Little known tips for casting

[sheepdog]

Be here about 4 months and while I've learned alot from stickies I realize I learned alot more from questions, trying new things, and just hoping right in.

I thought we might make a post-stickie starter thread for all the tips the stickies might have missed or more advanced tips for those that have a few pots worth under their belts.

Heres some I thought I'd share:


Crayons are tempting to use for flux but will stain your pot.
Sharpies are decent for marking ingot content but will fade, scratch awl or stamps work better.
Don't melt different lead sources together, make separate ingots that you can make in portion later. Categories are clip on normal, clip on big trucks, stick ons, range scrap, batteries posts/clamps, plumbing lead, roof sheathing, glass window lead, rad pigs, and lift counterweights.
Good sources of tin are pewter from sales and solder drippings from radiator shops.
Til you get more advanced don't quench you mould, can cause warping.
Best way to heat a mould is to stick just the corner of the mould in the lead and let it heat. Pour a boolit and let it sit til the sprue is bearly hard. Mark sure the first boolit isn't still liquidy. A hotplate works too.
Frosted boolits= too hot an alloy. Wrinked boolits=too cold a mould. A little frosted is ok.
All of mould fill out is about temperature of the lead, of the mould, and of sprue handle. This can be tricky at first but how fast the sprue goes solid is a good indicator.
"Tin" cans contain no tin. Pencils contain no lead. Batteries of any kind are never to be used unless professionally recycled.
Lead alloys stick to steel easier than aluminum. A light layer of rust will help keep this from happening.
Boolits usually shoot best when one thousandths to 3 thousands of an inch over their quoted caliber but no way to know til you slug your bore.
A good and very dry stick makes a good flux if stirred long enough. Hardwood recommended for durability.
Lead boolits are not harder on your barrel as some suggest. They are in fact easier on the barrel and your brass.
Lead is more poisonous the finer it gets. You will likely get more lead breathing in dust from tumbling media then handling boolits.
Do not eat drink or smoke while casting. Wash hands, face, and anything you handled after casting.
Best way to store cold dross if its not being recycled is in a non-biodegradable container.
Water quenching hardens lead with arsenic in it (ie alloys with clip ones or chilled shot). Arsenic enhances the process, but is not necessary.
A good way to pan lube is to use a small loaf pan sat on top of your production pot after its turned off. The secondary heat will melt the wax. After its melted stick in the freezer for no more than 5 minutes to temper the lead and loosen the lube cake from the pan. Tip over and push the boolits through.
Don't cast on days it might rain. Chances are you will feel hot lead on your skin before you feel the rain drops.
Do not smelt down wheel weights or other lead in your pour pot. Will junk your pour whole up.
You will find smaller ingots tend be handier for mixing components for ratios in your production pot.
Never let your pour pot get empty. Refill at half full, will keep most junk from getting down into your pour whole.
When casting keep a towel over your lap and down your legs from rogue lead run off. Or if you don't mind using it only for lead an apron works too.
Safety googles are a must and gloves recommended. Between water occasionally finding its way in, air pockets, or splashes from dropping lead in droplets of molten lead going everywhere are very common.
A flat rock to sit on top of your pour pot when heating up or for breaks keeps the pot heat inside.
Never never never put anything even remotely moist in your pot.
You can make a mould make bigger boolits or a sizer make them smaller but not the other way around.
Air cooled boolits get their hardness after about 10 days to 2 weeks. Water dropped boolits in about 3 days. - Trey45
If adding a roll of resin core solder to your mix for the tin, wait for the resin to burn off before sticking a tool or mold corner into the mix. The liquid resin will get everywhere and is next to impossible to clean out of a mold. - SciFijim
Never use a nylon tooth brush to try to clean a hot mould. - looseprojectile
Do Not put alox or wax in the cavities of any mold, I don't care what Lee's instructions say! Sprue plate lube is good for pivot points, -Heavymetal
Monitor the pot temperature, and give the pot time to come to a steady temp, rather than start pouring as soon as it's molten. -ciPeterF
If not water dropping, drop the bootlits on an old towel\cloth.. after all the work, no use denting then. -ciPeterF
Store your unmelted WWs in buckets with tops on them. Wet WWs (whether you see every drop or not) are dangerous to smelt down.
Zinc is bad but is not the end of the world. Alloy with zinc in it can be "watered down" with non-contaminated to make it usable.
Bullshop's Spru Plate lube is the cats meow. Don't be with out it!! - Calamity Jake
I smoke my molds over the burning wax/flux in my lead pot before making my first bullet. -Dolag1
Don't try using "Pam" as a mold release on yer muffin ingot pans -Goatlips
There are very few problems with a decent quality mould that can't be fixed by cleaning it and upping the mould temp for at least a dozen boolits. Most moulds seem to respond to that treatment and correct their evil ways after that.
-Bret4207
Leading, while irritating, isn't a disaster. 4/0 steel wool will clean it up post haste and many guns shoot just fine with a slight amount of leading showing. -Bret4207


Please add your own. If I miss something or don't make corrections in a timely manner give me a PM. When theres enough I'll sort by category.

