Lead Vapor

[scout34]

I have some questions about the safety aspects of bullet casting.

I have everything I need to start casting bullets, and have already made a big pile of ingots from wheel weights.  I made these in my driveway on some cool Autumn nights in Texas.  Now the Army has moved me to KY and it promises to be much rainier.  My garage is detached from the house and pretty damp, which I know is a bad thing when dealing with molten lead.  I want to cast in my basement where I can keep the setup handy and go on rainy days but I am concerned about lead vapor and it's effects on my family.  Is there anything I can do about it?

[Lloyd Smale]

If you keep your pot down to casting temps it wont give off fumes. Lead doesnt give off fumes till it gets over a 1000 degrees. More of a consern would be casting where your kids are playing and leaving lead residue around where they will come in contact with it. There is more danger in lead dust from your tumbler then there is from your lead pot. One thing I wouldnt do those is smelt wws in the basement. Not only will your old lady kill you for smoking up the house but when smelting lead temps sometimes gets to the temps it gives off fumes.

[scout34]

Great.  That should make my winter MUCH more enjoyable.

[quickdtoo]

Here's a short article from Sixguns on the issue of lead contamination from casting and tumbling and another on just casting.

Tim

http://www.sixguns.com/crew/lead.html

http://members.aol.com/illinewek/faqs/casting.htm

[scout34]

Thanks!  Great references.  Feel better about casting bullets in the basement now.

[Veral]

My advise.  Stay out of the house with lead melting.  The only concern about dampness in the garage is when putting lead in a molten pot.  It it contains moisture it can blow molten lead up on you.  Or if a ladle is coated with marvalux flux it will spew lead all over if not preheated well before putting it in the melt.  Marvalux is used to minimize smoking, but my advise is don't use it if your pot will be stored in a damp area or the area gets damp from humidity.  Use any kind of rendered animal fat for flux.  It will smoke like everything, but is not hydroscopic.  To the contrary it repels mositure if some is left there when done casting.  For years when I worked in a damp climate, I put a bit of lard on the alloy left in the pot when it got cool enough that the lard would still melt but not smoke.  This flowed down around the lead and oil sealed the pot sides from mosisture to prevent rust for unlimited time.
  Lead isn't supposed to give off fumes until quite a bit over the melt temp, but cast a few hours in a closed room and you won't feel good.  With lots of fresh air carrying the fumes away, no problem.

When shooting lead indoors, be concerned about lead vapor if you are getting the least trace  of leading in the barrel.  That is caused by lead which is melted by friction, and when it's happening, you are getting serious lead vapors.  LBT lube will take you farther from leading than any other lube available, I believe.  Of coarse I'm a bit biased, because I spent our life savings and 6 months full time developing it!  Check my website if interested           LBTMoulds.com

[Lloyd Smale]

veral hit on a good point. Ive been treated twice for very high lead levels. Now i cast probably 10 times more then the average caster but where a guy will pick up more of it then any other place is an indoor shooting range with poor ventilation. Second biggest contributer is smelting lead wws or range lead in something like a turkey fryer with poor ventalation. With a big propane burner its about impossible to ALLWAYs keep your temps low enough that you dont get fumes and just the rubber and other junk in the melt gives off stuff you shouldnt breath. Other big no nos and things i was guilty off are smoking and eating while casting. Eat in the kitchen and cast in the barn! As far as shooting goes. Like veral said if your gun is leading your proably throwing lots of lead vapors in the air and even if your not leading your throwing some and even it you dont use lead bullet primer compounds have lead in them that give off vapors that can cause lead poisoning.

[schutzen]

You stated the Army stationed you in Kentucky.  Where in Kentucky?

[ronbo]

I cast in the garage but rigged up a 110 volt squirrel cage blower about 6 inches above the electric Lyman lead pot. I vented it with a short section of 4 inch dryer vent that blows out the back wall of the garage through a dryer flap vent It works great and don't have to smell burning flux or hot lead. The same could be done in a basement with a blower.

[Clodhopper]

I usually do most of my casting outside.  Out here in the desert, the wind usually blows dissipating the vapors quiet readily.  I like that squirrel cage blower idea, going to rig me one of those up in my shed.  We don't usually have to worry about the moisture here in the desert.  Going to get on the LBT site and check into that lube, I haven't been real happy with the lubes I have been using.

[blhof]

I had a neighbor in Louisiana that casted large amounts of lead in a fryer with propane for sinkers, he sold at flea markets.  He always worked out doors, but still ended up with high lead levels.  Tempurature control and good sanitation is paramount.  I've casted small amounts for years and have had my lead level checked a few times and came up negative.  The neighbor also used to snack and drink his beer while casting and went in and ate supper without hand washing.  Always wash your hands after handling lead, treat it like a poison and your usually safe.  He had an unbelievable source for lead; his job was changing out the dirt berms at a shooting range, when he found out I casted bullets, he gave me 30 to 40 lbs on a regular basis.

[Steve in Michigan]

I heard the greatest amount of lead in the air when shooting indoors is not from any lead bullets, but from the lead sphignate that is used in primers. A lot of people will get all shook up about all the smoke that cast bullets generate, but it is only the bullet lubricant burning that causes the smoke. I would use lead-free primers before outlawing any lead bullet loads on an indoor range.

I think the risk of high lead levels is greater on an indoor range with poor circulation than casting bullets. My biggest risk when casting is when the boss (wife) gets all bent out of shape when the house smells like paraffin, which I use to flux with (I still like it better than anything else for fluxing). No mater how well you ventilate, the smell remains.

Steve

[scout34]

Hey Schutzen,

I'm at Ft. Knox.  If you are from the same area you know how dismal this winter has been.  I have about 100 lbs of lead wheelweights smelted into ingots and have started casting them into bullets.  Power is still out in the garage (detached in the housing area) after the big storms that came through a few weeks ago, so I have no choice but to cast in the house.  I tried smelting in the back yard, but the cool weather makes the lead take forever to get to temperature.

[blhof]

I'm just up the road in Bowling Green.  I'm fortunate to have a detatched garage with power and a high ceiling and a vent fan I installed for air in the sweltering summer and casting venting on bad days.  Rainy days are my casting days.  The above entrys covered all the basic safety precautions.  Be sure to not leave any residue that children or pets can find.  Many years ago, my daughter had a cockatiel that found a foil thin piece of lead that almost killed it.  Paid more for the vet bill than for the bird, but with kids; what can you do.  Dogs will also chew on lead for some reason.

[Lloyd Smale]

thats a very imprortant point. If you have kids around you DEFINATELY need to keep your casting area locked from them. I dont care how careful you are there is going to be lead residue around your casting bench and its bad news for kids. Even animals. My dog was sick for a while and is allways out in the barn with me. I had his lead level checked and although that didnt end up being the problem the doctor said his levels were elevated. They can get it form dragging sticks and rags out of the casting area or just from the dust. Its about impossible to have house keeping good enough to eliminate all the lead around you. Best bet is to have a room dedicated to casting and keep others out of if. Even if your casting outside you will have a mess on the ground at one point or another and whats the first thing the dog does when your gone? Goes and licks and smells the mess. I can live with poinsoning myself by not my grandkids or my dog. It drives him nuts but hes not allowed in the barn anymore. He also isnt allowed to go shooting with me anymore as i made him about deaf when he was a pup. that drives him nuts more then anything. He goes nuts everytime he sees me loading the truck up with guns.