Home Forums Hunting & Shooting BPCR Casting bullets outside....

Do any of you guys cast bullets outside say on a nice summer day?

Me thinks that as I don't have a safe place to do it inside that may have to be the way I have to go if I decide to cast bullets. I figure if the old timers can do it I should be able to do it.

I do it outside on summer days and I do it outside on winter days. So long as the weather is dry it is fine. Actually the winter sessions are a bit easier as the heat from the pot isn't such a killer.

I cast in the front of my garage with the door open. At the suggestion of my casting partner, I put a cheap pedestal fan in back facing outward, to keep the fumes moving away.

Another buddy casts inside, but installed a surplus industrial or restaurant exhaust fan in the wall in front of his pot.

Paul

Derb, A "Lab Grade" thermometer,like what Ferguson sells versus the cheaper stock variety Lyman , is a fine practical investment.

You can cast at temps well below sublimation / vaporization for lead.....with a calibrated thermometer.

An oven hood is a common sensical addition to any indoor casting nook.........you'll inevitably get fuming when you flux.

Maintaining real consistant mold temps out in the breeze can be something of a challenge, .....but is do-able. One can become fairly clever about wind and heat shielding, pronto.

I guess if I were going to write some simple safety guidlines for casting, the first would read, "Be sure you can feel breeze on your neck, and the back of your ears, when facing the melt".

FWiW, these battery powered, cheap non-contact electric eye "Pyrometers" being flogged everywhere are a bit of a joke, IMHO...............I've got 3 of them I tested with calibrated back-up / control thermos,..............couldn't get agreement between 'em, and couldn't get repeatability from any.

Best Regards,

GTC

I don't have a fan blowing across my casting furnace on purpose. I feel that the air currents will swirl around me and the casting furnace, which could cause inhalation of lead vapors.

I discovered the swirling air current phenomenon, when I purposely fluxed the casting furnace heavily, and watched the air currents flow, as shown by the smoke from the flux compound.

I have the fan setting, so it pulls the air away, from the casting furnace, greatly smoothing out the air flow. I have proven this to myself by watching the airflow as I flux the casting furnace.

I like the hood/ exhaust fan idea, if the smoke from fluxing the casting furnace shows the smoke traveling upwards, through the hood, and being exhausted outside.

Bill

Great point Stillwater,.......and nothing much more elegant than a burning punk or a mosquito coil can give one a good feel for fume extractor performance........PROVIDED that the smelter is up to speed, and the operator / caster is more or less at his station. At that point one can smoke test with reasonable valid guesstimates.

As far as the casting station goes, I'd like to throw a little advice out on the table......regarding the table.....and the height at which it places one in relation to the casting melt.
Understanding that one will probably spend a LOT of time ensconced in this position, .....it's worth wringing out the
"Ergonomics" of the set up for maximum comfort, and minimum physical stress. Playing with the overall height of the setup, and from there foward, details such as the arc bent into your ladle handles,lighting, and proximity to all essential tools is not a bad way to start. There's no such thing as a "Universal" setup, and those of us that "Been there" can well attest to the fact that production casting can be fatiguing,....take the time to get your set up as user friendly ( for YOU, the user)as you can.

Back to fume eduction / extraction, .....something more approximating an old forge hood performs way better than a stove hood, in my experience. A variable speed fan will give the setup a more versatile aspect for seasonal changes in ventilation, make up air, and Heating / cooling requirements of the building.
Just slightly more air velocity than required to catch 100% of fumes is probably optimum. Readily changeable filters are something I'm playing with......any thoughts thereon welcomed.

GTC

Thanks guys. Well for me it is casting outside or no casting at all as I don't have any way to cast inside short of buying a new home. Fortunately, there appear to be some good professional casters out there casting some good stuff by all indications. If I get into this BPCR thing buying cast bullets is the way I'll go at least for awhile.

The air pollution from forest fires in the summer time is probably worst than the lead smelting is. In fact our big lead smelter just shut down about two years ago so my blood is probably already polluted from lead. July and August are probably the best time around here to cast outdoors, hot, dry, and little wind usually early in the morning.

I'll keep reading the Fire and Shiloh (when my account is activated) and learn all that I can.

Your comment about the hood being made like the hood over a forge, is a much better way of extracting fumes and smoke, than a range hood would be. Much, much better...!

And the filter idea is another good point.

Bill