The Tinsile Fairy visited today!!

[Knarley]

Just a reminder to all you good little Boys & Girls out there. Wearing glasses is a GOOD thing. I'm really, REALLY glad I had mine on today.

Knarley

[koehlerrk]

Oh lovely, glad you're okay. Personally, I use a full face shield, my wife likes my face as is...

[rsrocket1]

$4
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/70x70/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_20303.jpg
http://www.harborfreight.com/face-shield-with-flip-up-visor-96542.html

After several casting sessions I've seen little splashes of lead on my face shield as well as on my long sleeve denim shirt, jeans and gloves. While I haven't had a big splash, I'm glad i wear these things because even small lead splashes are painful and annoying. I certainly wouldn't want one on my face or in my eyes.

[wistlepig1]

Glade you are ok, casing isn't without dangers but they sure can be controlled. face shields, gloves, aprons and so on.

[bangerjim]

So people can learn from you mistake, please tell us what and how it happened. The Faerie can hide in many places and take on numerous forms!

Sharing IS learning.

banger

[country gent]

Knarley, Hope your okay no burns or other injuries? The Tinsel fairy is a heatless visitor sometimes a little pop or gurgle but other times a big boom and splat. Ive had some small pops over the years but saftey glasses an heavy clothing saved me. Never has a big one personally. I was in the plant when the one furnace went ( some joker threw a bottled water in with some aluminum scrap. I encased in a coating of metal and the water turned to stem throwing aluminum ( alot of it) up to the rook and around die cast area. Several things can be done to stop this. Pre heat ingots to 300* or a little more for 1/2 hour 45 mins. this boils of turns water to steam removing it. Alway start with a empty pot bringing lead to tem and alowing moisture to cook of as metal melts. Add ingots very slowly into mix preheating on pot while casting if possible. Use known dry ingots or lead scrap.. on range recovered scrap or fine pieces in large containers you will be surprised how long it holds moisture at the bottoms. AGAIN Knarley Hope your okay and no burns or other injuries.

[Knarley]

No burns worth mentioning, I'm a welder by trade so a couple small blisters don't get me too excited. My glasses stopped what might have been a problem tho.
I'm leaning toward a primer got tossed in, there was no water involved. My own fault.
When one gets complacent.................

Knarley

[w5pv]

Primer will cause tinsel fairies in a big way,I had one but was lucky that I had laid a mold across the pot and it got most of the splatter but there was still enough to get a spot or two on my face and several splashes on my glasses.Just be careful and pay attention to what is going on.I picked the primer up with some lead splatter from normal operation on the table and don't know how the primer got on the table unless it was with some floor sweepings and was a primer that I failed to locate after being dropped.

[lightman]

Thanks for posting. Yeah, we can get complacent. I don't wear as much PPE as some do. Blue jeans over leather boots. Long sleeve FR shirt, safety glasses and leather gloves. Large ventelation fan when smelting. And always conscious of moisture. Glad you were not injured.

[mdi]

Yep, safety glasses at a minimum! I've worked with metal and as a mechanic most of my life so eye protection was drummed into my head early, and I wear Rx glasses so I'm fortunate to very rarely forget to don my prescription safety glasses. Once a few years ago, I was casting and accidentally dropped my ladle into the melt. I got a small splash, wee, tiny splash, but, I noticed a small spot on my glasses, about .025" in diameter, directly in front of my right pupil. Without glasses, I would have had a tiny drop of molten lead burn through the lens and prolly blind me...:oops:

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`m thinking that either I`m living a `charmed life` as far as not having a `tinsel fairy` ever visit me, or I`m super careful about what I put in a pot to smelt. Closest I`ve come to having a fairy visit was some `mumbling` in the pot while smelting old lead water pipes, ONLY ONCE! That pipe had set cut up in my shop for close to 2 years before I smelted it. Must have been some moisture in there someplace?Robert

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I got some on my fore head right above my eye a long time ago when I was just starting to "fool with casting" well I don't fool around anymore, no permanent scar just an inconvenience but it could have been worse, I wasn't wearing safety glasses! I know stupid right?

[Freightman]

Got a 9mm in the smelting pot , glad I had a face shield on and a heavy lid on the pot. That is the danger of range scrap more careful now.

[EDK]

The tinsel fairy is a hateful little b****! She will kick your rear end in a heart beat. You can tell a fellow caster by little splotches of lead on his work shoes, jacket and other gear. The brother had his new doctor ask how long he had been casting boolits..."I see by your outfit that you are a boolit caster."

[dondiego]

I`m thinking that either I`m living a `charmed life` as far as not having a `tinsel fairy` ever visit me, or I`m super careful about what I put in a pot to smelt. Closest I`ve come to having a fairy visit was some `mumbling` in the pot while smelting old lead water pipes, ONLY ONCE! That pipe had set cut up in my shop for close to 2 years before I smelted it. Must have been some moisture in there someplace?Robert

I had the same problem with smelting lead pipe. It had been in my dry barn for over year. I think that it was either trapped water or, I have also found gobs of the Chinese lady bugs over wintering in large congregations in various crevices around the barn. They like dark places as in lead pipe tunnels!