Newbie here

[backon4]

I’ve been interested in casting for a while and had been hesitant but after a year of videos and reading I went and hung out with a member here who showed me the process from casting to powder coating. I had a great time and he instilled a lot of knowledge in a short period of time. I came home and have been piecing together my starting gear ever since. I bought my first molds, sizing does, and a bottom pour pot new. And, after a trip to the flea market I now have a cast iron pot, ladle, and corn muffin pan for processing my lead. I already have a few turkey friers at my disposal so all I have left to find is a thermometer and to pick up some new filters for my respirator. If anyone has a suggestion on a less expensive thermometer I’m all ears.


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[Hickok]

Hello and good to have you!

[Rcmaveric]

Good start and welcome aboard.

[JBinMN]

Welcome aboard!
:)

Here is a very reasonably priced digital thermometer from Midway:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018278089/lyman-digital-lead-thermometer

G'Luck!
:)

[toallmy]

Very good beginning + welcome aboard

[backon4]

Thank you for the link. I went ahead and ordered one.


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[zymguy]

I went ahead and ordered one.



your learning FAST lol

[lightman]

Welcome Aboard! Having a mentor flattens out the learning curve. Looking forward to hearing about your progress.

[popper]

new filters for my respirator for what? Gloves, hat & eye protection. Turn on the turkey fryer and walk away. paper mask for PC. Steel muffin pans. Turn off the gas when skimming dirty WW and pouring ingots. You an see when it's liquid.

[fast ronnie]

Welcome. Just poured ingots myself on Saturday. I'm looking to find the hooks I bought right now to cast some fishing lures, then on to the good stuff.

[RogerDat]

Welcome to the money pit :-)
Lead melts at a much lower temperature than it becomes a vapor at. Should not need a respirator. Lead sprays explosively if something wet goes under molten lead so face shield is a good thing at least when making ingots. Safety glasses at least for casting bullets.

[Tom W.]

Oh, And wear cotton clothes in case some lead splatters on you. You'll be better off believing than finding out the hard way....

[Biggin]

Hi I'm still kinda new myself welcome to to the obsession!

[LenH]

And down the rabbit hole you go. Welcome to the madness.

I'm glad you had someone show you the ropes. I had a mentor over 45 years ago and he is gone now but I still remember most of what he taught me, some good and some
not so good. I found out tons of info here and picked up a bunch of useful things that he never knew himself.

[Dragonheart]

Welcome to the money pit :-)
Lead melts at a much lower temperature than it becomes a vapor at. Should not need a respirator. Lead sprays explosively if something wet goes under molten lead so face shield is a good thing at least when making ingots. Safety glasses at least for casting bullets.

Sorry, not picking on you, but as a long time certified Federal/State lead Risk Assessor I really wish to dispel this myth. When you are heating lead, Yes, a lead furnace or a smelting pot is not going to vaporize lead as they typically do not get hot enough. However, lead does not have to vaporize to be carried in the air, inhaled, ingested or be deposited on your surroundings. Unless you have a completely clean pot and 100% pure metals and not introducing anything else into the pot there are going to be contaminates in you mix that can vaporize at very low temperatures. Wax for example. If you can see it and if you can smell it you most definitely have vapors. These vapors can and do carry hazards into the environment including lead. Smelting is probably the worst as the mix typically has the greatest and most unknown amount contaminates.

Just because you breathe out dosaen't mean what you breathed in is gone. I wear a full face North respirator with vapor/HEPA cartridges when I smelt. Call me a wimp, but this old Texas Redneck is aware of the danger and has seen first hand the results. My smelting pot is a bottom pour so my ingots are as clean as I can make them. I usually do not wear a respirator when I cast, but but my pot sets behind a 48" fan, which is exhausting to the exterior.
I also realize my whole casting area is highly contaminated with lead dust and it is strictly off limits to children and pets. I also realize that this lead dust can be tracked into clean areas and could poison a child or pet. If you have small children or grand kids do yourself a favor and understand the hazards of handling lead.

[RogerDat]

My blood lead levels are low enough that they would only be a problem if I was a rather small child of around 4 years of age. It was higher but the level came down as I took steps to manage the dust from brass, specifically the primer residue. Reduced my exposure to that and levels dropped without changes to my casting and smelting operation.

I have no doubt that one should expect some lead contamination in a smelting area so keeping children and pets clear of it is prudent. Dogs & cats lick themselves so that is a concern and small children are more susceptible to leads toxic effects. Wax vaporizes at a much lower temperature than lead the fact that I can smell the wax doesn't follow that lead vapor is in with it. Oil of cloves would vaporize if poured on warm lead that isn't giving off any significant lead vapor.

Don't get me wrong, if someone wants to wear a respirator it is their choice. I'm not going to cast that choice in a negative light. I don't think it is necessary, lead oxide (white dust) on lead and primer residue dust are the significant risks for an adult. Decent mask or dust abatement actions (damp/wet brass polishing) should handle that and most lead won't be covered in white lead oxide. Good idea to have an air flow established that moves air from you toward pot so any smoke and such goes away from you not toward you.

I wouldn't use a respirator but I always use a face shield and gloves. Safety glasses when reloading. So safety matters to me but the data points I have to work with indicate respirator isn't necessary.

[David2011]

I "smelt" outdoors and stay upwind of the pot. Casting is done indoors with leather welding gloves, cotton long pants and long sleeve shirt, wraparound safety glasses, baseball cap and a leather welder's apron and reasonable but not aggressive ventilation. The welding leather is very inexpensive at Harbor Freight. It's not commercial grade but good enough for casting.

Dirty wheelweights can be pretty noxious but once cleaned up I am not at all concerned about casting indoors.

[RogerDat]

Main thing with dirty wheel weights isn't the lead it is the folks that chew and spit in the convenient bucket, the cigarette butts, used Kleenex, rags covered in lord knows what and I don't want to etc. I go through more nitrile gloves sorting WW's than any other activity.

The paint and plastics covering WW's does add a certain ambience to the experience, if stink in cheese adds ambience then why wouldn't stink add it when smelting?

[pworley1]

Welcome!

[Dragonheart]

If anyone feels completely safe in your processes and does not wish to take precautions, I am not the lead police.

But realize a fact, unprotected painters, steel workers, bridge workers, etc. etc. were and still are having severe cases of lead poisoning due to torching and blasting lead paint. So how is the lead getting into their system? They are breathing in the lead molecules along with all those wonderful odors.

Due to body mass a child is much more susceptible to lead poisoning and the damage much more severe, in many cases permanent. It takes a surprisingly small amount of lead to poison an adult and a lot less to poison a child. The real problem is the lead dust remains in the casting and smelting areas and is easily transported into clean areas where children may play. My point is recognize a hazard before it becomes a problem.