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lead melting safety and techniques

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If you are considering mass production numbers then I totally agree with you, stay clear. But, if you are making short runs for your own use, then taking the right precautions, you will do fine. If you are an environmentalist then you will be looking for an alternative.

I have poured slugs for my crankbaits without any problems, very low production.

I have a 3D print design which will use standard ball bearings.

Dave

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1 hour ago, Dinkerblue said:

Lead Pouring: Undecided?

Ok here I go , Yes there are many who work with lead. And many items are made out of lead. As a fisherman I totally understand we all want to save money on all the tools (tackle, our own, borrow, want, buy, make. I too have purchased many items I call it my addiction an obsession. I'm always interested ,willing to learn something new about this sport.  For the longest time I have been on the fence regarding working with lead especially casting lead lures, weights. I even have spent hours designing items in my head about what I could make. Then this hits me The more I read about lead and it's toxic properties the more I don't want to go there. I think and weight out the pros vs cons. I not trying to bash anyone or anything here. I just am trying to understand if we know the danger why do we choose to go there. I feel since it has taken me a long time to decide I don't think, or see pouring lead would be one of the things that I would want to work with or try. I guess I have answered my own question. Even though it looks like alot of fun to be able to make, create, save money, make money there really is nothing safe about pouring lead. Again This is my opinion and I'm in no way trying to disrupt, discourage anyone from doing whatever works for you. 

I've been casting lead for 15 plus years.

During part of that time I also worked in a lead mine. I cleaned lead tanks that were coated in 18 in thick lead concentrate on all the walls and floor.

We also shoveled literal tons of lead dust out of the concentrate storage building that had accumulated in areas it was not supposed to.

I literally ended many days covered head to toe in lead 

Yes I wore a respirator while doing this as well as other PPE.

We also showered in the locker room before heading back to camp and took various other safety precautions.

Our blood lead levels were tested every 3 months.

My lead level currently sits at 3.5 mcdl as it is part of my current job to get a full physical every year including lead testing.

3.5 mcdl is not very high.

Back in the 1970s the average Americans lead level was over 17 mcgl. That of course was due to the use of Tetraethyl gasoline particularly in our major cities.

If you take basic lead safety precautions while working with it at home you are not at serious risk of lead poisoning.

Personally I'm more worried about burning my fingers while loading hooks into a hot mold or splashing lead on myself then I'm worried about getting lead poisoning.

Obviously you are too scared to work with lead and should not do so because of that. If you cannot trust yourself to work with lead you certainly shouldn't be working with it.

But a person can safely work with lead a fact many of us have proven.

I know that I am smart enough to safely work with lead and that's why I continue to do so. But I understand not everybody can trust themselves or be smart enough to safely work with lead. 

We have had members of this forum whose lead levels became seriously elevated because they did not take proper safety precautions. As I recall one gentleman was smoking with lead coated fingers and that was the cause of his elevated lead levels.

When I've let kids make jigs in my workshop I do all of the casting and all they do is paint them.

So long story short some of us continue to work with lead because we're smart enough to do so safely in a manner that produces some amazing tackle unavailable anywhere else.

Lead casting isn't for everyone though.

And if you don't feel comfortable or can't trust yourself to do it then don't!

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I thought about this and felt I should add to what I said above.

And that is that not everyone should work with lead.

For instance if you live in an apartment or someplace where it isn't safe to work with lead then you shouldn't.

If you have young children and you cannot separate them from your lead casting area then you probably shouldn't work with lead.

If the only area available to you to work with lead is on your kitchen stove then I recommend you don't work with lead 

The ability to safely work with lead means you have an area you can work in that is free of pets, young children, etc.

One that you can properly ventilate.

For me it is my garage.

Others may have a dedicated space in their shop, a work shed, or what have you.

So having a proper place to work with lead should also be a consideration on whether it is safe for you to work with or not.

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Yes lead accumulates and it contaminates all areas once you start using grinding, sanding carving handling and melting it. Just because you don't see it (dust, fumes, particles) doesn't mean it's not there. That's the main reason why I am not risking my health or would never risk exposing anyone else to the toxicity of pouring lead. For me personally the risk outweight the benefits of pouring lead.

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17 hours ago, Dinkerblue said:

Yes lead accumulates and it contaminates all areas once you start using grinding, sanding carving handling and melting it. Just because you don't see it (dust, fumes, particles) doesn't mean it's not there. That's the main reason why I am not risking my health or would never risk exposing anyone else to the toxicity of pouring lead. For me personally the risk outweight the benefits of pouring lead.

I guess you just have to be smarter than your average bear to work with lead.

Probably the reason most of us on this forum who haveworked with lead for years are not dead yet.

When you talk about grinding, sanding, and carving here's my take:

I have never used any electric tools with my lead. I don't use an electric grinder of any kind I've never sanded on the lead and I dare say my arms aren't strong enough nor my knives sharp enough to carve the stuff!

What needs cleaned up is done with knippers and a hand file only.

The filing is usually done over an old cookie sheet and is then dumped in the pot for reuse.

As far as fumes go that is mitigated in a few different ways.

1) opening a window and cracking a door to get the proper cross flow ventilation. Sometimes a box fan is used if needed.

2) I use a lead thermometer to keep my temperatures down below the point at which lead throws off toxic fumes.

