I started watching your channel yesterday and have caught up to the present today. This is an addictive channel to watch. I love the fact that your not afraid to build something like this, not to mention in your front yard. I live in california where you would be arrested for even talking about doing this kind of build. It sounds like you have all the lead you need although do you have all the help you need. It would be a good vacation for some to help you with this. Good luck and thanks for video taping this for us to watch.
SV Seeker, to the gentleman who suggested filling the keel with blocks of lead then filling the void. Even if you could (I agree that you cannot), they cold lead would be such an effective heat sink, you would still have voids even filling it to the top. The more surface area you pour to, the quicker it will cool. I do some bullet casting and trust me, a bullet mold that isn't properly heated just will not fill right. By the way, Ive been watching you from the beginning and really enjoy the videos.
Way to go! Awesome seeing the process optimized. And one thing I love about casting metal: you just melt down yesterdays mistakes and start over. Not that walk of shame to the woodshop buying the same stuff all over again :-)
you cant keep a good man down. i watched your first attempt with my heart in my mouth. that was a good warts and all vid. but just like i knew you would, youve come back and it looks like you havent missed a beat great vid doug all the best
its great to see the lead is pouring good now almost another tick off the list douge and soon the rudder will be all done and mounted its great to watch as seeker comes to life bit by bit and all the great friends you have made along the way lots of extra knowledge from different people helping and even commenting there ideas .looking forward to the next installment of the seeker project lol all the best big pete
*high five* - glad the pour got all figured out! Can't wait to see those dragons lit up. I've done plenty of low-temp casting, and the bar/shot suggestion won't work because the molten lead would lose heat to the bars, even more so with the shot due to higher surface area - it'd freeze out and choke off before it flowed in. Early on I tried to fix "oopses" by re-pouring, reheating the mold and re-pouring, etc. - I always wound up with two parts in one mold, it never fused back together. You could toss some shot in to force a quicker freeze against critical structure, but I doubt you could get down there and pile the shot just right - might as well just have someone under the boat with a hose on that particular spot to keep it cool and avoid warping. Really cool to see it go well for you this time. I know small pours that go wrong can be frustrating, but a big pour like that... that's a hell of a lot of propane and hard work to re-do!
I bet with multiple pours a day the inside of the holds are nice and toasty..The pouring over the cavities length wise is a stunning victory, Looking good Seeker and Crew !!
Might sound a tad silly, but i got a tad excited watching that lead poor. That was so cool to see it flow, made me wonder if any large ship builders would see this and I'd love to hear them comment on the small guy building at home, such a great project.
Steel expansion happens on the side heated because the molecules spread apart on the hot side first. Great job on everything. Thank you for the knowledge.
We did this with a fishing boat we built, the resin is thin enough to fill all the gaps, its fifteen years since it was poured and still as good as the day we did it, just a thought, great project by the way dug, greetings from England.
+SV Seeker yeh it was very thin it flowed right to the bottom of the bilges, formed a brilliant seal, if you buy a gallon and make a mock up you will see how well it flows.
+spinaway Better to have big gaps than small ones. Capillary action will get you. Thin layers of things close together draw in and hold moisture. Resin tends to flex at a different rate than metal and flake off. As it does so, it will make a blister of moisture you can't inspect underneath. Also it tends to degrade into little chips which bugger up bilge pumps.
My father built a 42' motor-sailer and we had a good time pouring the lead for the keel. We melted 1 1/2 tons at a time in an old cast iron bath tub and ran the lead into a wood form. We poured a total of 5 tons. We used a coal fire for heat and the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner for an air blast to make the fire hotter.
remindes me of hunchback of Notre Dame! I love fabricating everything you do. Custom work! videos are like night at the movies! sprit is always with you. just saying mercy! mercy! from Phoenix, Az. Happy trails! Jim.
Nicely done on the upgraded pot, that old melting tank was ok for making ingots back in the day but just not up to the task for this. flow rate is sooo much better now that the duct is just getting in the way. :)
We have been pouring lead keels for 55 yrs the first thing we deal with is shrinkage the best way to do that would be to drop some ballast lead in first spread it all around then pour ur molted lead as quick as posable into the cavity it will melt quite a bit of the ballast that's in the ingots u dropped in keep using that system to u get to the job is completed
dont change a thing! Doug your approach to building things is amazing(take lots of ideas mix up the ones you like and change only if it doesnt work) ive watched you fight and succeed since the begining and the only way in my opinion you could do a better job is if you started over with what you know now. love these videos not because i wanna build a sailing vessel, instead because i love to try and sometimes fail in my own shop doing things i get told "cant be done"
Jim Morgan sorry for necroposting, but the hardest to reach cavities would likely be near the bottom. You want hot, liquid lead at the bottom to fill up cavities. If you put ingots in the molten pool it wont create voids. If you pour molten lead over a pile of cold ingots it will just encapsulate the air pockets.
