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Thread: Casting precautions

  1. #21
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I wear jeans, a long sleeve shirt, boots and glases when casting but no gloves. I'll wear gloves when smelting scrap. My table is made of steel and is very sturdy and I made a wooden tray that my pot sits in that will hold the pot contents if there were to be a failure. I cast and smelt in my shop with lots of ventilation.

  2. #22
    Boolit Master
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    Another safety measure I take is making sure I have a clear direct path away from the pot in case of an eruption or catastrophic spill.

  3. #23
    Boolit Master
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    eye protection gloves and a leather apron,last thing i want is a lap of molten lead as i cast sitting down.

  4. #24
    Boolit Buddy Cast_outlaw's Avatar
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    My self it’s a good fitting set of leather gloves, safety glasses, jeans, and a long sleeve (I always ware long sleeves) shirt. most often I only ware one glove. I cast indoors so little to no risk of water In the pot. I do have a ventilation hood over my casting bench as shown here I do have a 10lb fire extinguishing nearby as well Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #25
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    In terms of safety, I almost went in a full circle.
    When I stated casting I did it over a camp fire to prove to myself that it was possible. It is possible and I lived through that experience with no injuries despite the total lack of safety equipment.
    I then went completely in the other direction and used a fan, face shield, gloves, long sleeves, jeans and heavy shoes.
    That didn't last.
    For casting (not smelting) the face shield, gloves and long sleeves are gone.
    I'm down to long cotton pants, shoes, Tee shirt and safety glasses.
    It's a calculated risk.

  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I added the apron for a primary level of protection. No cost as I have them from being a tool and die maker. Mine are a white Heavy denim material. They catch splatters and other dirt and crud before getting to clothing. Like I said a second layer there. It also makes an uninterrupted surface when something hits it.

  7. #27
    Boolit Buddy
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    I never cast without safety glasses and welding gloves. One item that I consider essential for safety is the 1/4x28 bolt that secures the base of my Pro-Melt to my workbench...I don’t want to experience knocking over a pot full of molten lead.

  8. #28
    Boolit Master
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    I gotta say, I have never been able to use tools wearing welding gloves. Maybe I just haven't found a pair that fits my hands well. I use one when ingot pouring (my big Rowell gets pretty hot with nearly 10# of molten lead in it) and when turning out the ingots out (toasty!), but that's just lifting and gross manipulation only. For casting I have to go with a light leather work glove on the mold holding hand and bare on the other, tool using hand.

  9. #29
    Boolit Master

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    Smelting I use a Colman camping stove with a 1 Gal. cast iron pot. Wear jeans, denim apron, OSHA approved eye protection, hat, long welding gloves that fit good just inside garage door of shop so plenty of air circulation. Casting have a RCBS pot on wooden bench with old 12O VAC fan pulling fumes Away with shop door open, never any issues. Having been very familiar with OSHA regulations from work, never operated in an unsafe manor. IMHO, its just common sense.
    10-x

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  10. #30
    Boolit Master
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    My only safety precaution is safety glasses. I'd don't own any open toe shoes so I guess you can count that also.....

  11. #31
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    Gary,
    One more important step .. light the flux with a match and you will have no smoke
    Regards
    John

  12. #32
    Boolit Master Targa's Avatar
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    When processing wheel weights and pouring ingots I have gloves and eye protection on. When casting I loose the gloves, yeh, I have had a few burns just from the mould swinging over and hitting my hand after breaking a sprue loose but nothing to bad yet.

  13. #33
    Boolit Master Baltimoreed's Avatar
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    Lots of good points here. I have a tall work table and always cast standing up. I use an old school lee pot with a ladle, have a bottom pour pot but got tired of wrestling with the leakage. I always wear glasses, open my barn doors and use a fan, just bought an apron so next time I cast I’ll try it, never worn gloves though. Tried some leather gloves but it made me clumsy which felt was more dangerous than without.

