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Whitespider
04-12-2009, 05:33 PM
A while back I replied on a thread about safety gear when casting. Being the big “he-man” that I am I posted that I usually did my casting bare handed, and I’m here to tell you that today is the last time I’ll be casting bare handed.

After doing the Easter Bunny thing with the kids, and a few Honey-Dos, I wandered out to the shed and threw some alloy in the pot. I’m short on boolits for the .38 WCF and started pouring some from a Lyman #401043 mold. Wow, every thing was just right today, boolits just fell from the mold, perfectly filled out, mirror bright and shiny. I had a rhythm going, fan blowing just the right amount of air over the mold to keep it at the perfect temperature, when....

....the ladle spout hooked on the edge of the mold, giving it a rapid “flip”. A full ladle of hot molten boolit alloy was dumped onto my BARE HAND!! Onto the hand holding the mold, which in my panic, caused the mold to go bouncing across the concrete floor of the shed. You can not even begin to imagine the pain.

Believe it or not, I’m actually thankful; things could have been so much worse...
The mold didn’t get damaged as far as usability, still closes fine and the cavity is undamaged. But, moments before my wife, daughter and 14-month old son had been out to ask me how much longer I’d be. My son had run underneath my arms, babbling something in that foreign language that 1-year-olds use, grabbing my leg.

From now on I’ll be wearing GLOVES!!!

Heavy lead
04-12-2009, 05:49 PM
thank the Lord

waksupi
04-12-2009, 05:50 PM
Glad you didn't get hurt badly. However! NEVER let children around a pot of hot lead. That is a serious to deadly accident waiting to happen.

44man
04-12-2009, 07:00 PM
If anyone gets burned by lead, get the burn under cold water FAST and keep pouring cold water on it for at least 1/2 hour. You might not even get a blister, only a scar.

Whitespider
04-12-2009, 07:02 PM
Glad you didn't get hurt badly.

I guess "badly" is a relative term. I'm typing with one hand, the other hand has over a third of it covered in blisters, a couple as large as a half-dollar.

ChuckS1
04-12-2009, 07:13 PM
Well, not 3d degree burns, thank God. I've had a couple of splashes myself that were very minor compared to yours. By God, it does hurt.

GLL
04-12-2009, 07:13 PM
NOT GOOD !

Sounds like you were a very lucky man today !

Listen to waksupi ! I never let anyone in the same room or area when I have molten alloy going ! EVER !

Jerry

Springfield
04-12-2009, 07:24 PM
Sometimes my kids come out to where I cast to ask me something. I always just stop, get up and go to where they are. I won't let them into my casting room. And if you don't like to cast with leather goloves, like I don't , just go to Walgreen's or Orchard Supply or even online and buy some Ove' Gloves. Cotton on the inside and Nomex and Kevlar on the outside. Very comfortable and WAY more heat resistant than leather.

waco
04-12-2009, 07:30 PM
thank God your not hurt too badly
and your kids are safe
i as well like no others around while casting
we should ALL learn a leson from this
SAFETY FIRST!
gloves are a must......long sleeves at least....and please!!!!!
NO OPEN TOED SHOES!!!!!
glad to hear your ok
waco:Fire:

35remington
04-12-2009, 07:40 PM
No small kids with their extra tender skin should be allowed within any appreciable distance of a pot full of lead, especially with a cord to trip over or similar.

A burn that is painful but survivable to an adult can kill a child.

Especially a 1 year old or other toddler.

archmaker
04-12-2009, 07:48 PM
Glad to hear that you are not hurt to bad, but it is going to be a pain to sleep tonight!

I never let anyone near my area when I am casting. Not even the dog.

I still remember being a kid (maybe 6) and I was playing in the kitchen when my grandmother tripped over me and spilled a pot of hot coffee over my back. That was almost 40 years ago and I still can picture where in the house we were, and where I was.

Take care of the hand, watch it for infection, and take pain killers and try to get some sleep.

high standard 40
04-12-2009, 07:54 PM
As the saying goes, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger" Glad you were not hurt any worse and the family is safe. I know you'll come out the other side smarter and safer. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

par0thead151
04-12-2009, 07:56 PM
A while back I replied on a thread about safety gear when casting. Being the big “he-man” that I am I posted that I usually did my casting bare handed, and I’m here to tell you that today is the last time I’ll be casting bare handed.

After doing the Easter Bunny thing with the kids, and a few Honey-Dos, I wandered out to the shed and threw some alloy in the pot. I’m short on boolits for the .38 WCF and started pouring some from a Lyman #401043 mold. Wow, every thing was just right today, boolits just fell from the mold, perfectly filled out, mirror bright and shiny. I had a rhythm going, fan blowing just the right amount of air over the mold to keep it at the perfect temperature, when....

