how dry is dry enough??

[jbc]

just got done boiling the crayon lube off some old lazercast boolits I had laying around to try and make something usefull out of them and I don't really want to meet thetinsel fairy anytime soon so I will ask anyone with experience to respond-

how should I go about drying these befor trying to melt them down from cold in my 10#lyman top ladle pot? I'm leaning toward baking to be safe but:::

1- towel dry and sit in the sun a couple hours
2- bake in the oven at low temp for an hour or so
3- place in the core of a nuclear reactor for a couple days:mrgreen:

[mroliver77]

From cold you could put them in with a cup of water with no problem. Water will boil off long before lead melts. For a warm pot I would set them in the sun for an hour first. (summer 90deg sun here)
Jay

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

yeah, just throw them in the pot before you trun it on. You won't have any problems then. Just don't throw them in the molten lead unless they are COMPLETELY dry...and wear safety glasses (this is a given...)...

[HeavyMetal]

First setting them in the sun, warm day, for an hour or so should take care if any moisture that might still be on them.

Question: why did you bother to remove the lube? In my experience boolit lube, no matter what color, has done nothing but help flux the melt and I have often added handfuls of lubed boolits, because of casting defects or whatever, to my alloy when casting.

Add, flux, stir and pour!

[mooman76]

They have to be abslutely dry so whatever it takes. putting in the pot before in warms up works. The heat from the pot will dry them. If you have allot you could use the oven idea. Setting in the sun will be depending on how hot it is outside and the humidity in the air.

[Marlin Hunter]

just got done boiling the crayon lube off some old lazercast boolits ...

how should I go about drying these before trying to melt them down from cold in my 10#lyman top ladle pot? I'm leaning toward baking to be safe but:::

1- towel dry and sit in the sun a couple hours
2- bake in the oven at low temp for an hour or so <--------
3- place in the core of a nuclear reactor for a couple days:mrgreen:


I have dried off wet boolits in the oven. I put them on a cookie sheet and turn the oven on to "warm" It gets about 130F. They will dry in 1/2 hour. But if you have crayon wax on the boolit, it may melt. I think the biggest problem you may encounter is small pockets of water still in the wax on the boolit.

Why didn't you use the lazercast boolits as they were? They are suppose to be very good.

[jbc]

Question: why did you bother to remove the lube? In my experience boolit lube, no matter what color, has done nothing but help flux the melt and I have often added handfuls of lubed boolits, because of casting defects or whatever, to my alloy when casting.

Good question- i tried it the last time i melted some commercial cast and it worked ok but smoked like the devil for a long time and seemed to leave a ton more crud in the pot than normal but i do occasionally add a few lubed boolits to the mix with no problems i just think a whole pot full was a little too much of a good thing:mrgreen:

[jbc]

Why didn't you use the lazercast boolits as they were? They are suppose to be very good.

I have in the past used them in my handi rifle 45-70 and it loves them but these were .44 swc bevel base and my super redhawk didn't like them very well and I probably should have sold them as is but instead of the hassle of shipping them I just mixed them with a little pure to soften them up and turned them into some real purdy rcbs 44-250-k's that my guns just love!!!

[Bret4207]

First setting them in the sun, warm day, for an hour or so should take care if any moisture that might still be on them.

Question: why did you bother to remove the lube? In my experience boolit lube, no matter what color, has done nothing but help flux the melt and I have often added handfuls of lubed boolits, because of casting defects or whatever, to my alloy when casting.

Add, flux, stir and pour!

My question too. I see the smoke was an issue, makes sense.

[Bret4207]

Why didn't you use the lazercast boolits as they were? They are suppose to be very good.

According to Lazercast anyway.....[smilie=l:

[runfiverun]

they are great.
i use them in lube tests, i uase them to lead up my bbl then see how long it takes a batch of lube to shoot it out.
just throw them in the pot it will dry them out and melt,if you need to add more put kitty litter on top and set a few at a time on it they will dry out.
you get a bunch of that wax lube in a pot it makes a mess from hell and is hard to get rid of.

[Bret4207]

they are great.
i use them in lube tests, i uase them to lead up my bbl then see how long it takes a batch of lube to shoot it out.


HAR! Yeah, that's about how the the ones I tried worked too.