Had to review the keel construction. It looks like you are able to fill the wing sections mostly in one pour. Guess it turned out to be simpler than it looked at first.
Hi Doug, I very much like you work. I may have a suggestion for the lead pouring. You could attach the metal tube, with a hinge, to the kettle. This may prevent the lead splatter.
dammit these videos are few and far between :). I love your build. i've seen and re-seen everyone of them. Keep up the good work. hopefully i will be able to come lend a hand one weekend.
Great job ! Was very satisfying to see that river of lead pooring down ! I really enjoy your videos ! My only complaint is : Since i discovered you channel, i've look at all your videos, spent a few evening on them... but now i'm catching up and i have to wait for the next ones :) Oh well, since you still have years of work ahead, it might give me a chance to come down from canada someday and visit you guys ! Keep up the good work !
Re-orienting that pot was a stroke of genius! Also, are you planning to leave that fixture above the rudder post? I was thinking that it would be a good idea to leave it there just in case you needed to conduct repairs in the field.
often the easiest it the best, don't know if somebody has suggested this or not, but you could make the tip where you are pouring the lead form smaler so it is easier aim, espesaly as you get to each end of the keels.
I'm out sailing now. On our way to the Bahamas and waiting out some weather in FL. l enjoy your work. Glad mine is done and now I'm out playing. You will be soon too. Looking forward to seeing you out here. If you ever need local knowledge about someplace I've been just ask.
+LongDistanceSailor That might actually make it worse, as one side would be hot and expanding and the other cold and contracting. I think we are safe if we just don't use the torches until it all has cooled down.
+SV Seeker I'm sure you will be fine with the safeguards you have in place. And I defer to you in all things hot metal! I'm more into machining and design, I will have to publish my wind generator sometime. But, wouldn't cooling the outside make the steel want to flex towards the inside?
I can only imagine how hot it would get inside the boat trying to melt 1000 lbs of lead in August. It might get old, But me thinks it is better to do the lead during the cold weather. All that molten lead at one time flowing out of the pot is amazing!
Good Job Doug, lead is interesting. Lead can be taken out of the earth and put to work. Weapons, was the first order of business. My Trade was named after Lead. THx for your videos.
Can I suggest several things from my experience? 1) Get 2-4 big fans going in there - even if you're not heating it up to boiling, you're getting at least a little fumes. Down inside the boat that's not going to be good for you with the volumes and time you're dealing with. Lead poisoning is pretty brutal with long term effects. 2) Preheat your lead while adding it to the pot - someone in the video mentioned the lead was wetter than before. A steam explosion with that much lead in a confined space will be pretty devastating. 3) I suspect you're already doing this - but a circular shield around the burners leading up to the pot with an air gap around the pot will focus the heat and decrease your propane usage and heat times.
+H Wal. 1) Heat rises already. 2) Explosion is way over the top for describing steam coming out of lead. 3) Did you watch the video or did you just read the title?
+SV Seeker Look, if you want to ignore suggestions all the power to you. They were made with the aim of helping you out. Lead fumes don't rise, they behave like a heavier than air gas, though they aren't. Explosions happen when water is trapped in unmelted lead. Since you mention 17 more pours and significant quantities of lead being poured each time, a deep pot, and apparently little concern for it, there's a decent chance you may actually experience an explosion. If you're unconcerned with steam explosions take a look at thermal and casting explosions - they're no joke and one of your main concerns when casting any metal. Finally, you wrapped the crucible with kaowool, which eliminates any chance of heating using the exhaust gasses by insulating the sides of the crucible against it. If you were protecting against cooling after heating the wool would help, or inside an oven. As it stands it does maintain heat, but slows heating itself. Anyways, maybe that'll help you from getting lead poisoning or burns.
+H Wal. Look what tiny tiny bit of vapors there might be will be carried out with the massive plume of heat off that burner, and fresh air is pouring down both companion ways. And steam bubbles. We show it in the video. And your totally wrong about the insulation too. It cut the heat lost through sides and cut the melt time in half and the fuel consumption by 20%. And your fears of lead poising are totally unfounded. Read the description and the linked article in it. And please, before you go spreading fear, do some research and make sure it's a real danger. If you want to stand on the street and warn people to wear their seat belts, the science will back you up. Claiming we are in danger of lead poisoning given the precautions we have taken is simply baseless.
Hi, I'd love to be over there helping you with this project. I've been watching you since before you first started the Seeker. I'm just starting to learn to weld using a new mig welder, and I'm loving it. As you can imagine, at the moment I'm better at grinding, but I am getting there. Keep going and enjoy. All the best from me in Woking nr London, England. Jon.