[Trey45]

Sheepdog, you've hit a lot of nails on the head here! About the only thing I can think of to add would be this.

Air cooled boolits get their hardness after about 10 days to 2 weeks. Water dropped boolits in about 3 days.

[44man]

Only thing I don't like is just letting the sprue get barely hard, a sure way to smear lead on top of the mold and on the bottom of the sprue plate.

[captain-03]

-- Your full attention while casting
-- No kids or pets in casting area
-- wear protective clothing and eye protection
-- Ingots stay hot for a long time; don't pick 'em up with bare hands

[SciFiJim]

If adding a roll of resin core solder to your mix for the tin, wait for the resin to burn off before sticking a tool or mold corner into the mix. The liquid resin will get everywhere and is next to impossible to clean out of a mold. I had to lap my mold twice with comet to get it clean.

[cabezaverde]

Swearing doesn't do anything other than make you feel better.

[looseprojectile]

Never use a nylon tooth brush to try to clean a hot mould.
Some idiot did just this, one time.
Any idea how to get melted nylon out of a mould?
No solvent or thinner known to man will thin/melt, nylon.

Life is good

[SciFiJim]

Any idea how to get melted nylon out of a mould?

How about molten lead? Hold the mold open and use a ladle to repeatedly pour molten lead on the nylon until it burns away.

Or maybe a two step process. Soak in Kroil to get under the nylon to work it loose, then clean the Kroil out.

Some have had success casting with Kroil in the mold. There is a thread about it here somewhere. I haven't tried it yet.

[454PB]

"Water quenching only hardens lead with arsenic in it (ie alloys with clip ones or chilled shot)."

Not true. Arsenic enhances the process, but is not necessary.

"Never let your pour pot get empty. Refill at half full, will keep most junk from getting down into your pour whole."

I disagree on this point. Yes, it takes a little longer to get a new pot of alloy to casting temperature, but for those of us that use different alloys for different purposes, it's a lot handier to start with an empty pot. What really slows things down is having to melt and empty a pot to refill with a different alloy. As far as this causing plugged pour spouts, I've never seen it happen. When I empty my pot, I turn it upside down while it's still hot and slap the side to eliminate and dross that might be hiding inside.

[badgeredd]

"Frosted boolits= too hot an alloy. Wrinked boolits=too cold a mould."

Might want to make that HEAVILY frosted boolits and alloy that is too cold will also cause wrinkled boolits, as well a oil in one's mold.

Many cast lightly frosted boolits to insure they have a good fill out, myself included.

Edd

My bad...I stand corrected on the alloy temp being a cause of wrinkles.

[Doc_Stihl]

Safety Glasses = REQUIRED.
A bead of sweat or condensation on a tool going into the pot makes lead foil on everything.

I often cast when it's raining or humid and the garage collects condensation. Keep an eye on tools and make a habit of checking that nothing is moist.

I also find that aluminum molds work better when the sprue plate is HOT. I warm my on their side with the sprue plate in the lead.

[462]

sheepdog, nice start.

A shop apron provides chest as well as leg protection.
Heavy gloves are a must.
Aluminum foil will cover not only the top of the pot, to keep the heat in while it's getting up to temperature, but will cover a mould and handles, too.
If added tin is necessary, 95/5 solder is an excellent source, and more readily available than pewter.

454PB, I agree. I will make an ingot of one alloy -- to empty the pot prior to filling with another alloy -- and turn the pot over and tap its rim to remove any junk.

[snuffy]

-- Ingots stay hot for a long time; don't pick 'em up with bear hands

Yeah, the bear would be real upset![smilie=s:


Cooking your alloy too hot will oxidize the top and separate the tin to some degree.

Tin does not separate from an alloy once it's added. What you see on the surface of melted lead is alloy, all the elements of whatever is in the alloy. Don't subscribe to the old wives tale the tin, being lighter, will separate and float to the surface.


