Just wanted to send out a warning to you guys who pour your own lead.

While pouring in my garage today I was melting down a few old sinker weights a friend had given me when my 20 lb lead pot decided to blow up. I added a weight to the pot and I can only assume that it had something in it or wrong with it. All I know is I heard a small sizzling noise like eggs frying and then boom. I had a  4' radius of lead splatter around my pot. Luckily I was standing while putting lead into the pot so I was able to step away, not before ruining my jacket and my shirt. I only ended up with two burns, one on  my hand and one just below my eye about the size of a match head.

The only thing I can guess is the weight had a void in it full of water that expanded very quickly when I dropped it in the pot. I guess that will teach me to really inspect my material before I melt it or only buy lead and not try recycling myself.

Harshman

Glad you are alright.  That could have been bad.

Eddie

harshman

Glad you're okay!!!!!!!!!  No matter how careful you are you'll run across a big lead splatter sooner or later.  My advice for you is get a cover or tin cup that will fit over the top of your pot and any time you add lead put the cup over it just in case.  I've had a lead splatter hit me in the eye (when I was 13) and it ain't a good feeling.  

Any lead I get that isn't smelted down is done at one time and poured into clean bars.

Glad you're ok, if you're not wearing saftey glass's get some.  This is a fun hobby but it isn't workth losing an eye over.

Fatman

Ouch!!! Glad to hear your OK!!! Could have turned out alot worse!

Water and molten metals don't mix very well, I worked at an aluminum die cast shop for a couple years and during our safety training  they showed a video of what throwing a 1/8 full 20oz bottle of water into a melting pot can do. Water expands about 2000x when turning into steam and when it hits the molten metal it expands REAL fast, pretty much turning itself into a molten metal bomb that has the ability of leveling a building.

A full face mask is a really good idea when working with molten lead.

harshman

My advice for you is get a cover or tin cup that will fit over the top of your pot and any time you add lead put the cup over it just in case.

Glad you're ok, if you're not wearing safety glass's get some.

Fatman

Safety glasses worked like they were supposed to and as far as a lid...it's in the garage somewhere.I had it on the pot at the time and it was the first thing to go airborne.

This is one lesson about lead that I will not soon forget.

Harshman

glad your ok.  Sounds like water to me.  Condensation will even do some of that.

After a similar experience a few years ago, I now put the welding gear and full face sheild on when smelting in the cast iron pot. After too many clogged spouts I only put clean lead in my pouring pot.

Brian

cold lead dropped into molten lead will also do that