Doug really well done and great to watch, it would be interesting to see how far the lead went into the keel and if it filled it up? maybe a tap with a small hammer will tell you.
hi Doug, Good job! You found the good setup don't worry about the gap between steel and lead at the end of pouring, you can fill it with resin for prevent corrosion. Leave cool down between pours for reduce steel distortions The oil burner in the furnace can replace the propane? You inspire me to continue my projects. Thanks
+Leomurguia Yeah. Someone said polyester resin. I like the idea of coal tar epoxy. ....and I considered the furnace burner, but it's messy and really excels at a much more powerful (windy) flame
Love your passion and ideas. I'm wondering about breathing fumes/gases trapped in the hull while you're melting/pouring lead. I'd hate to see you guys get sick. Any concerns?
@@Xtreme_Airgun_Slugs There are two types of fear. Rational and irrational. Most fear is irrational because most people are too lazy to do any research before deciding something is dangerous. Which is great for them because they are also too lazy to do any work. Maybe it's time not to be lazy?
Like the new kettle design. A combo of cold bars and liquid might be the way. The bars would save on gas usage and provide a heat sink for the following liquid, which would take care of voids in the bars. Less heat shock to the steel, too. Also, I notice you guys immediately scrape that splatter flash after each pour. I'd leave that thin film on each until that chamber gets it's last pour. Rust is your friend with liquid lead.
+flysubcompact +1 for the vertical section, pouring over bars sounds good, as long as they dont over-do it with the bars, and have it freeze the lead before it flows fully. Since he has so many more sections, maybe start with 30% bars by weight and work up?
Also, in regards to the splatter, cut a piece of plywood to cover the section you want to protect, maybe leave the wood out so its damp? Between it steaming up and the char that forms it should be good enough for a couple pours, and keep the lead from heating the steel in that area if youre worried about that?
The wood would smoke up and choke them out in there I'd think. They can just leave the thin splatter on the walls until the final pour in that void. The scraping after each pour pulls rust off the steel. Rust is a good thing to prevent the lead from adhering to the steel.
+flysubcompact Let me start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about casting and/or pouring molten metals so this suggestion may or may not be helpful. Would a piece of rusty sheet metal work to keep the heat away from the hull steel? It could be held away from the hull with wire rods or some other spacer to give an airspace between it and the hull. This should effectively protect the hull and make clean-up easier. It would also eliminate the potential for smoke and moisture from a plywood cover.
Not sure if I missed it at some point..... what was in the keel before?... what would the shipyard have used if not lead?.... and what effects of displacement does the lead do for weight of the ship?thanks for your time and I loved the video....
+everwharesismine Nothing was in the keel. This is new construction, not a refit. And it's hard to beat lead but iron ingots and steel shot in epoxy would be my next preference. If it's a motor boat the ballast is not critical so even concrete would do, but I would not want it rested against the hull as it holds too much water.
the sideway poor was a stroke of genius for sure , the splatter wasnt that mush and the amount of hot lead made everything that managed to splatter up flow down again eventually , no fried bacon smells thats a plus as whell maibe its an idea to poor a little hot tar or old tar based paint intoo the gaps between the lead and the keel , it might make rust between the two less of an issue and it prolly will glue the lead inside the cavity a bit better too , might allso be an idea for securing the bars of lead you will stack in there to trim the boat
Bravo pour vos vidéos,super boulot vous êtes un artiste ! dommage pour moi ce n'est pas en français !!!Merci encore bon courage !!j'attends avec impatience la mise à l'eau !merci encore !Jacky
I know there is talk of rust in the keels and I had a similar non salt water related project that we poured oil into. The oil would eventually work its way around the lead and keel hull. Not sure if you could still pour the coal tar in after though
If You weld some scrap metel (ring or spiral format) in bottom of melting pot to increase heating surface, it could help to save some gas and lead may melt faster
Great job. I wonder why you didn't place most of the lead ingots in the keel and then you would have to melt only a little amount of lead and pour on those ingots.The molten lead would fill the gaps between the ingots and you would save time and propane imho.
OMG - 9:07 - "That looks like a lot more lead than we had last time......." "......................" "..... HEH!" - So awkward haha I replayed like 5 times and died laughing haha
I wonder can the gap between the lead & steel cause problems? im thinking condensation accumilation etc.. maybe the external water preassure will squeeze the keel enough and take care of it? just a thought that came to mind. great video again Doug. Im still worried about the lead fumes though.
+Kopsu No worries. Water pressure is only about 1/2 psi per foot of depth. So 6 ft is only 3 psi. Now when the boat sinks into Challenger Deep that will become 16,000 psi and a real problem. ....but other bad things happened first. :)
I really wouldn't think that steel would pull/Deflect that much with the amount of heat you where using, is it possible that most of what your seeing is shrinkage? It's good to see that your on the right track.
