Almost ready to start casting!!

[45pro]

All i have to pick up now is some welding gloves, a pot to melt and clean the WW, and of course, lead.
Step 1

Step 2

 

[straight-shooter]

For god sake i hope your going to do it outside. You would never get the smell out of the house not to mention subjecting yourself to the lead fumes - very toxic. I always wear at least a mask of some type while smelting but eventually I know i should get a respirator to be completely safe. That double fan in the window to draw out fumes will not even come close to getting the job done.

Enjoy the new side of the hobby and be safe!

 

[bluewraith]

For god sake i hope your going to do it outside. You would never get the smell out of the house not to mention subjecting yourself to the lead fumes - very toxic. I always wear at least a mask of some type while smelting but eventually I know i should get a respirator to be completely safe. That double fan in the window to draw out fumes will not even come close to getting the job done.

Enjoy the new side of the hobby and be safe!

I agree, and add some more points.

That is FIRE you are working with. Get the heck out of your house with it. You are going to have 700 degree molten lead around, and I assure you any spill will cause a fire.

Upgrade from the goggles to a full face shield. Radiant heat is no fun.

 

[45pro]

Whoa. The casting section is set up in my garage not inside my house. A lot of people over at cast boolits cast in their garage or sheds with no problem. With the garage door open and the window i wouldn't think there would be a problem. I had suggested putting a stove vent hood above the setup and everyone acted like i was crazy/overkill...

 

[random_eyes]

I've never messed with lead, but I have noticed molten metal has a funny way of very quickly igniting wood and making concrete explode (spall?). Fire extinguisher probably not a bad idea if you're working near anything you want to keep.

 

[random_eyes]

I used to melt zinc pennies before my hobby was outlawed. Those vapors can have a dramatic immediate effect that causes a sickness for several days. Google search zinc fume fever if you're interested.

 

[45-70]

Just be careful and enjoy yourself. There's nothing like casting your own! If you have never cast before don't be frustrated if the initial results aren't up to your expectations just keep plugging away. Our forefathers managed to do this without the help of OSHA so I'm pretty sure you'll be okay.

 

[Skip]

Should I join in with the nervous nellies????????????????????????????????



Um, no......................

I'm with 45/70. Be careful and have fun. There will be NO lead fumes UNLESS you BOIL it. Melting lead does not cause lead vapors. It does cause vapors though, from the stuff that has a lower melting temperature than it. NOW that does make quite a bit of smoke, depending.

You get about ten times the amount of lead in the air when you fire a handgun at an indoor range as you would during a normal casting session.

Don't eat or drink around the lead, wash your hands and all that stuff.

You can do it. Be safe, have fun.

 

[45pro]

Should I join in with the nervous nellies????????????????????????????????



Um, no......................

I'm with 45/70. Be careful and have fun. There will be NO lead fumes UNLESS you BOIL it. Melting lead does not cause lead vapors. It does cause vapors though, from the stuff that has a lower melting temperature than it. NOW that does make quite a bit of smoke, depending.

You get about ten times the amount of lead in the air when you fire a handgun at an indoor range as you would during a normal casting session.

Don't eat or drink around the lead, wash your hands and all that stuff.

You can do it. Be safe, have fun.

Thanks skip. I've done all my research etc... All that's left now is to give it a try. Thank you for posting before I had a chance about the lead fumes. No lead toxins unless you are way hotter than the normal casting temp (650-700).

It seems ppl are scared of what they don't understand and spread mis-information without doing the research themselves. I do feel like some people jump your sh*t on this forum about things they are not knowledgeable about. It happens though.

I'll let you know how It goes when I find some wheel weights!

 

[Skip]

I'll let you know how It goes when I find some wheel weights!

***************WARNING!!!!!!!! WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING**************

45pro's neighbors**************************

Your tires will bounce down the road uncontrollably tomorrow!

