Wooden Bench Top For Casting

[ArrowJ]

I bought a bench today for casting that has a wooden top. Should I cover it with tin or something for fire prevention?

[country gent]

I covered one bench top with aluminum roof flashing. looked good was a nice surface and dany thing round rolled right off. Things slid easy also. I would seal it with The clear bar top epoxy coating good and thick. I did some things with this 2 part clear finish. Its solvent heat resistant looks good and dosnt scrath marr easily when fully cured. I would wrap several layers of masking tape around edge tight and sealed one on inside to keep sticky away from finish. Mix enough to cover surface 1/32"-1/16" thick. and pour in to the area level and following intructions work air bubbles out with a propane tourch. Should make for a very hard durable surface. The drawback to bare wood is any molud blocks ladles or other hot casting equipment can scourch it.

[Big Dangle]

I use the top of a big crate STRYKER parts come in and same squares of plywood to even it out, works awesome splatters don't hurt it all. As far as fire restant I obviously don't have it on when I'm not there and when I Have hot tools or ingots I have a old pan I put them in because ingots will put heavy burn marks on wood.

[ArrowJ]

Pan sounds good. It is an old bench and not worth a lot of work. Maybe an old piece of tile would work for hot tools too.

[Blanket]

I cast on top of a bench made with 1 x 6 car sideing for about 30 years now. Has worked so far

[country gent]

A ceramic tile shouldwork fine as an insulator. WIfe used on for her hot melt glue gun with good results.

[BNE]

Pan sounds good. It is an old bench and not worth a lot of work. Maybe an old piece of tile would work for hot tools too.

This is what I do. It does save the burn marks on you bench top.

[OptimusPanda]

My casting table had a 5/8" plywood top and hasn't given me any trouble. I had planned to screw a thrift shop baking pan to it for safety but was impatient and started using it anyway. Hasn't been a problem, although, I am using a lee pot with an aluminum base and it sits above the table top anyway since its a bent piece.

[dikman]

The most you'll do is scorch it, normal casting processes shouldn't start a fire. If you're worried, just put another piece of thin board under where the hot bits will be, or a tile, old baking tray, sheet of metal or similar.

[rmark]

I lay a piece of cardboard on top of my table saw with some metal Christmas tin lids to hold dross and molds. Any ingot molds are set on a board on the floor to cool.

[Mk42gunner]

I smelt outside on the (mostly) gravel driveway.

I cast inside on a bench that I made from reclaimed 2x6's about fifteen years ago. Glued and screwed together, no finish, no problems.

In my opinion, it will be very difficult to ignite solid wood at ambient temperature with spilled lead.

Robert

[dikman]

In my opinion, it will be very difficult to ignite solid wood at ambient temperature with spilled lead.

Robert
I agree (actually, I'd say almost impossible). When I'm smelting, as soon as they harden I tip the ingots from the mold onto wooden boards. Over time the boards have got quite a few scorch marks on the wood, but that's all - and that's far more extreme than spilling a bit of lead while casting.

[David2011]

My bench is red oak veneered plywood finished with wipe on oil based MinWax polyurethane. For years I've cast on a galvanized steel garage floor drip pan about 25"x48". I was concerned that heat buildup might damage the polyurethane so I put a scrap of 1/2" sheetrock between the drip pan and the workbench top. Lead won't stick to the galvanized steel and the lip keeps boolits on the pan. It's also easy to clean up and not expensive at all, ~$12 at Wal-Mart.

David

[wadcutter]

Mine is covered with formica. Very tough, cheap and easy to clean.

[Murphy]

I built my bench anchored to the wall of my shop. It's made of 2x4's for legs and 6x8's for the top. To say it's sturdy is an understatement. I finished it off with a nice stain and poly finish. Of course I don't want it burned anywhere if possible. So when it came time for a casting session, I simply found me a clean piece of plywood and cut it to fit the area I would be using on the bench. I cut it a bit wider than I figured I would need in case of a accident. Also, just deep enough for an inch or so to hang over the front of the bench as well. When not in use, I simple lean it against a wall in the shop. It may not be the solution to your problem, but just an idea you may want to consider. It doesn't have to be all that thick, 1/4 inch decking worked just fine for my purpose.

Good luck,

Murphy

[runfiverun]

my main bench is pressed I dunno saw-dust? and glue.
it really doesn't scorch even with setting molds right on top of it, besides it's a bench for working on. [shrug]

I put a couple of shop rags down [in a 3 sided wooden frame] to dump boolits on and just return the sprue back to the pot.

[Petrol & Powder]

I used a piece of thin sheet metal (steel), probably 20ga but I don't recall. Used epoxy to glue it down to a plywood top. I cold blued the steel and trimmed the edges with 1" aluminum angle. The aluminum angle adds a lip to the edge so stuff doesn't roll off. It works pretty well.

[lightman]

I've cast for years on wooden and/or fiber surfaces with no problems. I do drop my finished bullets on an old towel and the cut off sprues on another towel. The base of the pot won't get hot enough to hurt the table. When smelting, my mold LZ is a steel bar, 1/2 X 6 about 6ft long. Makes a decent heat sink for ingots and ingot molds.