+Swanny383 There is always some shrinkage, but the plates defiantly deflected inward. ...but we put a LOT of heat on them. First with the lead and then with the two torches.
love the ship bro.. keep up the good work!! I'm a huge fan! I'm in Nashville and as soon as I can count me in for nonstop welding..lol.. I restore classic cars for a living so hand me a mig and its on HAHA.
I had an idea about your distortion problem. Do you think spraying the outside of the keels with water during the pour would dissipate enough heat to cut down on the buckling? I like your idea of dropping bricks of lead in first. that will cool things down quickly and likely be enough. it would be sad to have a keel side permanently convex.
Just a thought about the steel warping, wouldn't the fact that the lead is heating the inside of the plate make it always warp inward? Inside expands faster then the outside so it must warp that way.... I might be wrong just a thought.
so it did buckle a bit then?!?! what you going to do about the gap between the steel and lead?pour paint in there or more lead or something? Looks like fun but I bet by the time you pour the last one you will be ready for a different activity or maybe not all that shiny molten metal is really awsome to watch.
"You know the answer" This kind of mentorship is invaluable. A little transitive confidence goes a long way.
I started watching your channel yesterday and have caught up to the present today. This is an addictive channel to watch. I love the fact that your not afraid to build something like this, not to mention in your front yard. I live in california where you would be arrested for even talking about doing this kind of build.
It sounds like you have all the lead you need although do you have all the help you need. It would be a good vacation for some to help you with this. Good luck and thanks for video taping this for us to watch.
+Jon Haslam Land of the Free, right?
Best channel on UA-cam.
I think it's hilarious you include the video of you arguing with the guys, good comedic relief after learning a thing or two!
+Christopher Miller I keep my soap box close.
+aserta Fuck No! I can't afford one of those.
+aserta He has a swear boat...
I like that 99% conversation.
This should have its own TV series, loads better than the crap that's on here in the UK! Great Job
SV Seeker, to the gentleman who suggested filling the keel with blocks of lead then filling the void. Even if you could (I agree that you cannot), they cold lead would be such an effective heat sink, you would still have voids even filling it to the top. The more surface area you pour to, the quicker it will cool. I do some bullet casting and trust me, a bullet mold that isn't properly heated just will not fill right. By the way, Ive been watching you from the beginning and really enjoy the videos.
I'm addicted to watching SV Seekers. The second I get a notification on my phone of a new episode, I grab a coffee and watch. Thanks
Q:What am I doing wrong here?
A: Your learning.
Again, what a fantastic outlook on life you have!
Now you got everyone, wanting to go out and buy a ton of lead, just to watch it run. Great job.
+Kent Dutrieux I'm glad I have all I need. :)
Way to go! Awesome seeing the process optimized. And one thing I love about casting metal: you just melt down yesterdays mistakes and start over. Not that walk of shame to the woodshop buying the same stuff all over again :-)
you cant keep a good man down. i watched your first attempt with my heart in my mouth. that was a good warts and all vid. but just like i knew you would, youve come back and it looks like you havent missed a beat great vid doug all the best
I just stumbled upon this and I must say, I really like how you edit this video and I assume your others. Well done man, very enjoyable to watch.
You following now?
its great to see the lead is pouring good now almost another tick off the list douge and soon the rudder will be all done and mounted its great to watch as seeker comes to life bit by bit and all the great friends you have made along the way lots of extra knowledge from different people helping and even commenting there ideas .looking forward to the next installment of the seeker project lol all the best big pete
*high five* - glad the pour got all figured out!
Can't wait to see those dragons lit up.
I've done plenty of low-temp casting, and the bar/shot suggestion won't work because the molten lead would lose heat to the bars, even more so with the shot due to higher surface area - it'd freeze out and choke off before it flowed in. Early on I tried to fix "oopses" by re-pouring, reheating the mold and re-pouring, etc. - I always wound up with two parts in one mold, it never fused back together.
You could toss some shot in to force a quicker freeze against critical structure, but I doubt you could get down there and pile the shot just right - might as well just have someone under the boat with a hose on that particular spot to keep it cool and avoid warping.
Really cool to see it go well for you this time. I know small pours that go wrong can be frustrating, but a big pour like that... that's a hell of a lot of propane and hard work to re-do!
Well, you've got the lead pour worked out and seem to be satisfied with it. Good job
I bet with multiple pours a day the inside of the holds are nice and toasty..The pouring over the cavities length wise is a stunning victory, Looking good Seeker and Crew !!
"O that looks good". Looks like a fucking alien murder scene.
Great result Doug - looks like you have nailed that pour now. Just another 17 to go -- phew!