A good and very dry hardwood stick makes a good flux if stirred long enough.

Any dry wood stick is good for stirring and fluxing. Paint stirring sticks are great, they're usually pine.


Best way to heat a mold is to stick just the corner of the mold in the lead and let it heat. Pour a boolit and let it sit til the sprue is barely hard. Mark sure the first boolit isn't still liquidy.

That works fine for 2 cav molds, but try that with a lee 6 cav. Besides I find I get lead between the blocks every time I do that. I use a propane camp stove that sits atop a 1# bottle to preheat my 6 cav. lee's. I also bought a laser thermometer to see just how hot it really is. At 350 deg on the sprue plate, it's ready to cast. Failing to pre-heat the lee 6's can result in broken sprue handles, ask me how I know![smilie=1:


Any idea how to get melted nylon out of a mould?

MEK, methyl ethyl ketone will dissolve nylon. Destroyed one of dads paint brushes by trying to clean it in MEK. Didn't realize it was a nylon brush, or know it would dissolve it!

[sheepdog]

Tin does not separate from an alloy once it's added. What you see on the surface of melted lead is alloy, all the elements of whatever is in the alloy. Don't subscribe to the old wives tale the tin, being lighter, will separate and float to the surface.

Any dry wood stick is good for stirring and fluxing. Paint stirring sticks are great, they're usually pine.

That works fine for 2 cav molds, but try that with a lee 6 cav. Besides I find I get lead between the blocks every time I do that. I use a propane camp stove that sits atop a 1# bottle to preheat my 6 cav. lee's. I also bought a laser thermometer to see just how hot it really is. At 350 deg on the sprue plate, it's ready to cast. Failing to pre-heat the lee 6's can result in broken sprue handles, ask me how I know![smilie=1:


Tin will separate and float on top. Its easily proved with BH tests.

Hardwood is recommended so the stick can be reused.

Never had an issue with 6 cavitys doing the same thing (though its more of a pain keeping it balanced).

[Springfield]

I only cast 4-8 thousand bullets a week, so take this info for what it is worth. Hot lead doesn't cause frosted bullets. Cold lead doesn't cause wrinkled bullets. Hot or cold MOULDS cause both. For example, with a hot mold and lead that is barely melted I can get frosted bullets. And with very hot lead and a cold mould I can get wrinkled bullets. The temperature of the lead only counts as far as it influences the mould temp, but it can't do anything by itself. I have found that varying speed of casting is a better way to regulate mould temp then changing the lead temp. Sometimes you need to play with all 3, but if I have a cold mould that is putting out wrinkled bullets I can bring the mould temp up much faster and with more consistency by casting faster than by turning up the lead temp.
As for stirring sticks, using a dowel is the most convenient for me, others may have some hardwood laying around, doesn't seem to make much difference, except the harder wood will last longer.
And I ALWAYS dip the mould into the melt to preheat. Been working fine for years and I almost never get lead in between the mould halves. If you do, then just stand there for a count of 100 and hold the handles, end of problem.

[AZ-Stew]

If adding a roll of resin core solder to your mix for the tin, wait for the resin to burn off before sticking a tool or mold corner into the mix. The liquid resin will get everywhere and is next to impossible to clean out of a mold. I had to lap my mold twice with comet to get it clean.

Ethyl (drinking) or methyl (wood) alcohol will dissolve the rosin. No need to take abrasives to the mould.

Regards,

Stew

[SciFiJim]

Ethyl (drinking) or methyl (wood) alcohol will dissolve the rosin. No need to take abrasives to the mould.

That's why I love this site. I learn something new every day.

[HeavyMetal]

Here's a tip you can add: Lubing the mold.

Do Not put alox or wax in the cavities of any mold, I don't care what Lee's instrcutions say!

Lube the pivot points on any mold. Bullshop sprue plate lube is excellent for this as is any good Antisieze compound.

Bullet lube, in my experience, only burns and makes a mess you can't clean up easily don't use it as a mold lube. Again I don't care what Lee's instructions say!

[snuffy]

Sheepdog, the problem with your all inclusive, supposedly true statements is; there's always going to be some urban myth/old wives tale in it.


Tin will separate and float on top. Its easily proved with BH tests.

Prove it! Either by doing those tests yourself, or point to somewhere some one else has done it. While there ARE some exotic chemicals that CAN separate the elements of an alloy, none can be used in our home casting pots.

