Casting bullets in a subdivision

[mrcvs]

I've wanted to cast bullets for a LONG time and now am running critically low.

I live in a neighborhood, lot size 0.27 acre, too many left leaning neighbors. I don't like answering questions; when I go to the range I sneak my guns in the car.

I have four 5 gallon buckets of lead wheel weights. From these, I need to make ingots and then cast. I need to buy a turkey fryer but have everything else.

I have a wife whose olfactory senses are superb and can smell anything off.

What are my options? I really cannot do this outside because of prying neighbors and really cannot do inside because of smell even in the basement, or so I believe. Also, for safety reasons I would prefer to cast outside.

Any thoughts or ideas? The solution, of course, is a property with land, but that's a costly proposition around these parts.

Living in suburbia just plain stinks!

[nvbirdman]

If you lived near me, I'd tell you to bring your crap over here some weekend. Do you have any shooting friends that live a bit outside the city?

[poppy42]

Easy. Sort and clean your wheel weights remove anything other than the wheel weights. Smelts on a breezy day. Use a little wax and sawdust for flux. Little bit of practice it smell any worse than a bad barbecue. I do it all the time

[la5676]

Do you have a garage? It works great there for me when I lived on a similar lot, but even now, on 5 acres, I still utilize the garage. Odor there are are not as noticable and you can always open the door to air out. My two pesos.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

First, Don't even think of smelting WW inside, that will be extremely dangerous.

Does your neighborhood have a HOA? If not, I wouldn't worry about the neighbors. They will probably not even have a clue as to what you are doing...If they come over and ask, you can always tell them you are doing a recycling project for the Boy Scouts or something. Have you smelted WW before? There are tricks to keep the smoke and smell down.

[roadie]

Maybe you could trade your buckets of wheel weights for ready to use ingots. Wouldn't be a straight across deal, but it would save you the hassle of smelting.

[djryan13]

I live half mile east of downtown Austin... 0.018 acre. I cast in garage with door wide open. I have had neighbors tell me my guns kill people. F’ them. Just cast away. None of their business.

[BNE]

Smelt outside.

Cast in a garage if you have one. (Door open or have a duct with a fan.)

Most neighbors won’t bother to ask. We should not be afraid to enjoy our freedoms.

This advice is worth everything you paid for it!

BNE.

[Dusty Bannister]

If you are going to be smelting those COWW and making ingots, you could consider some Wood shavings from mesquite or other smoking wood. And for flux, you might lay some bacon on the melt surface that can cook and burn down. You will need to dispose of the clips and dross, but that could go with the trash I suppose, if you do not care to put it in containers and drop off at a recycle place.

Early mornings will probably work better for you than afternoons or evenings when more folks are out.

[Huskerguy]

I am in the process of melting several 5 gallon buckets of range lead and it stinks like crazy. The last two days have been extremely windy which helps keep the smoke away but carries quite a ways down the street. I live on a corner lot with a fenced in area so people can't see it but some kids were walking by and made comments about the smell.

You might consider, if you have such a thing, I have a portable air purifier and put it in front of the drifting smoke. You could also BBQ at the same time or burn some wood in a pit. With a turkey frier, 5 gallons won't take very long.

[onelight]

I don't worry about it . It is not illegal or immoral .
I have cast on patios and in garages in subdivisions .

[JM7.7x58]

Smaller batches will mean less smoke. Bacon fat gives off a different smell than candle wax gives off. More like cooking meat. Always have a plumbers torch handy to light off your flux, way less smoke when it flames up.

Sneak up on it! Try five pounds. If you get away with that then keep going. I smelt in town. Older neighborhood. No one says anything. I smelt about 30 to 40 pounds at a time.

JM

[Drew P]

Tell them you make “fishing weights”. Nobody will ever suspect a thing, since most fishermen don’t come back with fish anyway.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I used to do it in the back yard right at dusk , I would get it all set up in the evening then start the pot melting as it got dark have some sort of light and I used a scrap board that I would put some water on , do not dump ingots till they are firm , I would sit mold on damp board till they solidified then tip over on another damp piece of scrap lumber , yes it will smell if that is a problem I would go to woods away from peoples prying eyes and melt where no one smells or sees it , I live in town still and I melt in my backyard now in daylight or dark , it is my yard and I do try to not have a smoke screen going , but most time it is about the same as sitting around the fire pit , which I do on occasion .

[Rcmaveric]

I live in an apartment in urban Jacksonville, Fl. I melt the wheel weights in the parking lot. Makes for nice conversational peice with kids and neighbors. If the kids want to watch I tell them to get their parents and stay 25 yards away and upwind. Got the cops called on me once (twice but only once for lead). I was doing a sulfur experiment and some reported I was I cooking meth. Had a nice conversation with cops. Made rocket motor fuel by accident and burnt a hole in the pavement (apartments doesnt need to know that was me).

If you are worried about neighbors, I am the only nationality and only republican in my complex. When curiosity gets the best of people we dont talk politics. We talk science and prepping. Plus it is totally legal what you are doing. Neighbors can whine and complain but that's its.

As far as smell, as long as you aren't fluxing with motor oil or sulfur it isnt bad. Hardly noticable. Talk to the wife about a trial run. Worse case scenario find an abandoned parking lot. I have 2 abandoned parking lots near my house and one is kind of secluded. Cops can show up and investigate the strange guy cooking stinky stuff. All they can do is ask you to leave or stop.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[sigep1764]

If you're in STL, you can come on over to my place. Got a turkey fryer, propane, and muffin tins.

[Winger Ed.]

Do all the smoky/stinking stuff outside and late at night during the times of year everybody has their doors & windows closed.

[rcslotcar]

I used to use a couple of sheets of drywall set up at angles just outside my garage door. This blocked neighbors from being able see what I was doing. The only time I was concerned was when smoke came up from fluxing. You don't need to answer nosy questions unless you want to.

[PNW_Steve]

Probably best to keep the neighbors in the dark.

I had a buddy over doing some reloading in the garage. One of my most liberal neighbors approached my buddy when I was in the house and asked what we were doing. I had not warned him about her so he answered directly... 30 minutes later I had the EPD Bomb Squad in my house.

You may want to consider some kind of forced air ventilation. A while back I built something resembling a lamnar hood. I used ducting, duct fan and a carbon filter that I found at an indoor garden store. I had the 8" duct inlet was positioned about 6" behind the lead pot and exited the rear of the enclosure and attached to the fan. Then the fan outlet duct ran outside and was capped with a carbon filter.

It moved a lot of air, reduced the smell significantly and was fairly quiet.

[RydForLyf]

What about a nearby park for your smelting? As for smelting indoors, lots of people do it here and use ventilators. I'm sure you can figure something out.

[DocSavage]

Bit of a pain but washing the wheel weights with a power washer will help
With keeping the stink down. Buy a medium size plastic storage container drill some holes in the bottom throw in WW and clean them dirty water home down storm drain . Just make sure they're thoroughly dry before smelting.

[MrWolf]

Bunch of years back I had posted pics of my setup. Basically convertedca Weber grill to become my smelting station. Nice part of it was the grill cover had a built in thermometer but it also cut way back on the smoke and such. My Mrs Kravitz neighbor saw me and had no idea what I was doing. If she didnt notice, no one will. Good luck

[onelight]

DocSavage , did you get your name from the adventure book character ?
Your name gave me a flash back to when I was in grade school :grin:

[Beerd]

Assuming you shoot at an outdoor range, do your smelting there.
..

[mace2364]

When I lived in town I used to cast on the back deck-not quite as many prying eyes particularly if you have a fence. Also, you could just tell anyone who asks that you’re making fishing sinkers.

[RydForLyf]

When I lived in town I used to cast on the back deck-not quite as many prying eyes particularly if you have a fence. Also, you could just tell anyone who asks that you’re making fishing sinkers.

True, there are a lot of uses for lead other than projectiles. Go buy some sinkers to show off as examples of your work. :wink:

[cstrickland]

As others have stated if you have a garage that is your best bet. I would not personally smelt . cast or powdercoat indoors such as in house or basement, but that is me.
Unless you are a really high volume shooter I would actually suggest forgoing the turkey fryer for a smaller pan and smaller batches. You wont use all of the wheel weight ingots at once, and the wheel weights do not go bad sitting in those buckets either. I would get just a small 6qt or so stock pot from a local salvation army or other thrift store, along with a small propane stove , and do batches of 25-35 lbs at a time. It will take you a matter of about 45 minutes or so to smelt, flux and pour 25-35 pounds of wheel weights into ingot molds. The smell and other non desirable attribute would then be kept to a minimum. You could also do this early in the morning or late evening, and you should really be done before anyone really even notices.

also if you do small batches and really value anonymity , then the fishing sinker story some have suggested really plays well.

