Casting inside ?????

[kendall yates]

Do any of you cast inside your shop? I was thinking about putting an old exaust fan on the roof that came from a restruant to get rid of the fumes and smoke. There is nothing worse than the rain shutting down your operation for the day. Any thoughts? Thank you.

[jdgabbard]

Some casters do it indoors. Matter of fact, one member (can't remember who you are) has a really sweet setup with a 200# bottom poor pot. Another guy has two bottom pour pots that he runs at one time.

Personally, I don't have a shot at my apartment in the city. So I tend to just do it on the patio. Down at my house though, I have a entire shop. Which I do cast in from time to time. But I'm never really there. But if I had a nice shop to do it in, I definitely would.

[Mike W1]

I do my casting in winter usually and always cast in the shop where I have a hood with a bathroom exhaust fan that vents outside. Wouldn't even consider doing it outside myself. Like they say wash your hands when you're done and you'll be just fine, that is assuming you don't lick your fingers first. Lead is not gonna jump up and destroy you if you use some common sense measures.

[docone31]

All I cast is inside. I built a casting room for my high temp casting. To cast lead I merely move my vaccum caster and put my Lee Pot on the high temp tiles.
Ventilation is an issue. I mounted a small air conditioner and run it full time. When it is cool, the a/c part is off, just the fan. It acts as a filter of sorts. When I cast, the Borax floats in clumps in the air. The fan pulls it throught the filter. Casting by its nature is dusty anyway.
So far, so good. The only bad day was when we were casting brass. I used a crucible. My wife and myself got "foundry disease" inhaleing zinc fumes. Those flu like symptoms. It lasts two days.
A never to be repeated experience.

[jdgabbard]

Yeah, zinc is toxic.

[snaggdit]

I cast in my garage with the door closed. It's still fairly cold outside. I have a propane wall heater and a fan to move the air around but no outside venting. I don't notice any odor or fumes. Now, melting down scrap lead I do outside! I suppose your flux of choice could give off fumes, but the charcoal (natural, from the wood stove) I use does not.

[454PB]

I've been casting indoors for 35 years. Use common sense and Marvelux, you don't need an exhaust fan.

[smburnette]

I don't do large smelting of wheel weights in the house, but I do throw a few clean ingots in the 4lb lee pot and cast boolits.. I set the pot on the stove and turn on the exhaust fan...

[snuffy]

+1 on 45 PB! I've been casting inside since I started in 1972. I don't mind a little smoke in the room, and our pots don't get hot enough to produce lead fumes.

I had my lead levels checked last year, 5.0. Just had it checked again in January, 4.0! Just make sure you're done touching lead, then wash your hands with a good strong hand soap.

Smelting,(or more properly re-melting), is done outside. Which in Wisconsin means about 20 days out of the year!:groner:

[epj]

No real reason not to cast indoors, especially with good ventilation. Smelting, on the other hand, is an outdoor activity unless you have commercial duty ventilation.

[RegCom7]

I've only been casting for a couple months, and I do it in my small apartment, in the kitchen! I open a couple windows for a little ventilation. (I melt down the scrap lead outside in the cast iron pot -- and that's smelly and smoky. I flux the scrap with candle wax.) But casting indoors with my Lee 4-20 pot doesn't cause any smoke or fumes because the lead ingots are already clean. I flux with the Frankford Arsenal powder stuff, and it doesn't smoke. I went to the doctor recently and while I was there I had them check my lead blood level. It was 2, and it's supposed to be below 10. So I'm not worried about casting indoors.

[mooman76]

I cast in the kitchen for years. I now have an electric pot so to cut down on flack I moved my operation to the garage.

[Recluse]

I smelt outdoors on the back covered deck. I cast in my shop. It has air conditioning and very good ventilation, so no worries there. If/when I need to flux, I rig up an exhause system to pull the smoke out the door, then right back to casting.

:coffee:

[Slow Elk 45/70]

[smilie=1:Another yes for casting indoors, I have a vent hood w/fan and hose to outside from my shop.
It just keeps the smoke down a bit. Been doing it indoors for 35 years, no problem, I do keep a fire extinguisher in the area in case of an accident.

I smelt my lead in the summer here in AK. so I can cast all winter. Summer being one weekend sometime between July and August:groner:

[Dale53]

I built a utility barn and have a dedicated casting station in there:
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QASSRAPeregrine-Casting2-2006015-1.jpg

It has an overhead built in hood with outside exhaust. I believe in good ventilation.

