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I was wondering if anyone uses a masked that is specifically designed for lead dust and fumes when you are melting and pouring your jigs. If so what kind do you use asking for there are allot of fumes involved when melting at high temps and I would assume there are some kind of health risks involved...
the directions say if smoke from a match moves in the air then you have adequate ventalation. But myself i have a stove exhaust hood hooked up...
With a stove exhaust hood hook up I am assuming that you do your melting indoors in a closed area then. And this exhaust hood moves everything outside. Is that 100% efficient or is there still a possibility that you may still have what I would call a lead film on the walls and other objects in the area.
Only asking for the hood again assuming would be like one on used above your cooking stove. I am a bad cook and have at times burnt my dinner and even with the fan on high it could not handle all the fumes or smoke and I would have to think the same could happen melting lead especially if you are fluxing or cleaning your lead and making your won ingots for future use.
i get no smoke at all... its in my basement and has a opening leading to the out side...its my moms old hood for her stove
now is that working on what i would call a stand alone exhaust system, dedicated for just this purpose and doesnt connect into any existing exhaust ducting in the house
i got it set down to where its about 18 inches above my lead pot, and its the only thing attatched to that vent...it a good setup everyone thats seen it loves it...a couple guys that sells bait and tackle from there houses pour from it all the time
I did it indoors ... & I wore a hospital mask, and I sat near a open window with a floor fan in the window, blowing to the outside. That probably wasn't "really" enough ... but, I didn't do it often, and I didn't do it for long periods of time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Crappie
Truth be known, I've probably ingested more lead from biting sinkers closed/open, than from melting lead :p Don't do that anymore, either. ;)
I'd say a respirator would be a good thing to have ... along with the safety glasses, gloves, etc. You might consider those "painters" respirators, or something like this : Toxic Dust Respirator # 817664 by MSA Safety Works
... cp :cool:
forgot about biting sinkers lol.....but if you look at the lead warning it only says in the state of california...as long as were not in CA i guess were safe lol....hey pappy also got a custom 1/24 mold be here soon, got a barbed an ball head one
i do my pouring in the garage i open both of my garage door and side door and use a couple of high velocity fan to suck the air threw the garage and out the side door i think that plenty of ventlation and i also use safty glasses and leather gloves
I do it in the garage with the door open and a fan blowing fumes out. I'm not to worried about the fumes at all what you need to worry about mostly is do not eat or smoke when doing it and make sure you dont have children around the area at all. also wash up and change clothes before handling children, food or such.
JJ
I only pour either outdoors or under a commercial vent hood with all doors open and lots of airflow. I don't get to pour over the winter but I only pour once or twice a year and then only sinkers. I actually hope that lead free sinker prices drop low enough sooner or later to stop using it but I doubt that is gonna happen anytime soon.
I pour in the garage and have fans blowing the smoke out the door. For all yo guys who pour next time the doctor ask for bloodwork as for a lead test too.
Fatman
I was thinking about it last time i poured, no such thing as to safe.
I do my initial melting outside, then after pouring ingots to use later.
I do my casting in the basement, then I wear a mask and have an exhaust fan
running. I use two needle nose pliers, so I'm not actually touching the lead.
I'm 70 now and hasn't killed me yet:D Now if I could just do something about my back!!!
In my opinion Jiggin Joe and Fatman have it right. Lead does not give off toxic fumes unless it's boiling and there is vapor. All the lead melting pots I know of will not boil lead. Biggest concern is, not washing your hands after pouring which leads to people putting their hands in their mouth or touching children. Do not smoke, drink, or eat while you are pouring. Any water near a lead pot is an explosion waiting to happen. Also be careful in summer when you sweat, so you don't get sweat in the pot. Also like Fatman said testing, I get tested every year. Finally I do not wear a respirator, but I do wear safety glasses and a face shield, along with long sleeve shirt, long pants, socks and shoes and latex gloves on both hands, since I'm right handed a leather glove on my left for holding the mold.
Actually lead does give off toxic fumes when melted. I work in a wire mill. We are a Fortune 500 company that draws wire for manufacturing. We have a galvanizing line that uses zinc to coat wire and also an oil tempering line that uses a lead temper kettle for the wire to make garage door springs and car parts. Anytime we have to work under the hood of the lead kettle to skim or add a line we are required to use a respirator by OSHA. We must also have our blood drawn every 6 months to test for blood/lead level. Anyone with a blood/lead level of 50 micrograms per liter is removed from the department immediately. Our tests have shown an average of 18 MCG's per liter in all employees for the past 12 years. Long story short... a lead pot for jig tying should not cause any health problems in a healthy person when used with proper ventilation. I use mine in the garage quite often and with my work environment, my blood/lead level is never any higher than 7 MCG's. Hope this helps.
Also for comparison our lead kettles hold 14 tons of lead each and are running 24 hours a day 7 days a week with employees working 12 hour shifts in this environment.
All I can say is that I poured lead jigs and sinkers for years in my garage using Lee pot and Do It molds.
Then I contracted lymphoma - cancer of the lymph system. When I asked the cancer specialists what causes lymphoma I was told environmental / toxix causes are high on the list. Let me tell you my mind went directly to that da#m pot of lead.
Haven't poured jigs since.
You only get one chance at life ... don't compromise it!
Its better to be safe than sorry. I work under a hood but think I will move the pouring operation outside in the open air BBQ area now that we have nice weather.
Most of us that pour lead have a higher lead content in our bodies that the general population. Will it kill us most likely not. Will it hurt us???? Who wants to that chance NOT ME. Every ones got to die from something. May be by going out side to pour I have a chance at OLD AGE.
Redman
For those of you that fear for your life from pouring jigs, I suggest that you purchase them from someone else... who obviously doesn't care then. Facts are facts. Take it or leave it.
Hey Pony, How many cigarettes do you smoke???
TnTjigman wouldnt it only be fair to say that you are working in a more controlled environment when it comes to this stuff compared to the average jig pouring man doing it out of his garage or basement. What I mean by that is there exhaust ventilation systems and such should be more capable of doing what they are designed to do, than the make shift window fan put in a doorway to help create air circulation.
I guess what it comes down to would be the individuals choice on whether or not to just take some added precautions and use a respirator or not. Like everything else you do in life there are good sides and bad sides it all depends I guess on who is doing the talking, but in the end it is the individuals choice, at least for the time being anyway.