[Cast_outlaw]

Well I live in a subdivision, it’s an older one but, I smelt in my carport and was fluxing with bearing greas, switched to paraffin wax for both the naboors sake and mine. did not even get a single complaint, even had a conversations with the bylaw enforcements officer about it at the grocery store, so I think you will be fine. a single 5g pail will only take a few hours to do, so I wouldn’t worry, it’s not like you are doing 100gallons worth like I was, witch took many days. Oh and my areas is definitely more left leaning with a hint of redneck here and there

[lightman]

I have cast a lot of bullets in a garage. A small fan will move the smoke and no one will notice. Smelting will be a different proposition. More smoke and more noise. Do you have a fenced in yard and a porch or patio? How loud is your burner? Can you smelt at a friends house, the rifle range, your hunting club, a dead end timber company road, ect? Moving all of you smelting gear and lead will be lots of extra work.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Reminds me of the time I was sitting in the back yard making paper cartridges for my .54 muzzleloader. They looked like huge doobies! My neighbor just had to come over and ask. He loves to shoot so it only started a friendly conversation.

It sounds like your neighbors could use a little exposure to a sane gun owner. Just to contradict the BS their media feeds them.

[Shuz]

Living out in the sticks where I can't see my neighbors sure has it's advantages. You don't say where you live. I suggest that you might find some guy near you who would be glad to help you, I know I would!:drinks:

[DocSavage]

DocSavage , did you get your name from the adventure book character ?
Your name gave me a flash back to when I was in grade school :grin: Yes I did,I got hooked on the paper back reprints. Dying to see how the proposed Doc Savage movie with Dwayne Johnson will be.

[Burnt Fingers]

I live half mile east of downtown Austin... 0.018 acre. I cast in garage with door wide open. I have had neighbors tell me my guns kill people. F’ them. Just cast away. None of their business.

784 sq ft? Damn that's a small lot.

[Bantou]

Everybody that has seen me smelting just assumed I was cooking something. Then again, I live in a town of about 6000 people in rural Texas so nobody bats an eye when I tell them what I’m actually doing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[onelight]

Yes I did,I got hooked on the paper back reprints. Dying to see how the proposed Doc Savage movie with Dwayne Johnson will be.

My grandmother gave us a sack of books in the early to mid 60s and I got hooked on doc savage and Edgar Rice Burroughs books . I think I bought all I could find , when I had money in my pocket.

[blackthorn]

I started casting when we lived in a semi-upscale area in White Rock BC. I set up in my driveway and away I went. No complaints in the 8 years we lived there. That said, when I go shooting I load up the truck and go. Same with anything I do (like melting lead) as long as it is not illegal I make no effort to hide what I am doing. If the neighbors don't like it-----tough! I refuse to hide my head in shame or to placate some idiot Liberal! When we start to do that, we are (in effect) giving them power over us. Not me! YMMV

[Thumbcocker]

I have always smelted outside but have no problem casting inside. Clean alloy, cat litter on top of the alloy, no hotter than needed to cast.

[Dapaki]

We moved from a sub-division last year and we learned really fast to use camouflage for smelting and casting. An old Weber with Cowboy charcoal will melt the weights in a pot and also provide charcoal for the flux and smells a lot nicer than WW. Nosey neighbor asked why it smells bad, I said, "I cant barbecue!". He laughed and walked away.

Pulled the pot out and cast ingots behind the garbage can where no neighbors could see me. Be inventive!

[Dimner]

I've wanted to cast bullets for a LONG time and now am running critically low.

I live in a neighborhood, lot size 0.27 acre, too many left leaning neighbors. I don't like answering questions; when I go to the range I sneak my guns in the car.

I have four 5 gallon buckets of lead wheel weights. From these, I need to make ingots and then cast. I need to buy a turkey fryer but have everything else.

I have a wife whose olfactory senses are superb and can smell anything off.

What are my options? I really cannot do this outside because of prying neighbors and really cannot do inside because of smell even in the basement, or so I believe. Also, for safety reasons I would prefer to cast outside.

Any thoughts or ideas? The solution, of course, is a property with land, but that's a costly proposition around these parts.

Living in suburbia just plain stinks!

Do you have a garage? If so, get a blower to vent a tube out the garage and vent fumes. Or keep the door open, and put up a 3' waist high privacy tarp so they cannot see what you are doing.

Or just say you are melting down Lead for the Cub scouts pine wood derby or for sinkers for fishing.


Also. I gave up on appearances for neighbors. I rattle can painted my AR on a sunday in my front yard. No one even noticed. And I live right across from a school. I did not flaunt what I was doing, but it was where the sun was shining the brightest for a quick dry.

[Duckiller]

Do it in your back yard. Even in liberal, anti gun So California I can keep people out of my back yard. It is legal and it is no ones business what I do in my back yard. My neighbor keeps a SBH close at hand when he is in his garage.

[robg]

i enjoyed dr savage books as well

[country gent]

Check out the regulations with your HOA, township, or other controlling groups. Some have laws on burning / smoke and may limit them to certain times of the year or with a permit only. Melting lead while legal to do may be regulated in some areas under other regulations. Checking before hand may save headaches later. Depending on where you live and the area any for of molten metal may be looked on as a hazard.

Working inside a garage with the door open shields from view and may remove the open burning laws restrictions but the neighboor that complains about smoke will be listened too. Smelting lead down should be fine to do but ..........

Its a good thing to try and stay on even terms with neighbors and the various groups. One thing to also add is a working surface under the equipment so spills and such cant get to ground. A metal bucket for dross and clips. a surface for ingots Have a fire extinguisher close by. Be able to show your working in sage manner.

As said above If you are close my equipment and company would be available to you for use to help you out.

[onelight]

i enjoyed dr savage books as well
We have Doc Savage here now we need Monk & Ham !

[mrcvs]

Wow, lots of responses in such little time.

A few things. Grills were mentioned. Would it work that I just take my old grill and crank it up and put the lid down and wait for the lead to melt? If so, I imagine I then pick out the clips with an old spoon and then pour into my ingot mould? Also, how much protection do I need? Just leather gloves, gloves and some sort of leather sleeves, all of the aforementioned plus a leather apron, helmet? I wanted to get said supplies in order to blacksmith, but again, the subdivision problem...

My back yard is the worst in that it has a house directly behind it. I have trees planted, and they provide some shielding, but they are as old as the house is, or slightly younger, this being 8 years.

My garage has a 1917 Maxwell in it. I really don't want to have a problem and end up with "tinsel" on it, or worse yet, on my wife's car.

It sort of serves me right the predicament I'm in. My wife wanted a new house (I did not), and new houses, "pound for pound" were expensive. My wife grew up in a bunch of new houses, as her father liked them, and he came over here when it was being built and said "it's a bargain". I thought he might buy it outright for us. Didn't happen. At least I can sell it and get out from under it if I want to, but buying something with land is a bit more costly than what this place might bring. Or, if less, it needs a ton of work.

[Plate plinker]

I live half mile east of downtown Austin... 0.018 acre. I cast in garage with door wide open. I have had neighbors tell me my guns kill people. F’ them. Just cast away. None of their business.

Right on! Should tell them when the Crud hits the fan don't come begging for protection.

[Dapaki]

PPE is really according to your comfort level as I do plenty of bare hand casting but do have padded leather welding gauntlets for hot work too. I do wear a leather apron myself but I do that with any work I do from lathe work (wood and metal) to welding, grinding, reloading or casting.

The one thing I do recommend above all is NO SYNTHETICS, shirts, pants, shoes... Cotton is amazing! Leather is even better.

Yes, cowboy charcoal under the ash catcher and all around the pot, fill with lead and light it up, check from time to time, skim, flux, pour ingots.

I stole a spoon from my wife long ago and turned a wooden handle (long and skinny), ground the spoon handle down some and epoxied the spoon into the wood handle. 30 years or so, still working.

[higgins]

If your schedule allows, smelt during the middle of a weekday. Burn off the smoke when you add flux, which should be easily done with one of those long-snout fireplace lighters that allow you to keep a flame in the smoke; if you light it with a normal match the smoke flame will eventually go out and you won't be able to quickly relight it. If you or your neighbors have bushes around your lot, might help to wait till they leaf out. I also tried to smelt when the temperature (hot or cold) would dictate that the neighbors would have their windows closed. Also consider breeze direct if that might save some grief.