Another great episode.
This build video just gets better and better with each episode.
Might sound a tad silly, but i got a tad excited watching that lead poor. That was so cool to see it flow, made me wonder if any large ship builders would see this and I'd love to hear them comment on the small guy building at home, such a great project.
+SupaLexy (SupaNautica & MotoLexy)
Large ships use concrete.
Cool, the methods may be different but still good to see the small guy building such a large boat at home.
Wow, I didn't think the steel would move at all. Boy was I wrong on that subject. Way to go Doug.
Steel expansion happens on the side heated because the molecules spread apart on the hot side first. Great job on everything. Thank you for the knowledge.
We'll there is more to it than that, like the shape of it, because it flexed inward.
@@SVSeeker Yes, but it flexed inward the side which saw the heat first. Think about it. Mmm?
I’m, I love what your doing. Very ambitious.
a few gallon of polyester resin on top would seal the job off nicely, and stop any water ingress.
+spinaway I've considered that, but I think something like coal tar epoxy with more flex would survive better without pulling away from the steel.
We did this with a fishing boat we built, the resin is thin enough to fill all the gaps, its fifteen years since it was poured and still as good as the day we did it, just a thought, great project by the way dug, greetings from England.
+spinaway You got resin thin enough to flow down the crack between steel and lead?
+SV Seeker yeh it was very thin it flowed right to the bottom of the bilges, formed a brilliant seal, if you buy a gallon and make a mock up you will see how well it flows.
+spinaway Better to have big gaps than small ones. Capillary action will get you. Thin layers of things close together draw in and hold moisture. Resin tends to flex at a different rate than metal and flake off. As it does so, it will make a blister of moisture you can't inspect underneath. Also it tends to degrade into little chips which bugger up bilge pumps.
Great work as ever... on the filming as well as the boat
The largest keel pour on youtube! Believe me Ive looked! Glad it worked out
I hope you filmed all the other pours! Because... y'know... We'd like to watch them.
My father built a 42' motor-sailer and we had a good time pouring the lead for the keel. We melted 1 1/2 tons at a time in an old cast iron bath tub and ran the lead into a wood form. We poured a total of 5 tons. We used a coal fire for heat and the exhaust of a vacuum cleaner for an air blast to make the fire hotter.
+enginebill Well done.
remindes me of hunchback of Notre Dame! I love fabricating everything you do. Custom work! videos are like night at the movies! sprit is always with you. just saying mercy! mercy! from Phoenix, Az. Happy trails! Jim.
Nicely done on the upgraded pot, that old melting tank was ok for making ingots back in the day but just not up to the task for this. flow rate is sooo much better now that the duct is just getting in the way. :)
I'll never grumble about the "hassle" of casting lead bullets again. I've got it easy.
That was a pretty intense job. It's interesting how much it pulls away from the steel when it starts too cool.
Congratulations on the successful pour Doug! Good job and very enjoyable video as always! :)
We have been pouring lead keels for 55 yrs the first thing we deal with is shrinkage the best way to do that would be to drop some ballast lead in first spread it all around then pour ur molted lead as quick as posable into the cavity it will melt quite a bit of the ballast that's in the ingots u dropped in keep using that system to u get to the job is completed
cool glad yu got the pouring thing figured out,.your my closest yu tuber I may come for a visit one of these days,fair winds an safe travels,,,paul
dont change a thing! Doug your approach to building things is amazing(take lots of ideas mix up the ones you like and change only if it doesnt work) ive watched you fight and succeed since the begining and the only way in my opinion you could do a better job is if you started over with what you know now. love these videos not because i wanna build a sailing vessel, instead because i love to try and sometimes fail in my own shop doing things i get told "cant be done"
+Calvin Kraushar Spot on. “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.” ― Jules Verne
+SV Seeker I'll second Calvin. You're the right mix of smart and crazy and a real inspiration.
I'd consider tossing solid blocks in with the molten lead during some of the pours to save propane and to reduce the amount of heat.
nagualdesign why didn’t you think of that.?
Shut up
Do not toss, put in there then pour.
Jim Morgan sorry for necroposting, but the hardest to reach cavities would likely be near the bottom. You want hot, liquid lead at the bottom to fill up cavities. If you put ingots in the molten pool it wont create voids. If you pour molten lead over a pile of cold ingots it will just encapsulate the air pockets.
I did that once, and the crew used an old steel bath tub that had a valve on the drain to let the lead out.
bringing back memories of my Navy days..... love the vocal camaraderie....
Hard to believe I have been watchin your channel this long ...THANKYOU
Had to review the keel construction. It looks like you are able to fill the wing sections mostly in one pour. Guess it turned out to be simpler than it looked at first.
Awesome video. Latecomer to this project but I've enjoyed it immensely.
