Lead Use And Dangers Of Lead in Casting

[trapper444]

I have always known that casting lead bullets is a very exciting and of course the dangers in lead casting I think that the molten lead must be treateed correctly and we know what can very well happen if so much as a drop of water drops into thr molten lead to just splatter everywhere and this can disfigure mame and even fatal burns from the molten lead I have always been VERY careful with my casting and i just want everyone to know THE DANGER IN CASTING AND AT THE SAME TIME. I NOT TRYING TO SCARE ANYONE AWAY FROM CASTING BULLETS IT'S MY FAVORITE RELOADING IS CASTING MY OWN .44 CAL REVOLVER THR 1858 ARMY BUFFALO / BISON REVOLVER 12" BARREL brass framed what do you guys have to say about casdting I am hoping that i can make some new friends and we share our love of casting I TRULY LOVE Casting my own round 44 vcal. balls for my revolver

[poppy42]

I have always known that casting lead bullets is a very exciting and of course the dangers in lead casting I think that the molten lead must be treateed correctly and we know what can very well happen if so much as a drop of water drops into thr molten lead to just splatter everywhere and this can disfigure mame and even fatal burns from the molten lead I have always been VERY careful with my casting and i just want everyone to know THE DANGER IN CASTING AND AT THE SAME TIME. I NOT TRYING TO SCARE ANYONE AWAY FROM CASTING BULLETS IT'S MY FAVORITE RELOADING IS CASTING MY OWN .44 CAL REVOLVER THR 1858 ARMY BUFFALO / BISON REVOLVER 12" BARREL brass framed what do you guys have to say about casdting I am hoping that i can make some new friends and we share our love of casting I TRULY LOVE Casting my own round 44 vcal. balls for my revolver

NO! One drop of water landing on top of a lead is not going to cause some volcanic eruption! The only way for the tensile fairy to appear is if the water breaks the surface tension of the lead! Unless you’re soaking your lead ingots or wheel weights in water and then dropping them into Molten lead just ain’t gonna happen! Yes condensation on something going into the lead a wet mold etc… but the fact is one drop of water landing on top of molten lead is not going to cause a problem other than some steam! Please do some proper research before you try and perpetuate this line that floats around all the Internet! Brand new to the forum I don’t mean to be too hard on you but I just simply get tired of hearing the same lie perpetuated.

By the way welcome to the forum lots of great information on here enjoy and learn.

[Sasquatch-1]

NO! One drop of water landing on top of a lead is not going to cause some volcanic eruption! The only way for the tensile fairy to appear is if the water breaks the surface tension of the lead! Unless you’re soaking your lead ingots or wheel weights in water and then dropping them into Molten lead just ain’t gonna happen! Yes condensation on something going into the lead a wet mold etc… but the fact is one drop of water landing on top of molten lead is not going to cause a problem other than some steam! Please do some proper research before you try and perpetuate this line that floats around all the Internet! Brand new to the forum I don’t mean to be too hard on you but I just simply get tired of hearing the same lie perpetuated.

By the way welcome to the forum lots of great information on here enjoy and learn.

I agree 100% with the above. I have purposely dropped water droplets on molten lead and all it does is sizzle. I have accidently dropped lead in the pot with water trapped inside that was disastrous.

[redhawk0]

If you have moisture issues with the lead that you plan to melt...preheat it to evaporate any moisture from the lead before adding it to your molten pot.

[DaleT]

It's a good idea to preheat the molds you're pouring your alloy into . I had an old cast iron muffin pan that had some rust in it and apparently still had moisture because it spitted and spattered a bit but all was ok.

[Mr Peabody]

If you have moisture issues with the lead that you plan to melt...preheat it to evaporate any moisture from the lead before adding it to your molten pot.

That's where the problem lies, watch out for this

[Walter Laich]

another way to attack this is to start with a cold empty pot.

put the wet ingots in and as the pot heats up the moisture will be gone long before the lead is liquid.

downside is you would have to empty the pot to repeat this operation--the pot could still be hot as the wet lead being put into it would dry off, again, before the lead melted

[Winger Ed.]

As said, welcome to the forum. Water on top of the pot will dance around until it boils off.

However; especially if you live in a humid place-- dropping cold ingots, stirring with a wooden paint stick,
or even a cold screwdriver can get real exciting and possibly redecorate your ceiling.

[45DUDE]

Drop a primer in a 12 pound pot accidently is exciting. I did it when someone gave me loose wheel weights. I don't recall any water problems since the 80's .