[mrcvs]

Socialism at it's best--my lovely subdivision!

Having said that, maybe someone with much more experience than I can determine what I can and cannot do.

I have a document entitled "Declaration of Protective Covenants". One part states the following: "NUISANCES: No noxious or offensive activity shall be carried on upon the Property, nor shall anything be done thereon which may be or may become an annoyance or nuisance in the neighborhood. No trash, garbage, metal, scrap or other waste may be placed or stored upon the Property, except in approved sanitary containers which may be placed outside only on scheduled collection days."

Now, is it perhaps this was in effect when homes were being sold and the builder did not want to give the appearance of anything that is not top notch? Who can enforce this, or is it even enforceable, if there is NO Home Owner's Association??? I only agreed to live here because there was no HOA, as awful as everything else is.

In any event, I leave my trash container in front of the garage and only roll it down to the road on trash day, and no one ever says anything. I did not even know this was in violation of anything. I guess I cannot urinate in the driveway anymore, LOL! That is probably noxious, but can be done discretely between vehicles or even in some bushes if no one is around... But I digress...

As I read further...and all homes have been sold out over here at a minimum of 5 years... "ENFORCEMENT: This Declaration shall be for the benefit of and may be enforced by each lot owner and homeowner within the Property. In addition, Grantor shall have the right but not the obligation, to enforce the provisions of this Declaration until such time that the Grantor has conveyed and transferred title to the last home in the community, at which time Grantor shall no longer have the right nor the obligation to enforce the provisions of this Declaration..."

So, it seems like I can do whatever I want to...but yet there are easements in this Declaration, and I don't see how that can be null and void. I cannot dig thorough an underground cable in order to install a swimming pool, for example.

But then, last paragraph "TERM: This Declaration and the covenants, restrictions, and agreements set forth herein shall run with the land and shall be binding upon each lot owner and such lot owner's successors and assigns, subject to the right of said owners to modify or terminate this Declaration in whole or part by agreement in writing of the owner's of at least 60% of the then current lot owners; provided, however, this Declaration may not be terminated or modified by said lot owners in any manner whatsoever until two years after the last home to be built on the Property by Grantor has been settled; and provided further, that the covenants, agreements and restrictions listed in the paragraph EASEMENTS and SIGHT DISTANCE AT INTERSECTION may not be modified or terminated without the consent of the Township."

SO, is anything still in effect, other than that which cannot be changed without the consent of the Township? Or is all of it in effect? If so, without a Homeowner's Association, who is there to enforce it?

STILL this does not solve the prying neighbors and their questions, just making fishing lures sounds good. Maybe I'll just be grilling.

This lot has no privacy, all the damn kids just run through my lot, parents even don't respect my boundary lines either.

Makes me want to put a "For Sale" sign in the yard, but my wife would protest.

[mrcvs]

If your schedule allows, smelt during the middle of a weekday. Burn off the smoke when you add flux, which should be easily done with one of those long-snout fireplace lighters that allow you to keep a flame in the smoke; if you light it with a normal match the smoke flame will eventually go out and you won't be able to quickly relight it. If you or your neighbors have bushes around your lot, might help to wait till they leaf out. I also tried to smelt when the temperature (hot or cold) would dictate that the neighbors would have their windows closed. Also consider breeze direct if that might save some grief.

My schedule is AWFUL, in fact the biggest drawback is not having weekday mornings free. Maybe when I burn leave at the end of the year. My awful schedule and no flexibility makes me really want to retire as soon as possible, but I have a minimum of just over 9 years left.

[Bantou]

Based on the enforcement section, it sounds like anybody that didn’t like it could take you to court to make you stop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mrcvs]

Based on the enforcement section, it sounds like anybody that didn’t like it could take you to court to make you stop.

Now that I re-read this, this is probably correct. But do courts even bother with such petty matters as these?

Yes, best I do this in the morning of a weekday when all these folks are running late for work and they race through the neighborhood in their BMW's, where their least concern is noxious odors.

[onelight]

I don't know how it works where you are but where I live the covenants are attached to the lot so more or less become like law but the HOA is who enforces them for most infringements .The only option they have besides being annoying Is to put a lean on the property and suspend your voting rights in HOA decisions until the problem is corrected a lean if not removed would be dealt with when the property sells . That is here , and the same in several subdivisions I have built on in this area.
So not a whole lot they can do .
But I want to be considerate of other people and pick a time to smelt when it is least likely to bother anyone .
My quantities are small at the most a 5 gal bucket at a time I have had no complaints and am glad I would like to get along with my neighbors but I am going to pursue my hobby .
If you can build a garden shed that is another option you might have . I have a shed on my list for this year that will be used for storage and casting.

[charlie b]

Have to check about the covenants. We have some here and they are enforced by the city code people. And they do enforce them, especially if someone complains about it.

It is up to you to not 'stink up' the neighborhood.

FWIW, most of the stink from cooking up wheel weights is the oil, rubber and grease that is on them. I used to wash them first, then melt. As stated above, I would suggest using wood sawdust as a flux. The smell is just like a fireplace.

[crackers]

... or don't smelt. I put range scrap into the pot, scrape off the jackets, and ladle pour - avoiding the industrial-sized headaches.

[Outpost75]

I flux my WWs with powdered charcoal, lard and hickory chips.

Neighbors think I am smoking BBQ. 8-)

[Finster101]

It's your place I'd do what I wanted. That said when you move (and you will) never ever, ever buy in an HOA community.

[Schreck5]

If you are anywhere close to KCMO, you are welcome to bring your lead over . I have everything else to smelt with.

[mrcvs]

It's your place I'd do what I wanted. That said when you move (and you will) never ever, ever buy in an HOA community.

BAD idea to buy in a neighborhood, even worse in one with an HOA.

I DEFINITELY DO NOT have an HOA, which tells me most of this document is bunk and cannot be enforced???

[mrcvs]

I...when you move (and you will)...

Now that's optimism!!!

[mrcvs]

If you are anywhere close to KCMO, you are welcome to bring your lead over . I have everything else to smelt with.

No, sorry, I'm in southeastern Pennsylvania.

[GSP7]

left leaning neighbors.

To bad you cant burn a pound or two of marijuana in a fire pit to cover the smelting smell.... snowflakes love that sheeit :Bright idea:
:guntootsmiley:

[NyFirefighter357]

It's your place I'd do what I wanted. That said when you move (and you will) never ever, ever buy in an HOA community.

This!

[Traffer]

My wife and I live in a 450 sq ft apartment in a 82 unit building (5 floors) I powder coat in the apt but not cast or smelt. I rent a storage unit that has a 110v outlet. I cast there and also fire up the small propane torch to smelt a bit there also.
One comment, Our world is so much like the communists now with all the policing by neighbors ...It is just disgusting.

[Land Owner]

Avoid tentative play. Your neighbors should be of no concern. Do your hobby where are you wish, but outside or extremely well ventilated. Not in the basement. Not in the house. You have every right and your nosy neighbors are just plain wrong. Neighbors like those you do not want to appease. Give them an inch they will take a mile. Stand your ground. You are doing nothing that is illegal. You have no reason to sneak around with your guns.

[Bantou]

Avoid tentative play. Your neighbors should be of no concern. Do your hobby where are you wish, but outside or extremely well ventilated. Not in the basement. Not in the house. You have every right and your nosy neighbors are just plain wrong. Neighbors like those you do not want to appease. Give them an inch they will take a mile. Stand your ground. You are doing nothing that is illegal. You have no reason to sneak around with your guns.

I’ll second this. The neighborhood gossip stopped by one day to chat about a break-in that happened a couple of blocks over. I informed her in no uncertain terms that if anyone was stupid enough to do that at my house when my wife or I were home, they would be in for a really bad day. She now gives me a wide berth which is just the way I like it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[murf205]

Wow, I didn't know how good I had it. I live in a subdivision and I am surrounded by hunters, fishermen ane other various rednecks that are envious of boolit casting and reloading skills. I hate the fact that you are hounded by nosy asholes that are so want to make you into a criminal. You are NOT, but the authorities might decide to side with them and cause you problems.

