The Foundry / Safety

Safety

This is an overview of basic safety practices for melting metal. This is not a complete guide and you should always be careful.

Since this hobby requires wrangling orange-hot liquid metal, it obviously comes with risks. Heat, smoke/fumes, and even splattering molten metal are part of the hobby. If you want to take up metal melting, BE CAREFUL!

With proper safety practices, you will hopefully never have a serious accident, but you should always be prepared for disaster.

First off, here's a list of the PPE I use:

• 3M 82783 polycarbonate face shield
• 3M 6503QL respirator with 2097 filters
•   Note: this respirator and face shield are quite uncomfortable when worn together. I recommend using a combination shield/respirator.
• 100% cotton clothing (long sleeve/leg ideally, but you can get away with a t-shirt if you wear welding sleeves)
• Revco 23SLV welding sleeves (I don't recommend these particular sleeves)
• Revco 48SL split leg welding apron, "WZQH" (cheap Chinese) leather welding gloves
• Revco SP shoe protectors

This whole getup cost me $150-200. That's a bargain versus hospital bills and house fires.

You should also have a class B fire extinguisher ready to go. A hose is also handy, or even just a few gallons of water. (I use Tropicana orange juice jugs.)

These are some important rules to follow for your safety:

• Always preheat your molds. (See the "Crucibles and Molds" subpage for more info.)
• Don't add anything that might have liquids in or on it to a pool of molten metal. It must be dry, or you risk metal spattering out of the crucible.
• Keep the furnace away from flammable stuff (i.e. your house) while in use. Never use it inside or in a garage.
• Always make sure gas fittings are well sealed.
• If using a rubber gas hose, make sure it's well protected from anything hot. Cover it with something that could survive droplets of molten metal.
• Wear a respirator when melting anything that makes smoke. Lots of metal stuff has coatings, dirt, and/or oil on it, which will burn off.
• Zinc fumes (characteristic wispy white smoke) are toxic. You must wear a respirator at all times when melting zinc or alloys containing zinc. The same applies to lead and anything that produces smoke.
• Don't use a rusty or damaged propane tank.

"But what if something does go wrong?" you may ask. This is a very important point to consider. Nobody is perfect, and sometimes things go haywire. You should be prepared for any accidents that might occur.

These should be your priorities in case of disaster:

1. Above all, don't panic. If you're handling a full crucible, set it down, ideally in the furnace.
2. If anyone is seriously hurt or there's a fire you can't put out, call emergency services.
3. If it's safe to do so, take action. Turn off the furnace. Put out any fires. If metal has been spilled, wait until it's solid and douse it with water to cool it off.
4. Once all immediate danger has been eliminated, let things cool down. Stay in the area for a while and make sure nothing is smoldering.
5. Correct the cause of the accident and make sure your equipment isn't damaged before resuming work.

All of this safety stuff can be condensed down to this: keep fuel, fire, fumes, heat, and molten metal where it's supposed to be.