Can you recommend gloves for casting?

[youngwilliam]

I have had to have some digits removed from my left hand and do not have to much dexterity. I am looking for gloves that are supple, heat resistant, and can be modified to fit my hand. I used to wear a thin cowhide, but boy do the burn through quick with a hot boolit.
If you have any links would be appreciated.

[Shiloh]

I had some leather BBQ gloves that worked good against heat from heat and splatter,
but the trade off is they were bulky and not very supple.

I found these combo work gloves at both Menard's and Fleet Farm that are leather with heavy cloth the fit the bill. I would imagine they have the same type or similar in your neck of the woods.
There HAVE to be ranch and farm related big box stores in your area. With farming, ranching,
and rough necking in your area there has to be something.

Welcome to the forum and best of luck with your hand procedure. Gotta be the berries to loose
digits, or anything for that matter.

Shiloh

[Wal']

Try your local Fire Station, the fire gloves they use are quite supple & heat resistant.

Usually thrown away & replaced after each fire call, we have a box of used gloves at our station for anyone to use.

They work fine for my casting. :-D



:castmine:

[gofastman]

http://ironclad.com/heat-resistant

[snuffy]

I don't USUALLY wear gloves while casting. If I do, I use TIG welding gloves. They're much thinner and much more supple than ordinary welding gloves. Go to a welding supply house, they'll have some.

[Spector]

I like to use woven Kevlar gloves a friend gave me. They offer very good feel and ability to handle molds and hot boolits in the palm of my hand for examination. Occasionally a small lead spatter of molten lead gets through, but it is so small it simply stings for a split second and then is of no more consequence. Never even a red spot on my hand or an inclination to jerk the glove off. The pair I have are very good at handling heat including wiping off molten lead from mold blocks. I do not know the brand name. The friend who gave them to me works HVAC,

Mike

[captaint]

I started out wearing the thick heavy gloves. Last couple years I just use the thinner models. They were throwing out a boatload of "handball" gloves at work, so I grabbed a bunch. Haven't considered using anything else since. They're great. We can't hold hot molds & boolits all day, but we don't need to either. I'm happy. Thin leather & tight fit. enjoy Mike

[runfiverun]

my gloves usually end up covered in duct tape.
the palm, the tip/middle of the pointy finger, and the bottom of the middle finger is where the wear spots are.
at least on the right hand, the left glove is almost never worn.

[herbie]

i just use welder gloves i found on ebay for $5 brand new. they work great

[mpmarty]

I use elkhide gloves. thin and comfortable.

[doctorggg]

I use OVE gloves purchased on flea bay. They are kevlar woven cloth and very flexible. Good for up to 450*. Still too thick to pick up an individual boolit. Also about $16 per glove. Beats the heavy duty welder gloves I purchased at Tractor Supply for $40.00.

[44man]

I have been casting for over 65 years, started with sinkers when a kid.
I never had a need for gloves or special anything. Cast in a "T" shirt most of the time until it gets cold. Never been burned. I never make a mess, no splatter. I do not touch hot boolits. I do not touch anything hot. I do not spray lead.

[Jack Stanley]

Years ago when running a cold chamber casting maching I learned to use reasonably thick cotton . The right one gets used while casting , the left while fluxing .

Jack

[Echo]

Cheap leather gloves from Costco. Three-pack for a reasonable price (been so long I don't remember). Holding a 250-gr boolit for more than a couple seconds will definitely cause some discomfort(!), so I don't do it.

[375RUGER]

welders gloves from harbor freight

[btroj]

Gloves? For casting? Why?

Unless you are opening the sprue plate by hand I don't see a need for gloves.

[Jal5]

I use some old leather work gloves the kind you can buy at any Farm and Fleet type store. I open mold sprue by hand and other than some hot spots that develop over time they are good. Not a lot of dexterity but I can pick up a single boolit with them on.