[peter nap]

This isn't the answer safety experts want given....but I often have wet lead that needs to go in the pot (5 gallon buckets of water and WW's). I just wipe them off on my shirttail and toss them in. Once in a while, I'll even get a hiss. In my experience from many years of forging and a much shorter time casting, it takes a very wet chunk of lead (Dripping) to create a steam pocket large enough to cause a problem.

[Rocky Raab]

Well, it certainly isn't the answer that I would have given, even if I'm no safety expert.

You can put anything in a cold pot. You can put anything into an empty pot. What you cannot do is add anything even moist to melted lead.

The answer is to fill your cold pot, melt it and then completely empty it into ingot molds. Then and only then add more raw stock, all at once. You want it to warm slowly enough that any water can be driven off before the lead melts. Make it full or empty only.

[peter nap]

What you cannot do is add anything even moist to melted lead.

only.

That simply isn't true Rocky. It depends on how wet it is!
I do it nearly everytime I cast because most of my buckets sit outside. Safety issues are important but old wives tales aren't!

[Navahojoe]

It won"t take but one good visit fromn the Tinsel Fairy to clear this matter up!:-D
NavahoJoe

:castmine:

[peter nap]

It won"t take but one good visit fromn the Tinsel Fairy to clear this matter up!:-D
NavahoJoe

:castmine:

You may be right Joe so I'll ask a serious question. Have you ever had a steam explosion. Not your cousin or stories on the net,,,but have you experienced one? If you have, how much water was on the lead, cold to the touch, dripping, wet looking.

I'd like to know because in 40 years of forging and that includes casting a lot of pewter...and several thousand pounds of lead now...I haven't seen a steam explosion yet. I've managed to burn myself in a lot of ways including splattering flux while forge welding....but no steam explosions yet.

If they happen frequently, I'd like to know the circumstances!

[docone31]

I always have about 1/2" of Kitty Litter on top of my pot. As long as I do not toss them in, they float untill they melt. Works out pretty well.
I water drop all of my castings. I always have. I can take a lousey casting from the pot, set it on the Kitty Litter, and no Tinsel Fairy. I do take care to let them sit outside the water pot on a towel before I put them on the Litter though.
It is all common sense.
From a cold start up, there should be no issues whatsoever. Smoke sure, but no pop!
If they are wet, gotta let them warm up before submerging.
Even my ingots I let warm up first. I have had moisture enter pinholes after ingoting! Go slow, think, think, think.
Too fast is always what got me into trouble.
Remember at all times, Mr. Murphy, the famous law-maker and philosopher, is always there. He delights in making us stronger with challenges.

[1Shirt]

If you put them on a dishtowel and in the sun, when the dish towl is dry, the blts will be dry also.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[fredj338]

If you were going to melt them, no need to remove the lube. It just acts as flux. I would set them in the sun on some newspaper for an hour or so, should pretty much dry them out.

[sqlbullet]

Have you ever had a steam explosion. Not your cousin or stories on the net,,,but have you experienced one? If you have, how much water was on the lead, cold to the touch, dripping, wet looking

Yes. I have. Several times.

The most frequent case is when melting these (http://fellingfamily.net/isolead/blueCylSm.JPG) on a humid (for Utah) day. I can only surmise that the hot air near the surface of the pot condenses moisture onto the inside of the cylinder. It only happens when these are added to a pot and allowed to tip over before the metal is above the boiling point to gas off the water. As long as they are allowed to stand up for 10 seconds before hot lead gets into the cylinder, there is never an issue.

I have also had the issue when adding bullets that appeared dry to a Lee pot. They were bullets that had the sprue tear the day before. They sat, base down, on the bench overnight after inspection. They had been water dropped. I can only surmise that some moisture persisted in the uneven structure of the sprue tear.

I have never melted wheel weights. I would surmise the following. The presence of a steel clip in a wheel weight would make it float. Water on the surface of molten lead does not create a violent reaction. I would guess you have been lucky.

I have been as well. I have yet to have a serious burn. I have learned my lessons. I have a neighbor who came to see the process about 4 months ago during a very wet night. He leaned too close (after repeated warnings) when a little blue went in. He spent the rest of the evening applying aloe vera to his forearm. A second degree burn about .25" wide and 2" long.

He didn't make a big deal about it, but people without long sleeves and pants are no longer welcome on my property if I have a hot pot of lead.

To the OP. Add them to a cold pot, doesn't matter how wet they are. The water will vaporize at 212°, and the lead won't melt until 360° at the very lowest. The water will be long gone.