  14. #34
    Boolit Master
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    I plug in my furnace and when the lead reaches temp I start casting.
    "In general, the art of government is to take as much money as possible from one class of citizens and give it to another class of citizens" Voltaire'

    The common virtue of capitalism is the sharing of equal opportunity. The common vice of socialism is the equal sharing of misery

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  15. #35
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by poppy42 View Post
    I kinda approach it the same way as I do frying bacon. In other words I don’t do either one naked!
    As poppy said, just in the garage with gloves and leather shoes (already wear glasses), not in the house...but there are folks here that cast inside of their home, I am not in that group. Looks like everyone one as different views on what precautions they take, some are quite scared and some have no fear whatsoever. I would be closer to the no-fear end of that, I know it has dangers (molten lead and lead in your body) but I also think with only reasonable care it can avoided. I tell my doctors what I do, they have no concerns and don't even test my blood for lead.
    Take a kid to the range, you'll both be glad you did.

  16. #36
    Boolit Master
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    A lot of it is common sense, if you weld with arc welder you don’t do it in shorts, or with out a hood either. I’ve had my blood tested and was surprised that heavy metal level was normal, doc asked why i would be concerned? Told him that i had been melting wheel wts. And casting boolits with lead. So we retested 1 year later and same results. Melt your ingots outside stay upwind or ventilation over casting pot. Safe as can be. Oh don’t get water under the liquid lead very bad mistake, it will happen, just be ready for it.

  17. #37
    Boolit Master rsrocket1's Avatar
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    A face shield is mandatory. Just like gloves, I've seen tiny splashes on the face shield and I wouldn't want to have had that land on my face, hands or eyes when a tiny molten droplet flies through the air. I have foolishly done some casting without gloves "just for a little while" and have gotten tiny red burn marks on my hand or bigger ones when I accidentally touched the pot.

  18. #38
    Boolit Master
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    I'm thinking it is entirely possible to have so much PPE on that it can make a person more clumsy and more likely to have an accident. Maybe find a happy medium? Use sufficient protection and precautions against the most likely and most serious types of injury that is at the same time comfortable enough to prevent fatigue and distraction and that allows the dexterity needed to handle equipment efficiently. I guess all that is still going to vary from person to person.

  19. #39
    Boolit Buddy
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    Sometimes the caution flag is more pointedly raised by a near disaster, in particular when that disaster involves one's own skin! Having a relatively loose level of gear during the casting operation is something that will most usually work out ok.........with some exceptions..........my personal "exception" point that is NEVER violated is making damn sure I am beyond eruption range when melting.....almost learned that the hard way. Glasses\pants\boots....all good.....but better yet is to avoid that hot stuff to begin with....my revelation came by way of simply adding some properly stored lead bricks, least I thought they were till I added several to my old SACO that I'd set up on a picnic table in a screened room next to our pool......those bricks were kept in a storage cabinet in that same area....Went into the house to grab a hot cup of coffee while the stuff liquified and shortly thereafter heard a fairly loud "wump"......that table was fairly sheathed in lead....the nylon screening was plated and partly melted....won't even attempt to repeat the wife's observations!

    Cheap lesson tho....lotta cleanup and an experience taken to heart.....I've not a bit of doubt that I'd have been at best badly burned if not
    blinded......Those bricks had been stored in a container for some time, the weather was a cold and damp late winter day......perfect for condensation in a casting void, truly don't think I could have duplicated that explosion with a garden hose!

  20. #40
    Boolit Master

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    I had a similar experience to dogrunner's while melting a bunch of old lead pipe into ingots. Being too lazy to cut the pipe into short lengths, i stuck the end of a 6 foot 2 inch diameter pipe in the melt and got a 6 foot rifle barrel shooting molten lead into the back yard. My own version of greek fire visited on the squirrels. Won't be doing that again.

    Bob
    Si hostes visibilis, etiam tu

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check