Need some ideas

[kbstenberg]

I am going to build a bench just for casting. An i need some suggestions. I have never cast before so i don't know what i will need to have close to me, or where they should be located for most convenience.
The only parameters are i will be sitting, i will be doing both water dropping an air cooling, i will have another pot close for pre-melting the lead ( can use either propane or electric pre- heater)
Items i know i will need Bottom pour pot
towel for air cooling
damp rag for cooling mold
what else is helpful

[felix]

A stand up bench, with variable top height until you settle on the ideal height. ... felix

[GabbyM]

I was going to suggest stand up height also.
Rotating your shoulders with your hips planted in a chair twist your spine.

[crabo]

I sit on a tall stool and it works great for me. My back and knees could not take standing very long. I work on a table that is about 42" off the floor. I like to have room where I have economy of motion. I work on the end of a 3 foot wide bench.

I also keep a cake pan with a rolled up towel soaking in water on a bar stool next to my table. I cool the sprue plate on the towel and it helps speed up the production rate. (check out BruceB's speed casting method)

I like to have a fan pointed where it blows on me, but not across my pot. It gets too hot in Texas not to have a fan going.

[runfiverun]

my casting bench is 2'deep and 4' wide it's also tall enough i can ladle pour and see in the pot.
and a separate area, with a stand i built so i can see the lead going into my molds without stooping.
stooping will wear you out quickly.
the bottom pour is screwed down to the stand and has a mold guide under it.

[Dale53]

My casting table is a "sit down". There is NO way I could cast standing up with my bad back. Here's a picture of it:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QASSRAPeregrine-Casting2-2006015-1.jpg

The bench is built in to the wall and is completely stable (I consider this extremely important). I have two circuits - one on each side of the casting bench (one is hidden behind the scale) so I can run two pots at a time without worrying about kicking a breaker. My hot plate is just to the left of the scale (out of the picture). The flex arm lamp illuminates the pot spout so I can properly control the "stream".

Dale53

[HeavyMetal]

My casting area has been in a state of "flux" ( sorry couldn't resist) for a couple yrs.

Currently I have two bottom pour pots set up one above the other. The bottom pot is an old Lyman 61 which runs great while the top pot is a Lee 10Lb'r.

I cast out of the bottom and use the top pot to melt a second supply of alloy.

I replenish the lyman at about 1/3 down and then add ingots to the Lee! This has turned out to be a very workable system, copied from another member, and keeps me up to speed using two Lee 6 bangers!

I set myself up to view the alloy as it come out so I can watch and adjust the stream if needed.

Now for the tip I can pass along: Buy a swivel stool! I have a small piano stool that works great and is easily adjusted if needed. Set up like this I do not need to stand and sit constantly during casting!

I sit a container of water with a pad of some type in it to cushion boolits at about 90 degrees from the lead pots. It is also below the top of the table.

In use I pick up a full mold, turn side ways on the stool, open sprue plate, catch sprue in gloved hand, and dump boolits in the water. Sprue is returned to the pot, I close the mold fill it and set it down and pick up the second mold and repeat!

The swivel part of the stool saves my knee's and back, rotates me away from the hot lead and in general has provided me with a safe comfortable seat to cast on!

If you guys have not tried a swivel stool or short swivel chair you are missing the boat!

[shotman]

KB dont do like dale and have a 8lb keg where your casting. Dont melt your scrap inside. too much toxins in it

[Echo]

You might consider attaching your equipment to lengths of 1x4, so you can shuffle the furnace in, then out and shuffle the lube/sizer in, and so on. Handy for when you have a couple of furnaces and a couple of l/s (with different lube) and so on. The only items I have permanently mounted on my reloading bench are my Rock Chucker and my Spar-T. A couple of C-clamps and you are good to go.

[stubshaft]

Make sure that you have a clear exit and that nothing is behind you.

[kbstenberg]

thank you all for your suggestions, soon as i get it built i will put pictures on the site
Kevin

[13Echo]

If you do a sit down casting site make very certain to cover your chest, lap, and legs with something that'll resist molten lead. No matter how careful you are, someday there will be a spill and a lapfull of molten lead is going to burn down to bone.

Jerry Liles

[Dale53]

Just for the record - the 8 lb keg of 748 is EMPTY!

I ALWAYS wear protective clothing. You do NOT have to wear a full leather outfit, but a good, long, shop apron (very important to be of 100% cotton - NO SYNTHETICS), long sleeve COTTON shirt, long pants, boots, hat, and glasses, etc. What CAN happen WILL happen - word to the wise.

Dale53

[725]

I use a restaraunt rolling utility cart. Very stable. I hang a LP tank off one end to feed my single cast iron burner. Three shelves total upon which I store some lead on the bottom, moulds in the middle and the burner / work area on the top. I've fashioned a plywood tabletop with cleats that isolate the burner so it can't move around. It's a stand-up work station that I can wheel in and out of the shop as the weather dictates. It extremely enjoyable to use for ladle pouring. There's also a sit-down bottom pour on a chemical bench with a chemical hood vented outside, but I find I never use that one anymore.

[mooman76]

I just use my regular workbench for casting. Same place I reload also. I just clear a spot. You of coarse need plenty of room for your set up and place to drop hot bullets. I always have a small coffee can close with needed tools in it. Screwdriver, pliers, small brass brush and so on. It's not fun getting into the rythem and your mould dropping just the way you like and a minor thing like a screw loosening or something else to throw you off so speed to correct the problem is important. When I water drop I keep the bucket in a chair behind me to keep the water a safe distance away.

[docone31]

A suggestion,
Casting leaves residue behind. Lots of dust, slag, little pieces of drips, heated burned up Kitty Litter, or whatever. Lay down something down under where you cast that is simple to clean up. I am kinda lazy there, and it does build up. A Sweep and it is gone, ready for more.
Perchance, I found some high temp tiles. Impossible to drill through, you can put a torch flame directly on them and no heat hits the mastic. Regular tiles would do the trick though. Just use regular grout, rather than the synthetic type.
I cast at shoulder height so I can see the bottom spout. Just my way.
I use a chair to put my water pot so I can just flip the castings in the water.
Make your bench so the casting residue is a simple clean up. Otherwise, it goes everywhere.

[13Echo]

I'd suggest you keep the casting setup well away from where you reload. Hot lead on a bit of loose powder will cause a fire. A friend managed to spatter a bit on some carpet in his loading room where a bit of black powder had accumulated and had a wonderful flare that fortunately only singed the carpet. Hot lead can burn through a platic or cardboard container of powder or primers. Just another 2cents worth of opinion.

Jerry Liles