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My prototype casting box


Michigan Slim

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Having some scrap materials and too much time to think, I had an idea...…..

Fan is direct wired and I'll plug in the pot on top. I may upsize the fan later. Planning on hooking it to a piece of dryer vent and just clipping it to the gutter over the garage door.

I'm thinking of having bedliner sprayed on it (FREE!) if it works OK.

Now I wont have lead fumes so close to my face and have to play the wind. Hopefully.

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I have a kitchen range hood mounted over my lead pot.   But I made a box like your with a fan to help cool the molds.  Also with ductwork to pull fumes out.   Usually run 2 run 2 molds at one, allowing one to cool while filling the other.       GW 

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Is that tall enough for you to be able to drop sprues back in while casting, or do you just save them up?

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Quote

Is that tall enough for you to be able to drop sprues back in while casting, or do you just save them up?

Slim, you return the sprues to the pot while casting ... do not that in all my years of casting.  A good size sprue puddle will drop the pot temperature which I want want the temp to hold the same the duration of casting session - with a digital K-probe

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I return them before I build up too many. I flux the melt about halfway through too. Not too much of a temp drop.

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2 hours ago, Deuce Stevens SASS#55996 said:

At this point in time I think the fumes have already done their job..........

 

Spending time around the fire with you hasn't helped any at all either.

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Why spray on bed liner?  The fan housing won't suffer impacts and scrapes, and fan blades will go unbalanced if those get any coating.    And if you are talking about coating the box, hot lead splash and sprues will stick right into the coating!   Keep things simple - forgo liner!

 

Good luck, GJ

 

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I admire your creativity.

 

Presently I cast in my garage with the door open and a fan on the other side of the pot to draw air away from me and blow it outside.  I use both wax and sawdust as flux, but the smoke never comes back towards me.

 

Let us know how it works for you!

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2 hours ago, Michigan Slim said:

But Joe!!! It's FREE and would look real COOL! LOL.  

 

Can I bring my truck by for a bed redo?   I've got peeling spots on my tailgate from too much partying!  :o:lol:

 

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Sure! We need to go in after 8 on a Saturday to do a truck. Small stuff gets "overspray" during the day.

The guy will want a 12 pack of Coors!

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i like that setup - my friend and i have been looking for a way to vent and cast indoors - its way to cold here for good results these days and this is the time of year this comes up , 

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John Boy: it helps to have a 40 lb pot with a 1500 watt heater, helps keep down the temp. variations. I also have a PID controller. But with most of our targets at such close distances I don't think it matters very much. Using a LEE 6 cavity mould probably introduces more variations than pot temp differences.

  Also, I prefer to do big batches, both in casting and in reloading, as I am reloading for 4,  my wife and I and my 2 kids. So, in order to do a couple of thousand bullets in one setting it is necessary to add lead back in to the pot. If you are just casting a couple hundred, no problem just using what is in the pot.

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3 hours ago, Spittoon O Tool SASS #62053 said:

That's a dandy fume hood ya got there Slim. Question though: do ya get more exposure from melting lead then from handling lead?

I can wash it off but not cough it out.

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casting box,, how you gonna cast bait with a box????  yuze iz a strange wun Mr. Gri,,, I mean Slim...

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Well, it works well. Better than hoped actually. Not one bit of flux smoke left the box. It all went up the stack.

I took off the small piece of wood across the front top to make more access room. I'll replace it with a flap of some sort that I can flip up when I need to.

I mounted an outlet box to the top, direct wired the fan off the outlet and gave it a small extension cord. Plugged the pot into the outlet. I'm going to move the outlet into the box itself to not have it in the way when I store it.

I didn't have an extension on the blower fan but it moved the fumes up and away from me anyway. I'll pick up a couple feet of 4" ducting to add to it.

 

It's kind of like using a shanty for the first time ice fishing after sitting out on a bucket for 40 years. Kind of confining at first but why didn't I do this years ago?!?

My dad would have built something like this if he was here. He could come up with some real RUBE Goldberg fixes that really worked well. So, in his honor, I name it Burt's Box!

 

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just hinge the wood piece,, flip it up when in the way

 

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I will on the next one. This one is just to try it out. With free or already laying around being the overall theme at this point. I'll break out the table saw and spend some coin later. Can't find my hinge stash.

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Yep its been a long Winter ! :blink:

You are over thinking things now lol :rolleyes:

Just cast in a well ventilated area ,

The box is just going to confine your movement and you will be unhappy in the end  .:huh:

But what the heck , 

Its was a great winter time killer lol :P

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I thought it might but no restrictions at all. Casted 3000 .38s using it so far.  I really like it. And yeah, good winter project. I'm going to make it all self contained so it stores nice on the shelf.

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What is this "stores nice on the shelf" you speak about? If I didn't have a dedicated metal bench to cast from I'd be taking my pot down a couple of times a week or more.  I'm too lazy for that. Same reason I have 2-Dillon 550's, one for BP loads for my daughter and I  and one for smokeless loads for my wife and son.  I can't fit my car in the garage, though, due to all my stuff in the way.

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