What is wrong with my ingots??

[Blood Trail]

New to casting. I've got a bunch of lead I'm melting down to ingots. Some came out good. Others, not so much. I would love to hear feedback from you veterans on here.

This one came out good:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/are5asub.jpg

These, not so much:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/u6ava9es.jpg

Lee molds good:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/zypumuhy.jpg

Not so good:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/7umuvese.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/tusyrube.jpg

[Blood Trail]

Here's a close up of the Lee mold. Note the layers and lines in it. I believe I turned the pot off when I poured the last batch of the day. I remember it being clumpy.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/neravatu.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/uqasuqaz.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/e4y7u9u7.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/du5e7ahy.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/18/8emesa3a.jpg

[gray wolf]

Short answer: Melt them in your casting pot and turn them into bullets, don't worry about it.

Long answer: the small squares look like some type of a muffin tin, sometimes the coating on them will gas off and make the bubbles you see, turn them into bullets and don't worry about them.

If you like you can leave them in the rain and let them rust up some, of if they are coated you can burn the coating off with a small torch. BE CAREFUL if you do, the coatings are not LUNG friendly, stay down wind.
************************************************** ******************
It has been brought to my attention by a very observant member that I made a Boo, Boo
Probably caused by the picture intensity of the post.
It should read: in order to preserve the bodies natural breathing apparatus the body should be placed UP-wind and not down wind. while burning off the muffin tin coating. All efforts have been made to correct the information.
************************************************** ********************
Hot lead poured into hot ingot molds will make nice ingots if you do not mess with them until they are reasonably cool.

Hot lead into a cold mold will disrupt the cooling cycle and at times show the stratified lines you see.
As the molds get hot the ingots should come nice and smooth.

Cold lead into a mold will harden as you pour and make you pour on top of the cold lead with more hot lead,
this will also make for funky ingots.

Some/most ingot molds have a rough surface so the lead will separate easier from the mold.
Any imperfection in a mold surface will reproduce in the ingot, just like a bullet mold.

Melt them down and make bullets, Just a bump in the learning curve, they will get better.
Not high tech work here but there are some things to learn. It's nice to correct things, even the small things,
it shows a person cares.

In the mean time, melt them down and make bullets.

[Certaindeaf]

You're essentially looking at a heat differential and some dirt/dross and perhaps a lack of tin but don't go there yet. It's fine since it's ingots. Next melt/casting session with those ingots, flux and clean well and have your mold to proper operating temperature. shoot

[btroj]

How do you know anything is wrong with them? The appearance of my ingots is very, very low on my "care about it" list.

[.22-10-45]

I should be so lucky to have such worries!

[Blood Trail]

Ha! Like I said, new to this boolit casting stuff. Just wanna make sure Im not jacking something up. Greywolf, that was some solid advice.

And a big thanks to the rest of yall!

[Mk42gunner]

How do you know anything is wrong with them? The appearance of my ingots is very, very low on my "care about it" list.

I agree with what Brad said. As long as I get my alloy reasonably clean when smelting, I could care less what the ingots look like (and I have had some fugly ingots). They make decent boolits the next time they are melted though.

Robert

[waco]

How do you know anything is wrong with them? The appearance of my ingots is very, very low on my "care about it" list.

Yeah. Brad cares much more about the size of the brim on that big *** hat he wears.

[bangerjim]

Who cares? As long as you do not have inclusions of dirt and crud, throw them in the casting pot and cast away!

Layering is just pouring too slow and too low a temp. No harm done.

Sloppy tops.....probably moved the mold B4 internals were solid. No harm done.

I get funky-dunky ingots and do not worry about it. As long as you are not doing a photo-shoot about lead casting.....no harm done.

Now get out there and cast!

banger

[leftiye]

Mold too cool, lead too cool, some oxide maybe. Not a problem. Always flux after melting lead, that's when the oxide is really created - during melting.

[captaint]

As Grey Wolf said, it's the temp diff in the melt and your ingot mold that made the wierdness in your ingots. I would recommend a good flux job, however, before you get to pouring boolits ...
You'll find that beneficial. Mike

[zuke]

Like the last 2 guy's said, heat up your lead.