Hot pot. Don't! However, I will, but I dry them thoroughly, then use long nose pliers to put a known dry part in contact with the lead, wait 20-30 seconds (the bullet will start to get soft) then drop it in.

[dragonrider]

Yes I have had a steam explosion, was melting a bunch of scrap lead pipe into ingots. Filled the pot when cold, heated to melt, then (stupidly) grabbed another short length of pipe and set it in the pot standing up with my hand over the top. Good thing I was wearing welders gloves and the resulting volcanic eruption of lead that came up and ejected out the top of the pipe pushed my hand out ot the way.My gloved hand deflected most of the lead allover my bench, what a mess. No burns, a few small globs on my sweatshirt. No lead goes into a hot pot now that hasn't been prewarmed with a propane torch. When the surface gets shiney and starts to melt, then it goes into the pot. IMHO lead cannot be dry enough.

[Rocky Raab]

I think those last few tales add credibility to my three rules:

You can add anything to a cold pot.

You can add anything to an empty pot (hot or cold).

Never add anything moist to a pot of melted lead.

[peter nap]

I think those last few tales add credibility to my three rules:

You can add anything to a cold pot.

You can add anything to an empty pot (hot or cold).

Never add anything moist to a pot of melted lead.

Well, yes it does add credibility...BUT, I just spent the last hour trying to get a decent steam pop and couldn't!

Whatever is happening to them is not happening to me. I had a 50 pound pot completely melted at 750 couple degrees and was throwing wheel weights out of a 5 gallon bucket full of water, into the pot. I shook them and tossed them. Got steam, got hissing but didn't get any explosion.

I may soak a few cupcakess to see if it's trapped water although I doubt there is enough recess inside them to hold water.

I did blow a still up once so I should be able to get this down.:mrgreen:

[madman]

How do ya post a picture I have an old Toyota that has one side of it covered with lead after a mishap ( I was using it as a wind barrier) with some ingots that had been sitting in the back of my truck. Just be thankful that those of you whom have not had it happen to you. Lead sticks and it doesn't cool very quickly. I am still trying to perfect the rain dance. Any one else know how

[qajaq59]

Well, yes it does add credibility...BUT, I just spent the last hour trying to get a decent steam pop and couldn't! You will only get a visit from the Tinsel Fairy if you create steam beneath the surface of the molten lead. And having been hit a few times with molten lead from when I ran a linotype machine I'd suggest you not even try to get an explosion. Oh, and glasses do not always keep hot lead out of your eyes unless they are goggles. Mine weren't when the lino squirted, and it hurts like nothing you have ever done. Do yourself a favor and keep water away from your casting bench. Please!!

[Navahojoe]

My "steam esplosion" was from a one lb ingot, dampened by dew. I was casting in the morning, had used about one half of my Lee 10 lb pot, added one ingot from a bucket that had set outside all night. Lead exploded out of the pot, all over my casting bench, the side of the house, and on my pants, shoes, and a few splatters on my arms, which, thank goodness were covered with a long sleeve denim shirt. Gloves covered my hands and it did't hit my face, but I did get burns thru the shirt. Needless to say, that will make me , maybe not you, look and make sure my ingots are dry before adding them to a hot pot. I don't have any cousins that cast boolits and I didn't read it on the internet, although I did quite a bit of reading afterward.
regards,
NavahoJoe

[Rocky Raab]

Ahh, Peter. You see, the difference is this: the rest of us are trying to PREVENT a steam explosion. You're trying to cause one. You have found ways to usually prevent one or that have prevented them until now. That's not the goal for the rest of us (or at least for me).

Following those three rules will ALWAYS prevent one from happening. But wear the full regalia of safety gear, nonetheless.

[UweJ]

having had a visit from the tinsel fairy myself I can only comply with the said above. Keep anything wet or moist away from the lead.The pain or work cleaning up afterwards isn´t worth it.
Uwe

[wolfman]

If you really want to create a steam explosion, try this:
Drill a small, 1/16" hole about 3/16" deep into a boolit to replicate a bubble in the base, and fill with water. Seal the hole with a small shaving of lead, and drop it into your "HOT" casting pot. Be very quick, because the tinsel fairy is "FAST".