When smelting your wheel weights, there will be lots of smoke. It is the nasties burning off, nothing more. Make sure you keep that melt down in the 680*F and no more. That way, you will be sure to not melt any zinc. As soon as the clips float, scrape them and any non-melted wheel weights off and discard. If they aren't melted by then, they aren't lead, period.

One melted zinc wheel weight will ruin a bunch of lead. You will NEVER get fill out with zinc in the melt. Don't ask how I know this!

The fan pulling fumes away is good. That way, no cooling air blows on the moulds or your pot. In cooler temperatures, it can be a chore to keep the melt warm enough to pour well. A fan blowing on it will just make it that much harder. I have cast with that same pot, in a closed garage down into the single digits outside. Garage is not heated, so, you should be good to go.

Have a fire extinguisher handy, that is just smart anyway. No water on the table. I have had a folded rag in an upside down coffee can lid soaked with water to cool aluminum moulds when I got going really fast. Look at the front of the Lee manual and they have a bit of info on doing something like that.

Pre-heat your mould. It doesn't have to be any certain temp, just make it hotter than the air. It helps dry them if you store them outside and again, water and molten lead is a disaster, and this isn't hype, waiting to happen.


If you want harder bullets, take a 5 gallon bucket, put water in it at floor level and either build a shute or use two towels over the opening. One over half way of the opening and the other the same. Tie them in place around the bucket with twine or something. That way, the bullets hit it, fall through and the splash is contained below, away from the mould. Others have put sawdust on top of the bucket and had the bullets fall through that. Same principle, no splashes.

If your wheel weights have any arsenic at all in them, you can expect them to harden a bit over time. As much as 5 points or so, depending. If you water quench them from casting temperature, you can raise them 15 points or so. That normal lead bullet of 12-15bhn can turn into a 30bhn bullet no problem. You can oven heat treat later too. (If your wife will let you! You just have to buy your own cookie sheets!)

Take several bullets and put them on a cookie sheet. Put them in the oven and take the temp to +450*F. Watch to make sure that they don't slump or anything and let them go for an hour. Drop them in a bucket of cold tap water. Same, same.

Again, fumes are not a problem if you don't boil the lead. Keep the melt below 750*F and you will be fine.

 

[squirrelhntr]

I melt lead and then cast bullets in my garage also. I use the big door and the small man door as flue to control air flow. Works fine, but sometimes I find a air mask helpful also. You can also find good advice on u-tube.

 

[45pro]

***************WARNING!!!!!!!! WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WARNING**************

45pro's neighbors**************************

Your tires will bounce down the road uncontrollably tomorrow! .

Shhhh....dont tell everyone. My neighbor to the west is a school bus driver,i figure i can get some good sized ones off the bus

When smelting your wheel weights, there will be lots of smoke. It is the nasties burning off, nothing more. Make sure you keep that melt down in the 680*F and no more. That way, you will be sure to not melt any zinc. As soon as the clips float, scrape them and any non-melted wheel weights off and discard. If they aren't melted by then, they aren't lead, period.

One melted zinc wheel weight will ruin a bunch of lead. You will NEVER get fill out with zinc in the melt. Don't ask how I know this!

The fan pulling fumes away is good. That way, no cooling air blows on the moulds or your pot. In cooler temperatures, it can be a chore to keep the melt warm enough to pour well. A fan blowing on it will just make it that much harder. I have cast with that same pot, in a closed garage down into the single digits outside. Garage is not heated, so, you should be good to go.

Have a fire extinguisher handy, that is just smart anyway. No water on the table. I have had a folded rag in an upside down coffee can lid soaked with water to cool aluminum moulds when I got going really fast. Look at the front of the Lee manual and they have a bit of info on doing something like that.

Pre-heat your mould. It doesn't have to be any certain temp, just make it hotter than the air. It helps dry them if you store them outside and again, water and molten lead is a disaster, and this isn't hype, waiting to happen.


