New smelting hazard

[44fanatic]

...well maybe not new...

Was smelting in the driveway with it being a nice sunny day. Was wearing a decent pair of sunglasses and my eyes are still hurting...

...one other note...drink lots of water

[Duckiller]

Were your sun glasses Polaroid? They will reduce transmitted light by 50% and seem to be glare free. They do cost a bit ,especially when you need corrective lens but they are well worth it if you don't regularly loose or break them. +1 on drinking water. Failure to do so will result in severe head aches

[runfiverun]

i wait till summer to smelt.
i start about 8 am and am done at 1100 or so thats when the sun clears the garage and the glare starts.
it takes more sessions to get it done this way, but....

[lwknight]

Here is another hazard to add to the list.
Lead pipe often has crud with moisture in it. I cut some 3/4 or so lead pipe with pruning shears to smelt. A couple of pieces had moisture in them and popped the pot.
After that I left only about 1/2" lead in the pot and added and stacked up a pile of 5 to 6 inch pipe sections. They preheated in the pot before getting into the melt this time.

[casterofboolits]

One other thing to pay attention to with water pipe is to make sure the end sticking out of the pot is open to vent steam. I launched a picee of pipe out of the smelting pot and had lead splater all over the place! :holysheep


Lesson learned!

[hoosierlogger]

I dont like to smelt in the summer because a drop of sweat can jump off of your nose without warning.

[dragonrider]

I smelt in the spring and fall when it's cool.

[KCSO]

When I melt lead for hours I tend to smelt too.

Now that I have a gas fired outfit I usually work towards evening when it is cool. I can do about 75 pounds an hour and I precut and ry all my pipe before I start. The W/W and Lino chunks are stored in the garage till it's time to go. The biggest problem is the lead I get from bullet traps. Since I test shotguns too I have to sort out plastic and you can't get it all. It's a smelly mess before you are done.

[waksupi]

I dont like to smelt in the summer because a drop of sweat can jump off of your nose without warning.

So? Unless it can dive under the surface of the lead (it can't), no big deal.

[deerslayer]

So? Unless it can dive under the surface of the lead (it can't), no big deal.

Yes water still floats on lead and a drop on the surface will just turn to steam and evaporate.

[hoosierlogger]

So? Unless it can dive under the surface of the lead (it can't), no big deal.

So i like to do it when I am not sweating. Thus avoid the chance of getting a drop of sweat on the ladle or dripping it into the bucket of wheel weights and then getting introduced to the pot. sweat on a wheel weight could very easily find its way under the surface.

[Springfield]

I have one of those pop up covers I put over me when I melt/alloy my lead. I like to do at least 600 lbs at a time and it helps if you aren't
out in the sun the whole time. Cuts down the glare also.