[Bret4207]

Heres some I thought I'd share:

[LIST]

Cooking your alloy too hot will oxidize the top and separate the tin to some degree.That ones open to disucussion
Til you get more advanced don't quench you mould, can cause warping.I have yet to see it happen, or know anyone it happened to.
Best way to heat a mould is to stick just the corner of the mould in the lead and let it heat. Pour a boolit and let it sit til the sprue is bearly hard. Mark sure the first boolit isn't still liquidy. A hotplate works too. Let the sprue cool, smearing is bad for your moulds.
Frosted boolits= too hot an alloy. Wrinked boolits=too cold a mould. A little frosted is ok. Evenly frosted boolits are generally well filled out and shoot fine. And it's mould temp. not alloy temp doing the frosting and wrinkling
[ Boolits usually shoot best when one thousandths to 3 thousands of an inch over their quoted caliber but no way to know til you slug your bore....over GROOVE size(thx to KYCaster for correcting me), not quoted caliber
A good and very dry stick makes a good flux if stirred long enough. Hardwood recommended for durability. Makes a better flux than most anything else I've tried regardless of how long you stir.

Water quenching hardens lead with arsenic in it (ie alloys with clip ones or chilled shot). Arsenic enhances the process, but is not necessary. I believe both arsenic and antimony are required
*]Never let your pour pot get empty. Refill at half full, will keep most junk from getting down into your pour whole.Stay away from BP pots and your hole won't get plugged
When casting keep a towel over your lap and down your legs from rogue lead run off. Or if you don't mind using it only for lead an apron works too. Cast standing and if something bad happens you can get away faster
[
Never never never put anything even remotely moist in your pot.UNDER the surface of the melt
You can make a mould make bigger boolits or a sizer make them smaller but not the other way around.Actually,you can "bump" a boolit larger in a sizer.
Air cooled boolits get their hardness after about 10 days to 2 weeks. Water dropped boolits in about 3 days. - Trey45Water quenched take up to 3 weeks to reach full hardness too.


I'll add this- There are very few problems with a decent quality mould that can't be fixed by cleaning it and upping the mould temp for at least a dozen boolits. Most moulds seem to respond to that treatment and correct their evil ways after that.

Leading, while irritating, isn't a disaster. 4/0 steel wool will clean it up post haste and many guns shoot just fine with a slight amount of leading showing.

Practice makes perfect. Anything that can go wrong will.

[ciPeterF]

Couple of others...
- monitor the pot temperature, and give the pot time to come to a steady temp, rather than start pouring as soon as it's molten..
- if not water dropping, drop the bootlits on an old towel\cloth.. after all the work, no use denting then..

[yotatrd4x4]

On the leading subject if you cast boolits and they lead the crap out of your barrel because they are undersize, overspeed with bad lube just take one or two jacketed bullets and shoot them behind when your done shooting cast all the lead except for traces will be gone and it will be much less cussin and swabbin to get your guns clean.

[dolang1]

I smoke my molds over the burning wax/flux in my lead pot before making my first bullet. Later Don

[KYCaster]

Tin does not separate from an alloy once it's added. What you see on the surface of melted lead is alloy, all the elements of whatever is in the alloy. Don't subscribe to the old wives tale the tin, being lighter, will separate and float to the surface.



I agree with Snuffy, Tin does not "float" or "separate" from your boolit alloy. If that were the case, it would be called a solution, not an alloy.

A hardness test will tell you the hardness of your sample, it will not tell you the chemical composition. Generally, oxides are harder than pure metals, that's why the stuff you skim off the melt is harder than your alloy.

If you're skimming the oxides off your melt, you're throwing away good metal. Proper fluxing will return the oxides to metal and leave only dirt and foreign material floating on the surface. Once the melt is clean it will quickly develope a layer of oxides on the surface....leave it alone, it will protect the metal from further oxidation. If you ladle pour, you'll disturb the surface and get more oxides so you'll have to flux more often.

The oxides on your melt will be VERY SLIGHTLY rich in Tin oxide simply because Tin combines with Oxygen more readily than Lead. This was a problem with Lynotype machines because the same alloy was melted over and over again, eventually depleting the Tin content of the alloy. When we're casting boolits, hopefully the alloy will be melted only once and cast into perfect boolits which will then be shot and not re-melted many times over, so no need to worry about depleting the Sn content.

Hope this helps,
Jerry

PS....Bret......GROOVE diameter, not BORE diameter.