Looking forward to when you guys launch her and get out on the open waters!
Nice Job Seeker!!
It’s crazy that this video took place 6 years ago. I feel like it was just yesterday.
"Do you know what 99% is?"
"About two inches from the top."
God, I love salt-of-the-earth engineering.
Hi Doug, I very much like you work. I may have a suggestion for the lead pouring. You could attach the metal tube, with a hinge, to the kettle. This may prevent the lead splatter.
Task: Get lead into the keel; Method: Anyway that works; Outcome: Success, WooHoo!!
Love the casting videos, I learn something every time you upload a video. Very inspiring to see your project develop.
dammit these videos are few and far between :). I love your build. i've seen and re-seen everyone of them. Keep up the good work. hopefully i will be able to come lend a hand one weekend.
That was really cool stuff. Loved it and it sure looks like all of you nailed it down pat.
Great job ! Was very satisfying to see that river of lead pooring down ! I really enjoy your videos ! My only complaint is : Since i discovered you channel, i've look at all your videos, spent a few evening on them... but now i'm catching up and i have to wait for the next ones :) Oh well, since you still have years of work ahead, it might give me a chance to come down from canada someday and visit you guys ! Keep up the good work !
Why am I watching this?
Exactly what i'm wondering
I think I finally realized they're making a boat.
Yes i think so too, and pouring molten lead into purgatory
mhm
well looks like you have it figured out, nice job.
Hell ya! Been waiting to see how you'd accomplish this since the day Tyler told me about your project, I like your keep it simple approach
He mentioned today he might have put 1000 lbs more on one side than the other. I wonder if that's in this video somewhere
Re-orienting that pot was a stroke of genius! Also, are you planning to leave that fixture above the rudder post? I was thinking that it would be a good idea to leave it there just in case you needed to conduct repairs in the field.
+John Dunlap Yes, that pulley will stay there.
definitely the coolest video I've seen in awhile
often the easiest it the best, don't know if somebody has suggested this or not, but you could make the tip where you are pouring the lead form smaler so it is easier aim, espesaly as you get to each end of the keels.
+irockyuorule Right. I'm going to take a hammer to that pour spout. That might be enough.
That might do the job fine, if that doesn't work, you need a bigger hammer, haha
I'm out sailing now. On our way to the Bahamas and waiting out some weather in FL. l enjoy your work. Glad mine is done and now I'm out playing. You will be soon too. Looking forward to seeing you out here. If you ever need local knowledge about someplace I've been just ask.
+LongDistanceSailor That might actually make it worse, as one side would be hot and expanding and the other cold and contracting. I think we are safe if we just don't use the torches until it all has cooled down.
+SV Seeker I'm sure you will be fine with the safeguards you have in place. And I defer to you in all things hot metal! I'm more into machining and design, I will have to publish my wind generator sometime. But, wouldn't cooling the outside make the steel want to flex towards the inside?
Wow! You are doing a big project! Inspirational!
I can only imagine how hot it would get inside the boat trying to melt 1000 lbs of lead in August. It might get old, But me thinks it is better to do the lead during the cold weather. All that molten lead at one time flowing out of the pot is amazing!
+tbirdracefan Hell Yes! We do plan some things.
Great channel! Just found you and subscribed. Keep up the great work with the videos! Very informative and straight forward. Cheers!
Is Jack planning on coming out when the boat is in service? He sure does help a lot.
+dus “dustoin1386” toin Absolutely. That's why we call them crew.
I think putting some blocks in there and pouring over them is an excellent idea.
Good Job Doug, lead is interesting. Lead can be taken out of the earth and put to work. Weapons, was the first order of business. My Trade was named after Lead. THx for your videos.
my motto, THE SAME AS YOUR'S "IF I SAY RUN, AND YOU SAY WHAT, YOU'LL BE TALKING TO YOURSELF"
there is the money shot at 5:33, where everybody is looking away from the arc, that should have been the video thumbnail :p
Can I suggest several things from my experience?
1) Get 2-4 big fans going in there - even if you're not heating it up to boiling, you're getting at least a little fumes. Down inside the boat that's not going to be good for you with the volumes and time you're dealing with. Lead poisoning is pretty brutal with long term effects.
2) Preheat your lead while adding it to the pot - someone in the video mentioned the lead was wetter than before. A steam explosion with that much lead in a confined space will be pretty devastating.
3) I suspect you're already doing this - but a circular shield around the burners leading up to the pot with an air gap around the pot will focus the heat and decrease your propane usage and heat times.
+H Wal. 1) Heat rises already. 2) Explosion is way over the top for describing steam coming out of lead. 3) Did you watch the video or did you just read the title?
