JimGnitecki
Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2010
- Messages
- 1,258
This photo shows the alloying and bullet casting work station I built yesterday as I prepare to get into lead alloying and bullet casting:
It is outdoors, and it is concrete, for safety reasons (ventilation of lead fumes and fire prevention just in case).
The 8 individual concrete blocks that create the 2 support towers for the tabletop weigh 28.6 lb each, and are each 7.5” high by 15.5” long and 7.5” wide. The 1.5” thick by 24” x 30” concrete tabletop (actually a modular sidewalk panel from Home Depot) weighs 102 lb.
So, the entire structure weighs 331 lb, so it is not going to move while I work on it or accidentally bump it. But since it is not mortared, it can be disassembled and removed in the future quite easily.
There is a layer of concrete caulk between the tabletop and the 2 tower supports to ensure that there is NO “rocking” between the tabletop and the supports.
The location was carefully chosen. It is not visible by neighbours, or from inside the house, it gets outdoor ventilation even if I choose to not use a fan, and if I create any tall flames during fluxing with sawdust and bees wax, they can safely go upward without encountering anything that they could burn. The gravel ground cover is obviously not going to catch fire if I ever have a hot lead spill. And if things get really wild somehow, the siding on the garage is HardiePlank, which is made of concrete so cannot burn.
This is also a very low maintenance setup. The outdoor location means no careful and complete cleaning up of any residual lead is required, as would be if I had used a location inside the house. We get very cold winters here in The Province of Alberta, Canada, but since my annual usage of cast bullets is relatively low (under 1000 at most), I plan to do all my casting in the April to October timeframe, so cold winters are not an issue. And w ehave very DRY weather here. Only 14 inches of rain per YEAR.
My low annual usage also ensures that I don't need to play with Lead for more than a very few hours per year, and that of course is a good thing. In fact, the only reason I am taking up casting is because here in Canada, pre-made 405g and 500g or heavier 48-70 bullets are (a) very hard to source, (b) very expensive, (c) very costly to ship, and (d) too hard for the low pressure Trapdoor-level loads I intend to use in a Pedersolli rifle that needs bullets that obturate well without leading. And, no, U.S. bullet makers are NOT allowed to ship to Canada either.
The workbench is well within range of a 12 gauge extension cord that plugs into a choice of 120 volt / 2400 watt outlets inside the garage, so I have 2400 watts of electrical power available, and 2400 MORE watts if I ever need them, as the garage as 2 separate 120 volt outlet circuits.
The entire cost of the concrete blocks, tabletop, and concrete caulk was about $76 Canadian.
As you can see, I’ve tried to maximize convenience of a rather inconvenient task, and minimize the chances of any safety or damage issues, while enabling myself to make bullets of ideal BHN for my specific shooting plans.
Jim G
It is outdoors, and it is concrete, for safety reasons (ventilation of lead fumes and fire prevention just in case).
The 8 individual concrete blocks that create the 2 support towers for the tabletop weigh 28.6 lb each, and are each 7.5” high by 15.5” long and 7.5” wide. The 1.5” thick by 24” x 30” concrete tabletop (actually a modular sidewalk panel from Home Depot) weighs 102 lb.
So, the entire structure weighs 331 lb, so it is not going to move while I work on it or accidentally bump it. But since it is not mortared, it can be disassembled and removed in the future quite easily.
There is a layer of concrete caulk between the tabletop and the 2 tower supports to ensure that there is NO “rocking” between the tabletop and the supports.
The location was carefully chosen. It is not visible by neighbours, or from inside the house, it gets outdoor ventilation even if I choose to not use a fan, and if I create any tall flames during fluxing with sawdust and bees wax, they can safely go upward without encountering anything that they could burn. The gravel ground cover is obviously not going to catch fire if I ever have a hot lead spill. And if things get really wild somehow, the siding on the garage is HardiePlank, which is made of concrete so cannot burn.
This is also a very low maintenance setup. The outdoor location means no careful and complete cleaning up of any residual lead is required, as would be if I had used a location inside the house. We get very cold winters here in The Province of Alberta, Canada, but since my annual usage of cast bullets is relatively low (under 1000 at most), I plan to do all my casting in the April to October timeframe, so cold winters are not an issue. And w ehave very DRY weather here. Only 14 inches of rain per YEAR.
My low annual usage also ensures that I don't need to play with Lead for more than a very few hours per year, and that of course is a good thing. In fact, the only reason I am taking up casting is because here in Canada, pre-made 405g and 500g or heavier 48-70 bullets are (a) very hard to source, (b) very expensive, (c) very costly to ship, and (d) too hard for the low pressure Trapdoor-level loads I intend to use in a Pedersolli rifle that needs bullets that obturate well without leading. And, no, U.S. bullet makers are NOT allowed to ship to Canada either.
The workbench is well within range of a 12 gauge extension cord that plugs into a choice of 120 volt / 2400 watt outlets inside the garage, so I have 2400 watts of electrical power available, and 2400 MORE watts if I ever need them, as the garage as 2 separate 120 volt outlet circuits.
The entire cost of the concrete blocks, tabletop, and concrete caulk was about $76 Canadian.
As you can see, I’ve tried to maximize convenience of a rather inconvenient task, and minimize the chances of any safety or damage issues, while enabling myself to make bullets of ideal BHN for my specific shooting plans.
Jim G
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