[runfiverun]

use a heat/oxygen barrier on top of your melt this will end the arguement.
kitty litter,charcoal,marvelux,coal dust,sawdust.are all good choices.
when smelting ww's keep the temp down to avoid any missed zinc ones.
copper ,zinc, silver,bismuth, antimony,sulphur. all have a place in lead alloys, stop panicking about a small amount in your mix.

[HeavyMetal]

Can I get my tip changed?

I was saying Sprue plate lube is good for pivot points, The tip makes it look like I'm suggesting lubing the cavities with sprue plate lube or antiseize which is a real bad idea if you want good boolits!

[runfiverun]

you click on the edit button on your post. then you can change or delete it.

[SciFiJim]

If you're skimming the oxides off your melt, you're throwing away good metal.

Once you get most of the trash skimmed off, save the rest and any oxides that you skim. Later on when you have accumulated a can full, remelt and flux heavily with saw dust (PatMarlin's California Flake Flux (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=27972) would work well here). You will be able to recover most of the metal from your skimmings.

[Goatlips]

Don't try using "Pam" as a mold release on yer muffin ingot pans..... D'oh!

Goatlips

[snuffy]

Sheepdog, take your theory to it's logical conclusion. Take a known alloy of lead, and tin. Put it in some sort of vessel, like a casting pot. Turn on the heat, melt the alloy. Then set the thermostat at lets say 800 degrees. Now walk away for 8 hours. When you return, you should have two layers in the pot. Pure lead on the bottom tin on top. That's IF your theory is correct.

If anything else happens, like the tin is not floating on top, then your myth is false.

You will still have the alloy you started out with. A layer of oxide of tin AND lead will be floating on the molten lead. The oxide layer will have more tin in it that the alloy, because as stated, tin oxidizes faster than lead does.

[Bret4207]

PS....Bret......GROOVE diameter, not BORE diameter.

Oooops!! My bad, I'll go back and change that. At least you knew what I meant. Thx.:drinks:

[HeavyMetal]

I can only edit my post, which is correct.

The list of tips, which is the original post, can only be edited by the original poster.

I'm concerned a newbie will go no farther than reading the tips and try to coat his cavities with antisieze or sprue plate lube.

This will provide him with a very discoraging casting experience to say the least!

[JSnover]

My $.02......
MEK (MethylEthylKetone) should clean just about any plastic or nylon out of your mold. It's a commercial solvent/paint stripper. It is hot stuff! Don't smoke near it, don't inhale the fumes, don't spill it on anything other than a concrete or metal surface, don't soak your hands in it. Set the blocks in a small metal container, pour in enough to cover it, let it soak for a bit.
The myth about tin floating is disproved everytime we pour a boolit. If it was true we'd have tin on one end and lead on the after the mold cools.

[sheepdog]

This post isn't about arguing over semantics or measuring ones manhood with metallurgy mysticism. Its about helping newbies get some idea of technique. A good flux and temperature range will keep your mix from wasting alloy, something we can all agree on. If you want to argue how it works you can go hangout with the "I know how lube works and you don't" threads. If you have something valuable to add please do so.

[Bret4207]

Threads tend to wander a bit here, that's where a lot of good info comes from. Don;t take it as an insult, it's just us hashing things out.

[462]

Extracted from an article by Glen Fryxell: Tin and lead are infinitely soluble in one another and their binary alloys form true solid solutions. This is how chem-geeks and metallurgists say that the tin is evenly mixed throughout and does not separate.

Also, Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook contains an article that states the same.

Since Lyman and Mr. Fryxell know more casting boolits than I ever will, I'll take their word for it.

[Kskybroom]

Tip I use Number/ Letter Stamps to mark my ingots.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

I hope we are all smart enough to read the tips and apply them with care, there are quite a few things out there that we all do not agree with. I don't think we can protect the new caster from all of the mistakes he might make. They should READ the Classics & Stickies section and gain some insight before they plunge head long into this game as some of them do.[smilie=1:

If they read , and then ask questions about their thoughts / problems , they will get help.
I have not seen a "list" yet that some don't take issue with. So what is the answer? If you don't like it , don't do it. We could argue these points till the cows come home. Most of the information offered is usable , if not 100% provable or correct.:confused:

:drinks:

[HeavyMetal]

Great minds don't argue they "debate".

It's why I "hang" this site.

