Thinking of making my own lead

Shilohdreamer said:

Hello again folks. I am thinking of melting my own lead. I have looked over past posts and it appears the Lee ones are not good. It looks awful expensive. I have an antique flask that I think I could possibly trade toward one of those contraptions if you think someone is interested in getting rid of one or does somebody recommend an affordable for a newbie? Thanks Terry in Jackson, TN

PS Merry Christmas to everyone on here and Happy Hannukah to all my Jewish friends too.

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Hello,

I forgot to ask, what caliber?

Regards,

Josh

I worry a bit about lead poisoning myself.

I did have to chuckle this week as I watched a MacGyver episode with my kids where some lady died from lead poisoning brought on by lead used to line the casks of a still for illicit brew. Ol Mac scraped a blade across the scull, sending sparks everywhere. And there you have it. Lead poisoning.

I suppose this fear is one of the main reasons I don't cast. I won't even eat after shooting unless I have very thoroughly washed my hands.

On a note of curiosity, how do you the folks that cast deal with parting lines and the sprue? I thought that if I were to cast, I would take the finished product and throw them in some sort of tumbler briefly to "round out" the parting lines and sprues.

I think you are being overly worried about the lead poisoning. Ventilation and washing hands is all that is needed.

If the mold closes correctly there will not be parting lines to worry about. All cast bullets and round balls have a sprue, but if the sprue plate on the mold is working properly (if it has one) it should be of no consequence. If the mold doesn't have one, them nip it off with cutting pliers and always load sprue up.

I've casted for years and after a friend tested positive for lead, I got tested and was negative. He casted fishing sinkers commercially for sale at flea markets, he used a turkey fryer and would heat the lead til it glowed, he also ate and drank while casting and kept at it for hrs at a time. I usually cast up about 10Lbs and quit and wash up, and no eating or drinking around the casting process.

When I first read the title, I was thinking, "I am impressed. Another geologist out mining his own Galena and processing his own ore. Great a kindred spirit!"

Disappointment reins again......

Where are all of the mining geologist today?

Eights said:

On a note of curiosity, how do you the folks that cast deal with parting lines and the sprue?

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Unlike some brands of molds, the Lee molds basically create a flat spot on the casting instead of a sprue-like projection.

That's only because the sprue plate cuts the sprue off, like I said in my previous post..

Dealing with lead is like a lot of other things. Use a little common sense.

It's hot. Protect yourself.
The fumes are bad, don't breath them.
The fumes tend to stick to skin, hair and clothing. Wash.

Jaymo jest a little lead on the handle to make it close off I have done this to my pot.

Arcitcap Clean it good and make shore it is closing all the way.You might need new hing pins.

Wash your hands after casting and don't run your lead hot enough to oxidize the fumes.
Metallic lead doesn't cause lead poisoning. Lead oxide does. It's all about bioavailabilty.
That said, I do like to wear a respirator with metal fume cartridges and safety glasses when I cast. Then again, I work around motive batteries, so I get my share of lead oxide exposure on the job.

I use a fan that draw the fumes out of the building. I have been messing with lead for around 30 years. I also grow ed up with lead paint a DDT. So I don't worry about it. The government has every one scared of every thing.

Lee Pot:

I've had mine for 2 months. Took a little trial and error to find the right mold temp to get nice looking bullets, but once I got the hang of it, it's a lot of fun. I ran out of lead before I ran out of patience and that's saying a lot.

I have always been told, old shower pans was the softest and best lead for B/P round or other

AABEN said:

I use a fan that draw the fumes out of the building. I have been messing with lead for around 30 years. I also grow ed up with lead paint a DDT. So I don't worry about it. The government has every one scared of every thing.

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if you had ever stood by and watched a friend develop what seemed to be Parkinson's, that ended up being diagnosed as lead poisoning. Then watched him become more and more debilitated over the next 10 years until he died; you might have a slightly different opinion.

I started with a little 4lbs Lee pot,still have it and it works.My main pot is a Lyman Mag-Dipper.Both of these pots are over 25 years old.Buy the best you can,but dont sell Lee short on their pots and molds.

i added blood test for lead to my check up. Looking forward to seeing results

I use a 220 volt hot plate & a 6 in. cast iron skillet & a Lee lead dipper.........

No one has mentioned it yet, but the larger the surface area of the melting/smelting pot the higher the risk of lead poisoning due to fume inhalation. Just take note and be aware.

nobody gets out of this world alive---- so whats the big deal

You can buy lead tests that check your pee for lead. I'm sure you can buy them from most pharmacies that sell drug tests. I figure it would be like drug testing where you just pee in a cup and screw the lid on. http://www.testcountry.com/categories.html?cat=388

I take zinc tablets, they are to help metabolize lead and other toxic metals. I also eat well and drink lots of water and coffee so I pee a lot, that's probably going to help expel anything bad from my body. I don't cast bullets every day, only when my supply of lead gets low, and I wash my hands with COOL soapy water. You don't want hot water, that opens your pores and can get that stuff into your skin.

Just be careful and use common sense, and don't be tempted to put musket balls in your mouth.
~Levi

I have never heard about zinc tablets helping to eliminate lead from the body.
But it is quite well documented that vitamin C (ascorbic acid) will chelate lead out of a person.

Vitamin C

Over the years, we have all heard about the hazards of lead. These include lead paint ingestion by children, lead dust inhalation by miners and metalworkers, lead in solder used in plumbing, and leaded gasoline contaminating cattle. We know that lead poisoning can cause severe mental retardation. Lead has been clearly linked with Alzheimer’s disease.

We have been told to avoid lead in the home and to stop lead pollution of our environment. But we have not been told how to remove it from our bodies at home. No drugs are needed; vitamin C megadoses will do the job efficiently. Saturation, or “bowel tolerance” doses of vitamin C will chelate lead right out of a person. http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v03n07.shtml That is good news for everybody.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/lead.html

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The effectiveness of vitamin C to help rid lead from the body has been known since at least the 1930's:

http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/193x/holmes-hn-etal_j_lab_clin_med-1939-v23-n11-p1119.html

The USN several yrs ago was using chelation therapy for heavy metals toxicity, including lead, this involved intravenous therapy of EDTA, which clumps the minute metals and allows the kidneys to pass them. That technique is still being used as well as taking the EDTA by mouth.

getting set up is kind of expensive, at least if you buy all new like i did. but it is a great hobby, and you will save a ton of $ if you shoot much. i did it about 2 years ago, and while i do not keep track of actual casting expenses since i bought the equipment, i would think i have paid for it already. the only real problem is, now i spend that much more on powder and primers. 3 years ago, i would have never thought about buying primers by the 5000. but i do now!