[poppy42]

I didn’t mean to jump on a new guy it just that I’ve gotten real tired of people perpetuating this lie! You really can’t imagine how many post on so many forums I’ve read with people claiming that having water in the same zip code as molten lead will cause an explosion equal to the ones from August of 1945 in Japan ( no way I’ll even attempt to spell the name’s of those two cities. I do know ther names though just in case someone was wondering Lol) I know of more than one caster that’s cooled a lead pot by slowly and carefully pouring a cup of water on it. Don’t get me wrong, I am not recommending that! Not the best move in my opinion. I call that a “here hold my beer moment, but it is done. Personally, I’ve been in the middle of a casting section and had a rain storm dumping on me and the pot. I was more concerned with disconnecting the electricity than anything to do with the molten lead.

So trapper 444, welcome to the forum! Truly a wealth of knowledge and experience here! I am extremely thankful for finding this forum! Please don’t think I was jumping on you. I had just gotten done with a rather heated discussion on an other forum about quenching buckshot straight from the mold when I read your post. So please accept my apology!

[farmerjim]

I preheat my ingots to just before melting in a cast iron pot on a hotplate. This removes all moisture and the ingots are so hot that they do not cool the pot but a few degrees when you add the ingots to the casting pot.

[country gent]

Like almost all endeavors some safety equipment (PPE) and common sense goes a long way. Heavy clothes, leather shoes, safety glasses goggles or face shield, ball cap, gloves, maybe an apron.This equipment will give protection to most oooppps.The biggest thing is paying atterntion to what your doing at all times. WHen you get complacent is when the accidents happen.
Starting from a cold pot, preheating ingots, keeping the pot covered when needed, the PPE, and a well ventilated areas make for safe casting.

[hawkeye1]

Totally agree on the key is everything is kept moisture free as possible. I use a cheap hot plate from Wally World. I preheat ingots before going into the mix. Also put wheel weights on the plate, after sorting through first, before making into ingots. Don’t have to be melting hot, which my hot plate will do, but just pre heated to dry any residual moisture. I have never had an explosion and don’t want to. Welcome to the forum. There is such a wealth of information and experience here.

[Harter66]

Can't get to the scars just now .

This was dry , carefully hand sorted , jacketed and plated bullets . I had three 3 gallon buckets of what amounted to jacketed , soft , hard and a 5 gallon bucket of wheel weights stacked under the end of my bench . I lived in the desert west at 4,000 ft , humidity runs about 17-21% and average annual rain fall is something like 4" . It was late September and a loose 9mm found it's way into the jacket bucket sometime between my last sort over the 4th of July weekend and the cooling days of September when I dumped the new load on top of the layer of floating jackets . 80# of melt on the floor of the drive way , instant "redneck bedazzling" up to the roof , inside of the garage door , pants , and shirt . I have burn scars just under my jaw line , left elbow crook , inside of my left forearm and back of that hand .



I also ruined a great melt pot ..........

Stuff happens , we learn from it , and adjust our methods so it doesn't happen again .
Or
Stuff happens , we blame teachers and mentors, and continue to let the same stuff happen .

At the time I had a great gig salvaging range lead with backer boxes . I was doing 3-400 lbs a quarter and getting 300# of WW a yr . Not so much now .

[45DUDE]

Wow-^^^^^^^^^^-Thanks for posting that explosion.

[Recycled bullet]

That's really scary! I'm going to learn from that and be more careful.

[Sasquatch-1]

The most I have ever had go off in the pot is a stray .22 RF. Luckly, it was in a dry pot and a lid was on top, so all I got was a pop and a "What the Heck" moment.

[wilecoyote]

...to date I have yet to understand whether inside the pot I had put berm scrap lead containing inside some hollow nose a still live primer or simply water or humidity_
what is certain is that I repainted the kitchen, and all in all I didn't pay too much for the lesson, especially because, being without a mask, I was relatively far away, towards the open window_

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

SNIP>>>

what do you guys have to say about casdting I am hoping that i can make some new friends and we share our love of casting I TRULY LOVE Casting my own round 44 vcal. balls for my revolver

Trapper,
Welcome to the forum.
Casting your own projectiles is a satisfying hobby, that is plenty safe if you take the proper precautions. Judging from your post in another section, you have a lot of experience. I hope you are able to easily re-equip to once again, cast your own.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

...to date I have yet to understand whether inside the pot I had put berm scrap lead containing inside some hollow nose a still live primer or simply water or humidity_
what is certain is that I repainted the kitchen, and all in all I didn't pay too much for the lesson, especially because, being without a mask, I was relatively far away, towards the open window_

I had a visit from the tinsel fairy...and the culprit was a rogue live primer.