[MT Gianni]

Good casting involves a rhythm. Get a loud old clock, a source of music or even a metronome to keep a pace going. That keeps molds at the right temp, hollow point pins warm and bullets uniform.
Write down what each mold likes. They are as different as people. What temp it casts best at, which end to start a pour from, smoke it or not and which alloys it prefers. Read the notes before you cast.
Take a break if you get mentally fatigued. Casting involves proper attention to what you are doing.

[Catshooter]

Wet lead (or anything else wet) should never be added to a hot pot. You can melt wet lead safely by adding it to a cold pot, then bring the temp up. As the temp rises, the water evaporates safely away.


Cat

[Shuz]

To keep your alloy from oxidizing as well as maintaining proper temperature, place a thin layer of cat litter(new not used) on top of your melt. This works great for bottom draw furnaces, but could be somewhat cumbersome for those who ladle pour.

[snuffy]

This post isn't about arguing over semantics or measuring ones manhood with metallurgy mysticism.

So you're saying I'm having problems with my manhood? I see you've failed to edit out that lie about tin separating form the melt.


Its about helping newbies get some idea of technique.

You're not helping newbies by giving them false information. Several others have posted discounting your myth, your ego won't let you admit your mistake.

[captaint]

You guys are great. Still being a relative newbie here, and to casting boolits, I learn a lot. Sheepdog, good idea, nice list, lots of good info. I always have to grin when it gets to "yeah, OK, but you said". Then it really gets good. Very entertaining and informative. Keep up the discussions boys!! I'm learning a lot. Enjoy Mike

[sheepdog]

So you're saying I'm having problems with my manhood? I see you've failed to edit out that lie about tin separating form the melt.

You're not helping newbies by giving them false information. Several others have posted discounting your myth, your ego won't let you admit your mistake.

A lie? False information? Thats some stout words to be throwing around about someone you don't know isn't it? Anything else in this post I "lied" about we need to clear up all wise Snuffy?. You've made four posts on this thread and haven't contributed a lick.

I don't have a problem making corrections or learning a thing or two but I'd shake that habit of calling someone a lair if I was you.

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Pistolas at 10 paces anyone??[smilie=1::Fire::Fire::Fire:

[Calamity Jake]

Add this one to the list: Bullshop's Spru Plate lube is the cats meow. Don't be with out it!!

[1Shirt]

Not only don't add any thing with moisture to the molten pot, don't add anything real cold either. Condensation can form and that is moisture, and you will have hot molten lead all over the place and on you. I used to keep my casting ingots outside year round. Would probably never have had a problem had I lived in the deep south. However, one December many many years ago in Kansas, when I was much younger and I hope dumber then then now, I added a cold ingot from outside that was below freezing. Instant blow out from condensation! Had on long sleeved sweat shirt, and gloves, and am very glad I had glasses. It splattered on the wall, on the front of my pants, shirt, and a couple of drops (for lack of a better word) on both lens of my glasses. Have some burns on cheeks and forehead from small splats, but nothing serious, and no scars. Had it not been for the glasses, I might well have lost an eye, or at least been vision impaired much earlier in life. Like the old Pa. Dutch saying goes "Ve get too soon old and to late smart!"
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Dollar Bill]

A single element hot plate is a great way to keep molds up to temp if casting with multiple molds, casting on a cold day, or just to get your molds up to temperature while melting your alloy.

[Spector]

I'd like to nag a minute about wearing the proper clothing for casting.

I have violated that one for years now and it caught up with me 2 1/2 weeks ago. I usually drop my bullets into a bucket of water. This time I was casting some heavy lead/tin bullets for my Swiss Vetterli and just dropping them onto a cloth on the edge of my small casting table.

I was wearing only shorts, a tee-shirt, safety glasses, Kevlar gloves and tennis shoes......with no socks. A hot bullet hit the cloth, rolled off the side of the table and dropped right into my shoe.

I tried to kick my foot up to sling the bullet out, but that only caused it to sink even deeper into my shoe. I had to be carefull standing up due to the Lee pot that was sort of between my legs. Finally I was able to get to my feet and not knock my lead pot over. Of course standing on that foot just made the bullet press into my skin like a branding iron.

Finally I was able to remove the shoe and the offending bullet. I made it to the bathtub and soaked my foot in cold water for awhile. There was very little pain beyond the initial branding pain and as I thought about it more it seemed sort of comical. I figured I provided one funny show to any neighbors who might have been looking out of their windows.

