Interesting Reloading Room thought

[1_Ogre]

This happened to me recently so though I'd pass it on:
My shop/reloading/casting area is a 10x16 shed that's shrinking everyday. I recently had an idea hit me in the head and tried it, and you might think about doing the same.
In my shop, I cast, reload, and do gun work which entails a lot of filing and grinding. I started getting my 2 functioning brain cells working and did this. On the top of my casting pots, I put a white piece of cloth and forgot about it for a few weeks. I went back and found that with all the gun work, the metal particles from grinding and filing were going airborne and falling who knows where, but definately into the casting pot. I replaced the white cloth on my casting pot, then covered the entire thing (after it had cooled of course) with a cut up plastic tarp like the ones we get from Harbor Freight and used a few ingots of lead to hold it down. Three weeks later, I did the same check and NO IRON FILINGS. I have always done this on my reloading equipment (Dillon Presses) with their press covers but NEVER thought about the lead pot. Now I also give my exposed lead a good washing the day before I cast to get any contamanants off the lead.
If you are filing or grinding and the metal particles go airborne and into your pot, when you cast these particles can and will imbed into the lead and guess what, your running steel down the bore, and that ain't good.
Just my two cents on something that I've never thought about before, but suddenly it makes sense.
Thanks for reading and feel free for comments like "You idiot, why didn't you do that before lol "

[tazman]

Covering your other equipment when grinding is always a good idea. As far as the steel dust getting into your boolits during the casting process, it won't happen.
Iron doesn't melt at lead casting temperatures and is much lighter than lead so it floats. If you skim your pot before casting, all the iron bits will be removed.
The only way iron could be transferred to the mold is if you use a dipper and don't clean off the dross when the lead melts. If you use a bottom pour pot all the iron will be on the top of the lead and would never be poured into a mold.

[myg30]

Morning all, I keep my press, reloading area clean and sometimes covered but with a large cloth of some sort. I'm afraid of any plastic because of static. I'm inside and upstairs so my room is on the dry side most of the year.
I also make it a routine to discharge any static if any when I sit at my reloading bench after walking across the carpet. Never hurts to be to careful around gun powder.
My bottom pour is in the garage and gets dirty from everything but I always stir and skim and put fresh saw dust on top to keep oxidation down every session.

Be safe, Mike

[1_Ogre]

Taz: Thanks for the comments and they are all true. But remember there are a lot of newbies here that don't know to skim the top and they drain it to the bottom. That's what that was for and hope they read and head or they'll be ruining a good barrel. Thanks again

[1_Ogre]

Mike: Thanks for the response. I guess I'm kinda lucky about static because here in FL we get so much rain and the humidity helps keep static down, but good idea, wish I'd have thought about the static aspect before I did my post

[myg30]

It's mainly a winter issue here because of forced hot air heating but I always follow same rule.
In 5 yrs if we relocate to the Pan Handle I'll change my routine and stock up on silica bags !
A Dehumidifier instead of a/c maybe ? It's all good. Hard to think of everyone's different climates and seasons of hot n cold weather.
Good post either way. Firearm preservation utmost important ! Our grandkids safety !

Mike

[Bored1]

Pillowcases that SWMBO deems unworthy of normal use make excellent gear covers!!!!

[bangerjim]

Iron & steel float on molten lead. One should always reduce and skim their casting pots.

Covering your tools and equipment is always a good suggestion and practice. My surface grinder set-up can chuck out a lot of "stuff". I use those 8x12 magnetic hobby sheets as a surround/safety barrier and most of the fine stuff sticks to those and you can easily wipe them down with a cloth.

banger

[tazman]

Iron & steel float on molten lead. One should always reduce and skim their casting pots.

Covering your tools and equipment is always a good suggestion and practice. My surface grinder set-up can chuck out a lot of "stuff". I use those 8x12 magnetic hobby sheets as a surround/safety barrier and most of the fine stuff sticks to those and you can easily wipe them down with a cloth.

banger

I never thought of that. God idea.

[1_Ogre]

Iron & steel float on molten lead. One should always reduce and skim their casting pots.

Covering your tools and equipment is always a good suggestion and practice. My surface grinder set-up can chuck out a lot of "stuff". I use those 8x12 magnetic hobby sheets as a surround/safety barrier and most of the fine stuff sticks to those and you can easily wipe them down with a cloth.

banger

Good idea on the magnetic sheets, didn't even enter my mind, THANKS

[1_Ogre]

If your relocating to the Pan Handle, I will assume that's FLORIDA? Go with the a/c or the dehumidifier will toast itself in short order, the humidity here in FL is terrible, I've lived here most all of my life

[pjames32]

Brings back memories about 40 years ago when I decided to sell custom cast boolits. I had the 8'X16' shed set up for casting and had about 10,000 lubed boolits sitting in tubs to be boxed and sold. My Dad visited from Iowa and my wife gave him a couple of woodworking projects. I was at work and he decided my heated building was a good place for him to sand an oak table. Needless to say my lubed boolits in open tubs really liked the oak sawdust and it stuck to every one of them. I thought I would have to remelt and recast all of them. I decided to discount and sell them with a warning that your rounds would have a fine burnt oak odor when fired. No one complained :)
PJ

[bangerjim]

Brings back memories about 40 years ago when I decided to sell custom cast boolits. I had the 8'X16' shed set up for casting and had about 10,000 lubed boolits sitting in tubs to be boxed and sold. My Dad visited from Iowa and my wife gave him a couple of woodworking projects. I was at work and he decided my heated building was a good place for him to sand an oak table. Needless to say my lubed boolits in open tubs really liked the oak sawdust and it stuck to every one of them. I thought I would have to remelt and recast all of them. I decided to discount and sell them with a warning that your rounds would have a fine burnt oak odor when fired. No one complained :)
PJ

Dust/dirt: just another reason to use PC.

Glad your problem was fruitful.......and the wife enjoyed that table!!!!!!! :drinks:

[pjames32]

Banger-yes the wife enjoyed the table. It came from an iowa farm auction. PC was not even thought about back then! Sorry to hijack the thread.
PJ

[Wayne Smith]

When the boys moved out I didn't lose a son, I gained a reloading/gun room! It's now all upstairs in AC.

[DeputyDog25]

Covering your other equipment when grinding is always a good idea. As far as the steel dust getting into your boolits during the casting process, it won't happen.
Iron doesn't melt at lead casting temperatures and is much lighter than lead so it floats. If you skim your pot before casting, all the iron bits will be removed.
The only way iron could be transferred to the mold is if you use a dipper and don't clean off the dross when the lead melts. If you use a bottom pour pot all the iron will be on the top of the lead and would never be poured into a mold.

+1 on this one, I concur, iron will not melt with you lead and if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, skimming the dross, no problem at all. I do however agree with you that covering your equipment and pots is always a good idea to keep out whatever may be floating around.