Range scrap and the Tinsel Fairy

[RG1911]

Just as I finished dumping another 5 or so pounds of range scrap into my smelting pot, there was a remarkably loud explosion and I found that I had been visited by the Tinsel Fairy. I'm assuming that something along the lines of a .22LR got caught in the scrap. (Now why an unfired cartridge would have been at the back berm is anyone's guess.)

Fortunately, I was wearing old clothes and glasses, so other than a couple small cuts on my face, there was no damage. And the splattered lead wiped off my glasses (plastic lenses, even) with no damage that I could find.

A relatively benign lesson to be very careful when scrounging range lead.

Richard

[labradigger1]

i dont like the tinsel fairy, she's awful mean. glad you are ok

[jhalcott]

Are you CERTAIN ther was NO water trapped in that range scrap?? I always sort out the range scrap, removing as much trash as possible before Loading it into my smelting pot. I try to dump every thing from the smelt pot before adding new. This allows the water (if any) to steam off before the liquid lead covers and traps the steam. YES, I have had a visit from the Tinsel Fairy.

[RoGrrr]

Not that I'm all that experienced with smelting but I draw my melt down so there's only about 1/8 inch of melt remaining in the pot. My valve limits the amount of remaining melt. I pour ingots until there is no more coming out, even if the last ingot is incomplete. Then I dump in more ore. As the bottom layers warm and melt, the stuff above them tend to shield me from MS Fairy. As it all warms, any remaining water/moisture boils off and reduces the chance of that excursion by said Devil Woman.
I've not had a shell go off since my method of washing/inspection of the ore allows me to remove trash as I wash it. Then I air clean/sort what's left - blowing away dirt, leaves, plastic shotgun wads, etc. I've found a couple loaded shells that had light primer strikes and then the frustrated shooter hurls it downrange.
Good luck keeping from having a repeat of your ignition.

[RG1911]

Are you CERTAIN ther was NO water trapped in that range scrap??
Although anything is possible, unless trapped water going off sounds exactly like a cartridge exploding, I'm pretty certain it was a cartridge. My ears were ringing for several hours.

I leave some melt in the pot to speed the melt of the newly-added scrap.

I'm going to solve the problem by simply avoiding range scrap. Not only is it very time- and labor-intensive, but I have more soft alloy than I'll live to use.

Cheers,
Richard

[runfiverun]

if it's super fast it was water, it takes a bit of time to pop off a round.
I fill my pots with a shovel and get the lid on as soon as the shovel is away.