A longer row to hoe (casting)

[AJC1]

I figured that was a bit too obvious to be the answer. Seems a given that people would be smart enough to not cut on a tank that’s not very well vented.

Common sense seems to be a special gift these days, I leave nothing on the table when you see the internet guiness of the day.

 

[BreechFace]

Thick welding gloves are not insulated enough to pick up a hot cast iron pan full of molten lead. You get about 5 seconds before real burns start. They work great for casting protection but not handling.

I use welding gloves for casting protection and handling the cast iron ladle while making ingots but defnitely the cast iron pot has to cool down before I can safely move it. The molds cool off fast enough but they are on a thin sheet of aluminum right on the ground. The aluminum is the heat sink and cools them down fast enough for my ingot casting pace.
I use cast iron individual fry pans, the RCBS small ingots, and the aluminum CAST BULLITS mold from Chris (Lakeshore2012) on CB

Seems like finding a cast iron pan with a spiral standoff handle or adding a spiral to an existing handle would be prudent.

 

[Phantom 309]

Water and a bit of foaming car wash soap works well to expel any flammable vapors out of a tank for cutting.

 

[WestKentucky]

Seems like finding a cast iron pan with a spiral standoff handle or adding a spiral to an existing handle would be prudent.

Even better would be a clamping removable handle. Keep the handle completely away from heat until you need to use the handle. It would not be hard to have a interior finger and an exterior locking point where either a bolt through the handle engages and holds tension, or even a heavy spring could hold tension.

 

[forrest r]

I always read things like this and wonder what genius will make this process faster by skipping the fill the tank with water step. On Hope's on a reloading site the common sense factor is a little higher based on the current standard of eating tide pods.

If they don't know enough to make sure there are no propane vapors left in the tank before the sparks start flying. It might not be a good idea to have them playing with molten load and explosives like gunpowder.

 

[garandsrus]

Muffin tins work fine but you need to use the aluminum ones. The muffins don't fit too well in a bottom pour pot (lots of air space before melting) but they do work. They are usually $1 at Goodwill. The "non-stick" tins don't work well and the ingots tend to stick.

There is a guy selling ingot molds on castboolits.gunloads.com that are very nice and do fit a flat rate box and pot very well. Here's a link: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...edneck-Gold-amp-Cast-Boolits-are-now-in-stock!

I would suggest a 20lb casting pot. The 10lb pots are just too small. You spend too much time waiting for lead to heat up.

The castboolits site I referenced above is one of the best web sites for learning about casting.

 

[GoldieMI]

There is a guy selling ingot molds on castboolits.gunloads.com that are very nice and do fit a flat rate box and pot very well. Here's a link: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...edneck-Gold-amp-Cast-Boolits-are-now-in-stock!

This is Chris aka Lakehouse2012
deal with in confidence...I have 5 of his molds and use them as my primary ingot molds.

 

[Thomasss]

I got a stub of a real bee wax candle and use that for fluxing and it works fine. Some cheap candles also work but need to be stirred in. I use an old regular spoon and skim slag off the top. I use am old pair of leather gloves cause I can grip stuff better with them.
I built a wood box from a 1x4 with dry wall screws so I can take it apart and recycle the slag.

 

[mdi]

A couple thoughts; before any more purchases get a Lyman's Cast Bullet Handbook (3rd if possible but 4th will work). Forum answers about casting will often get really involved, but K.I.S.S. and ignore the hundreds of "Old Wives Tales" running around about home casting. I do not wear gloves because I think bare hands have better feel and safer than heavy gloves (I have never dropped a mold or spilled any lead with bare hands but have when trying leather gloves). I just have a 6" fan blowing over my bench the shop door, slightly open while casting and I don't do deep breathing exercises with my face over the pot. I don't chew on ay bullets while casting and I wash my hands after casting. Common sense is the most important "safety tool" for casting. I have been casting quite a bit (9 calibers and maybe 20 different bullets since '88) and had a lead blood level check annually for 25 years and had one last month. All Normal. For real life info and everything about cast boolits go here; http://castboolits.gunloads.com/ Also vendor/sponsors here offer a few different bullet alloys at a good price.

 

[jonas66]

As far as the muffin tin thing goes, just be sure to burn off the non-stick coating before you use it. I used a cupcake pan--still use the same one-- but failed to burn it clean before I poured my first two muffin-ingots.

In trying to beat out the ingots with a hammer, the two cups tore loose and I had to tear out the lead ingots with pliers. I then turned the pan upside down over the two-burner coleman camp stove I use and burned off the coating.
Not one ingot has stuck since, hundreds later. They just flip right out after 5 minutes or so.

With 14 cups now instead of 16, it holds a little over 16 lbs of lead which is all my steel 1 qt. saucepan 'crucible' can hold safely anyway.
Every time I cast ingots I pre-heat the pan over the burners before pouring.
Works out well.

The whole process is cheaper and much easier than I had feared.
I've successfully cast several thousand good bullets over the last year; had a blast and saved money.
I use a 20 lb tank via hose connector to my little stove- I think last time I checked my propane cost per bullet was around .008 cents. My lead is free from the local shooting pits.
(Yeah, it's work gathering it, but I enjoy the time outdoors alone and it's exercise of a sort. What else am I gonna be doing with that time- reading every single post on THR?!
heh.)

I don't even flux when casting ingots because there's so much organic matter in the scrap material - dirt, grass, crap, whatever- that it does the job for me.

--edited to correct and clarify.