[Leadmelter]

Welding gloves. Covers the forearms. Harbor Freight.
Used mine for the first time and had no burns and better motion.
Good Luck
Gerry
MI

[Springfield]

I guess I am sloppy but every once in a while I get splatter. I also use Ove Gloves and I can pick up bullets if they aren't too small. I work with my hands for a living so I can't afford to get burned badly, wearing gloves is a no-brainer for me. I've never had a splatter hit me in the glasses either but I still wear them.

[ShooterAZ]

Cotton Jersey gloves work for me. Leather gloves are too thick for my liking...A long sleeve shirt and cotton gloves is what I use.

[geargnasher]

Gloves? For casting? Why?

Unless you are opening the sprue plate by hand I don't see a need for gloves.

My thoughts as well, but I do cut the sprue by hand and also "feel" the mould blocks together when closing the mould. I use a cheap, Wells-Lamont leather generic work glove for this. Why? So I can shake it off fast if it gets too hot! Notice regular welding gloves don't fit tight on the wrists? You WANT to be able to shuck them fast if the heat does go through accidentally.

I did use TiG gloves once, but the lead oxide that builds up on the fingertips ruins them for welding because it contaminates the rod, plus I got a nasty burn from accidentally grabbing a hot ingot and not being able to get them off fast enough.

If I run a Lee six-cavity mould with the cam handle, I don't wear gloves at all.

Gear

[geargnasher]

I have had to have some digits removed from my left hand and do not have to much dexterity. I am looking for gloves that are supple, heat resistant, and can be modified to fit my hand. I used to wear a thin cowhide, but boy do the burn through quick with a hot boolit.
If you have any links would be appreciated.

You'll have to come up with what works best for you. The idea is to not touch anything hot deliberately, unless you handle the sprue plate like I do. The main concern I think would be lead splash, and it doesn't take much insulation to protect from that provided you can get them off in a hurry. Wooden handles rarely get too hot to comfortably work with bare-handed. I have a good friend who lost a pinkie finger and his wife cuts off that finger on all of his gloves and stitches it shut because it's really a hazard to have an empty appendage hanging off your hand when working with hot metal and power tools. Frustrating for me, when I visit him and help with projects, I can't borrow his gloves and never seem to remember to bring my own ten-digit set.

Gear

[**oneshot**]

I just use cheap leather gloves from harborfreight

I break out the insulated leathers for smelting only because my laddle gets hot and I seem to splatter more making ingots

[HARRYMPOPE]

Gloves? For casting? Why?

Unless you are opening the sprue plate by hand I don't see a need for gloves.


I agree.

George

[DRNurse1]

Try Tractor Supply or your local welding supply shop. I got a great deal last year on two pair of long cuffed weldiing gloves and a pair of padded leather work golves for $20. Put one set of the welding gloves with my smelting kit, one with my franklin stove and I use the left had padded one for casting.

[youngwilliam]

I'll get out and take a look around at tractor supply and so forth.
Thanks again for the suggestions

[MikeS]

I'll add my vote for the Uve-Glove. I have an older pair from before they added the little silicone dots to make picking up small things (like boolits) easier. I probably don't need to wear both of them while casting, but I also open the sprue plate by hand (rather than using a stick or mallet), and I figure with my luck, I'll grab for something with the wrong hand, and get a nice burn for my trouble, so I wear both when casting so I don't need to worry about this.

[cbrick]

I can tell you what doesn't work. A few years ago while in Lowes I was looking at gloves and found a pair of pig skin goves, tried them on and wow they were comfortable. Bought them even though they were more than twice the price of my mormal leather gloves. Next time casting I tried them. Unbeleivable the heat transfer through them, it was much like wearing no gloves at all. I open the sprue plate with my right hand and raised a blister on my right palm with the very first cast. Yikes.

I saved them and wore them for some yard work, wore holes through all the fingers the very first morning. Yep they were comfortable, supple and useless. Pigskin may be great for footballs but it ain't worth a hoot for gloves.

