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Thread: Casting precautions

  1. #41
    Boolit Master AntiqueSledMan's Avatar
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    Feb 2011
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    516
    Hello midnight,

    I don't think to many people will encounter Lead Pipe.
    But for those of you who do, be "Very Careful" with it.
    I did a section of the stuff years ago, the plumber who removed it
    folded it into about 6" long with about 2 folds.
    I let it sit out in the sun for 3 days before melting it down.
    There was still moisture trapped inside and when it started melting,
    that moisture exploded like a bomb going off. Fortunately I was outside
    and not very close to it when it started exploding, lead splatter everywhere.
    If I ever see any again I will split it length ways and make sure it's dry.

    AntiqueSledMan.

  2. #42
    Boolit Grand Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Northern Michigan
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    These threads come along regularly and are good reminders.

    I remember one guy who posted a picture of his wife casting with no PPE at all...not even glasses. People like that have no common sense or are totally ignorant.

    IMHO new casters should err on the side of having a bit more PPE than a bit less until they get "comfortable" with the process. With experience, they can start shedding the "useless" PPE until they have an incident. Then they can reevaluate their needs.

    I know people who drink and drive and had a few fender benders but have not killed anyone....yet.

    Accidents happen in every activity. I would not want some of you gentlemen mentoring a new caster; but I have little regard for some "mentors" and YouTubers. And there is the crux....new casters are reading these threads. PPE may seem like an easy place to save a few $$$$. If you are new to this, get PPE and do not cast in shorts and sandals, even if your "mentor" has been doing like that for 30 years.

    One other suggestion, do not have children around when casting. Pets can be a distraction, but have fur and some shielding if you screw up...and they can be put down if it comes to that.
    Don Verna


  3. #43
    Boolit Master
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    Communist New Jersey
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    Being a welder and having learned to weld while quite young on a farm I learned all the lessons about getting burned and how to stay protected. Yes, welding gloves are big and heavy but when you get used to them they are no different than driving gloves. But in a separate lead related accident I can tell you what molten lead does to skin, it removes it. The skin on my left thumb was originally on my rear end! When I was about 11-12 years old I was casting lead soldiers using a small pot. I don't even remember what I was using for a ladle. But something was falling on the bench and I went to grab it and I caught the wire to the pot with my hand. My left hand was on the bench holding me up as I was grabbing whatever it was that was falling and the pot dumped over on my hand. Took the skin right down to the muscle and bone. Considering my age and the fact I was growing like a piece of bamboo I had to get new skin grafts about every 3 months for a year and a half. I have never forgotten that. I tend to do a lot of things not quite by the rules but welding and casting are by the book with protection.

  4. #44
    In Remembrance - Super Moderator & Official Cast Boolits Sketch Artist

    RP's Avatar
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    When your on a casting roll and the wife has called you more then 3 times (I be there in a few mins ) will not work again you just may want to stop and spend some time with her or have her on the war path for a day or two and that gives you more casting time. Depends on if you want a unhappy wife or a happy or content wife lol.
    Reloading to save money I am sure the saving is going to start soon

  5. #45
    Boolit Bub


    Mmacro's Avatar
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    This....
    Quote Originally Posted by BamaNapper View Post
    I also use an apron. I picked up a cheap welders apron from Harbor Freight. I sit when I cast. I don't tie the apron, simply hang it around my neck and keep it draped across my lap with my feet tucked under it. I've had a couple small splatters hit it and they just roll off. What got me started wearing one was looking at the Lee pot with 10# of molten lead hanging off the vertical by the heating element, with the vertical secured to the base by sheet metal screws into extruded aluminum. I'm sure the design is strong enough and has decades of proven reliability. I just feel safer with that layer of leather between my lap and the lead pot.

  6. #46
    Boolit Master
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    Jan 2016
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    GONRA & Younger Son cast OUTSIDE in the fresh air and keep the rest
    of Little Family (that includes PETs too of course!) out of the area.
    NO distractions!

  7. #47
    Boolit Master

    Land Owner's Avatar
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    Safety is personal. There is zealous, there is spartan, and there is everything in between.

    I sit in the shade of the garage to cast, an arm's length away...no looking down into the pot, fan exhaust, keeping my face and nose away, so my "get back" reaction to disaster will be slow(er). Cotton apron, Airmen's gloves (soft leather on palm side, soft "thick cotton" on upper side), closed toed shoes, safety glasses (I wear all the time), tee shirt. Feed ingots have been in dry storage since their making, so the chance of "silver confetti" for me is minimal.

    NO DISTRACTIONS.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  8. #48
    Boolit Buddy


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    I acquired a large container of reclaimed shot one time and was using it by the spoonful to sweeten my alloy right in my Lee pot. I didn't realize that a few live 209 primers had gotten mixed in and I dropped two directly into my pot. The only thing that saved my skin was my PPE. I still have lead splatter all over my patio and let me tell you, those primers are loud when they go off next to you. I also was melting a large container of pulled bullets and range scrap one time and missed a live M17 .50BMG tracer... Not nearly as dramatic as a primer but it looked like a I dropped a road flare into my lead pot. I don't think of fooling with molten metal without PPE.

  9. #49
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by gnappi View Post
    Thanks for the tip yet another reason to use these pages, I never heard of them before.

    I looked them up on Ebay, they're very inexpensive! My problem is I have small hands and when buying gloves I get women's large (if available in something other than pink) gloves which do fit.

    I found a Nomex fitment chart their CM to inch chart (as well as other's I've seen) is whacked out, so I have no idea which is wrong, the inch or centimeters. In either case, as usual my hand falls between sizes.

    In your experience do the gloves stretch and take a set if not allowed to get wet? If they stretch, a small would likely be best on me.
    perhaps this sizing chart will help:
    https://bilalbroz.com/nomex-flyer-gloves-size-chart/

    I too have always had glove fitment issues. I have overly broad/wide hands. The glove fingers and especially thumbs are almost always too long as a result. Buying gloves without trying them on first is at best hit or miss for me.
    Last edited by oley55; 03-19-2021 at 01:07 PM.
    “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem.” Ronald Reagan


  10. #50
    Boolit Mold
    Join Date
    May 2022
    Posts
    19

    Casting precautions

    I use a lightweight welding jacket and some TIG welding gloves. The gloves are thin enough for some tactile feel and have a good sized gauntlet and can be purchased at Harbor Freight on sale for cheap.

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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