[Cast_outlaw]

As I understand it the covenants don’t mean much, as I have bee party to breaking them in multiple subdivisions, multiple times in each. I’m a roofer and they were not getting the aproved roofs and none had to be removed or had to be replaced one owner was taken to court and it lasted five min and the judge threw it out. I would not worry if you get a complaint just inform them you will be done shortly and won’t be doing this often odds are they won’t bother you. But also don’t volunteer information about what and why your are doing it if it becomes a problem I’m sure there is a member in your local club that would be willing to do it at his place

[h8dirt]

I can’t imagine a HOA covenant that says you can’t cast bullets; mine has nothing even close to that. And, I have neighbors that are gun loathing liberals, so I know how that can be. We all have our own lives to live ... and, a fella has to know his limits. I chose to live mine respectfully but never with my tail between my legs. Go cast your bullets and be a good neighbor while doing it. You might be surprised.

[country gent]

The township trustees and or zoning board in a area with out HOA can and will enforce if there is a complaint. While it may not be enforced it will result in court and that time off work. Its a big hassle to deal with

[h8dirt]

The township trustees and or zoning board in a area with out HOA can and will enforce if there is a complaint. While it may not be enforced it will result in court and that time off work. Its a big hassle to deal with
Like a friend of mine said, the only lawyer proof swimming pool is a parking lot. Feel free to be intimidated by it.

[GSP7]

Avoid tentative play. Your neighbors should be of no concern. Do your hobby where are you wish, but outside or extremely well ventilated. Not in the basement. Not in the house. You have every right and your nosy neighbors are just plain wrong. Neighbors like those you do not want to appease. Give them an inch they will take a mile. Stand your ground. You are doing nothing that is illegal. You have no reason to sneak around with your guns.

I concur

.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Wow, I didn't know how good I had it. I live in a subdivision and I am surrounded by hunters, fishermen ane other various rednecks that are envious of boolit casting and reloading skills. I hate the fact that you are hounded by nosy asholes that are so want to make you into a criminal. You are NOT, but the authorities might decide to side with them and cause you problems.
This is what my neighborhood is like. I smelt and cast, and the only one that notices is the retired prison guard across the street. He sees me in the garage, and comes over to talk about hunting. Nice bunch of people in my neighborhood.

[nvbirdman]

Go ahead and smelt. If anybody complains, you can take that opportunity to mention the number of people who think they have free access to trespass all over your private property.

[Drew P]

I think he wants to avoid them even knowing that he’s a “gun nut” more than just having to explain why he’s melting lead. He thinks he’s fooled them this long so why start down that path. I get it, not everyone is comfortable with people knowing what hobbies they have. Some people are just private. So move indoors, don’t smelt anything and keep your dirty little secret.

[Rcmaveric]

Lol I get not wanting to explain ones self. I have a number of hobbies that I cant hide. I have had to explain to the cops four times now that I am not growing marijuana in my aquaponics. Darn tomatoes get me in trouble every time. I like talking to people though so it doesnt bother me.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[flyingmonkey35]

I make lead soup. If any one ever asks.

However if you are really dead set on casting.

Your neighbors can go pound sand.

I do not live in fear of my neighbors.
I honestly don't give two figs what they think.

If they call the cops or fire department on you. Ask the responders if they are going to talk to or complaints. And if they do it repeatedly ask for a case number and state you want to file a harrassment claim on them.

As for kids cutting thru your yard.

A white picket fence. Or becoming the local grumpy old man you dont want to cross is always a choice.

But first and foremost DO NOT PISS OFF THE SPOUSE. She lives there as well.

You may just have to buy your ingots.

Ps you can also just smelt the ww in a lee drip-o-matic plug in pot. Add it slowly and you'll fill up a 20 pound pot faster then you think.





Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[murf205]

mrcvs, as I read this, I am reminded of the MANY times that I have seen on the big 3 news programs, a clip where they stated that someone was arrested for whatever reason and a "trove" of guns and ammunition were "found in the residence" and police "seized" them. Just how many guns are a trove and how many does it take to be illegal? How much ammo on hand is illegal to the point that police "seize" it? They would do a back flip if they saw some primers and powder. The fact that the news media runs these stories makes the lawful possession of these items illegal in a lot of ill informed people's minds. My point is, what ever you do, don't let this escalate to the point that they call the police. You could have your rights trampled by an unknowing LEO.

[Traffer]

When people got too curious with me I told them I was making a tiny nuclear devise. Then went into a bunch of double talk about scientific sounding stuff...just enough to make them think I MIGHT have been for real. Their eyes got big and they never asked me any more questions. hahahahah.

[lightman]

I didn't see where you addressed any of my suggestions. I see no reason why you could not cast in your garage. Open the door, set a box fan up near you and cast away. If you are worried about your cars then either move them out while you are casting or cover them up. A moving blanket, a tarp, ect.

Smelting is going to make more smoke and will be more noticeable. If you can't do it in your back yard look for alternative locations. It would be extra work to move all of your stuff but you may have to. Maybe you could use your hunting club, rifle range, a friends house, ect. I like the suggestion of the mini-storage building that another poster mentioned. A little expensive yeah, but you could leave your smelting stuff there.

[Plate plinker]

How about an abandoned property in Philly?

[gwpercle]

Do your fluxing with something that doesn't smoke and stink .
MARVELUX Non-Smoking , Non-fuming Oderless flux... every one on this site talks bad about it but it's a commercial flux and it will eliminate all your problems ...Glen E. Fryxell recommends it in his article on casting and fluxing ... just try it ... no flames , fumes, smoke or stink...what's not to like !
I use it and I LIKE it .
Gary

[Captain*Kirk]

It's one thing to tuck tail and run; it's another altogether to be discreet and not attract attention. As evidenced by another thread here about the Boy Scouts, snowflakes and progressives have become very emboldened by recent litigious success and will go looking for a fight. Yours would be a great place to start. Seeing as how you are smelting lead (a known EPA blacklist item and carcinogen) for the purpose of reloading (a nondescript terrorist activity) to use in your guns ( more terrorist activity) you are obviously an undesirable to the good progressives in your neighborhood and they could prove it to any good jury of your "peers" (who are probably all 2A haters) leaving you with the carnage, fines, and community service that goes with it.
It's none of their damn business but don't give them any stones to throw at you. You might be right, but anymore that's not all that matters. If you can't keep it discreet, then buy pre-cast ingots or precast boolits and enjoy your hobby.

[mrcvs]

Giving this some thought...

I think I will attempt this a weekday morning, which is precious time for me relative to work, but I can do it later in the year when I burn leave.

I don't like idle chit chat, not with neighbors, not with law enforcement.

My lead wheel weights are fortunately plenty clean. A donation from someone who had them in his back yard decades in the elements. Many gallons of rain poured upon them.

I'm going to pour ingots. I'm also going to get a toy soldier mold and make a few. If anyone says anything, I'm making toy soldiers.

If you make lead weights for fishing, well not sure even how fishing is received around these parts.

Not sure where the concept of a neighborhood came from, bit whoever created it ought to be shot.

[Duckdog]

Really, it is none of your neighbors business. I would not hide my gun from them, either. You're doing nothing illegal and definitely nothing immoral. Their gas grill spews more smoke when they grill greasy chicken than your casting pot, if you do it right. Do not give the libs one inch.

[mrcvs]

Really, it is none of your neighbors business. I would not hide my gun from them, either. You're doing nothing illegal and definitely nothing immoral. Their gas grill spews more smoke when they grill greasy chicken than your casting pot, if you do it right. Do not give the libs one inch.

I know it's not illegal nor immoral but I would rather no one know I am pro 2A around here and have guns. Besides, if folks know you have firearms, maybe thievery might occur--but I do have a burglar alarm I use religiously.

I do know I'm not ever the only firearms owner around. I've never seen anyone with a firearm at all but a close by neighbor actually committed suicide in the back yard with a firearm and he had one obviously. The tone around here when that occurred seemed like most are anti firearm but it could also have been the shock of such a sudden event.

[Starsizer]

I cast in my garage in the cooler months. Don’t do it everyday but when I do I cast several thousand. Keep the garage door down 2/3rds of the way. Open the man door leading out to the back patio and put a fan in front of it like was mentioned in another post. No one can see in. I don’t tell any neighbors What I’m doing. Been doing it for over 35 years. I also change my own oil, do brakes, minor car repairs to my 3 vehicles. No one in my neighborhood works on their own cars either.

[Cheeto303]

Tell them you make “fishing weights”. Nobody will ever suspect a thing, since most fishermen don’t come back with fish anyway.

