Gloves for casting?

[rodsvet]

Been casting since the early 70's. No gloves. Got a few burns here or there but nothing serious. I pay attention to what I'm doing and don't text or use twitter when casting or smelting. This isn't rocket science, just a hobby. You learn pretty quick what not to touch. Rod

[gloob]

I'm all for air bags and crumple zones. I'm all for using push sticks with the table saw. But molten lead is not exactly napalm. It melts at temperatures that are a bit higher than deep frying, admittedly, but it's much less dangerous. Molten lead doesn't stick to your skin, nor is it flammable, nor is it hot enough to instantaneously ignite wood or clothing. If it's hot, and you stop touching it, the problem is generally solved in time. At least where the thick skin of your fingers are involved. Heck, some folks clean their soldering iron with a sponge, some use their jeans... I frequently clean the tip of the iron between my finger tips. I just make it quick.

The neat thing about casting with gloves is you can open the sprue plate with your hands. But then if the bullets stick, you need a darn stick to tap the mold, anyhow. So I use just the stick. I will sometimes don a leather glove when casting, but it's mainly for the cushioning from the mold handles.

I keep a pair of pliers handy for picking up hot bits of lead, and such.

[dg31872]

When I was in my 20's, 30's and early 40's, no gloves. Now I am in my mid 60's and you better bet I wear gloves.
As the saying goes, if I had known I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.

[geargnasher]

Well, ok, I gave the Oveglove a go. It's nice and cushiony, but too danged small. The only real issue I have casting is the heat really builds up during long sessions and the handle leaves a red mark on my left index finger between the second and third joints. This seems to have done a little long-term damage as I can press on the area until it turns white and the blood doesn't come back nearly as fast as it does on the other hand. I took to wearing the glove on the mould-handling hand because the short glove fingers are more tolerable there, and it does seem to relieve the constant heat/pressure greatly. It's nice not to have a big, sore, red patch there for days after a long session.

Gear

[big bore 99]

Leather for sure. Whatever you do, don't use the cheaper nylon or dacron generic gloves. They melt and it's almost impossible to get that stuff off.

[101VooDoo]

Tried welding gloves for a while; too cumbersome. Now I use the leather gloves that come in the three pack at Costco.

[btroj]

Well, ok, I gave the Oveglove a go. It's nice and cushiony, but too danged small. The only real issue I have casting is the heat really builds up during long sessions and the handle leaves a red mark on my left index finger between the second and third joints. This seems to have done a little long-term damage as I can press on the area until it turns white and the blood doesn't come back nearly as fast as it does on the other hand. I took to wearing the glove on the mould-handling hand because the short glove fingers are more tolerable there, and it does seem to relieve the constant heat/pressure greatly. It's nice not to have a big, sore, red patch there for days after a long session.

Gear

Is the sore spot always present? You know, is it consistant?

[Bryan527]

I don't wear gloves. I'm either a good looking rebel who plays by his own rules, or I've been lucky enough so far not to have learned the lesson the hard way. Seriously, though, gloves really take away from my dexterity. I'm more dangerous wearing them.

[bradley.moss72]

. . .but shoes are a problem. I only have dress shoes, boat shoes and rubber thongs. Are leather boat shoes too open? Maybe buy a pair of chukkas? Easy to get out of in worst case.

I'm not sure anyone has addresses this yet as I have not read all the posts. I will relate a story to you about molten metals and improper footwear. During High School I was in Agriculture class. Part of the class was a shop class where we learned to use a forge, weld and oxygen acetylene cutting torch, among other things. of course it was stressed to us about proper clothing and safety in the shop. This was in the 80's when wearing high-top basketball sneakers unlaced and open so you could slip them on and off easily was the hight of fashion. One of my classmates went into the shop wearing his shoes this way. He was using a cutting torch and a piece of molten metal fell down his pants leg an into the top of his shoe. He had a nasty burn to the side of his ankle and instep. He could not get the shoe off fast enough. Had he had his shoes laced up and his pants leg outside of his shoe, it would have likely rolled right off onto the floor.

I guess I said all that to say it don't matter how easy it is to get your shoe off, it burns quicker! Whatever you do get something that is gonna deflect the threat and have the cuff of your pants layered outside of the top of your shoe to keep stuff out. (think roofing shingles the way they are layered) Be careful that your pants cuffs aren't too long and bunch up to create a pocket where stuff could lodge.

I know this sounds like common sense, and I don't expect anyone here is stupid, but sometimes you don't think about things until it's brought up. When you are reared on a farm and work it every day you learn stuff like this. Many people who visit this forum do not have the opportunity to experience some of these things so I don't take it for granted that anything is common knowledge anymore.

BW

[David2011]

I don't wear gloves. I'm either a good looking rebel who plays by his own rules, or I've been lucky enough so far not to have learned the lesson the hard way. Seriously, though, gloves really take away from my dexterity. I'm more dangerous wearing them.

Gloves are not nearly as bad for dexterity as a burn that takes weeks to heal. This is the same thinking as people who hate guns until they needed one.

Harbor Freight sells a package deal that includes a pair of welding gloves, a leather apron with pockets at the bottom and a welding rod scabbard. The apron often catches an errant boolit and keeps it from being damaged by hitting the floor while it's still soft. I also wear long pants, socks and shoes or even better, boots. Safety glasses are mandatory for anyone in the room. I seldom cast with company and even with company try to limit it to one person so attention remains focused correctly. A long sleeved cotton shirt will catch spatters above the gauntlets. I've used leather work gloves with fabric backs and quickly found that they offer no protection from drips and spatters to the back of the hand. Honestly, the spatters and drips are infrequent but the older I get the more I like not getting burned.

David

[brassrat]

I'm new but learned a lot, quickly. I have been using a cheap, wool glove on right hand and nothing on left, except for one mold that get hot, then I use a heavy asbestos, on left. Also learned that ingot making is dangerous using water, at least once it was and I have a bad looking scar on forehead now.