Splat!

[DennisB]

Every once in a while something happens to remind us that, despite our lifestyle and the fact that we never see them, there are guardian angels looking out for us.  For example, last Saturday was such a nice day that I blew off the yard work and decided to cast up some .45s.  My technique is pretty simple:  wheel weight ingots, water quenched.  Been doin' them that way for decades and still have both eyebrows and no scars or scares.  I keep two or three molds going at a time, filling, knocking off the sprues, tapping the new bullets out of the mold and into a bucket of water (at the opposite end of the bench), and so on.  Well, after an hour or so, while knocking a pair of 300 gr SWCs into the bucket and making sure the mold halves were properly re-seated, I placed it under the pot and filled the first hole just fine.  Part way through the second hole the lead splattered--not a lot, just enough to get my attention.  I'm thinking that I must have gotten just a minute drop of water into the mold that didn't dissipate from the hot metal before I hit it again with the melt.  I'm always careful to keep that water bucket far away from the lead pot and put a tin lid over the pot as well, 'cuz we all know what a drop of water will do to a pot full of hot lead.  Anyway, thought that I'd share this here, if only as a reminder that such can happen, and happen fast.     Here's a pic.  Note the "fin" on the right side of the bullet where the lead blew between the blocks.

[Tommyt]

Midget Grenade
Lucky you had a good grip and just a
Bit of H2o
in the Mole not in the Pot

Thanks for the reminder

Tommyt

[Dezynco]

Like someone once said about motorcycles - when you get to where your're not scared of them anymore, it's time to give'm up!

Same thing applies to bullet casting, pay attention or it will get you!  I've been spit on once or twice, but never anything too bad.  Like DennisB said, accidents can happen fast!

this reminds me that I should be more careful!

[res45]

On you quench bucket take an old soft towel and fasten it over th top with a little bit of excess towel inside the bucket to form a V trap about an inch or so above the water cut a small slit in the towel for the bullets to roll down the towel and drop through the slit into the water.  Keeps the water from splashing back out of the bucket.

[41 mag]

You know, I am pretty new to casting bullets, in fact have only done about a hundred so far and shot none of them yet.

Just wanted to toss this in here with your extraordinary bullet, since it could easily happen to some other unsuspecting smuck like myself, who seems to get these little life lessons the hard way.

I have been melting lead for quite a few years to feed my surf fishing habits. As such I generally melted down about 20 or so pounds of lead at a time then poured up my weights while I had it good and fluid.

Well one sunny afternoon I was preparing for a trip the following weekend, had the pot set up on the fish cooker melting away out back of the house. Mid spring, early summer, not much difference around here along the Gulf coast. Just about into the third or fourth weight, I get a rush of cool air from around the corner of the house, and without warning over comes one lowly cloud with enough rain to really mess up my afternoon. The worst thing was, that I had set up the cooker just close enough to the eave of the house that the downpour was running into the pot. I only had enough time to kill the bottle before all hell completely cut loose.

What happened during the next 2-5 minutes was just short of something seen on National Geographic. There was lead exploding upwards of 8 feet into the air, and all I could do was stand WAY back and watch. When it was over the ensuing mess would have made the boldest tagger jealous.

So from then on fumes or not, I do all of my melting no matter how large or small inside, with enough fans on me to ensure no sweat builds up.

[DennisB]

41 mag:  Wow, I'd of paid to watch that (like, from next door!)  Surf fishing and the Gulf coast is kinda where my earliest exposure to the wonders of molding stuff from lead began.  Dad used to fill a coffee can with sand, wet it, and press a stick of wood carved to a point into it.  He'd melt tire weights on a Coleman stove, pour it into the sand, then put in a cotter pin into it before it cooled.  (I lost many of those off the jetty at Port Aransas as a kid)

[Hodr]

I used to surf fish and fish off cliffs in Pacific northwest.  Dad was a mechanic but wheel weights and open flame were off limits at my age.  I traded for an old 13' surf rod and almost working spinning reel.  I used old spark plugs, tightining the cap down on 10 pound leader on 20 pound line.  Weights would catch and break off and I never lost a line.  Bring the rockfish fillets home and freeze in saltwater inside an old cardboard milk carton.  Fresh and ready for the grill up to a year later.

blindhari