Rick

[midnight]

The best gloves I ever used were Nomex gloves that race drivers wear. Two big problems with them. They cost a fortune (over $100) and since I open the sprue plate by hand, I wore a hole in the left thumb on about the third casting session. Now I just wear those leather gloves I get free from a guy who works operating heavy equipment. His employer passes them out like candy. They work fine but are kind of klutzy. I'll try my Tractor Supply. The welding gloves sound good.

Bob

[skeet1]

For years I never wore gloves but I had learned recently that using a gloved hand to open the sprue plate works very well. Because I wanted to try this out I put on a pair of regular leather work gloves and they are fine for this job. they are thin and very flexible and as long as you don't hold the mould in your hand for any length of time they are adequate for protection against any burns from light spills and short contact with hot moulds.

Ken

[mold maker]

Getting burned while casting is kinda like the tinsel fairy. You either have or you haven't,,, YET.
Gloves aren't the total answer, but in the mean time they can keep you from frying your bacon.
i wear a good pair of welding gloves, not the cheap thin junk. with in reason, you can handle molds and hot ingots, on purpose.
Seared skin will ruin a casting session for over a week. Gloves are a necessary inconvenience.

[montana_charlie]

I use elkhide gloves. thin and comfortable.
Me, too ...

[bigjason6]

How about a pair of flash gloves that fire fighters wear?

[popper]

Just the medium $ leather rom the HW store.. I open sprue by hand and don't like the dripomatic splashes on the hand. Gives ma a few seconds of protection if I mess up something.

[frkelly74]

Ove Gloves, you can dump your mold right in the palm of your hand and not get burnt. I no longer use a mallet on my molds at all. They are great!

[prs]

When I were goves for casting it is when I use the type of moulds with metal spru plates and no handle. I have elk hide and goat hide gloves, either of which are tough, but supple enough for doing fine work. Same gloves I use for grouse hunting in the thorns.

prs

[DRNurse1]

Ove Gloves, you can dump your mold right in the palm of your hand and not get burnt. I no longer use a mallet on my molds at all. They are great!

Is there a problem with using a mallet of which I am unaware. I am careful with my leather headed mallet and have not ---yet--- had a problem I can identify. It might slow me down a bit but I do not open my sprue plate by hand so I have no way to compare.

Also, for you 'hand moulders,' do you use single , double or larger gang moulds?

Thanks in advance for your insight.

[frkelly74]

1, 2, and 6 gang molds. I use my fingers to open the sprue , place the sprue cutoff back into the melt and then to close the mold again and make sure it is all lined up. I think I get fewer rejects this way. It is my personal preference and keeps my hands warm in cooler weather. I really do not like to beat on molds with anything.

[obssd1958]

Roofing gloves - heavy cotton back, rubberized fingers and palm. I open the sprue on 1, 2, and 4 cavity moulds by gloved hand, and these gloves last me for a year or more before the right hand thumb wears through. I buy them at the roofing supply store, but I suspect you can get them at the big box building supply stores, too.


Don

[montana_charlie]

" ... • Nomex Gloves - Cheaper and better rated than the much-vaunted Ove Glove, however, are these Kevlar gloves (which come as a pair) for $31.99 at Amazon. These have extra-long cuffs that cover your forearms - nice for grilling or doing especially dangerous frying. ... "

http://www.thekitchn.com/good-question-looking-for-long-46797

[MikeS]

Charlie, thanks for that link. My Ove gloves are the older ones that look more like the ones in that link (the lower ones) and don't have the silicone. I wanted to get another pair of gloves, but didn't really care for the silicone spots.

[quasi]

if you have no gloves on and no apron on you have no safety factor for when you make a mistake.