:coffee:

[softpoint]

One of the reasons I have moved my casting to an outbuilding is that I still have tinsel hanging from the ceiling in my loading room in the house:roll:And I needed to get the lead away from powder. It could have been a lot worse than it was, as some of the lead fell on and stuck to some 8 pound kegs of powder (6 of them) and things could have gotten REAL exciting[smilie=1:

[zuke]

I use an old aluminum pot to hold my WW clip's till they cool and then dump them into a plastic pail.
I use the same pot to preheat WW's. Fill it up, put it on top of my lead pot. It act's as a lid and the heat rise's to dry out the wheel weight's.

[peter nap]

If you really want to create a steam explosion, try this:
Drill a small, 1/16" hole about 3/16" deep into a boolit to replicate a bubble in the base, and fill with water. Seal the hole with a small shaving of lead, and drop it into your "HOT" casting pot. Be very quick, because the tinsel fairy is "FAST".

:coffee:

Yep...That worked:roll:
Glad I used my small pot!

Now I know what it takes. Water in confinement so it sinks.:kidding:

[mold maker]

If you haven't had a visit from the good fairy yet, your past due. The operative word is YET. If you smelt and cast long enough, your turn will come.
She waits for you to shift your attention and wakes you up with a a thunderous bang. Then you have to outrun the lead rain.
I had tinsel hanging from tree limbs up to 14' high, from about 40 lbs of melt. I didn't recover enough to be worth while looking.
Make sure what ever you are wearing sheds that hot sleet from around your neck etc. In tinder areas it will burn its way deep into the skin and take forever to heal.

[rbuck351]

I've had it happen twice. The first time I was just ignorant and threw some water dropped culls that had not dried yet back into a lee 10lb pot that was about half full. It almost totally emptied it. The second time ,I was putting some water dropped rejects back in that had set for a day and I thought were dry. Apparently one had a void in the base that I had missed. Same deal, the tinsel fairy is really fast. Anymore I put the rejects in before starting the melt. The tinsel fairy is a nasty creature that should not be given ANY chance to visit.

[imashooter2]

You may be right Joe so I'll ask a serious question. Have you ever had a steam explosion. Not your cousin or stories on the net,,,but have you experienced one? If you have, how much water was on the lead, cold to the touch, dripping, wet looking.

I'd like to know because in 40 years of forging and that includes casting a lot of pewter...and several thousand pounds of lead now...I haven't seen a steam explosion yet. I've managed to burn myself in a lot of ways including splattering flux while forge welding....but no steam explosions yet.

If they happen frequently, I'd like to know the circumstances!

I had a steam explosion from a single drop of rain falling into an ingot mold just before I poured. That drop of rain spread on the hot surface of the iron, so it wasn't dripping wet, but there was still plenty of moisture to do the job.

[blackthorn]

I melt WW in a cut off 20lb propane tank and scoop the alloy out with an old cast iron pot with a wood handle. I was melting DRY WW in my carport one cold morning and had poured one batch into ingots. I set the dip-pot on the cement floor while the second batch melted. I skimmed the dross with my slotted spoon, picked up the dip-pot and pushed it bottom first into the melt. BIG mistake!! There was enough condensation on the flat bottom of the dip-pot to cause an explosion sufficient to bounce the dip-pot out of the pot and out of my hand. luckily thats all it did. Enough said? DO NOT put ANYTHING even DAMP into/onto molten lead!!

[DLCTEX]

One visit I witnessed, thankfully from a short distance, was at a plant I worked in that manufactured wire. The copper wire was coated with tin by traveling through a vat of molten tin. One extremely cold night the operator added a cold ingot and got an instant eruption that coated everything around, including the floor in front of me 25 yds. away. Thankfully safety regs. required him to be covered in leather with a helmet and full face shield, so his burns were limited but painful. The moisture may have been ice formed from condensation.

[stubert]

To JBC, what ratio do you mix the lead that you melted from the oregon trail bullets? I just melted down about 1500 rounds that I could not get to shoot well either.

[JSnover]

Having had two visits I learned this:
Fill the pot before you turn on the burner.
If you have any other lead that you might consider adding later, lay it on top of the lid for a while (you have a lid, right?) to dry it.

[303Guy]

Remember at all times, Mr. Murphy, the famous law-maker and philosopher, is always there. He delights in making us stronger with challenges.Yup. Murphy's first law - If anything can go wrong, it will!:evil:

[Recluse]

You may be right Joe so I'll ask a serious question. Have you ever had a steam explosion. Not your cousin or stories on the net,,,but have you experienced one? If you have, how much water was on the lead, cold to the touch, dripping, wet looking.

Oh hell yeah.