+SV Seeker Look, if you want to ignore suggestions all the power to you. They were made with the aim of helping you out. Lead fumes don't rise, they behave like a heavier than air gas, though they aren't. Explosions happen when water is trapped in unmelted lead. Since you mention 17 more pours and significant quantities of lead being poured each time, a deep pot, and apparently little concern for it, there's a decent chance you may actually experience an explosion. If you're unconcerned with steam explosions take a look at thermal and casting explosions - they're no joke and one of your main concerns when casting any metal. Finally, you wrapped the crucible with kaowool, which eliminates any chance of heating using the exhaust gasses by insulating the sides of the crucible against it. If you were protecting against cooling after heating the wool would help, or inside an oven. As it stands it does maintain heat, but slows heating itself. Anyways, maybe that'll help you from getting lead poisoning or burns.
+H Wal. Look what tiny tiny bit of vapors there might be will be carried out with the massive plume of heat off that burner, and fresh air is pouring down both companion ways. And steam bubbles. We show it in the video. And your totally wrong about the insulation too. It cut the heat lost through sides and cut the melt time in half and the fuel consumption by 20%. And your fears of lead poising are totally unfounded. Read the description and the linked article in it. And please, before you go spreading fear, do some research and make sure it's a real danger. If you want to stand on the street and warn people to wear their seat belts, the science will back you up. Claiming we are in danger of lead poisoning given the precautions we have taken is simply baseless.
Very cool video. I hope to see more in the future.
Thank you for the video, it's real nice to see them.
This is great. You guys are hilarious. I cast from 10 molds different loads all for 12ga. This is awesomeness. Subscribed..
Many thanks for the reply great videos. Wish I was stateside to come help you guys
Rough old boys having fun! Wish I was there with ya!
Hi, I'd love to be over there helping you with this project. I've been watching you since before you first started the Seeker. I'm just starting to learn to weld using a new mig welder, and I'm loving it. As you can imagine, at the moment I'm better at grinding, but I am getting there. Keep going and enjoy. All the best from me in Woking nr London, England. Jon.
Seems to have worked great!
Doug really well done and great to watch, it would be interesting to see how far the lead went into the keel and if it filled it up? maybe a tap with a small hammer will tell you.
hi Doug,
Good job! You found the good setup
don't worry about the gap between steel and lead at the end of pouring, you can fill it with resin for prevent corrosion.
Leave cool down between pours for reduce steel distortions
The oil burner in the furnace can replace the propane?
You inspire me to continue my projects.
Thanks
+Leomurguia Yeah. Someone said polyester resin. I like the idea of coal tar epoxy. ....and I considered the furnace burner, but it's messy and really excels at a much more powerful (windy) flame
+SV Seeker sure that coat tar epoxy is better, probably more expensive also, in Canada ordinary epoxy resin is around 60$ by gallon
glad you found away around that Doug looking good there
Love your passion and ideas. I'm wondering about breathing fumes/gases trapped in the hull while you're melting/pouring lead. I'd hate to see you guys get sick. Any concerns?
+ITUMBLE4U Zero concerns.
@@SVSeeker How you doing now? Any health issues come up?
@@Xtreme_Airgun_Slugs There are two types of fear. Rational and irrational. Most fear is irrational because most people are too lazy to do any research before deciding something is dangerous. Which is great for them because they are also too lazy to do any work. Maybe it's time not to be lazy?
Like the new kettle design. A combo of cold bars and liquid might be the way. The bars would save on gas usage and provide a heat sink for the following liquid, which would take care of voids in the bars. Less heat shock to the steel, too. Also, I notice you guys immediately scrape that splatter flash after each pour. I'd leave that thin film on each until that chamber gets it's last pour. Rust is your friend with liquid lead.
+flysubcompact +1 for the vertical section, pouring over bars sounds good, as long as they dont over-do it with the bars, and have it freeze the lead before it flows fully. Since he has so many more sections, maybe start with 30% bars by weight and work up?
Also, in regards to the splatter, cut a piece of plywood to cover the section you want to protect, maybe leave the wood out so its damp? Between it steaming up and the char that forms it should be good enough for a couple pours, and keep the lead from heating the steel in that area if youre worried about that?
The wood would smoke up and choke them out in there I'd think. They can just leave the thin splatter on the walls until the final pour in that void. The scraping after each pour pulls rust off the steel. Rust is a good thing to prevent the lead from adhering to the steel.
+CKOD ...and if someone accidentally bumps a damp piece of wood into the molten lead??? Have you ever heard of the Tinsel Fairy?
+flysubcompact Let me start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about casting and/or pouring molten metals so this suggestion may or may not be helpful. Would a piece of rusty sheet metal work to keep the heat away from the hull steel? It could be held away from the hull with wire rods or some other spacer to give an airspace between it and the hull. This should effectively protect the hull and make clean-up easier. It would also eliminate the potential for smoke and moisture from a plywood cover.