Dale53

[shotman]

Dont you all know lead is very deadly . 180 grs will kill anything that walks. So be carefull

[Tom W.]

I have a room in the back of my home that is my man-cave, and I keep my computer, loading bench and casting stuff there . When I go to cast I put a box fan in the window blowing out at the high setting, close the door and have a ball.

When I smelt, however, I do that on the back deck and render wheel weights into ingots...

[NHlever]

I do my casting in my shop on milder days during the winter, and early spring. I open the window, and door for cross ventilation, and it seems to work well.

[Bret4207]

I don't ever recall casting outdoors, smelting of course I do.

[jack19512]

I cast inside but do my smelting outside. By the time winter rolls around I have plenty of ingots to get me through till spring.

[jonk]

I cast in the basement. I have the set up under a window that I open and put a large fan in front of. Only downside is if the wind is coming on that side of the house it isn't really sufficient so then I move to the back porch. But on a calm day it draws the smoke and such up and out just fine.

[Freightman]

I cast in the shop with the doors open ( little warmer in TX) even in the winter, the only place I would have to cast outside is under a large pecan tree and the birds like it. I will leave the reason birds and hot lead do not mix to your imagination.

[Cherokee]

I have always cast bullets in the basement (40 years). Render scrap lead outside. Lead blood levels are low per Dr. Just don't try to ingest the stuff.

[TAWILDCATT]

Had a reloading room in the club.I installed a hood and exaust fan,did it from 69 to 2000.when I moved here.now I do it in my garage,large shop.smelting gets done out side.once had 45 reading but I blame it on cleaning parts with leaded gas.now it is less than 9.may be less havent checked it in 4 yrs.
Take an iron table or a zinc tablet.that cleans it out.

[selmerfan]

I cast indoors in the basement of the intern house I'm living in until August. I just had some knee surgery and they did blood work as prelim before surgery, I asked for a lead count. Mine was 3, whatever that means. I asked the nurse and she that it was below normal for lead count. I've been raised on game shot with lead projectiles and been casting indoors for a year now, no ill effects on me!!!

[Down South]

I cast in my shop. Cleaning lead is a different story. Sometimes I do that in my shop too but I have a huge exhaust fan mounted in one of the gaveled ends of the shop. It’s one of those fans that are designed to ventilate chicken houses with.
From what little I’ve been told, lead doesn’t put off any dangerous fumes till it’s well over the temperature we need to cast with.

[Old Ironsights]

Smelt outside, cast inside. Clean Lead kept under 800deg isn't that big of a deal. just have some good airflow.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/MrMisanthrope/IMG_0351.jpg

[wildwes]

I like casting outside, but then again I don't have a place to cast inside, but when it does rain me out I just go into the edge of one of the open front sheds and cast, the wind carries the fumes away. I'm in college, and I go home every weekend, but that still only gives me 2 days a week, and when I want to cast it really puts a crimp in my plans if it isn't windy enough to cast in the edge of the building.

[firescout]

Thanks for the good info. I'm going to make an indoor casting/smelting area in my garage, with a close-fitting hood/duct/vent fan setup. I'm frustrated with only operating the pot outside during a clear day. I have a lot of free time at around 10-11 p.m.

I only use a 10 lb Lee electric pot, so that should be easy to vent.

[cajun shooter]

All you need is the electric motor attic fan sold by Lowe's for around $40. You buy the matching vent cover and cut the hole in the wall above your casting area. It comes with a thermostat and mine also helps to exhaust the hot Louisiana heat from my shed even when I'm not casting. Put a normal box fan behind you to direct the fumes that way.

[Shiloh]

As long as one vents, it's fine. I prefer the garage. My buddy prefers a vented basement.

Shiloh

[wallenba]

I cast in the back of my garage with the door open in summer and a small box fan for cross ventilation. In the winter I put the pot in a four sided box I built that is hinged on top for access. In the back of the box I have an exhaust fan (bathroom type) with dryer duct going out he back wall. I plug the wall hole with a large sponge when not in use. I suppose that system could be plumbed out a home window.

[jar-wv]

I sometimes cast in the basement. Sometimes in shed next to open door.

jar

[GLynn41]

Many long years ago I started on the stove top with the vent on- worked just fine-- would not do it again