[MikeS]

Oh well, just went back to the link Charlie supplied, and unlike the picture in the article when finally landing on the Amazon page to buy them, they too, just like the Ove-Glove have silicone 'grippers'. I ended up buying another pair of Ove-Gloves. They come packaged 1 glove to a package, but Amazon had a special two pack deal, so it's functionally the same as getting a single pair of gloves. They were $19.00 for the pair with $7.00 shipping, not a bad price to pay for them.

[Bagdadjoe]

I hold the mold in my left hand to cast, ungloved and wear an ordinary lightweight leather glove on the right to pull the sprue cutter with. I use a bottom pour mold and have had no issures with getting burned. I'm carefull about putting sprues back in the pot. I have a very large cafeteria stirring spoon I put them in and then dip them back in the pot when I get several. Of course, I'm careful about picking up freshly cast bullets, hot ones look just like cold ones.
The gloves I use are like the "trucker's" gloves but without the wristband just in case I need to get it off quick. I also have a set of the big welders gloves, gauntlet style for melting a big pot for ingotizing. That part scares me.

[montana_charlie]

Oh well, just went back to the link Charlie supplied, and unlike the picture in the article when finally landing on the Amazon page to buy them, they too, just like the Ove-Glove have silicone 'grippers'.
The link I posted was to a page that simply has information about gloves.
If you search Amazon for 'nomex gloves' you get this http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_5?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=nomex%20gloves&sprefix=nomex,garden,397&rh=n:1055398%2Ck%3Anomex%20gloves&ajr=2
There is quite a few different varieties available.

But, if you want a glove rated for 600 degrees, check this one ...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CFBAOY/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0012PQ70Y&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13KTW7YPEETHP5XCJTR7

CM

[Leadmelter]

I found a fairiers (?) apron on ebay. When I stand it covers me to my mid calf. I am 6'2" ( not bragging) and it covers a fair amount of my frontage and jewels. I use a office chair that I can move in a hurry. Hat and glasses always. I tried a face shield but I hated it.
Gerry
MI

[casterofboolits]

I use leather work gloves with a long cuff that covers most of my forearm on my left hand and no glove or a light weight glove on my right as I use a mallet to open the sprues. I cast with eight cavity H&Gs in series and you are not going to open these by hand when you go back to the first one. I also series cast with three four cavity moulds H&G, Saeco and Lyman. I use a 6 oz mallet for the four cavity and a 12 oz for the eight cavity. Glooves and a shop apron are a must for me.

I don't touch anything hot even with a glove and I close the mould with the bottom of the mallet handle. If I want to inspect a hot boolit, I use a large pair of tweezers.

[Iron Mike Golf]

Right hand welder glove from Harbor Freight. Now picking up a boolit or piece of sprue is a challenge. I usually use a spoon for that, though.

[fredj338]

Any leather glove is better than no glove, bare skin & molten lead are a bad combo. So even the thin mechanices leather gloves work fine. I am not moving 400deg ingots around much by hand.

[45-70 Chevroner]

My son gave me some gloves he got when he worked for a copper mine. They are made of Kevlar with a leather palm they are very comfortable and I really like them for casting. I think they could be modified just by taping the fingers back. Sorry to hear about the loss of the fingers. You might go on line and just type in Kevlar Gloves.

[rodsvet]

I use mechanics gloves from harbor freight. On sale often and made fairly well.

[Bigslug]

Pops and I have been using something called an "Ov Glove" - basically a thick, heat resistant, woven oven glove. Works great for keeping the heat out, and allows for OK dexterity. You won't be able to thread needles, but they handle most casting related issues fine.

[lead-1]

I tried welding gloves but now I only use them when I smelt, for casting I use mechanix style glove a leather palm. I tried a pair of wells lamant mechanic style gloves and opened the sprues by hand and they wore thru in only five or six casting sessions.
You know when they develop a hole, lol.

[Shuz]

The gloves I've used for years are leather, made by the Steel Grip company, and they are known as "Fireman's Gloves". Lots of protection from heat and large welders type gauntlet. I've been using the same pair for over 20 years.