The blister is 2'' long and about 3/4'' wide extending up above my high arch. I kept anhydrous lanolin and antibiotic ointment on it. I mowed my lawn 3 days later with very little pain. Then on the 4th day when I was trimming I left my shoe on too long apparently and a portion of the blister top came off. Then the pain began. Over the course of the week my foot began to swell. I got worried because I have diabetes.

So I finally went to the doctor after a week and a half. No infection and she gave me some soothing cream to put on it to help it heal along with some bandages. She wanted to know if I wanted any pain medication. I told her I am hard headed and pain is one thing that reinforces life lessons for me so I just need to go through it.

It is finally occuring to me that this burn has the potential to be more serious than I first figured. I guess I am getting some nevre regeneration and it is more than just shooting pains. The pain locks in and persists for up to 7 or 8 seconds sometimes before letting up.

Smart people learn from other people's mistakes and don't have to experience them all for themselves. I guess that indicates I'm not too bright. Hopefully you'll be brighter than me and wear proper clothing when around molten alloys.

I concur with the person who suggested the standing work station for boolit casting. I have thought about building a covered work station outside, with good ventilation, for more than a few years now. This latest incident is reason enough for me to get it built.........Mike

[jlchucker]

Safety Glasses = REQUIRED.
A bead of sweat or condensation on a tool going into the pot makes lead foil on everything.

I often cast when it's raining or humid and the garage collects condensation. Keep an eye on tools and make a habit of checking that nothing is moist.

I also find that aluminum molds work better when the sprue plate is HOT. I warm my on their side with the sprue plate in the lead.

Safety glasses for sure--even better is one of those clear face shields that you put on over your ball cap and pivot down in front of your whole face. Those protect your whole face--not just the area in front of your eyes, and there's standoff distance enough so you can still wear your bifocals while casting. If you do use safety glasses, make sure that they have side shields.

[sheepdog]

Safety glasses for sure--even better is one of those clear face shields that you put on over your ball cap and pivot down in front of your whole face. Those protect your whole face--not just the area in front of your eyes, and there's standoff distance enough so you can still wear your bifocals while casting. If you do use safety glasses, make sure that they have side shields.

These face shields can be had for only $3 at a harbor freight. Hard to beat that for piece of mind.

[Beau Cassidy]

Always, always, always, always cast wearing boots, blue jeans (at a minimum), long sleeve shirt, HEPA mask, protective eyeware, and a hat.

[462]

As a side note: The other evening, I was going over, once again, a few chapters of Elmer Keith's "Sixguns". In the casting chapter, he said that he doesn't use gloves, when casting, and that he has the scars to prove it. Well, I have a few scars, too. Eventually, though, I got smart and always wear heavy gloves. Seems ol' Elmer was as stubborn as some have claimed.

[zomby woof]

Why a HEPA mask??

[sheepdog]

Lead fumes. I've heard the fumes off clean lead at low casting temps are nearly non-existant

[zomby woof]

Lead fumes. I've heard the fumes off clean lead at low casting temps are nearly non-existant

That is what I understood.

Maybe during messing with all the wheel weights??

[1Shirt]

Elmer and me I guess, as I have never worn gloves, but also have the scars to show for it. Oh well!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[BarryinIN]

Great list!

Not so much a tip as an observation:

In the few weeks I've been casting, I'm noticing that every mould has it's own personality. Even if two moulds are made by the same company, made of the same material, and casting a similar caliber and weight of bullet, they may work differently. One will cast better at a certain temperture, then I try another mould close to it and it needs to be hotter or cooler. One needs a big sprue poured, and the next won't matter. One will heat up fast and need cooled down or rotated with another, and the next will take a hotter alloy for a longer period and I get tired before it gets too hot.

The lesson I learned is not to base much on what the last mould needed, no matter how similar it may be, and to keep trying things until you get good results- even if it's the opposite of what the last mould took. Once you find what it wants, you have it made, but you do have to find it first.
They just do what they do.

[45nut]

If this thread show any sign of death anytime soon, I will copy it and transfer it to classics and stickies.
I have it on my watch list.

[superior]

Never use anything that belongs to the wife! More importantly, don't argue about who it really belongs to.



"Better is the enemy of good enough."

