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HOLY CRAP!!! IT REALLY DOESNT TAKE MUCH!!!

3K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  zkovach 
#1 ·
What a night... Just got done casting my first couple hundred bullets for my .45-70 with my new 500 gr. mold. The casting process went perfect and 98% of the bullets were perfect right from the mold. As usual, I quench my bullets right out of the mold in a bucket of cold water with a towel in it. done it a million times with 0 ill effects. This time was different, I was sorting the cold bullets while a new pot of lead was coming up to temp and tossing the rejects into the sprue box. Well, I ran accross one that had a small void on the front driving band, it looked like a pinhole in the side of the bullet so I tossed it in the reject pile to be re-melted. I sorted the rest and ended up with about 6 out of 100 or so bullets that didnt meet my standards. Included in the 6 was the one with the small pinhole. well I tossed them in the pot, which was right at 675 degrees and got a rather silvery mess on my workbench. I mean there couldnt have been a 1/8 ml of water in that hole and it was enough to spew lead all over my bench top. What a mess, Thank god I didnt get burned....:eek:
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hmmmmmmm, how did I know by reading the first few lines of your post, what you were about to say. :rolleyes: Oh how glad I am that you did not get hurt by the molten lead!!!!! :eek: Wheewwww!! (Wiping my forehead)

I learned in high school metal shop, what happens when molten ANYTHING comes in contact w/ either water (moisture) or a cold mold.

BOOM!!!!!

Good post for beginner casters JLA! ;) (Ducking from the flying sprue box! :p :D)

SR
 
#5 ·
Another example of what not to do. I was water dropping 45s out of my 4 banger Lyman mold. First casting. I was holding the mold to close to the water bucket. And the water splashed. It must have got a drop in the mold. Next pour. Looked like a volcano coming out the sprue cutter. When they say molten lead and water don’t mix . they aren’t kidding.
 
#6 ·
Next time, put your rejects into a cold pot and bring it up to heat. Any water on the bullets will evaporate long before the lead turns molten.
 
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#7 ·
Having spent a little time around a steel foundry, I can tell ya that it could have been much worse. Glad to hear that you're ok. Here's a little snipet on molten metal and water mixing from one of the foundry manuf sites.

http://www.foundrymag.com/archives/feature/84647/molten_metal_splash_and_furnace_refractory_safety

a video from the foundry that I worked at in Wa, caused by improper/damaged gas coupling. The tanker truck that was filling the main tanks leaked at the coupling and subsequently caught fire and exploded. The driver died a few weeks later, a few others hurt and the foundry was down for a couple months.

http://www.eq2world.ru/view.php?vid...a&title=Altlas+Foundry+Explosion+-+Tacoma,+WA
 
#8 ·
Hmmmmmmm, how did I know by reading the first few lines of your post, what you were about to say. :rolleyes: Oh how glad I am that you did not get hurt by the molten lead!!!!! :eek: Wheewwww!! (Wiping my forehead)

I learned in high school metal shop, what happens when molten ANYTHING comes in contact w/ either water (moisture) or a cold mold.

BOOM!!!!!

Good post for beginner casters JLA! ;) (Ducking from the flying sprue box! :p :D)
SR
That ones exactly my goal SR, besides a good laugh of it, I really hope new guys will take some good from this and not get hurt themselves. I know if this would have happened to me the first try I would have boxed it back up and never touched it again...;)
 
#9 ·
Next time, put your rejects into a cold pot and bring it up to heat. Any water on the bullets will evaporate long before the lead turns molten.
Simple solution to a simple problem. I like it, thanks alpo...
 
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#11 ·
In the 1950's my dad & his co-worker were throwing chemicals into a big molten ladle of steel at our local(now closed & gone) Geneva steel USS plant. A piece of ice fell from the window overhead & the crane operator yelled a warning so the two guys ran from the pot but they were hit in the back by the molten steel as they ran. The co-worker had tucked his pants into his cowboy boots & his boot filled with steel. Before they could get his boot off he had nothing but his heel bone left.
 
#12 ·
I have a couple of small scars on my face from melting a pot of lead several years ago. While I was standing over the lead, a drop of sweat fell into the pot and caused what I can only describe as a violent "explosion". Lead went everywhere, I am lucky that I was only hit twice. I learned to respect the molten lead that day.
 
#13 ·
yeah, I certainly allow a little more distance between me and the pot when putting ANYTHING in there. I realized immediately that it could have been MUUUUUCH worse than it was. Thankfully All that got hit was the pot itself and the towel I keep spread out under it to keep lead from building up on the benchtop.
 
#14 ·
I think that I will continue to allow Matt Dardas to make all of my lead bullets for me. His are always perfect and he takes all of the risks. I just head to the basment and avoid watching HGTV, Bravo, and the rest of the Missus' crap.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I was going to cast some bullets for a friend once when in between jobs for some money.(Nice friend.) I set up the his pot outside on a sunny cloudless day not wanting the lead fumes in my apartment and went inside to wait for it to heat up and remelt the lead that was still in it. A rouge rain cloud came through and decided that over the lead pot was a good place to dump its self. It took me a week to scrape all the lead from the apartment wall and pavement.
 
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