Hello,
I'm at the point where I just wear long sleeves made from cotton and denim jeans. A pure denim shirt would work too.
I personally am to the point where it doesn't bother me. I've been casting a LOT the past two days, got a bit of lead on my hands twice - just small drops each time - and to me they feel like mosquito bites. I flick 'em off.
I've been visited by the Tinsel Fairy exactly once, and it was an interesting experience. But the lead lost heat quickly, I mean, it's not Willy Peter or anything, so it just lost heat. The epidermal layer chars just a bit (usually not through the Stratum corneum, and certainly not through the Stratum lucidum).
I have no scars from any burns. The heat doesn't penetrate the layers of skin which shed.
This is NOT advice to go out and be reckless or not wear safety equipment. That's where you have to make your own decisions. But it's really not as dangerous as it can be with a total idiot casting. Remember, that's who the books are for - the lowest common denominator.
Keep water away from the site, don't eat or drink or smoke, have adequate ventilation (lead FUMES don't form in any appreciable amount until around 1500°F; most furnaces do not go that high), and just use common sense. You'll be fine.
Lately, the Cast Bullet Handbook in any of its editions has been hard to find, but I highly recommend it. If you can't find one on Amazon or wherever, shoot me a PM and I'll dig mine out and send it to you. (This is in bold because I do believe it's that important).
You'll find your own rhythm, and man, when you do, you'll be rockin'.
For example, I start by melting the lead and preheating the moulds on the side of the furnace for half an hour. I take the mould near the back and lay it on an insulating, non-flammable surface, pure cotton usually. I leave the middle one, and cast 10 with the front one. After I cast 10, that mould takes the place of the one on the cotton, the one on the furnace is rotated to use, and the one that was on the cotton is put on the furnace. Using this rotation method, I can empty a 4lb top fill pot in no time, and have a bunch of .440" balls, .490" balls, and .452" 230gn bullets when I'm done.
If you're only using one mould, I'd keep a wet washcloth safely aside from the furnace, but there, folded up. When you start overheating the mould (and you will; you'll start frosting the bullets), start touching the sprue plate to the washcloth before cutting the sprue. This will cool down the boolits so they don't frost, and keep you casting longer between cool down breaks.
It's more of a black art than a science though, so experimentation is key.
Josh