....the ladle spout hooked on the edge of the mold, giving it a rapid “flip”. A full ladle of hot molten boolit alloy was dumped onto my BARE HAND!! Onto the hand holding the mold, which in my panic, caused the mold to go bouncing across the concrete floor of the shed. You can not even begin to imagine the pain.

Believe it or not, I’m actually thankful; things could have been so much worse...
The mold didn’t get damaged as far as usability, still closes fine and the cavity is undamaged. But, moments before my wife, daughter and 14-month old son had been out to ask me how much longer I’d be. My son had run underneath my arms, babbling something in that foreign language that 1-year-olds use, grabbing my leg.

From now on I’ll be wearing GLOVES!!!

i would keep your kids away from your casting area. lead levels in adults might not do much,b ut it does have a impact on children.
not to mention a 1 year probably should not be in the same room as molten lead.
good to hear that nothing too sever happened, always wear protective clothing. I personally use leather gloves, goggles/glasses, and long sleeves

HeavyMetal
04-12-2009, 08:18 PM
First get this treated! Burns can get infected incredibly fast! Go to the emergency room if you have not already done so! Do not self medicate, in a week they could be calling you Lefty!

The next thing your going to have to "survive" is SWMBO'S Lecture! Trust me if you haven't heard it yet it's because she's proof reading it!

Then count your blessing that it wasn't worse and set down concrete rules about entering the casting area and the reloading process in general.

I hope isn't as bad as it sounds and really glad it wasn't one of the kids.

When you deal with hot stuff the eventual burn is going to happen, I'm always scared I'll have an earthquake while casting, so take a good hard look at your casting area with the thought: what can go wrong here? Then take steps to remady them before they happen.

Good luck with the burn.

Down South
04-12-2009, 08:40 PM
Things happen. It's great that you weren’t hurt bad. I've had a few lead burns too. I like to keep everyone away from my casting area unless they are involved in the casting operation. I have a couple grandsons that I’m teaching casting too (13 and above) so keeping kids away are sort of out of the question. We do wear leather gloves while casting.

EMC45
04-12-2009, 09:11 PM
So flip-flops are out?

Recluse
04-12-2009, 09:31 PM
First, glad you're okay and even more relieved your kids weren't hurt. Dittos to what Bret and everyone else said about keeping the kids and animals away from molten alloy.

Second, I'll second the advice to get the burn looked at. I wouldn't consider molten alloy/lead to be the cleanest stuff in the world. Wouldn't be a bad idea to at least let a doctor give your hand a lookover and get a shot of antibiotics. That pain you'll feel in your butt will take your mind off your hand for a few moments and let you reflect on how damned lucky you are.

Third, it only took me ONE minor burn and now I won't go near my casting table without gloves and glasses--either my prescrip reading glasses or my safety glasses. I figure I used up my one chance the Lord grants us for being an idiot--next one I'M ACCOUNTABLE for.

Often times, the hardest lessons are the most painful ones--but they're the ones learned best.

Again, glad you're okay.

:coffee:

TDC
04-12-2009, 09:42 PM
A leather apron and welders gloves are less than $10 each at Harbor Freight. Pretty cheap insurance for the always present danger of serious burns.

I don't believe in ANY distractions when working with molten metal. No radio, no family members .... nothing. It's so easy to space out when doing repetitive stuff. Our hides are a terrible thing to waste.

ghh3rd
04-12-2009, 09:42 PM
I know the pain that I felt when my coleman stove pump spewed gasoline over my hand and burst into flame. It was out within seconds, but I got blisters all over my hand the size of dimes and quarters. It was extremely painful, and yours is much worse. I feel for you.

Cold water first, and then although I hand't used a pain killer in years, I ran through the house searching until I actually found some Oxycotin. I also logged onto this forum the same day and told my account of what had happened.

I didn't go the the doctor, but did follow advice and left the blisters alone and let them break by themselves when they were ready. I kept liberal amounts of triple antibiotic over everything before and after they broke, until they were well on their way to being healed. Thankfully I didn't get an infection.

Hang in there - the pain will diminish after a few days. Depending on what 'handed' you are, you may have to switch where you keep things in your pocket for a while.

Thanks for sharing your experience so others can learn from somone else's mistake.

Randy

supv26
04-13-2009, 12:06 AM
Glad to hear you are ok!!! Be careful!!!

