Lead Use And Dangers Of Lead in Casting

[Plumdog]

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

"The Tinsel Fairy" ha ha! I had a visit as well, but it was not boolit casting that lead to it (no pun intended). When I was pouring a lead and oakum cast iron soil pipe joint, I did not realize that water had risen inside the bottom pipe while I was waiting for the pot to heat. I won't forget the "pop" it made, nor the sight of lead burning holes in paper-backed insulation all over the walls and ceiling. Luckily I was dressed in heavy Carhardt bibs and had glasses and gloves. Did not get burned!
Be careful melting range lead because of pockets in deformed bullets containing water droplets, as mentioned above.

[bimus]

Casting with my son in the shade under a tree on the grass with the Lee pot when a large green grasshopper fell in from above it emptied the pot.

[35 Rem]

I've only had one incident with molten lead blasting out of the pot. I was melting some pure lead cable sheathing after pulling all the electrical wires out of it. The sheath was maybe 1.25 inches in diameter. I had folded it over and flattened it with a hammer so I could get more of it in the pot at once. This was stuff I had got from the scrap yard that had been stored outside so it had moisture inside. Well, when folded and flattened like that, I had created multiple small volume closed chambers with moisture inside. Once I got going I was adding these pieces into molten metal as I never let the pot go dry so it would melt faster. As it melted I was going back out of the garage to beat more lead flat on the tailgate of my truck. Thankfully I was out there when I heard an odd sound on the loading bench. The 20lb pot pretty much emptied itself instantly all over the wall and bench. That's when I stopped using goggles and bought a full face shield just for bullet casting. Also started cutting that sheathing lengthwise to open it up to dry!

[muskeg13]

I ladle cast, use a long-handled stainless steel spoon for skimming and fluxing and flux with Marvelux. I have to brush off the Marvelux white residue from the ladle and spoon and be careful when introducing a cold ladle or spoon into the molten alloy. Marvelux residue is hydroscopic (absorbs water from the air) and cold steel ladles and spoons create condensation. Always wear a long sleeve cotton shirt, hat with a bill, safety glasses and leather gloves. Don't get lazy or you'll eventually get burned by splatter.

[BJung]

I honestly love casting. First, I get the lead for free and don't mind cleaning and separating the JHP for the hardcast lead. I even wash out the wood backstop debri and dirt and recently cast 40lbs of that lead as sinkers for my fisherman brother. Then, I save money from buying most bullets so I can use my money to buy primers and powder. I like experimenting with the lead alloys I recover like JHP lead, .22lr lead, and pellet lead.

Casting has its dangers. When I was HS, I was casting diving weights for my brothers using the metal shop furnace. I filled a pipe with a plate welded to the bottom with wheel weights and placed it in the furnace. Another guy started helping me place the weights into a drum of water. One hot day I started to removed my safety gear from the apron to the shield. Meanwhile the other guy was dipping the tool I used to remove debri into water. I moved too fast grabbing the tool and inserted the - still wet - into the molten metal. The water instantly turned into steam and forced all the lead over it (20lbs worth) through the pipe and hitting the shop ceiling. I was looking directly over the pipe, hearing the sound, I closed my eyes and turned quick but still caught lead. The burn was hot and dry. I felt classmates pulling me over to the water tank and splashing water in my face. At the hospitall they, were pulling the dead skin and cutting it, then cutting the skin that melted over my eyelids. Fortunately, my eyelids protected my eyeballs.

50 years later I took up casting bullets. You think I'd learn from my last experience. I was more cautious and wore glasses that's all. One day, the lead I cleaned looked dry so I thought I'd give it a try and cast ingots. Nope, the darn stuff spat up lead. So now, I just let the lead dry for a month or more to dry.

Then there is the fumes and lead debri. Rainy days are casting days for me. The wind blows the fumes away. I wash and rinse the floor, take a shower, and was my cloths thoroughly.
I don't think lead is as dangerous as the public claims. Just don't breath the fumes and eat it. Leave your area clean. Those that want to warn me are told about the mercury demo in Science class when I was young. Remember when the science teacher use to drop some mercury in our hands?! What about our fillings of lead and mercury. Those sound more dangerous to me. Look at us bullet casters. I'm okay. How about the rest of you?

[Winger Ed.]

I try to be careful, but every once in awhile, I lapse.

A couple years ago, I was rocking along just fine. I got done with a session, and was cleaning up.
I had little sprue chips & the splatters from filling molds all over the place.
I turn and drop into a bucket of water, so the floor is a little wet.........

My 20 pound Pro-Melt was about 3/4 full. I unplugged it, swept the floor, and without thinking,
dumped the dust pan back into the pot.

It, and about another 5-6 pounds of Lead jumped right back up out of there. Most of it is still stuck on the shop ceiling.
It Lead plated my jacket, I had some burns on my hand, and a big drop went down into my shoe.

My safety glasses looked like the mirrored sun glasses Beaufort T. Justice wore in "Smokie and the Bandit".