[Bret4207]

I have to be the odd man out I guess, as usual. I don't normally wear gloves and if I do they are the 100% cotton jersey gloves. I try to wear my glasses. I cast standing. Sitting and casting always seemed very awkward to me and dangerous too. How can you get away from the lead if you need to? I have cast in shorts, but as a rule I'm a heavy jeans and boots everyday kinda guy. A mask? Please, if you want to wear one fine, but I have a feeling we're all in more danger from household dusts and molds. I once saw a picture somewhere of a guy wearing a mask OUTSIDE while smelting his WW down. Silliest thing I ever saw. Just stand UP WIND. But that's just me. I don't wear a bicycle helmet, have a 911 speed dial or walk around in "condition orange" either.

I don't want anyone doing anything unsafe, but lets not over emphasize the danger aspect and take all the fun out of it either.

[Jumping Frog]

Leading, while irritating, isn't a disaster. 4/0 steel wool will clean it up post haste and many guns shoot just fine with a slight amount of leading showing.
I was steered to using a Copper ChoreBoy for this task and it rips though lead like **** through a goose.

Cut off a little square piece of the mesh and wrap it around a standard brass cleaning brush.

http://www.choreboyscrubbers.com/images/copperscrubbers.jpg

http://www.choreboyscrubbers.com/metal.htm

[Jumping Frog]

These face shields can be had for only $3 at a harbor freight. Hard to beat that for piece of mind.
Yeah. I bought one of those face shields for $3.

It was so cloudy that I couldn't see clearly though it. Got ticked off thinking, "what a piece of junk". Took it off and finished casting without it.

It wasn't until a couple of days later the light bulb momentarily flickered and I went out to the garage and peeled the protective film off of the mask. Jeez, I can see fine now.

[Shuz]

Here's a tip I rec'd a while ago, and I haven't lost a furnace element or thermostat since....
Draw your pot down to approx. half full of alloy before you unplug it.
A theory is... that it is easier on the whole furnace. The other thing I find is that it's much easier to harden or soften the alloy that's in the furnace if that's an objective for the next session. To insure what the alloy hardness is for the next casting session, I always get a mould up to temp and cast some sample boolits that are kept with the furnace and used for testing. This didn't use to be such a concern, but these days with so many stick on wheel weights, I've found my "handgun" alloy can easily become softer than I'd like.--Shuz

[BarryinIN]

I once saw a picture somewhere of a guy wearing a mask OUTSIDE while smelting his WW down. Silliest thing I ever saw. Just stand UP WIND.

That reminds me of another tip. OK, it's more of a suggested accessory.
An old electric fan is handy to have around.

I smelt and cast outside on the deck at an old table. I roll the grill up behind me and put an old electric fan on it's side shelf. The fan blowing across/over/around my back blows any smoke and fumes away from me, and it keeps me cooler too.

When I'm done and cleaning up, the fan blowing across the furnace and ingots of leftover alloy might cool them a little faster. It still takes a while, but I'd think it has to help.

One more thing: Pliers.
I already have two or three sets of pliers in my casting stuff. I'm always using them to pick up sprues that hit the floor, move ingot molds, etc. Gloves usually work, but pliers always do.

[bigboredad]

The one thing I've really learned in the short time I've been casting is if you think something is hot it probably is and thinking can be a real good idea when casting I have ms pretty severly and often will pick stuff up without thinking and since i don't have much feeling in my hands it's usually the smell of burning flesh that lets me know its hot

[Hardcast416taylor]

A simple item I`ve used for many years to start pre-heating ingots as well as molds before melting or using is a simple warming tray for food dishes. These can be picked up at yard sales for next to nothing. I put 6 ingots on the tray that is plugged in and it warms up the ingots enough to get rid of surface moisture and warms to the point of being too warm to hang onto.

I met Elmer Keith at a William`s dealers dinner once back in the `60s. Elmer got burned during a hotel fire when he was a young man as was evident on his hands and neck. I asked him to sign a Budweiser can he had just emptied in one long draw. Still have the can, he also autographed my store`s name ID tag. He was quite the story teller. Robert

[HORNET]

I've got an old $1 toaster oven in the garage beside my casting bench that works well for preheating ingots (keeps them out of the way) and gets used to preheat the ingot molds before I empty the pot. You'd be amazed how much condensation can build up in an ingot mold. Makes prettier ingots, too...

[Mugs]

Don't forget what Calamity Jake says "Don't forget the Bullplate"
Mugs

[MT Gianni]

RE the hepa filter. Lead vapors occur at around 1175F. That is about 300F over what a commercial electric pot can reach. IMO you are in far more danger of lead ingestion from cleaning a gun shot with lead sulfinate primers than casting yet many clean their guns in common living areas with kids around.