On the same note, I am having trouble typing also. I smelted 220 pounds of WW yesterday and then today cast about 200 boolits this afternoon with out a single mishap! Then, tonight while I was putting wood in the fire place I burned the fingertips on my left hand! Now they are blistered and hurting like you know what!
:???:

303Guy
04-13-2009, 05:46 AM
A full ladle of hot molten boolit alloy was dumped onto my BARE HAND!! Onto the hand holding the mold, which in my panic, caused the mold to go bouncing across the concrete floor of the shed. You can not even begin to imagine the pain.Thank you for posting the warning! I have been doing the exact same thing! (Well, I'm using a bottom pour but still, no gloves!) There are a number of precautions I could actually be taking that I am not. I will revise my practices - I am only just getting into it and doing it wrong!

Whitespider
04-13-2009, 07:28 AM
A leather apron and welders gloves are less than $10 each at Harbor Freight. Pretty cheap insurance...

I already own both, the apron hangs on the wall between the welder and casting bench, two pairs of welders gloves setting on the welding bench. I use them when smelting WWs, the apron mostly for protection from the filth.

I don't believe I'll be going to that extreme when casting boolits, I prefer some finger dexterity as I'm a ladle caster. But I will be looking for some thin, well fitting leather gloves that cover the wrist. Until I find the right fitting leather, some cotton Jersey gloves will suffice; even cotton would have stopped the direct contact of molten lead to skin.


I don't allow children into my casting area, the daughter knows not to approach when the pot is hot. The one-year-old hasn't been taught yet, but he requires content supervision right now. I was casting with the overhead doors open when the family approached, little guy got away from mom like they do. After she saw my hand, less than five minutes later, I'll bet she won't let him get away from her again. Still, I believe I'll set up some Hog Panels around the casting area from now on.

I had a pretty good rhythm going, opening the mold about four times a minute, and that's fast for me and the ladle. When Tristan ran up to me I had to stop and get him away, talked to the wife a second and went back to casting. The interruption threw my rhythm off, messed up my timing, and as I was trying to get it back... well it ended the casting session.

And yes, I had to survive the "SWMBO Lecture"!

jonk
04-13-2009, 09:40 AM
I've managed to pour molten lead on my leg, arm, hand, and wrist before. Never a whole ladle full though, just a few drops. I do not envy you.

I now wear long pants and a shop apron but I won't wear gloves. I'd rather risk a burn and have the dexterity and control that comes with a bare hand than lumber around with gloves on. That just makes for stupid fingers letting go of things. But, to each his own.

ghh3rd
04-13-2009, 11:42 AM
putting wood in the fire place

We only get to do that two or three days of the year here in Tampa Florida :-)

Old Ironsights
04-13-2009, 11:54 AM
This post is exactly why I use a Drip-o-matic and not a ladle.

johnly
04-13-2009, 12:08 PM
Sorry to hear of your injuries. For gloves, I use a pair of USAF Nomex gloves the the fueling crews wear. They are light and flexable, and are long enough to almost reach your elbow joint.

John

jnovotny
04-13-2009, 06:18 PM
Glad to hear you didn't get it too bad. Definetly keep an eye on that burn, first sign of infection get your butt to the hospital. Keep on casting John.

bedwards
04-13-2009, 10:36 PM
Thanks for sharing that. It took nerve to admit it. I will be using gloves and long cotton sleeves from now on after reading it.

be

Coastie
04-13-2009, 10:44 PM
Don't forget to protect your feet. I used to cast while wearing my moccasins -very comfortable until I slopped some lead. The wool sock saved my foot, but was a very painful lesson. Now I wear my high top leather work boots when casting.
Keep a close eye on your burn - if it looks like any infection get it looked at - a deep burn can go bad fast.

Fatman
04-15-2009, 11:01 AM
No matter WHAT!!! go to your Doctor and get the hand looked at!!!!!!!! With lead burns if even a minute spec was on the skin it could have gotten caught in the blister and with the blisters infection could start inside and you won't see it until too late. Too Bad be embarrassed when you go to the Doc.

After I was taught to make sinkers, I had to have supervision for about a year. When I turned 13 (1975) I was left on my own, I used to use a wire rack to hold a piece of L shaped steel pipe and into the opening chunks of lead went. Enough to make a few sinkers at a time but YEah right not enough to get really burned.

Well little brother walked by with a glass of water and spilled some and didn't tell me!!!!!!!! I poured the lead into the old Palmer mold and the lead shot straight up into my face!!!!!!! Have two spots where facial hair wont' grow and the worst was a burn to my eye!!!!!!! Splatter went right under the edge of my glass's.

Stuck my face in a bucket of water that I had just in case and no scars on the face (Don't do this anymore) and I had to be taken to the ER to get the small piece of lead out of my eye, but every time I have the little blue light glucoma test I get the you know you have a burn scar on your eye. It shows as a little black spot under the light.