Ditto, I only cast fishing weights and they say okay. It has never occurred to anybody that I don't own a fishin pole nor do they ever see me a goin fishin. When they have a fish fry and invite me I tell them "No thanks, I hate fish",which I truly do. I prefer my food to have hooves or feathers.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Let's leave the slap-happy partisan political statements out of this...feel free to post your angst filled posts in the PIT.

[gwpercle]

Giving this some thought...

I think I will attempt this a weekday morning, which is precious time for me relative to work, but I can do it later in the year when I burn leave.

I don't like idle chit chat, not with neighbors, not with law enforcement.

My lead wheel weights are fortunately plenty clean. A donation from someone who had them in his back yard decades in the elements. Many gallons of rain poured upon them.

I'm going to pour ingots. I'm also going to get a toy soldier mold and make a few. If anyone says anything, I'm making toy soldiers.

If you make lead weights for fishing, well not sure even how fishing is received around these parts.

Not sure where the concept of a neighborhood came from, bit whoever created it ought to be shot.

Please just try Marvelux for fluxing ...it doesn't smoke or stink . I use it for this reason and it really works .
Good luck...discrete is the word !
Gary

[Gtek]

Been rolling your predicament for a period. What about purchasing or build a really nice semi large smoker/grill unit. Up in morning and fire up smoker, get lead in pot, fire lead pot, place a couple racks of ribs on smoker, make smoke. Melt, clean, pour, check ribs, melt, clean, pour, check ribs, melt, clean, pour, okay done pouring, fire off, first adult beverage, check ribs, second adult beverage, clean up melt session, wash up real good, third adult beverage, check ribs, late afternoon inform the CO inside getting close, walk in full platter, next adult beverage, fill belly with ribs with reflection upon the victories created through day. Repeat as required!

[Conditor22]

My property is in a culdesac and is smaller than yours. I cast in the driveway. there is no law against smelting lead.

I do try to do it when kids are at school and most are at work.

You could try obscuring your smelting setup with your BBQ :bigsmyl2: or burning something fragrant in the BBQ

[Dimner]

Honestly, I cast in my home office. (don't tell anyone) :)

[meotai]

My property is in a culdesac and is smaller than yours. I cast in the driveway. there is no law against smelting lead.

I do try to do it when kids are at school and most are at work.

You could try obscuring your smelting setup with your BBQ :bigsmyl2: or burning something fragrant in the BBQ

Yup, I just throw an onion head on some charcoal. 8-)

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Heck, I was butchering sheep in my suburban back yard. Cast away!

A tall wooden fence is a handy thing to have.

[Hanzy4200]

When I started casting 10 + years ago, I lived in a apartment complex. My yard was 20'X20'. I just did my thing. Only contact was some neighbor kids coming to watch, fascinated by the molten lead. Never heard a negative word. When I hung a doe in the front yard however, the manager came to visit.

[Sig556r]

Gotta choose your battles. Once you're identified as the "gun guy who makes his own bullet" of the neighborhood, the stereotype & stigma lingers far more than you would want.
Pissing off nosy neighbors &/or over-bearing HOAs by proudly displaying your "hobby" can cause more harm than pride of standing your ground. Complaints, valid or not, may be on record & can/will picture you as undesirable, or worse, a threat. What they don't know wont hurt them nor you.
Its not about giving up your rights, its about being discreet & not help anyone build a case against you.
I cast in my garage with the roll-up raised halfway, side door wide open & an industrial fan facing the pot. I keep my flux aflame to minimize smoke. Paraffin smoke can be taken in a wrong way if not mitigated. Baking powder-coated bullets on the other hand is more tolerable. There's always a couple of vehicles parked in the driveway, so the half-opened garage door isn't that visible from the knuckle-sac as well.
Just my 2-cent, ymmv.

[Traffer]

Gotta choose your battles. Once you're identified as the "gun guy who makes his own bullet" of the neighborhood, the stereotype & stigma lingers far more than you would want.
Pissing off nosy neighbors &/or over-bearing HOAs by proudly displaying your "hobby" can cause more harm than pride of standing your ground. Complaints, valid or not, may be on record & can/will picture you as undesirable, or worse, a threat. What they don't know wont hurt them nor you.
Its not about giving up your rights, its about being discreet & not help anyone build a case against you.
I cast in my garage with the roll-up raised halfway, side door wide open & an industrial fan facing the pot. I keep my flux aflame to minimize smoke. Paraffin smoke can be taken in a wrong way if not mitigated. Baking powder-coated bullets on the other hand is more tolerable. There's always a couple of vehicles parked in the driveway, so the half-opened garage door isn't that visible from the knuckle-sac as well.
Just my 2-cent, ymmv.

Good sound advise.

[mrcvs]

Gotta choose your battles. Once you're identified as the "gun guy who makes his own bullet" of the neighborhood, the stereotype & stigma lingers far more than you would want.
Pissing off nosy neighbors &/or over-bearing HOAs by proudly displaying your "hobby" can cause more harm than pride of standing your ground. Complaints, valid or not, may be on record & can/will picture you as undesirable, or worse, a threat. What they don't know wont hurt them nor you.
Its not about giving up your rights, its about being discreet & not help anyone build a case against you.
I cast in my garage with the roll-up raised halfway, side door wide open & an industrial fan facing the pot. I keep my flux aflame to minimize smoke. Paraffin smoke can be taken in a wrong way if not mitigated. Baking powder-coated bullets on the other hand is more tolerable. There's always a couple of vehicles parked in the driveway, so the half-opened garage door isn't that visible from the knuckle-sac as well.
Just my 2-cent, ymmv.

Right! You explained better than I the original intent of this thread.

It's not about who is right. It's not even about if I am right. It's definitely not about me being right and casting smoke and offensive odors over the neighborhood.

It's all about doing this discreetly. I'm just the neighbor hardly anyone knows who is very quiet, keeps to himself, and is unlikely to cast bullets, let alone own firearms.

Let's keep it that way.

Will likely cast on the patio mid morning on a weekday, on a school day. Both neighbors in the house closest to me and behind the patio are teachers.

Long range plan: I need a place with a whole lot more land.

[kmw1954]

Have you got room to set up a yard shed?

[Winger Ed.]

Honestly, I cast in my home office. (don't tell anyone) :)

Dude, you are my new hero.

After the 2nd .45ACP cooked off in the oven 20 years ago, I can't even dry brass in the house.

You just beat out the neighbor that pulled the carpet back---
and did a full overhaul on a old Harley Davidson in his living room.

[mrcvs]

Have you got room to set up a yard shed?

The document detailing what I can and cannot do despite no HOA, does not allow for it.

Socialism, anybody?

[kmw1954]

Zow. Glad I am where I am at for sure. Our neighborhood was started as summer cottages by a lake after the end of WW2 and I am the 3rd newest family on this dead end street and I've been here now 21years. There are now 2 other families that have just moved in within this last year. The one house across from me is on their second generation owners. Thankfully I get along well with all my neighbors.

Hope you can work something out.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Having seen some folks darn near drag strangers walking past on the street to show their gun collection to, and then wonder why they were burglarized, and having had a family member who rather obviously thought that "tact" meant that someone had hammered tacks through you, into lumber, I tend to be pretty quiet. That said, to be afraid of fools, is folly; Outsmart them, it's not hard :)

[gwpercle]

Marvelux Flux
Wind Screen to shield activity , not so much to block the wind .
Have the smoker going, in front of the screen, with a brisket on it .
Brisket + long, low slow cooking = good smells and dinner .
Get creative...where there is a will... There is a way .

[onelight]

Well one good thing about using a smoker or a grill as a cover , if one of your neighbors gets a whiff of of a stick on wheel weight with a little rubber on it you won't have to worry about them showing up at dinner time with a plate and a fork.:grin:

[Wild Bill 7]

Go to your local grocery store and get some beef fat. Throw some on top of the wheel weights. If you get most of the stems and other stuff out first the best you can the fat will start melting and smell like a BBQ. Also another benefit is it helps with the fluxing. A couple years ago I did that and one of my neighbors came over and wanted to know what I was BBQing cause it smelled so good.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I like the suet or tallow beef fat idea I used bacon grease many years ago , worked and covered smell as I was doing it in a small backyard , only had one neighbor lean over one night to see what I was doing and he was not concerned about it .

[44Blam]

I live in a townhouse in So Cal. I cast on one of my balconies and there is no problem. There is an 8' wall between my blacony and my neighbors and if they are there on their balcony, I just keep everything quiet and don't flux as much.