Very first time I met the Tinsel Fairy, I was a young man in the service. Me and another genius were trying to get our lead "super hard" by water quenching our ingots, then quickly remelting them, pouring them into ingot moulds, then quickly remelting them in the (already) hot smelting pot. Too quickly, it would seem.

We were doing this at the base auto hobby shop.

The impending steam explosion and volcanic eruption had us fearing for our safety and lives--not just from the hot molten lead (that was easy), but from the EXTREMELY irate grizzled E-9 that got woken up by the explosion and saw silver lead all over his once clean and pristine shop area.

Several years ago, I was smelting some wheel weights on my back deck in the middle of a nice, hot Texas summer evening. I left the lid on the smelting pot about 1/3 off the pot to let the smoke escape. I'd gone into the house, got distracted by something on the TV and didn't get back to my smelting right away.

That probably saved me a helluva lot of pain.

We heard a kind of bang/boom/clatter and my wife yelled, "What the HELL?!?" and before she even got through yelling, I knew what had happened.

The sprinklers in the backyard had come on and they are the "stream" type rather than the misting type. One of them swept across the deck, hit the hot smelting pot perfectly with the lid half on/half off, and I was picking lead out of the deck for the next month under the very whizzed off and stern, glaring supervision of my wife.

Had a minor visit from a Tinsel Fairy apprentice one evening and it just splattered a little lead on my forearms. During the summer, I do not wear long-sleeve shirts while casting. I do wear gloves, however, at all times when casting. The hot lead on my forearms burned some hair off, stunk up the shop and gave me the opportunity to shout some hastily chosen expletives.

:coffee:

[Dale53]

I have had TWO steam explosions in over fifty years of casting and let me tell you that is TWO TIMES TOO MANY!

The first time I was eager to check a couple of newly cast bullets out. I used my tablespoon that I skim with to hold a hot bullet under the faucet to cool for inspection. The end of the spoon had lead flashing over the edge. Apparently, the water ran under the flashing (we are talking just a few drops, here). When I stuck the spoon into the melt (just a small, ten pound size Lyman cast iron pot) The entire pot exploded into tiny droplets. I was wearing glasses but the droplets got around the glasses and filled my eyes with droplets of molten lead.

Fortunately, the droplets were tiny. Although there were a LOT of them, the moisture in my eyes quenched them enough to reduce the damage. However, I had to pick the lead out of the inside of my eyelids (as if someone had thrown a handful of sand into my eyes). My eyelids were burned but I recovered fully.

Thirty years later, I had a similar accident, again. This time a full RCBS pot of lead was spread across the ceiling of my friends NEW casting room. I was not too popular a guest for a bit - good thing he was and is a GOOD friend. I was lucky this time and didn't get hurt.

So, do NOT take chances with molten lead and water. Do NOT, do NOT, do NOT...

So much for "urban myth" - in NEITHER case was there much water at all involved. They were just drops but they were pushed under the surface of the molten lead.

Dale53

[lwknight]

Old battery terminals with wet corosion stuff makes an impressive entrance of the tinsel fairy too. Not to mention the primer that got into the spru pile.
All in all, a sparkly ceiling is not so bad.

[Mike'em]

I guess i'm a real risk taker. My pot starts about 20 feet away from the house and shead, that is where all manner of lead,water,steel,tin and what ever else is in the mix starts. About 30 or 45 min later i come back and move the hole mess to the porch or shead and start casting. The Tinsel fairy must come while i'm gone. When i pour ingots i use some small molds made of drink cans turned upside down. i've dumped some of them while the core was still molten. It didnt hurt anything but it realy looked ugly.

[bearcove]

OK A little reality. When I smelt, wet lead or suspect lead with moisture goes in the pot before you turn on the burner it dries as the pot heats up. If you have anything that you think might be wet put a piece of plate over the pot and set the piece up there to dry. If you think it still may contain moisture, don't put it in the pot.

IF YOU DO, this is when the tinsel fairy may visit.

At this point you may laugh or call 911.

ITS A FREE COUNTRY YOU PICK!


:lovebooli

[mastercast.com]

jbc:

Just for information, as related to your question.....meltiing cold lead/alloy will remove any trace of moisture as the "pot" heats up. The moisture will boil, steam, and be gone before you get to the melting point of lead.

