Magnum Shot, Arsenic, and smelting

[rhouser]

I am new to your forum and this is my first post. I am new to casting. I have been looking at the various ways to take my collection of metals and alloy them into casting metal at the hardness I want. I have the guides that can be downloaded from your sight and another.

Question: I have a small supply of Lawrance Magnum shot (maybe 200 lbs). I see that I could add this shot to increase antimony in a mix. This shot also contains arsenic. Is there a danger of my poisoning myself with arsenic if I melt this stuff into my metal? (I smelt and cast outside only).

May be a dumb question, but, better asked than guess wrong.

Thanks in advance.

rc

[bumpo628]

No, it won't be a problem. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation whenever you melt anything. Keep in mind that at proper casting temperatures, you won't be vaporizing the lead or any of the alloying materials. If you're smelting wheel weights, then it will smell like a tire fire. Other impurities and your flux will smoke and burn too, so good ventilation is always needed. Get a thermometer so you can keep an eye on the temps. You can get one for as little as $25 delivered.

I have an alloy calculator you can use (get the 3/29/11 version):
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105952

Here's the thermometer:
http://www.kck.com/tel-tru_grill_smoker_thermometer.html
Scroll down to the part no. BBQ-TT-200-5-200/1000
The price is $18.95 + $6 shipping Fast shipping and they accept Paypal.

[rhouser]

BUMPO628, thanks for your help. I cast outside so the general smoke and smell arn't too much of an issue. I just didn't want to kill the squirrels, rabbits, dogs, or neighbors with some sort of arsenic cloud.

Also, I don't want to make some sort of arsenic bullet by accident, because, I may be eating the game from around it if all goes well. :)

Thanks again
rc

[jsizemore]

That's just a trace of arsenic in your shot. It's used primarily to increase the surface tension of the lead so the shot is round. It also hardens the shot. Try not to eat too much and you should be fine. If I could set it out to kill tree rats the world would be a better place. As it is I have to noticeably increase it's velocity to have any telling effect. Good Luck

[shotman]

rhouser check your PM