[Springfield]

I like to smelt while it is raining, either in my garage or out on the covered deck. The rain takes care of the smoke and people tend not to be outside much, and certainly don't linger in front of my garage door. Use pine chips to flux, as they smell good, but bacon might work well too(: Don't dump a big batch of WW into a hot melt as it will smoke much more than WW slowly melting. I used to have a friend who had some property and it was no big deal. Nowadays I just buy cleaner scrap to melt. Casting itself is no big deal, no smoke or smell.

[mrcvs]

Update: I am on quarantine from work unexpectedly. So, this morning, I decided to take a stainless steel pot full of wheel weights and pulled out 90% of them, leafing about 3" of them in the bottom, spread out. I put this on my grill, hoping to obtain the 621.5 F melting point of lead. Nada! 15 min later, neighbors nosing about, and not even close to melting. So, mission aborted.

Thus, what turkey fryer is recommended, as there are a variety on amazon.com?

The end result was, I think, heat until melting, flux when necessary with sawdust, as the melt, take spoon with holes in it and skim off the top the wheel weight brackets and any other debris, pour relatively pure mixture remaining into Lyman moulds. Does that sound about right?

[Hickory]

I flux my WWs with powdered charcoal, lard and hickory chips.

Neighbors think I am smoking BBQ. 8-)

Beautiful, absolutely love it.

[blackthorn]

Over time, I collect the odd bits of scrap lead i.e. Reclaimed shot, pick-up cast (used) bullets and jacketed along with the odd battery-cable end, bits of lead sheathing, etc. I have a small SS pot, about the size of a pet-food bowl. When the bowl is about 3/4 full, I use an ordinary single-burner hot plate to melt the whole thing down. It can take awhile but it does melt the scrap. I have basically quit accumulating more bulk lead as I am 81 and have at least a ton of alloy components on hand. Shooting opportunities are somewhat limited so I have enough. Now, this may not help, but the point is there is always a way to work around a problem.

[Traffer]

Update: I am on quarantine from work unexpectedly. So, this morning, I decided to take a stainless steel pot full of wheel weights and pulled out 90% of them, leafing about 3" of them in the bottom, spread out. I put this on my grill, hoping to obtain the 621.5 F melting point of lead. Nada! 15 min later, neighbors nosing about, and not even close to melting. So, mission aborted.

Thus, what turkey fryer is recommended, as there are a variety on amazon.com?

The end result was, I think, heat until melting, flux when necessary with sawdust, as the melt, take spoon with holes in it and skim off the top the wheel weight brackets and any other debris, pour relatively pure mixture remaining into Lyman moulds. Does that sound about right?

If you have a covered grill it will get hot enough but it will take a while.

[fredj338]

Casting is no big deal, I used to do it on my apt balcony. Smelting though, yeah it can be very smoky & smelly. Consider swapping for ingots, something like 1.5-1 ratio for the persons time. Flat rate USPS is the way to do that or face to face with someone local. Austin, oh yeah I bet you get some calls from the neighbors!

[fredj338]

Update: I am on quarantine from work unexpectedly. So, this morning, I decided to take a stainless steel pot full of wheel weights and pulled out 90% of them, leafing about 3" of them in the bottom, spread out. I put this on my grill, hoping to obtain the 621.5 F melting point of lead. Nada! 15 min later, neighbors nosing about, and not even close to melting. So, mission aborted.

Thus, what turkey fryer is recommended, as there are a variety on amazon.com?

The end result was, I think, heat until melting, flux when necessary with sawdust, as the melt, take spoon with holes in it and skim off the top the wheel weight brackets and any other debris, pour relatively pure mixture remaining into Lyman moulds. Does that sound about right?
You need like 30,000btu. Some camp stoves will do that too. You can also get an open top elec from lee 20# for like $60. The elec pot might be a better condo/apt tool.

[gwpercle]

Order a Bayou Classic SP-1 Jet Cooker @ 105,000 Btuh it will take care of all your smelting , crawfish and crab boiling and turkey frying needs . It gets an 82 quart pot filled with water boiling in about 20 mins . The word to look for is " JET" Bayou Classic makes a SP-2 Double Jet that puts out 210,000 Btuh if you feel the need heat .
Gary

[Scrounge]

I live half mile east of downtown Austin... 0.018 acre. I cast in garage with door wide open. I have had neighbors tell me my guns kill people. F’ them. Just cast away. None of their business.

Just tell them Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than your guns. Unless they happen to know that isn't actually true.

[Casper29]

My wife gives me her sense wax when she is done to use as flux, it smells real pretty.

[wch]

Take everything to your shooting ranges and cast there, you'll likely pick up a couple of "acolytes" while you're there and you can then inveigle them into your hobby.

[wch]

Take everything to your shooting range and cast there, you'll likely pick up a couple of "acolytes" while you're casting and you can then inveigle them into your hobby.

[Rcmaveric]

My wife gives me her sense wax when she is done to use as flux, it smells real pretty.I steal my wife's smelly good T light candles. Her mom is in party light and sends her a case quarterly. I always beet her to the box and steal what I like for fluxing. Stuff works amazing. Plus the pleasant aroma therapy while casting or reclaiming.

I some times swear there is something majicle in it that makes a good alloy.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[tmanbuckhunter]

I cant imagine living in fear of my neighbors. I open my garage doors, throw on some music, and get to work. It's none of their business, and if they're walking up my driveway asking what I'm doing they're going to get informed very quickly they're trespassing. So far I've never heard a complaint, never had anyone ask, and probably won't. I'm also usually that guy that will glare at you from the garage if I see you walking down the street and glance this way, so who knows. All the motorcycle stuff going on at my house likely helps with that too.

[Mr_Sheesh]

You never know, someone might walk up and say "Casting! Excellent! Want the 1200# of lead I won't be using as I just can't do it any more?" Friend had that happen, from an old semi cranky guy he thought was anti-gun (but who was just very quiet about it, so as to not be harassed.)

[high standard 40]

I live in a subdivision, which at one time I swore to never do. It's a somewhat rural area and my lot size is one acre. I have a solid board fence enclosing most of my yard that is 6-8 feet tall. There is an HOA but it is rather lenient. Most of my neighbors have and use open burn piles for yard waste. I have rendered COWW into ingots and I cast bullets in my storage room without any issues. I'm lucky, I guess.

[richhodg66]

I live way out in the sticks, can't see any neighbors, but even when I lived in towns, people minded their own business. Opeing a garage door and doing in in there was usually enough.

Don't know how much you like to camp out, but this is the time of year the rush hasn't hit for state parks and such. I'd throw a tent and sleeping bag in a car, find as much fire wood as I could carry and go spend a night or two in a camp site and render down my wheel weights or range scrap over a camp fire. Most state parks charge a few bucks a night, chances are you can fins a site away from anybody else, tending a fire won't draw any attention.

[SwissShooter]

Being scared to do what is 100% legal is the first step down the slippery slope of living as a slave.

His comment about his wife's sensitive nose told it all.

[Mule]

If asked, you are prepping to cast old fashion Christmas toys.

[murf205]

I live way out in the sticks, can't see any neighbors, but even when I lived in towns, people minded their own business. Opeing a garage door and doing in in there was usually enough.

Don't know how much you like to camp out, but this is the time of year the rush hasn't hit for state parks and such. I'd throw a tent and sleeping bag in a car, find as much fire wood as I could carry and go spend a night or two in a camp site and render down my wheel weights or range scrap over a camp fire. Most state parks charge a few bucks a night, chances are you can fins a site away from anybody else, tending a fire won't draw any attention.

PLUS, a lot of state parks have 120volt hook up for campers. Just get a 30 amp to 20 amp adapter at the local camping trailer dealer and you can plug your pot in and cast away.

[richhodg66]

PLUS, a lot of state parks have 120volt hook up for campers. Just get a 30 amp to 20 amp adapter at the local camping trailer dealer and you can plug your pot in and cast away.

I like to go camping. To me (assuming I could get a park which wasn't crowded) Sitting around tending a camp fire for a weekend would be a nice diversion. Bring some good food, a book you're been meaning to read, a few beers, cards or games for the kids, make a weekend of it.

[richhodg66]

If asked, you are prepping to cast old fashion Christmas toys.

This would be a good idea, someone mentioned stained glass a while back. Some folks I know, do this as a hobby and she has made several beautiful framed glass hangings we give as departure gifts that use quite a bit of some kind of solder in them. If you could make a convincing story of doing something artsy, it would probably cause them to ignore what you're doing.