Not sure if I missed it at some point..... what was in the keel before?... what would the shipyard have used if not lead?.... and what effects of displacement does the lead do for weight of the ship?thanks for your time and I loved the video....
+everwharesismine Nothing was in the keel. This is new construction, not a refit. And it's hard to beat lead but iron ingots and steel shot in epoxy would be my next preference. If it's a motor boat the ballast is not critical so even concrete would do, but I would not want it rested against the hull as it holds too much water.
the sideway poor was a stroke of genius for sure , the splatter wasnt that mush and the amount of hot lead made everything that managed to splatter up flow down again eventually , no fried bacon smells thats a plus as whell
maibe its an idea to poor a little hot tar or old tar based paint intoo the gaps between the lead and the keel , it might make rust between the two less of an issue and it prolly will glue the lead inside the cavity a bit better too , might allso be an idea for securing the bars of lead you will stack in there to trim the boat
+watahyahknow We'll put something down in their once we are done. I have a whole bunch of old epoxy.
Bravo pour vos vidéos,super boulot vous êtes un artiste ! dommage pour moi ce n'est pas en français !!!Merci encore bon courage !!j'attends avec impatience la mise à l'eau !merci encore !Jacky
I know there is talk of rust in the keels and I had a similar non salt water related project that we poured oil into. The oil would eventually work its way around the lead and keel hull. Not sure if you could still pour the coal tar in after though
+Dans L'eau Yeah. Oil, diesel, epoxy, tar, .....
looking GOOD Lewis!
+Larry Wills Feeling good Billy Ray.
If You weld some scrap metel (ring or spiral format) in bottom of melting pot to increase heating surface, it could help to save some gas and lead may melt faster
+Iso Rosmo Yeah, good idea. But on the next boat.
well done, excellent work.
Great job. I wonder why you didn't place most of the lead ingots in the keel and then you would have to melt only a little amount of lead and pour on those ingots.The molten lead would fill the gaps between the ingots and you would save time and propane imho.
+Özden Oğul We don't want the lead to cool before it reaches the outer edge of the wing.
OMG - 9:07 - "That looks like a lot more lead than we had last time......." "......................" "..... HEH!" - So awkward haha I replayed like 5 times and died laughing haha
Oh hell yeah! You are THERE.
+Greg's Garage Yup. Very Happy. But it cool to see it fountain out of the pipe too. :)
I wonder can the gap between the lead & steel cause problems? im thinking condensation accumilation etc.. maybe the external water preassure will squeeze the keel enough and take care of it? just a thought that came to mind.
great video again Doug. Im still worried about the lead fumes though.
+Kopsu No worries. Water pressure is only about 1/2 psi per foot of depth. So 6 ft is only 3 psi. Now when the boat sinks into Challenger Deep that will become 16,000 psi and a real problem. ....but other bad things happened first. :)
Man oh man I love plasma cutters, I get to run one all day long for my job. I'm always bummed when it's time to quit and head home haha
great stuff!!!! that rockwool will save you a few gallons of gas with better insulation, looking forward to the next pours
I really wouldn't think that steel would pull/Deflect that much with the amount of heat you where using, is it possible that most of what your seeing is shrinkage? It's good to see that your on the right track.
+Swanny383 There is always some shrinkage, but the plates defiantly deflected inward. ...but we put a LOT of heat on them. First with the lead and then with the two torches.
love the ship bro.. keep up the good work!! I'm a huge fan! I'm in Nashville and as soon as I can count me in for nonstop welding..lol.. I restore classic cars for a living so hand me a mig and its on HAHA.
I had an idea about your distortion problem. Do you think spraying the outside of the keels with water during the pour would dissipate enough heat to cut down on the buckling? I like your idea of dropping bricks of lead in first. that will cool things down quickly and likely be enough. it would be sad to have a keel side permanently convex.
Just a thought about the steel warping, wouldn't the fact that the lead is heating the inside of the plate make it always warp inward? Inside expands faster then the outside so it must warp that way.... I might be wrong just a thought.
+jmanatee That seems very reasonable to me. ....but I am not going to trust it. :)
how big of a deal is it that it warps though? not as pretty, but does it diminish strength or anything functional?
+Christopher Miller The fish would look at it and smirk. :)
so it did buckle a bit then?!?! what you going to do about the gap between the steel and lead?pour paint in there or more lead or something? Looks like fun but I bet by the time you pour the last one you will be ready for a different activity or maybe not all that shiny molten metal is really awsome to watch.
+Dan fish We'll pour more lead in there before we are done.
I like all your videos 👌.. great work.... ❤️ from India
Just wondering if the water would shoot to the top of the lead thus not being trapped?