Stoopid Hurts!

[B.Habermehl]

Some time ago I started a topic with this title and have referred folks to it. Just tried to find it, no luck. Sorry folks.
I was melting some industrial battery cable ends into ingots for use in making bullets. After putting one of these into the pot the pot burst into a steam expolsion, spattering hot lead every where. Six weeks later, the burns on my hands and arm were finally healed. There was, unknown to me some moisture in the cable imbedded in the lug I put in the pot. Now to prevent a disaster like this I now melt my lugs into the pot with a propane torch and pliers, never submerging scrap lead in the pot again! Also I laager my scrap lead atleast a year in a warm dry place before I us it. I hope this prevents at least one acident. STOOPID HURTS!

 

[rabjr]

:shocked2: Just another reason why I don't mess with this and let others do it for me. Hope you healed up ok.

 

[oldarmy]

Lead burns take a long time to heal.
Been there, with solder..
I cast my own, but am VERY CARE FULL about putting new material in the pot.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you cast lead long enough, you are going to suffer some kind of explosion because a small amount of water was in something you didn't see. Your method of avoiding these problems is excellent! But nothing is going to be 100%. That is why we wear protective glasses, and heavy gloves, and long sleeve shirts, and heavy boots, and an apron over our pants. I have burn scars on my hands from molten lead pops, and we could have sworn that the lead at fault had sat for for a year, in a dry place, before it was melted.

 

[bucktales]

When I started working as a cable splicer years ago, there was still a lot of lead work we did.
I still hear the old-timer who was breaking me in saying,"Never spit in the lead pot, kid!"

Regarding burns,He also said ," when a snotball of lead gets under your clothes, don't wiggle.It's better to have one burn than many".

 

[MSW]

thanks for the 'heads up.' considering the ever increasing price of lead, it's a safe bet that a bunch of us who might otherwise 'take a pass' on scrap would now be much more willing to give it a try.

 

[Zonie]

If a member has made a post sometime in the past and they can't "find" it using the "search" method it may be because they have forgotten the name or perhaps the search engine was just being perverse.

In this case, look at the upper right side of the page and find the area that says MY TOPICS.
Click on it and a list of every topic you have made will show up along with some of the text from it.
By searching down thru these you can find the topic/post you want.

Another method is to click on the name of the person who made it (over in the left hand column with the little picture). This takes you to his "Home". At the top of the Home is a FIND TOPICS BY THIS USER" button. Click on it and his/her topics will pop up.

Using this method, I found the "lost post" that Mr Habermehl made back on Feb 06, 2007.
For those interested in it, here is a link.
STOOPID TOPIC

 

[jtmattison]

I always melt scrap lead outdoors in a large open pot so I can have enough room to bail out if a large spatter erupts. Any scrap I think may have hidden moisture gets put into the pot with long handled tongs to increase my distance from the pot and make my escape easier.
So far I've never had an explosion...Knock on wood!

HD

 

[B.Habermehl]

Well Zonie I guess thats why your a moderator :wink: Some of us are barely capable of sending a post to this board. Especially me. I just wanted some of our newer board members to learn from my mistakes. With out having to make the same painful mistake them selves. Thanks for the tip on finding my old posts.

 

[Le Grand]

I never add cold lead to a hot pot. It doesn't take that long for a pot to cool and then heat up again. Then any moisture on the cold lead doesn't matter, it's long gone before the lead gets hot enough to melt.

 

[Swede50]

Never cast with tie up shoes on. While I was casting I had a sprue fall into one of my shoes. I had to step into the dogs 3gal water bucket because I could not concentrate enough to untie the shoe string. I still wear tennis-shoes but only the slip on kind, boots with long pants are better.

 

[mykeal]

Have you heard the one about the nudist who wanted some bacon and eggs for breakfast?