Now that I'm retired and have cleaned out my shop I'll be able to cast on my work table. The top is 1/4 inch steel plate on a 2X2 square tubing frame and legs. I'm thinking this will work good!

[sghart3578]

I have a workbench that has my Classic Turret press on it but I have to stand up for that. I always wanted a dedicated reloading/casting table. I wanted something table height so I could sit down for long reloading/casting/gun cleaning sessions. Being frugal I looked on Craigslist for an old solid core door. Scored one for $10. I cut it down to the size I wanted and attached legs, etc.

I didn't treat the surface with anything. I cast hundreds and hundreds of bullets on it with no problems.

[Mal Paso]

My bench is Red Oak with a replaceable Cedar mold rest block. There is a strip of foil between the rest block and the pot for drips, that's the only metal protection. Arm rest on the front is the reason I built it.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I use this on all my benches reloading and casting http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboard-Tempered-Panel-Common-3-16-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-0-155-in-x-47-7-in-x-95-7-in-832780/202404545

[Drew P]

I had a piece of marble bathroom counter top laying in the yard so I placed that atop the low rent TV stand I'm using as the casing area and the stone works very well. Doesn't care about anything hot that's for sure.

Remnant pieces of stone are free at the countertop shop.

[NavyVet1959]

Having you casting area on a piece of metal with a lip around it is nice to have if you ever spill lead or your bottom pour pot springs a leak when you step off for "just a couple of minutes". I used to use a baking pan, but after soldering my pot to the baking pan, I determined that probably wasn't the best solution. Sure, it contained all 20 lbs of lead, but it was one large solidified mass that extended off the casting pot stand and then eventually under it. Lately, I've been using a side panel off an old tower desktop PC. One of the ones from back when PCs were large and the metal was thick. I orient it so that the lip is in the front, so if I spill something, hopefully it won't run over the front edge towards me. It's about 2 ft deep and as wide as a double kitchen sink.

[MOA]

I bought a bench today for casting that has a wooden top. Should I cover it with tin or something for fire prevention?


I went to Home Depot, and got some galvanized sheets and screwed them down to the top of the casting bench.

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Hand%20loading/20141023_144256_zpselsqqgzg.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Hand%20loading/20141023_144256_zpselsqqgzg.jpg.html)

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab136/nitroexpress450400/Hand%20loading/20141023_154329_zpszqtcmdus.jpg (http://s857.photobucket.com/user/nitroexpress450400/media/Hand%20loading/20141023_154329_zpszqtcmdus.jpg.html)

[GONRA]

GONRA sez - like MOA, my younger son and I cast boolits "outside" so it won't smell up the house.
Use a small (expendable) wood table, on an outside concrete walk, right outside our back porch.
Use a HEAVY DUTY extension cord on an outside circuit that I can easily deal with if a breaker trips.
(Hasn't yet, don't expect it to either.)
Couple days ago cast 177 9mm Lyman 356402's in 35 degree Fahrenheit weather Just Fine..
Whole setup Verks Great for us....

[Le Loup Solitaire]

An ordinary sheet of aluminum of any significant size....for example 18 inches x 24 inches or perhaps more and 1/8th of an inch thick will provide an adequate work area and good protection for whatever you are using for a bench. Even if you spill molten alloy on it or drop a hot ingot on it, the aluminum acts as a heat sink and carries the heat away in all directions so that there is no burning/scorching underneath. No lead will stick to it and it also can be wiped clean with ease. Sheet aluminum is fairly economical so even a bigger size won't break the bank. Suggest dulling the corners and edges with a file for safety reasons when handling. LLS

[edadmartin]

my bench for casting is small 30 x 36" and I covered it in a patchwork of left over cement (hardyboard) from a couple bathroom re makes. I like the idea of a metal drip edge though in case of minor spills.got to think about that ,maybe a piece of metal roof flashing.

[NavyVet1959]

my bench for casting is small 30 x 36" and I covered it in a patchwork of left over cement (hardyboard) from a couple bathroom re makes. I like the idea of a metal drip edge though in case of minor spills.got to think about that ,maybe a piece of metal roof flashing.

I tested the Hardyboard once to see how fireproof it might be. I set up a oxy-acetylene cutting torch and tried to burn through it. I manged to get it to glow a bit, but it still looked structurally sound after it cooled down. I then decided that it was worth putting on my house when the siding needed replacing.

You could put some angle iron around the edge to make the Hardyboard act as a drip pan.

On the other hand, you can probably find a piece of plate steel cheaper than the equivalent size aluminum and then you could easily weld the angle iron edge to it.

Whereas a sheet of aluminum or steel is going to act as a large heat sink for a spilled pot of lead, something like ceramic tile, stone, or Hardyplank is going to act as an insulator between the molten lead and the wood of the table. Ideally, having both would probably be better.

I would just go to the local scrap metal yard and see what they hand and design around what I could find.

[Spruce]

My bench is cheap, simple and portable. It consists of 2 foldable sawbucks, a 2ft. by 4ft. by 3/4" precut plywood from home box store and galvanized garage drip pan.

Thrift store cake pans and towels catch the boolits and thrift store something catches the sprues.