[HP9MM]

Been rolling your predicament for a period. What about purchasing or build a really nice semi large smoker/grill unit. Up in morning and fire up smoker, get lead in pot, fire lead pot, place a couple racks of ribs on smoker, make smoke. Melt, clean, pour, check ribs, melt, clean, pour, check ribs, melt, clean, pour, okay done pouring, fire off, first adult beverage, check ribs, second adult beverage, clean up melt session, wash up real good, third adult beverage, check ribs, late afternoon inform the CO inside getting close, walk in full platter, next adult beverage, fill belly with ribs with reflection upon the victories created through day. Repeat as required!

I don't want to eat BBQ that cooked next to lead being melted.

[fcvan]

When I bought the house in CO, I had a neighbor lady show up at the door with a rhubarb dish. Knowing she picked the rhubarb from my back yard (not fenced at the time) I asked where she got the rhubarb. She said 'out back, Joe always let me pick it.' 'Joe died, I bought the house, you did not ask me for permission and I take trespassing and theft pretty seriously.' She knew I was in Law Enforcement. I also advised her that public access ends at the sidewalk or my front door if you are coming over. She never asked for rhubarb because I pulled it all out.

Same lady comes by when I was painting the house. 'You can't paint the house that color, it goes against the HOA.' 'Is there a HOA?' I asked. She said there was. I said "Neat, that would have been disclosed in my mortgage docs. If it was it would tell me about fees, meeting schedules, and the process for becoming an HOA Board member so I could start the process of disbanding the HOA. I read every page and there is no mention of an HOA. If there was I would not have bought this house because I will be damned if I would ever pay some NGO to tell me what color I could paint my house, whether or not I could mount a flag pole. This is America, you are an Air Force Veteran and should be very ashamed of being dishonest to your neighbor or for ever supporting the willful subjugation of personal property rights to some NGO." She didn't talk to me for 2 years of blissful silence from this nosy busy body. Later she became more neighborly, and I fenced my yard.

I usually smelt in Nor CA at the 'beach' house, all of the neighbors know me and many of them worked with me. Never a problem as I would smelt at times so as not to cause much odor, even so, I use old ground walnut for fluxing. Never a complaint, certainly never a concern. Small town there, large LEO presence, I know a lot of the PD, Deputies, and of course former co-workers from my agency. Casting in CO is in the front driveway in the shade. Next door neighbor assists as he is a shooter.

Folks around here are friendly, neighbors take walks all the time, sometimes with their dog(s). Folks stop to chat or just wave. Wife knows just about every neighbor, and they know her zucchini bread. When I am casting and there are passers by, they ask and I tell them, and no one has even batted an eye. It probably pays to research neighborhoods before purchasing. Many of the PD and SO staff live within the development. Heck, the Chief used to live across the street until he bought a bigger house. My Real Estate agent was married to a Deputy. I guess that explains why after researching the weekly crime report map showed zero reported crimes going back 2 years until I found a vandalism case at an abandoned mini golf course.

Sure, you can't always pick you neighbors, neighborhoods, or even the flavor of the politics for the community. I was lucky, I did, and moved the family there a couple of years before I retired. Cross into the county and the next sign says, "Ronald Reagan Highway" which runs past the Air Force Academy, near the US Olympic Training Facility, Cheyenne Mountain SAC facility, and Fort Carson US Army base. The base has a very nice range open to the public with a LEO and retired military discount rate. I think I will just join the NRA affiliated range 20 miles away, or the relatively new indoor range with a 100 yard indoor firing line built a mile away. Their other range was so busy they built the new one. Next goal is to complete NRA instructor certification with my wife so we can teach. Hopefully that would come with keys and permission to punch paper after hours. Well, that is the plan anyway.

[rsrocket1]

1. Get yourself a pellet smoker and start smoking some brisket or pork shoulder at 250F (low and slow).
You'll make so much "good" smelling smoke that no one will notice the godaweful smell of road cr@p of clip on wheel weights or the terrible petroleum smell of burning off the foam adhesive of stick on wheelweights. The pellet smoker puts out such a good smokescreen that you could probably mask off a road tar crew's work.

https://images2.imgbox.com/2c/b4/lYfJ3tAo_o.jpg

By the time the meat is done, you should be done smelting and will have a great hunk of meat with a great smoke ring.

https://images2.imgbox.com/e5/16/38alNdCn_o.jpg

With ribs and Tri-tip you can go 4-5 hours without touching the meat so there is no risk of getting "lead-y" hands on it while you're smelting.

Casting boolits from ingots causes no smell other than a short burst of fluxing smoke from a piece of parafin until you light it off.

https://images2.imgbox.com/e0/c6/eoVYhSvq_o.jpeg

2. The alternative with nosy anti 2A neighbors and a suspicious wife are probably not desirable. You should have known and made agreements before getting married and before buying that house.

[Alferd Packer]

I would get a sign that says CAUTION: Doberman watchdog on premises.
I would put this sign on garage door which can be raised up 18 inches and let a box fan blow inside toward the opening down one side of the garage. It will scavenge out the fumes and they will be thin enough no one will notice.
You can also set a dog bowl with water in it just outside the garage door under the sign.
No one will walk up and want to raise the door on you.
You can set up to cast just inside the raised door.
It doesn't require much room.

[PhatForrest]

When other people start paying my mortgage, they can start telling me what I can and cannot do.

Be respectful of others, but dont be afraid to do your own thing on your own property.

[243winxb]

I cast/smelt in the garage. Front and back door cracked open. No one can see me. Using a small 40 pound pot.

Avoid heavy smoke from fluxing. You dont want the neighbors calling the fire department.:-)

[OutHuntn84]

I would bypass the smelting process. I am sure you can do some horse trading and get some ingots ready to go. From that point there is little need to flux which causes the smoke and stink. So pick a windy day and cast to your hearts content.

[johnho]

1. Get yourself a pellet smoker and start smoking some brisket or pork shoulder at 250F (low and slow).
You'll make so much "good" smelling smoke that no one will notice the godaweful smell of road cr@p of clip on wheel weights or the terrible petroleum smell of burning off the foam adhesive of stick on wheelweights. The pellet smoker puts out such a good smokescreen that you could probably mask off a road tar crew's work.

https://images2.imgbox.com/2c/b4/lYfJ3tAo_o.jpg

By the time the meat is done, you should be done smelting and will have a great hunk of meat with a great smoke ring.

https://images2.imgbox.com/e5/16/38alNdCn_o.jpg

With ribs and Tri-tip you can go 4-5 hours without touching the meat so there is no risk of getting "lead-y" hands on it while you're smelting.

Casting boolits from ingots causes no smell other than a short burst of fluxing smoke from a piece of parafin until you light it off.

https://images2.imgbox.com/e0/c6/eoVYhSvq_o.jpeg

2. The alternative with nosy anti 2A neighbors and a suspicious wife are probably not desirable. You should have known and made agreements before getting married and before buying that house.
Was going to suggest this too. get a cheap smoker, throw a pork butt or brisket on and put some hickory on the coals, cast away and have BBQ after. Great day.

[bangerjim]

YES............a smoker with mesquite or hickory woods will cover up your re-melting smells pretty darned good. Like said above.........you are not doing anything illegal, unless you have a carpy association! Even then, I doubt they could get EPA to back them up.

Just do it in smaller batches and use that same mesquite and hickory as flux. And beeswax.....yum...smells good! If you are smokin' meats, just don't handle any while melting Pb!

Now, go melt some lead!

banger

[MrWolf]

If you throw the stick on wheel weights in a bucket with scrap thinners, acetone, or even gas and let them sit for a few days (covered of course) the adhesive comes right off. No extra stinky smell.

[Alferd Packer]

Cast late at night in garage.
Or on weekends late at night in garage.
Don't light up the whole garage.
Use task lighting to only lite up area where casting and use a few sheets of 4×8 1/4 inch plywood standing up to block direct line of sight to the street.
Set a box fan blowing out a side window with air intake from under garage door raised six inches.
A range hood with fan blowing out a side window over a work bench for casting apparatus.
Mate shouldn't object to that one.
.

[Krag1902]

I don't know if this has been offered or not. When I need to smelt I head out to one of the state recreation areas nearby (10-15 miles) and use a state provided fire pit at one of their campsites. Go during the week and off season and you won't see another soul. For fuel I get free wood pallets ( oak is the best) , saw them up with a Skil saw and head out to the lake. Have a couple of buckets of water handy and ready to put out the fire when you leave.