3) all scrap lead is melted outside where all the dirt and gunk can cook off before the dross is skimmed and then triple fluxed before being made into clean ingots.

Only clean ingots are allowed to be melted in my workshop (garage).

Since I know that I'm smart enough to safely work with lead and I trust myself to follow the proper procedures in doing so as well as annual blood test to verify that I'm not poisoning myself for me the benefits definitely outweigh the risks.

It's a very fun and rewarding hobby that makes custom tackle that works better than anything you can buy at the store.

But if I was not smart enough to properly handle this or I did not trust myself to follow proper safety procedures then I would agree with you.

I have to wonder why you don't trust yourself to follow basic lead safety precautions?

Why Is it that you feel that you cannot safely accomplish this task?

It seems to me that that's what you are saying is that you don't feel that you can safely work with lead. Which sounds to me like you don't trust yourself to follow basic safety precautions and/or that you don't have an appropriate place to safely do this. 

Thank God I know how to follow safety precautions or I'd have been dead a very long time ago. 

Of all the things I do on a regular basis there are a lot of things that I consider more dangerous than working with lead!

 

Edited by Kasilofchrisn
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Not sure if there is need for another post about safety when it comes to molten lead but I'd copy paste here from my favorite book called "From ingot to target" by Glen E. Fryxell and Robert L. Applegate. It doesn't matter how the final product is shaped, as long involves molten lead the principles are exactly the same.
Here is what is written in the chapter dedicated to safety.


"A few words about safety…
OK, let’s get one thing straight right from the beginning: casting bullets from molten lead can be dangerous. So can handloading ammunition, shooting a gun, driving a car, or operating power tools. However, if one thinks about the hazards associated with each of these practices, recognizes what and where they are, applies a little common sense, follows established safe practices and takes appropriate preventative precautions, the risks can be mitigated to the point that bullet casting is pretty much as safe as collecting butterflies. If you choose to cut corners, ignore safety rules, be lackadaisical or just flat don’t think about what you‘re doing, you will get burned, and you may well poison yourself and those around you. Just like handloading, bullet casting is as safe or as dangerous as you make it. Bullet casting inherently involves hot metal, both the molten alloy that we fashion bullets from and the hot moulds and lead pots. Leather gloves are a good idea (and remember, a hot mould looks just like a cold mould, this is why we put wooden handles on them!). Even very small splashes of molten lead can cause nasty burns and leather does wonders for preventing them. And lead pots do splash -- when adding metal, stirring in flux, or if (heaven forbid!) they encounter any moisture. Keep all sources of moisture well away from your lead pot! A single drop of water can empty a 10 pound lead pot explosively, coating everything in the immediate vicinity with molten lead. If your lead pot is out on an open work bench, even minor splashes mean that safety glasses are a must. I cast with my lead pot wholly enclosed in a laboratory grade fume hood, with a glass sash in place between my face and the lead pot. I leave the little lead splatters in place on the glass sash as a reminder to myself as to how easily these things happen, and for instructional purposes for any new casters that I may be teaching. Good ventilation is very important to the bullet caster. My fume hood also serves to provide suitable ventilation, not only for the smoke coming off the pot but also for the heavy metal fumes emanating from the pot. Lead fumes are an obvious concern, but more subtle is the fact that wheel-weight alloy also contains small amounts of arsenic. Arsenic is kind of a quirk in the periodic table in that it forms an oxide that is more volatile than the metal, and in fact at lead pot temperatures, some forms of arsenic oxide are fully gaseous, so if the arsenic gets oxidized all of it evaporates from the lead pot and is easily inhaled. Use of a reducing cover material helps to prevent this oxidation (see chapter on fluxing). Fumes are not the only exposure vector that we need to be aware of, teething children like to put anything small and chewable into their mouths, especially if it’s bright and shiny. This includes cast bullets and discarded sprues, making housekeeping an important issue if small children have access to your casting area. This is easily dealt with, keep the sprues contained (heck just recycle them!) and keep the bullets packaged and out of reach of small fingers. Big fingers are an issue too: wash your hands thoroughly after each and every casting session, and again before you eat. We’ve all heard about lead poisoning, but what does it really look like? 10 The symptoms of lead poisoning in adults include: loss of appetite, a metallic taste in the mouth, constipation, pallor, malaise, weakness, insomnia, headache, irritability, muscle and joint pain, tremors and colic. Lead poisoning can cause elevated blood pressure, sterility, and birth defects. The most significant site of lead toxicity is the central nervous system, but lead poisoning also impacts the red blood cells and chronic exposure to lead most often results in kidney problems. A child’s body is more efficient at absorbing and retaining lead than is an adult’s, and lead gets stored in a child’s growing bones. The net result is that children are far more vulnerable to lead poisoning than are adults, and since their central nervous systems are still growing and developing, the impact of lead poisoning on a child’s life can be far more severe than it might be for an adult, and may include brain damage, mental retardation, convulsions and coma. Responsible handling of lead can prevent these exposures, symptoms and health hazards. Remember, safety first. Think about what you are doing, take appropriate precautions, use adequate ventilation, and keep your lead out of reach of small children. Bullet casting is a wonderful hobby and one that will allow you to get so much more out of your shooting, but just like handloading, bullet casting is only as safe (or as dangerous) as you make it."

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