From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Snag"  wrote in message news:10cn56c$32g7v$1@dont-email.me...   
      
   On 10/14/2025 6:05 PM, Jim Wilkins wrote:   
      
     ... My temp probes are metal tubes ... I've had one of then over 2000   
   degrees in my gas forge . I've used them to check melt temp of molten   
   aluminum just before pouring into molds too . Lead temps are not a big   
   deal ...unless you leave a trace of moisture in an open top ingot mold .   
   Got a couple of scars from that adventure !   
   Snag   
   --------------------------------   
      
   When I was young and had only woodworking machinery I cast lead salvaged   
   from broken discarded batteries in wood ingot molds routed on the Shopsmith   
   in vertical knee mill mode. The wood slowly charred and degraded and a   
   plaster coating didn't hold up either so I had the bright idea of trying to   
   cast under water since I knew molten copper poured into water would insulate   
   itself in a stable steam bubble and briefly remain glowing.   
      
   Lead also quietly filled a flooded mold cavity and hardened with a shiny   
   unoxidized surface. I thought I was onto something until I poured into a   
   cavity with a dimple in the bottom, an old nail hole that the lead flowed   
   over. The resulting steam explosion plated the ceiling with a thin shiny   
   layer. Luckily I wasn't in its path. After that close call I became more   
   careful.   
      
   Molten aluminum dribbled into a snowbank freezes into shiny teardrops with   
   pointed tails.   
      
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Rupert%27s_drop   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)