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| GAVIN | Posts: 4124 |  | aka ShortStack | |
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Had a little accident earlier while making some more leads, now this shows just how careful you have to be as i am certainly not a novice at this but one little lack in concentration covered my legs and feet in lead along with melting through my big z brolly and rod sleeves, rucksack etc
Luckily it didn't actually burn me (god knows how not) but it could have been so much worse!
God i loved that brolly
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In reply to Post #1160 water expands by 1600x at atmospheric pressure when boiled.. so yeah make sure it is totally dry. The key with lead is not to let it boil, even a small amount when i've done lead welding will explode when boiled and i would hate to see what a 4oz lead would react like!
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Ash_carp already mentioned below and I'll reiterate Hot mould and ensure they are totally, totally dry.
The expansion rate of steam is phenominal, the slightest miosture left in a mould can see your molden lead spraying out.
I know from experience and still have the burns on the kitchen floor. I was lucky with gardening gloves on the splashes on my hand were fortunately not injurous.
Do not even consider cooling moulds with water. At least leave them for 30 mins.
Stay safe fellas
Probably already been mentioned but..... remember to make sure the moulds are nice and hot as well before pouring the molten lead into them
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My PC just sent 2 replys.........................sorry!!
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Does anyone know where I can get a distance lead mould for a 3.75oz that's 106Gram lead from? Same as the fox ones. All the moulds I have seen so far are in 1oz or 0.5oz increments.
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In reply to Post #37 Gav it takes a man to admit his mistakes mate,im so glad your OK.
if you want to build a lean to i have some plastic sheets you can have for the roof mate.
go nice against that wall you have. ring me if you want some at least it would put a roof over your head.
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Probably already been mentioned but..... remember to make sure the moulds are nice and hot as well before pouring the molten lead into them
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In reply to Post #35 will read these posts, with great interest, as i am going to make my own leads, have been buying all the stuff required
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In reply to Post #34 Also, don't ever drop any water into the boiling lead or you'll get melted lead popping out everwhere. I used to cool my leads in water, one was no good so i put it back in the pot wet, got a shock to say the least.
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In reply to Post #33 glad your ok gav and take care mate
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In reply to Post #32 Thats a coincidence, me and a mate made a load this morning without the mishap, we used a double burner with a smallish boiling pot which makes it very stable, i know how easy it is to knock or pull something over, that is why when doing anything involving heat....especially molten lead, you have to be on your mettle (excuse the pun!) its always easier if there is two of you as the person clamping the moulds and pouring the lead can really concentrate on what he is doing whilst the second person can clean them up and coat them, we got a nice rythym going, done it in an outbuilding with the door open and an extractor on and still had to heat the mould up just before the initial pour and a few times in between as the ambient temp did make a difference, i would say to anyone that makes lead to make sure the pot is on a very stable gas ring so that even if you do happen to catch or knock it, there is a chance it may not topple over
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| slash | Posts: 8321 |  | MODERATOR | |
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Hope this is ok Gav...I have moved this in here and stickied it for a while so it gets better coverage as its a safety issue
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In reply to Post #30 Bloody hell mate glad to hear you came away unscathed!!
Brollys etc. can be replaced, eyes can't.
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| GAVIN | Posts: 4124 |  | aka ShortStack | |
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In reply to Post #29 Lucky enough I have all the right ppe but it was just carelessness that caused it, totally my fault and a mistake I will not be making again!
Only posted this to make others aware of just how easy accidents happen with something so dangerous
Thanks for all the replies and messages though fella's it's appreciated.
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In reply to Post #28 Glad to hear you were ok fella .
I worked for NI electricity for 10yrs as a cable jointer and saw some absolutely horrific accidents with pots of solder .like the guy who ,in a rush to finnish up , caught the solder pot with the hose of the gas torch and pulled it off the footpath reslulting from in the pot spilling down one of the legs of his welly , never heard a human being scream like that before or since , thank god .
His injuries were horrific and resulted in him being permanently retired aswell as disabled .
Never never melt lead in anything other than a proper cast iron solder pot and always use proper ppe .ie goggles and heavy leather gloves .
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