Once the lead is starting to get melted, ANTHING with moisture on condensation, that you add to the pot CAN cause the "Tinsel Fairy To Fly"...like a new ingot that has been on the floor for a while, a "fluxing spoon" that has been exposed to the atmosphere for a while, a ladel that has been exposed to the atmosphere, a dollop of "tin" that might have condensation, etc..

Heat anything that you might add to the "pot" to remove condensation/moisture to prevent the "Evil Fairy" from taking wing.

The easy way to do that, is put anything that you intend to put in the "pot", on top of the "pot"(not in it!) of molten lead long enojugh to get hot enough to remove any trace on condensation/moisture.

I can only hope this prevents someone from getting injured/burned.

I have the burn scars of experience....you don't want those.


Mike

[flinchnjerk]

I hope that the skeptics here will remember the adage "Even from a fool one can learn what NOT to do", and also appreciate just how small an amount of water could cause life-altering consequences. I would never have believed that the moisture from my lips on the butt of a plain-end cigarette would be enough to blow the top inch of melt out of a Lee 10 pound pot. Superheated steam expands to 2200 times the volume of the original drop of water.... and does so R.F.N.

[MK111]

Thirty years later, I had a similar accident, again. This time a full RCBS pot of lead was spread across the ceiling of my friends NEW casting room. I was not too popular a guest for a bit - good thing he was and is a GOOD friend. I was lucky this time and didn't get hurt.

So, do NOT take chances with molten lead and water. Do NOT, do NOT, do NOT...

So much for "urban myth" - in NEITHER case was there much water at all involved. They were just drops but they were pushed under the surface of the molten lead.

Dale53[/QUOTE]

Dale I was wondering when you where going to come in here and tell that one because I sure wasn't going to tell on you.

Guys these explosions do happen. I was there and I never did get that lead off that ceiling. It's still up there and it's been almost 25 years now. I had to move just to get away from it.

Be careful it does happen. A live primer in a 60 lb pot will empty to. But that's another story for another day. And I ain't going to tell on myself.

[Dale53]

I told you he was a GOOD friend (we still speak and everything:mrgreen:).

MIII and I are old deer hunting and shooting buddies from WAY back.

We were both present when we each got our first deer with a handgun.

He recently got his 20th.:drinks: and has introduced his grand son to the wonders of deer hunting.

Dale53

[mastercast.com]

flinchjerk,

I am curious...am I a fool for attempting to prevent someone from getting burned?

Let me know on that when you get the time please.

[mastercast.com]

Another thing to watch out for...


Lead molds on the floor or in "buckets" of the same, get cold, condensation forms, and when you pour molten lead into them, it will "sizzle" if you are lucky or explode if you are not.

Scars from molten lead....want some?

[lwknight]

Mastercast, I read that as, ( you can learn even from a fool, so you had better double listen to people that know whats up) and not as calling you a fool.

[mastercast.com]

lknight,


OK, I stand down on that one.

[flinchnjerk]

Thanks, lwknight... you did indeed correctly interpret the intent of my seemingly ham-handed post... which was to reinforce mastercast's warning. mastercast, I was the fool. I foolishly created a situation that resulted in a minute amount of moisture being forced below the surface of the melt. It was only because I at least had the sense to be wearing safety glasses that I didn't lose the sight in my right eye.

[mastercast.com]

flinchnjerk,

You are not a fool...things that we can't predict happen.

Safety glasses are OK, but not the best solution. I was alloying lead a few years back, something fell out of the sky...I have no idea what...I saw it dimple the pot of molten lead, knew what was comming next, and recoiled away from the pot of lead. BIG MISTAKE...that had my head at the perfect angle for a "blob" of molten lead to go under my safety glasses. That "blob" of hot lead stuck one of my eyelids together..I can no longer remember which one.

We now use full face shields here.

I will tell you another in a minute that defies belief.

[mastercast.com]

flinchnjerk,

How about this one?

A few years ago I was using a Magma Engineering MASTERCASTER...a hand operated casting machine that runs one, single or two cavity bullet mold.

Things were running in sterling fashion as I was castin .45 caliber 500 grain bullets. I pulled the handle to cut the sprue and drop the bullet, raised the handle, and poured another one. A small explosion...what the he**! No idea.

It was not until I dropped that just poured bullet that I realized what had happened. A BUG had flown in the shop, and had gotten trapped between the closing halves of the bullet mold..when I poured the next bullet, the moisture in the body of the BUG caused the little explosion. That little "blob" of lead, if I recall correctly did no damage to me.

What are the odds of that?