshootr]

I smelt outside and cast in the garage. The last time was about two years ago and I may make it another year with the ingots from that weekend.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b233/targetshootr/IM005135.jpg

[mooman76]

Currently I cast in the garage but anywhere you can get good ventalation and can put up with the mess will work. I have done it outside weather permitting and have done it for years at the kitchen stove with the air vent going and a door or window cracked. I smelt outside only though. Too much smoke.

[Kraschenbirn]

The heated workshop I built onto the rear of my garage has a 16" "industrial-grade" exhaust fan over my welding bench. I do my casting on a multi-use workbench at the other end of the shop but, even on "low" that fan keeps the shop free of smoke and fumes. For smelting, though, I set a double-burner gas ring on the flagstone stoop right outside the workshop door so, in cold weather, I can put a pot of scrap, WWs, or whatever on and work indoors until it's ready to flux and pour into ingots.

Bill

[405]

35 years ago... younger and dumber I cast on the kitchen stove.:veryconfu
Today I cast and smelt in a small general purpose shop that is separated from the house. In the winter if not too cold I just fire up a small vent free propane heater. If really cold like now crank up the wood burner. Casting bench is pretty simple. I guess kind of a "casting cabinet". Looks similar to Patrick L's. Squirrel cage blower for hood that vents to outside. Fumes and smoke sucked up and out. Lights under hood for good viewing plus multiple outlets on back for pots, etc. Shop also houses most of my mechanic's tools and storage for lead, alloys and bullet swaging press. Gun cleaning and reloading is done in the house.

[HeavyMetal]

The one advantage to living in Southern Calif., most of the time, is the mild weather!

I have smelted in the garage ,with the door open, but as I got smarter I moved to the back Patio where I cannot be seen!

I have never had an issue but decided it was smarter to move than wait for something ugly to happen!

I have half the back patio covered and built a work station so casting outside is a dream when the weathers really good!

I also have a work station in the garage ( the dryer top) and I can cast in there, if I have the urge to cast when it rains.

Using wood chips cuts down on a lot of the smell and if it reaches anyone they think I'm Bar b Quing!

[ktw]

Smelt outdoors, only in spring or fall (not too hot, not too cold)

Cast in the basement with a vent fan over the pot. Primarily a winter activity when I am snowed out of the ranges.

-ktw

[kir_kenix]

I do my smelting outside. I cast in my basement, with the window open and an exhaust fan blowing all of the fumes outside. I really should do all my casting outside, but its been too freaking cold here to do any of that. My garage is unheated, but I'd still use that if I didn't have a few dozen motorcycles torn apart in there.

[billyb]

Do most of my smelting outside in front of my shop. I live in a rural area and do not have any close in neighbors to contind with. Do my casting in my shop. Do most of my casting this time of the year. I have cast 2500 158 swc, 2000 200swc 45"s. and 1800 230 rn 45's this fall,so far. Loaded 1700 38's and 3200 45"s in the last week. Need to load up the 45 auto rim i have primed soon. Smelted up my last two five gallon buckets of ww this fall also. Bill

[Glen]

I don't "smelt" anything because I don't deal with raw ore.

I process all of my scrap lead from the range in the backyard, in the open air, with lots of ventilation.

I do all of my casting in the garage, inside a lab-grade fume hood.

[Gunslinger]

I only smelt outside, I don't like the thought of all those fumes. I have about 2000 boolits, 1500 loaded rounds and 80lbs of alloy in ingots, so I really don't need to either smelt or cast before spring. I like to do both when the weather is nice.

[EMC45]

Smelt and pour bullets in the carport. Cold or damp days are out, so I wait till I have moderate days to have a go at it.

[Patrick L]

I neglected to mention in my previous post that, for me too, casting is primarily a winter activity. The smelts are done only in the fall, and like I said I'll do raw WW only rarely, in very large batches. The last two were almost 10 years apart. Smelting the clean ww into bullet alloy is done every 3 yrs or so, as my supply dwindles.

Actual bullet casting is done from about November till about January. I generally always did 3 or 4 sessions. I would always cast my SAECO 301, which I need for the summer Highpower season, and I would run another mold just to accumulate bullets. Usually it would be a 38 WC or 45 SWC. I would end up with about 1000 or so SAECOs and a good bunch of everything else. I would then spend the rest of the winter weighing/sorting the SAECOS as pictured, and then lubesizing them. By spring I would have my bullets ready to start loading for the season, which runs from April to October.

Two things that have changed my casting routine a bit are 1). my new cabinet and 2). these gosh darned group buys! Since my cabinet is a permanent setup, it is now much easier to cast anytime. If I want to cast for an hour, I do and just walk away from everything when I'm done. It used to be I had to set up and break down each time. And in the past two years I've gotten in on about 6 group buys, so I need to keep trying these new molds. Still I'm not complaining. I think I'll just need to collect more lead!

[colbyjack]

in the basement, by the window with a fan in it. -chris

[Cloudpeak]

I render WW's outside and cast inside in my heated and sealed garage (which no longer has room for my truck.)

What a great place to spend the winter! Workbench, tools, heat, Lazyboy and a few other chairs, reading lamp, music, laptop and my indoor "airsoft" plate rack[smilie=w:

A great place to tinker, smoke fine cigars, read, surf the net, cast, reload and shoot my 1911 airsoft (6" foam plates at 21')

Cloudpeak

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v620/WyoBob/bench%20and%20reloading/DSCN1299.jpg

[imashooter2]

I smelt outdoors and cast in the shed. Too much flame off the top of the pot for me to consider smelting under any structure (let alone the stink).