If you want harder bullets, take a 5 gallon bucket, put water in it at floor level and either build a shute or use two towels over the opening. One over half way of the opening and the other the same. Tie them in place around the bucket with twine or something. That way, the bullets hit it, fall through and the splash is contained below, away from the mould. Others have put sawdust on top of the bucket and had the bullets fall through that. Same principle, no splashes.

If your wheel weights have any arsenic at all in them, you can expect them to harden a bit over time. As much as 5 points or so, depending. If you water quench them from casting temperature, you can raise them 15 points or so. That normal lead bullet of 12-15bhn can turn into a 30bhn bullet no problem. You can oven heat treat later too. (If your wife will let you! You just have to buy your own cookie sheets!)

Take several bullets and put them on a cookie sheet. Put them in the oven and take the temp to +450*F. Watch to make sure that they don't slump or anything and let them go for an hour. Drop them in a bucket of cold tap water. Same, same.

Again, fumes are not a problem if you don't boil the lead. Keep the melt below 750*F and you will be fine.

I actually aquired a older propane grill today. With the tank and everything. It works, the burners just need cleaned up, it will work perfect for smelting though, i may just save the coleman grill for camping after all.

I did find one tire shop today that would sell me WW. They had two 5 gallon buckets full of mixed weights. He wanted $75 per bucket, i passed, i thought it was a little too steep. What is an average price?

 

[Stimp]

Skip covered most of it.
Looks good but I agree about the smell from the wheel weights. I do alot of casting and have learned to do the smelting of the wheel weights outside due to the amount of nasty fumes/smoke and then poor them into small ingots (use an old metal muffin pan). Once I have my clean ingots then I do the rest of the actual casting in the garage. I mainly use parafin to flux/clean the metal. Saw dust works too.
At minimum some safety glasses while casting the bullets. When smelting go a little overboard and am in long pants/sleave, gloves, full face sheild, mask, etc.

 

[Skip]

$30 is a lot for a full 5 gallon bucket. Call Omnisource and find out the going rate and offer that.

 

[45pro]

About how much (weight) is in a 5 gallon bucket?

 

[Skip]

It depends but, 100# to 130# or more. It all depends on the basic size of the weights they contain, smaller ones fill up space better, and the amount of junk in it.

That will give you a ball park though. Do you have an Omni Source near you? If so, check in their "Retail Area". They should sell you some at going rate, 30 cents/lb to 55 cents/lb, it all just depends on the going rate.

 

[45pro]

$30 is a lot for a full 5 gallon bucket. Call Omnisource and find out the going rate and offer that.

He was wanting $75 for EACH 5 gallon bucket, i looked at him like he was crazy, I then offered him $25 a bucket and he said NO WAY. He says $75 firm because he has another guy come by all the time and thats what he pays.

It depends but, 100# to 130# or more. It all depends on the basic size of the weights they contain, smaller ones fill up space better, and the amount of junk in it.

That will give you a ball park though. Do you have an Omni Source near you? If so, check in their "Retail Area". They should sell you some at going rate, 30 cents/lb to 55 cents/lb, it all just depends on the going rate.

I do not have an Omni Source near me that i know of. I thought about calling a scrap yard and see what they are paying/selling them for.


Today i went into another town and asked around and found one that had 30 gallons of wheel weights but the boss was not in and couldn't sell them to me without him and didn't know about price. The other place said they sell them for $15 a 5 gallon bucket, but the one they had was already paid for in advance and they've been working on it for 2 months trying to fill it up...

I'm going to check back Monday with the place that had 30 gallons and see what they want for them. It may just be my lucky ticket, or they want so much that noone wants to buy them-(which will probably be my luck.)

 

[Skip]

Hey, check your pm's 45Pro. Got a lead on some lead for ya!

 

[45pro]

Hey, check your pm's 45Pro. Got a lead on some lead for ya!

Thanks man, i'd rep you again but, i must spread it around some first