[bedbugbilly]

In Michigan we now live in a condo and I do all of my reloading/casting in the garage. I leave the door open - never had an issue at all. Here in AZ, I do the same. We live in a 55 plus community - houses are close and plenty of tree huggers and stump suckers. Doesn't bother me when folks ask what I'm doing. As far as the "left leaners" - it will be a cold day in Hades before I "sneak" about anything I'm doing. Nothing that I am doing is illegal. What I do on my property is my business and what they do on their property is there business. I'm a free American and I don't bother my neighbors so they'd better not come bothering me.

If you're smelting - clean the scrap well and et it dry COMPLETELY before you start smelting. Water and hot lead don't mix.

[richhodg66]

I don't know if this has been offered or not. When I need to smelt I head out to one of the state recreation areas nearby (10-15 miles) and use a state provided fire pit at one of their campsites. Go during the week and off season and you won't see another soul. For fuel I get free wood pallets ( oak is the best) , saw them up with a Skil saw and head out to the lake. Have a couple of buckets of water handy and ready to put out the fire when you leave.

This is what I'd do if I was in your position.

Most of the places I've lived, I haven't had any problems with neighbors. For a while, I was doing the geographic bachelor thing while stationed at Fort Sill. I was living in a low rent house in a kind of bad neighborhood with my dog and a lot of time in the evenings on my hands. I used to cast in the back porch doorway with a fan at my back. Next door was an apartment complex and another house next door, nobody ever even noticed as far as I know, but I always wondered about fluxing and strange smoke and smells, someone could have very rationally concluded I had a meth cooking operation going based on where it was.

I live out on 18 acres of woods now, nearest neighbors are more than a half mile away. I use wood fire to render down range salvage and use old oil to help out with it. Kind of nice to have unlimited fuel and a place no one will notice (and here, no one would care even if they did). I've lived in very small towns and now rural for ling enough now, I don't think I could adapt to ever living in an urban setting again.

[fredj338]

I have an even smaller lot. I smelt in my garage with the door open a bit. I try to keep the smoke a minimum. I cast in my garage too. With clean alloy, no smoke or residual smells.

[grayscale]

I live in the suburbs, I smelt on the driveway and cast in the garage with the door open. Nobody has ever asked what I was doing,
but then I have skinned deer hanging from the front yard tree and clean ducks on the tailgate. Maybe they're afraid to ask?

[Eddie Southgate]

Never cared a bit what my neighbors thought about my casting or smelting activities . On my property I do what I want as long as it is not illegal . Show them the property line and explain which side of it they control.

[centershot]

I have neighbors all around me so I only smelt in the winter when everyone's inside with the windows shut. I cast year-round though, inside my garden shed (6x8'). I leave the door open in summer, use a propane heater in winter. No complaints, wouldn't give a **** if they did, not doing anything illegal!

[MrWolf]

House before my current one I smelted on the side of the house - right next to Mrs Kravitz (tv show type). My setup does have a grill lid to keep smoke down. Neighbors knew to leave me alone. If you needed help, ask but don't bother me. Was cutting front lawn one day and neighbors dog across the street comes over and takes a dump where I am cutting. Guy saw the look on my face and ran over with his bare hands grabbed the poop and went back to his yard. Told my wife, now ex, what kind of reputation did I have around there beings I never said a word to those idiots?

[Went2kck]

Tell them your making sinkers to sell and go fishing.

[Finster101]

You don't have to tell them anything other than to mind their own business. I have found that fences make good neighbors. I tried like hell and finally got out of the city lot setting and on to two acres. Best thing I ever did.

[white eagle]

I've wanted to cast bullets for a LONG time and now am running critically low.

I live in a neighborhood, lot size 0.27 acre, too many left leaning neighbors. I don't like answering questions; when I go to the range I sneak my guns in the car.

I have four 5 gallon buckets of lead wheel weights. From these, I need to make ingots and then cast. I need to buy a turkey fryer but have everything else.

I have a wife whose olfactory senses are superb and can smell anything off.

What are my options? I really cannot do this outside because of prying neighbors and really cannot do inside because of smell even in the basement, or so I believe. Also, for safety reasons I would prefer to cast outside.

Any thoughts or ideas? The solution, of course, is a property with land, but that's a costly proposition around these parts.

Living in suburbia just plain stinks!

tell your neighbors to mind their own business
what you do is yours
or move

[fcvan]

I have 2 houses, 1 in N CA, 1 in CO. Neighbors in CA were LEOs like me, neighbors in CO know I am a retired LEO and I cast my own. The only question I ever had was 'can you cast me some sinkers?' I have cast at every home I've owned, but have never cast on my OR property, bare 5 acres of land. I may cast there after I build the cabin, likely over a wood fire and hand pour. For now, I can always just cast a bunch and load as needed with a hand press.

My Wife loves that I cast and load as she knows there will always be ammo for the various weapons we own. Her Grandfather's 32-40 still needs dies, and that rifle was set up for Shutzen competition. Otherwise, she knows I love what I do, she loves what I do as well. She always knows where to find me. She built me a shop for reloading and HAM Radio, and has supported these hobbies as well. And yes, she has had me put in flag poles at each of our houses. We will never live in an HOA where you pay NGOs to tell you can't plant that or paint your house a certain color. Proud to live in the Land of the Free, Because of the Brave.

[LabGuy]

I can’t imagine any problem with casting boolits. Rendering down various scrap, maybe. I have lived on a 1/4 acre lot for 30+ years in a subdivision with 113 houses, no one cares. Rendering wheel weights in the driveway, 2 neighbors knew what I was doing, the others thought I was cooking. Just moved to a 1 acre lot. Not worried about the range scrap i’m getting ready to render.

[AviatorTroy]

I unfortunately live in a neighborhood of plywood boxes with an HOA but I’m very lucky to live in a conservative town. We do still have a few liberal morons in our neighborhood but my Gadsden flag has always kept the annoying ones far, far away. I pretty much do whatever I want around here and I’m not interested in whether or not anyone else approves of it. I cast all the time, test run RC model engines in the driveway, my wife has chickens, but my neighbors on either side get a never ending supply of eggs and they are happy. My neighbors on one side are libs from Kali but they are nice and we get along great. I think they think I’m kind of a novelty.

Kill people with kindness, don’t feel like to have to hide or justify your hobbies to anyone, but don’t blatantly advertise what you are doing either.

[Rcmaveric]

Having experienced apartments and subdivision most people are pretty nice and curious. Everyone around me knows what I do. I will invite them and teach them. I dont do anything illegal. Its really hard to hide a gun safe and fire arm collection when moving in.

I take safety precautions. When the neighbor hood kids curious I tell them if they want to watch or learn they have to get a parent. Most often they come back with a guardian. Then after a quick safe brief I then I start teaching about science and chemistry. Hunting and fishing. Kids love watching the metals melt.

I am 100 percent sure that not all my neighbors have the same political views as me. But I beleive curiosity of science brings us together.

Neighbor hood kids also love my aquaponics set up. They are always coming over to feed the fish and watch them. The apartment lady's love my garden. So I guess I am all ready on their good sides before they find out what else I do for fun. Deer come home quartered and skined as to upset the neighbors. So I guess the respect is two way street.

The going joke is if the revolution or zombies come everyons coming to my house.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[robg]

i live in a terraced house smelt and cast in my small 8x6 shed with the window open and a fan blowing the fumes out wearing a mask never had a problem.

[hickfu]

When I lived in SoCal I smelted and cast outside in the city and when I got hassled by liberals... I said in my best redneck voice "MERICA" while showing them the middle finger. I now live in Oregon but with my kids and grand kids so I smelt in the garage with the door open. When the neighborhood liberal bitty came by and asked what I was doing, I told her I was melting and making ingots of OLD WORLD PEWTER (lead-tin), she started to ask when I made but I told her that I sell it so she walked off without another word.

If I was in my own place again, it would be my redneck voice with the bird again..

[tankgunner59]

We don't live in a subdivision, but I have neighbors, don't know their political leaning and don't care. I smelt lead into ingots and cast in my backyard all the time. I've had one neighbor ask a long time ago what I was doing. I said I'm making bullets, no more questions, and I did find out he's a liberal. It's not illegal or immoral so let them think what they want. I don't melt or cast on real windy days, usually wind around 5 to 10 mph. I'll be both casting and melting this week in the back yard. This is my property, I own it I don't intrude on or invade anyone else's property and I expect the same respect.
I suggest you do the same, it's nobodies business but your own.