Just got a casting setup and molds.

[XD9JEN]

Sounds like a project, glad you're coming to help.

Group effort!

[gorblimey]

I like a hi-volt pot, but it requires a hi-volt plug. They make short work of the melting. However, I'm currently using an amazingly old 110 volt and it does the job rather well, even after all these years (pretty sure it's a couple decades older than I am). The 110 should meet your needs.

Whenever someone asks for tips it's always : Leathers, Face-sheild, and Ventilation.

Molten metal has a tendency to go right through most fabrics, even if it's a low temp one like lead (although denim does a fair job of resisting the burn in my experience... still was amazingly hot on my legs); so an apron and gloves are nice, and may not necessarily need to be leather.. Avoiding a lead splash or a water-explosion is usually easy, but a face sheild will help it if it happens. People have been jacked up by working with lead in poorly ventilated areas. Open garage and a small fan will usually suffice, or just working outside in an open area.


hmm quick maths. with 125grn boolits. 68*7000/125=3808 boolits. double that number since you'll likely be buying the alloys to mix in. You'll be going for a while, but for some people 7600 rounds just aint enough lol.

700F is 371C. According to this plot, lead has a vapor pressure of 1.0E-03 torr (which is about one millionth of 1 atm) somewhere between 600C and 700C. At 370C-400C, it's smaller by another few orders of magnitude. In other words, the stray atom or two of Pb wafting around the workshop is not going to make one any more stupid than old age and strong drink are conspiring to accomplish (and I'll drink to that).

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBoQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asminternational.org%2Fcontent%2FHTS%2FPortletImages%2FOMM%2FOMM110608.pdf&rct=j&q=vapor%20pressure%20of%20metals&ei=8B-MTc-NGpP6sAOOhfmBCQ&usg=AFQjCNFxVGjOMx8GO7Yp5napiA1Me2DLDQ&cad=rja

[760practicalshooter]

I've learned so much that it almost makes me feel like it would have been easier driving a spike through my head...lol

Almost got my degree in this.

[760practicalshooter]

700F is 371C. According to this plot, lead has a vapor pressure of 1.0E-03 torr (which is about one millionth of 1 atm) somewhere between 600C and 700C. At 370C-400C, it's smaller by another few orders of magnitude. In other words, the stray atom or two of Pb wafting around the workshop is not going to make one any more stupid than old age and strong drink are conspiring to accomplish (and I'll drink to that).

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...e2DLDQ&cad=rja

Thanks for the safety insight. I am definitely adept at protecting the valuable body parts as I have a welder and some decent protective gear for my first attempt. Including a dual cartridge mask (if need be in a closed environment).

I get the fundamentals it's the metallurgy that has me grasping at solutions.
Still thinking I can get away with the pure lead and mix it down with some antimony or litho. Kind of looked at this as buy the gear and some lead and get to work on it and that's not the case as of yet.

[gorblimey]

(I didn't even notice the Fahrenheit scale at the top of that graph... *facepalm* never mind my Celsius malarkey )

As far as safety concerns, I'm still doing this outside. It's not so much the vapor I'm worried about, but the thermal energy in the 10lb pot, and the open flame hazard of the gas burner. My pseudo-workshop got too cluttered to handle that safely.

On a related note, a bit of a poll:

Do you guys preheat your moulds such as on a separate hot plate or by dipping into the lead, or simply heat by casting and discarding the initial drops as needed?

Any worries about thermal shock for the first pour?

Do you use a hardness tester and/or simply follow a known recipe?

Do you use mystery metal, or only known soft/lino/etc ?

Do you water drop or otherwise quench?