What's Wrong in this 1958 Picture

[44Blam]

He got his wife to cast for him? How did that happen?

[MT Gianni]

If he had owned socks he would have worn them. She is melting lead in the dipper and the mold is cooling. The dipper is turned to the side to retain heat as having it flat would expose more surface area to cool. We could complain about the poor fitting of the flooring but few things from old standards meet todays standards.
He may have just come in from outside and the sprues are a known heat source for cold feet. She is insulating the mold handles with her skirt.

[lightman]

I'm thinking the bare feet.

[Tracy]

I was thinking tong loading tool/mold and a Kentucky rifle. Then I remembered that I have seen bullet molds that look like that. So I'm really not sure.
As for the bare feet, it would arguably be better to spill lead onto a bare foot than into the top of one of those moccasins with the same foot inside it.

[Walks]

Golden Retrievers didn't exist yet ? Looks like he's cutting patches, All the stuff in the way of easy access to the Rifle. She's wearing her hair in a bun on top of her head and not down on her neck. Not Holding the mold closed. The funny looking deer skull mount.

Heck, I've got so much tape holding mine together, I can't tell man from woman.

[shell70634]

How bout the swinging pot hook post is in the fireplace? How long you gonna go before you give it up?

[TCFAN]

This is one of my favorite pictures.To me it shows a more simple way of life where you have to make do for your self and family.
Wish I could find a really good copy to frame.

[nvbirdman]

I don't think he's cutting patches, I think he's trimming the sprues.

[shell70634]

Wood chimney?

[redhawk0]

She's wearing white after Labor Day.

redhawk

[rubinschmidt]

It looks like his left foot has a high arch - but not his right. Kinda hard to tell, but does he have six toes?

[mdi]

The pic is from the "Pre OMG I'm gonna burn my fingers off and die from lead poisoning paranoia" era, when casting didn't require a full Haz-Mat suit. If any hot lead landed on his feet, it would probably only stay there for .2 second before he did his rain dance. During those times most people didn't need to do any more than think about what they were doing at the time and none needed Big Brother watching over them (requiring "PPG"). The mold looks pretty small, but I've seen old single cavity molds like that that incorporated a clip to hold the handles closed. Before everybody got a fancy electric bottom pour lead pot, a popular small lead melting tool looked like a large ladle with a heating coil in it and before that many melted in and poured from a large ladle. If a gun were stored away, or hanging upside down, there probably wouldn't be any powder in the pan anyway.

I may be not paying enough attention, but all I see is a frontier family making some rifle balls. The woman is pouring while on the floor, and the man is trimming sprues (with a fillet knife?). I only counted 3 legs on the dog though,but one could be under his belly...

[gwpercle]

He's Got Six Toes !!!!!

[WILCO]

Nothing wrong. It harkens back to when people minded their own business while others lived their lives.

[country gent]

Im thinking from the acuterments and equipment this pic is closer to 1858 than 1958.

[Hardcast416taylor]

It`s an artists idea of how things should have been , in his mind and nothing more. If something is in error for being incorrect - so what it still is a neat picture to look at.Robert

[flint45]

I cast in shorts and bare feet a lot have the little scars to prove it to. I am free to be me; I am to old to die.

[ShooterAZ]

Lead pot right next to the cooking pot.

[KCSO]

People didn't wear shoes much even until the 1950's. Hey I never had shoes on except for church from May to September, working in wheat stubble on gravel drives even today my feet are tough enough to walk in the snow in winter. I wear moccasins most of the time when not working and have cast bullets over an open fire wearing mocs and no socks plenty of times. You are putting a modern spin on what was a long time ago. He probably filed his powder horn in front of that same fire.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a couple thoughts.

First, if she is dipping lead out of one of the large pots over the fire, it'd be darn heavy for that bracket, that they are hanging from. But those could both be food/soup/water pots and she could be melting the lead in that ladle, right on the coals. I suspect the later.

Second, I am not a Cast Iron pot specialist, but both them pots have a seam, like they each are a two piece, for maybe double boiler style cooking...if that is the case, there is nothing supporting the bottom piece.