Take the advice of all here and go get checked just to be safe, and have a major talk with the family about RULES when you are casting. They work and everyone is safe.

Fatman

Ancesthntr
04-15-2009, 03:52 PM
Whitespider, glad to hear it wasn't worse, though I don't envy you the experience, the recovery or the SWMBO lecture.

I'm new to casting, don't even have a heater yet for my DO or the electric bottom-pour furnace yet, but I did get the welder's gloves at Harbor Freight, along with safety glasses. I'll get the apron that I looked at and said "oh come on, moron, you don't need that." Workboots with heavy socks, crappy old jeans (with no holes) and a long-sleeved shirt will complete my attire. I also like the idea of a bucket of water being available for cooling down an injured body part, though it'll be far away from the molten lead.

3 stories about burns. One involved a 2nd cousin of my father's, over 90 years ago. I was doing family research and found out that he died at age 2. I ordered the death certificate, and found out that he died after being scalded by a pot of hot water that fell off a stove. I've never forgotten that - though I never knew the boy or any of his close family, having small kids myself makes even hearing about this stuff hurt.

Second story was me, circa 1965 as a 4-year-old. Mom was ironing, the phone rang and while she was in the kitchen I decided to see how hot the iron was. With the palm of my hand. No lasting effects, but I did LOTS of yelling and crying, and spent weeks in a bandage.

Third story was about 2 years ago with my son. This time I was ironing, and I left the room for a few seconds to get something while he was sitting down nice and peacefully, mesmerized by the TV (or so I thought). Next thing I knew, BOOOOM, and he starts screaming. He knocked over the ironing board, and then grabbed the iron on the floor from the hot side. I grabbed him and put his hand under cold water immediately, and left the iron on the floor. 30 seconds later I picked it up, with a big brand from the iron on the carpet. He hurt for a few days, no permanent damage, though he remembers it well. So do I - I've purposely left the brand in the carpet as a reminder to myself.

Lesson: don't **** around with kids and hot stuff. What can go wrong absolutely WILL, and someone will get hurt or worse. There is NO F'ING WAY that anyone in my family will get near my casting equipment while it is in use or for hours afterwards. No critters to complicate things, and I'm going to keep it that way.

Once again, this wonderful forum (well, its members) has provided an invaluable bunch of information. Sometimes it is good stuff, sometimes it is how to avoid the bad stuff. Thank you all for your input, and for Whitespider my sincerest wishes for a quick and complete recovery, with as little pain as possible and no infection.

gasboffer
04-15-2009, 04:56 PM
Years ago I was casting from lead bullets mined from the berm. Don't have a clue why or how, but a .22 cartridge got into the pot. I was across the room when the lead shower came down. Not that fast anymore, (76)
clyde

lathesmith
04-15-2009, 10:29 PM
Like others have stated, casting with gloves is an absolute MUST. Even the thin latex-type gloves are much, much better than nothing, and are amazingly effective at preventing serious damage to your hands from various sources. For casting, though, there are better gloves to be had; the important thing is to get some and USE them. I have used leather ones in the past, these are quite effective if somewhat cumbersome.
As for kids getting around the casting area, it is OUR RESPONSIBILITY as casters to make sure that reasonable precautions are taken. This will vary, depending on the kids and their ages, but this must be thought through and taken seriously. You may not get a second chance...
Like others, I WILL NOT CAST if Distracted. If I have a visitor, I stop, period. Enough said.

White Spider, I hate to call you lucky; that was a bad accident for sure, and yes, it could have been much worse. Here's to hoping for a speedy and complete recovery, and painful reminder to all of us to take shop safety SERIOUSLY. Our ability to continue to provide a livelihood for our families and ensure their safety depends on US, no excuses.
lathesmith

geargnasher
04-15-2009, 11:21 PM
This post is exactly why I use a Drip-o-matic and not a ladle.

I always use leather gloves but have been looking for something better due to the work gloves having mostly thin cloth on the back. My drip-o-matic got me on the back of the hand a few weeks ago. I was fiddling with a stuck hp pin for a few seconds and didn't notice the rapid drip-drip-drip coming from a hang-up in the spout until it started splashing on the back of my left glove and burned through the cloth. Still nursing scabs where the drops burned straight through.

I don't envy anyone getting even a mild burn, thanks White Spider for sobering us up with a reality check. After all, if we can't learn from your mistakes, why would you bother to make them in the first place! I'm glad no one else was hurt, hope you have a safe recovery and +1 on getting some professional treatment, I don't want to hear any experience-based advice from you in the future about seeking timely medical attention to avoid amputations.

I am going to bolt my pot to the bench, aquire a full-face shield, and get some of those Nomex gloves before I cast again.

Gear